Because it’s Christmas season, and everyone needs a fun, sassy movie to run off to the theater to see in order to escape their family, Meryl Streep has a new film coming out!

But if you’re under seventeen you might not be able to get in.

Currently, the Nancy Meyers directed film “It’s Complicated”, which also stars Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin, has been slapped with an R rating due to “drug content and sexuality.”  But producers are doing their best to appeal the rating because they’re afraid it’s going to dash Oscar chances.

While I do think this movie will be entertaining, let’s not bluff here.  If Meryl gets nominated for anything this year (and she will), it will be “Julie and Julia.”  This movie does look fun, and it definitely seems like it will be a good time (Silas Hunter Parrish from “Weeds” is also in it!!), but I don’t see it winning any Oscars.  It’s more like the producers are terrified that it’s going to bomb at the box office if it doesn’t get the required guaranteed-to-be-successful PG-13 rating.

No matter what the rating is, I’m totally seeing this.  I’ll watch anything with Meryl in it.  And  this is like one of those movies you see with your best friend on a Saturday, then go to Starbucks and get a tall mocha light frap while discussing life and gossiping.  Also, for an added bonus you get to hear Meryl Streep say, “Apparently, I’m a slut!”

Trailer after the jump!

SOURCE

Mr. Fox and the neighbourhood animals put on their bandit hats in "Fantastic Mr. Fox".

(Wes Anderson, 2009)

November 27, 2009

by Joel Crary

In some ways, “Fantastic Mr. Fox” is the ideal project for Wes Anderson. The precise staging of his live action films is miniaturized to shoebox size for the director to get just right. While watching the finished product I imagined Anderson crouching to look at the sets at eye level, taking measurements with a ruler and luxuriating in the freedom of a world without actors to wait on his attention to detail. The same sort of pageantry that Anderson has made his trademark, told in shots that routinely appear to have generated from still images in the director’s mind, spills over into stop motion animation and for a while I was amazed to see how well it worked.

Anderson’s scripts are often funny and inventive, especially when he executes visual humour that plays against his characters, all of whom, animated or otherwise, are written as visionaries in their own specific way. His characters rarely break down, and when they do, voices are rarely raised and limbs are rarely thrown. There is typically a verbal recognition of the circumstances before everyone moves on to accomplish a task. “Fantastic Mr. Fox” is no different. Its titular character, voiced by George Clooney, is a man with a master plan. In a manner of speaking.

As in Anderson’s other films, everything is in the details. Acting on base instinct, Mr. and Mrs. Fox (Meryl Streep) approach a farm to make off with some chickens. Mr. Fox lays out how everything is going to go down, from the fence latch to the trap position to the hiding places. He takes pride at being the best at what he does, but life is short. There’s a cub on the way and the real estate market looks promising. Fox trades in his thieving ways for a stable editorial gig at the local paper and moves his family out of the foxhole into a cozy tree. One caveat, according to Fox’s lawyer (Bill Murray): His neighbours are none other than Boggis, Bunce and Bean, three farmers so nasty that they are the subjects of unflattering children’s limericks.

Meanwhile, Fox’s son Ash (Jason Schwartzman) isn’t living up to the legend of his father. He can barely play whackbat, a satire of cricket with rules that the high school coach (Owen Wilson) goes over in a blur of complicated instruction (it ends up being pretty important). Ash’s athletic, sleek and zen cousin Kristofferson (Eric Chase Anderson) moves in and a rivalry starts for Fox’s attention. Ash sees a golden opportunity to impress his dad by exacting a master plan of his own, but Kristofferson can nail a high dive with hardly any splash-back. It’s no contest.

Never one to turn down a challenge, Fox wants back into the thievery game and sees the farmers as a golden opportunity. He enlists the help of Kylie (Wallace Wolodarsky), an opossum who inconveniently tends to go cross-eyed. With Kristofferson’s help, they stage raids on the farms, armed with drug-laced blueberries to knock out the guard dogs. Unfortunately, Bean (Michael Gambon) has a world of artillery at his disposal, not to mention a security rat (Willem Dafoe) who seems to have taken tough guy lessons from “West Side Story”. Soon, the animals are banding together to survive and looking for revenge under their much cooler Latin designations: Call Fox Vulpes Vulpes.

There are funny moments when the animals revert to their wild tendencies in spite of the fact that they’re clad in formal wear, and that indeed seems to be the dichotomy on which the whole narrative is based. If Fox would only resist his animalistic side, he could live a quite satisfying life, but he would be denying his instinct and thereby himself. There are moments of effective introspection, but some feel as though they’re there purely for the sake of a toast. The animation is unlike anything I’ve seen, especially when Anderson pulls out to show his characters running from afar or digging through layers of complex set designs.

I’m not convinced that Anderson’s talent with dialogue is entirely suited to a children’s tale, but he has certainly made the tale his own. Other than “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”, which began and ended for me with the colourful Gene Wilder movie, I had a childhood that was all but bereft of Roald Dahl. Since I didn’t read “Fantastic Mr. Fox” growing up, Wes Anderson’s adaptation, which is exceptionally creative in its animation, doesn’t work for me on the level of a nostalgia kick. It looks pretty cuss spiffy, though.

Julie & Julia: A história real de Julie Powell, nova-iorquina que, ao perder o emprego, decide cozinhar diariamente as receitas da renomada Julia Child e narrar suas experiências em um blog.

Direção: Nora Ephron. Elenco: Amy Adams, Meryl Streep, Chris Messina.

Prestemos muita atenção neste longa. Possivelmente poderá estar concorrendo em alguma categoria do Oscar no ano que vem. Nora tem um estilo próprio e muito gostoso de filmas seus longas. Dá gosto de ver. Sobre Streep, é “A ATRIZ”.

Planeta 51: Os habitantes do Planeta 51 vivem aterrorizados pelo medo de um ataque alienígena. Sua paranóia se concretiza com a chegada de um astronauta da Terra.

Direção: Javier Abad e Marcos Martinez. Com vozes de: Dwayne Johnson, Seann William Scott, Jessica Biel.

Pela sinopse, dá para perceber que é uma história diferente. Dessa vez, nós terráqueos somos os intrusos. Acho que vou assistir.

Do Começo ao Fim: Filhos de pais diferentes, os irmãos Francisco e Thomas têm uma relação muito forte desde a infância. Já adultos, passam a morar juntos e vivem uma intensa história de amor.

Direção: Aluízio Abranches. Elenco: Rafael Cardoso, João Gabriel Vasconcellos, Júlia Lemmertz.

Já estou vendo manchetes pela internet: “Filme polêmico”. Só sabem falar isso? O importante é que seja uma história bem contada. Não?

Cidadão Boilesen: Através da surpreendente vida de Henning Boilesen, o documentário revela a ligação política e econômica entre empresários e militares no combate à luta armada durante o regime militar brasileiro.

Direção: Chaim Litewski.

Vou dizer que parece interessante hein…Para quem gosta de História, é uma boa pedida. Documentários são sempre bons de assistir quando se quer  refletir um pouquinho.

A Trilha: Dois casais de amigos passando férias no Havaí descobrem que um grupo de psicopatas está perseguindo e matando turistas.

Direção: David Twohy. Elenco: Milla Jovovich, Steve Zahn, Timothy Olyphant.

Cá entre nós, este longa é bem diferente dos thrillers de ação convencionais. Se você está procurando um pouco de adrenalina ao sentar na poltrona de cinema, este aqui vale a pena. Um bom entretenimento.

Entre a luz e a sombra (São Paulo e Belo Horizonte): A História de pessoas que dedicam sua vida para humanizar o sistema carcerário, como a atriz Sophia Bisilliat, a dupla de rap formada por Dexter e Afro-X dentro do Carandiru e um juiz que acredita em um meio de ressocialização mais digno para os encarcerados.

Direção: Luciana Burlamaqui.

Não vi. Porém, esse é o tipo de documentário que deveria nos representar. Estamos perdendo tempo demais mostrando problemas. Está na hora do cinema mostrar como resolvê-los. Não na mesma moeda em que coisas ruins acontecem. Humanização. Seja lá como for, precisamos disso.

(…)

Guilherme Jr.

The new Old Dogs movie makes me want to cry. Not because I was expecting the movie to be good. In fact, I know it’s bad because it’s one of those movies that Disney pumps out the importance of family and blah blah. It’s made by the same guy who made Wild Hogs. The storyline is wierd for a family movie (The premise is that the main character learns about kids from a drunken romp– seven years later. There’s a lot wrong with that sentence). John Travolta hasn’t been in anything good lately. I guess Seth Green and Justin Long are there to make a quick buck.

But– Robins Williams? What happened?! Is this his first step in to the comedian graveyard that are family movies?

It may not look like it now, but the man has (or has had) a great career. His breakout role was probably Good Morning, Vietnam. He’s done drama well, see Dead Poet’s Society and The Fisher King. I remember liking Miss Doubtfire and The Birdcage was a decent remake. He’s done suspense/horror with Insomnia and One Hour Photo, which I haven’t seen, but MetaCritic and Rotten Tomatoes have both scored pretty high. Death to Smoochy was a great dark comedy.

Oh, yeah there’s also that animated movie. You know that Disney movie– um, Aladdin. And who was he again? Um, the merchant and–oh yeah– The Genie! This is the role that most people of my generation recognize him for. Unbeknownst to us though, is that his voice acting in the move was basically a mildly watered down version of his stand-up routines. Things that I didn’t get until I got into college.

Robin Williams is defined by his rapid fire delivery, but behind that quasi-gimmick is the wealth of knowledge of culture and pop culture. Sure he’s limited to impressions in the movie, but one just need to see his episode of Inside the Actor’s Studio to see his range when not limited.

Amazing improv. A-may-zing. I’ve done some improv in high school, but this is mastery.

But, he’s getting old. And when you get old, the movie companies don’t give you the good roles as much. So you take what you can get at times, so you can do the movies you want another time. Samuel L. Jackson does this all the time. (Meryl Streep doesn’t really do this, she just in everything all the time because she’s Meryl Streep. Same with George Clooney.) So you do the family movie. They sell, because they’re disposable. They go down as quickly as the snack food you’re eating as you watch them.

But not everyone goes back to the indie-movies or the “I’m gonna try something different.” See Steve Martin and the god-awful Pink Panther movies. Steve Martin’s old Saturday Night LIve stuff was good. Born Standing Up, his autobiography, is actually somewhat insightful. Which is why the movies piss me off, because Steve Martin is more than some random SNL star looking to hit the big screen. I would bring up Bob Saget, but who really cares about him?

But, as I’m writing this I remembered the dark comedy World’s Greatest Dad and maybe there’s still hope. Let’s just hope that one of the quotes from his guest appearance on Whose Lines is it Anyway? doesn’t become too ironic.

“I have a career. What the hell am I doing?”

Yeah, you should have asked yourself when you walked on set for this movie.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW

Theatrical Release:Aug 7, 2009

Meryl Streep is Julia Child and Amy Adams is Julie Powell in writer-director Nora Ephron’s adaptation of two bestselling memoirs: Powell’s Julie & Julia and My Life in France, by Julia Child with… Meryl Streep is Julia Child and Amy Adams is Julie Powell in writer-director Nora Ephron’s adaptation of two bestselling memoirs: Powell’s Julie & Julia and My Life in France, by Julia Child with Alex Prud’homme.

Based on two true stories, Julie & Julia intertwines the lives of two women who, though separated by time and space, are both at loose ends…until they discover that with the right combination of passion, fearlessness and butter, anything is possible.

Data
Title: Fantastic Mr. Fox
Year: 2009
Length: 87 minutes
Director: Wes Anderson
Writers: Wes Anderson & Noah Baumbach, based on the book by Roald Dahl
Starring: George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Jason Schwartzman, Bill Murray, Wallace Wolodarsky, Eric Chase Anderson, Michael Gambon
Music: Alexandre Desplat (and non-original music)

My reaction
Synopsis: a fox endangers his family by stealing from mean farmers
How I saw it: in the theater, today
Concept: Great. Not one of Dahl’s best books, but the idea of doing a movie of it in this style is perfect.
Story: Good.
Characters: Great.
Dialog: Good. Unmistakably a Wes Anderson movie. There are a few isolated moments that are kind of bad (it has the typical lesson-learning of a children’s movie, which seems out of place and unnatural here), but the rest of the movie makes up for them.
Pacing: Great.
Cinematography: Good.
Special effects/design: Great. Absolutely amazing.
Acting: Great. The voice-work is entertaining, and the animation is expressive and emotional.
Music: Great. Lots of Burl Ives and Beach Boys, and Desplat’s score is fun.
Subjective Rating: 8/10 (Great). One of Anderson’s better movies, right up there with Tenenbaums. It’s at a much higher energy level than typical for him, but without losing that quiet, Anderson-y tone.
Objective Rating: 9/10 (Very good).

Apaixonados por cozinhar e por comer, assistam Julie & Julia. Sim, isso é uma ordem se um dos assuntos em pauta na sua vida é comida. Se não, assista também, porque só então você vai conseguir entender como e porque a gastronomia exerce tanto fascínio nas pessoas.

Confesso que não esperava muito, porque de fato o roteiro não é tão genial. Historica pequetitica mesmo, claramente inspirada em As Horas – já dá para perceber no trailer. Uma jovem de quase trinta, casada, perdida, afundada em trabalho estúpido e em uma vida medíocre, a Julie Powell, tem vontade de mudar. Então, vem a grande ideia: porque não inspirar-se em um livro famoso, no caso de receitas da Julia Child (que eu particularmente não conheço), para ter alguma motivação nessa vidinha estúpida que eu não agüento mais? A grande roteirista, então, pensou: porque não copiar As Horas e contar também a história da mulher que escreveu o livro simultaneamente? Duas ideias tão originais…

Entretanto, dê um voto de confiança como eu e vá ao cinema. Você vai perceber que vale a pena. O motivo: Meryl Streep, que faz a Julia Child – apresentadora de TV e co-autora do célebre livro “Mastering the Art of French Cooking”.  Gloriosa, maravilhosa, divertida, mutante! Caro leitor, essa atriz é mesmo uma das melhores dos nossos tempos e justifica todas as indicações ao Oscar que teve. Ela salva qualquer filme, qualquer história medíocre. É o máximo vê-la interpretando Julia em Paris, aprendendo a cozinhar na magnífica Le Cordon Bleu, fazendo biquinho para aprender francês! Não que a outra atriz, Amy Adam que interpreta a Julie Powell, seja ruim, mas a Meryl Streep está tão boa que apaga todo o elenco: só existe ela e ponto. É simplesmente fenomenal!

E tem outros detalhes também, o filme mostra a paixão do diretor pelo antigo e por Paris. Na época de Julia Child, em torno de 1950, até a luz é mais bonita. Já Julie Powell vive no Queens, em uma Nova York escura, barulhenta e fedida. Também aborda bem de leve a evolução da mulher no Estados Unidos, mas tão de leve que quase nem dá para perceber – afinal o culto ao passado é tão grande que aprece que Julia Child era mais livre, independente e feliz que a Julie Powell em 2002.

A história é baseada em fatos reais, descritos no livro de Julie Powell, e dirigido por Nora Ephron, de Sintonia do Amor. É de mulherzinha, sim. A história é fraquinha, sim. Mas vale a pena! É divertidíssimo!

O filme estréia amanhã em todo o Brasil. Fique ligado na programação da sua cidade.

Colori femminili per Sound&Motion Pictures, l’appuntamento del giovedì con il cinema in lingua originale. Questa sera al Cinema Mexico due donne, due esperienze, due vite divise da 50 anni si incontrano nel film Julie&Julia.

La trama è molto semplice: Julie Powell, giovane trentenne, ha bisogno di qualcosa che spezzi la monotonia della sua esistenza. Decide così di cucinare nell’arco di un anno tutte le 524 ricette del libro Mastering the Art of French Cooking, scritto da Julia Child.

Curiosità: Il film è tratto da due storie vere.

Julia Child nel 1949 segue suo marito, addetto culturale dell’ambasciata americana, a Parigi. Per riempire il tempo si iscrive ad un corso professionale di cucina francese. Da questa sua esperienza nacerà il libro Mastering the Art of French Cooking che è ancora oggi la Bibbia per qualsiasi americano che voglia imparare a cucinare.

Julie Powell si trasferisce nel 2002 nel Queens. All’università era tra le più promettenti, ma verso i 30 anni la sua carriera di scrittrice soffre un momento di crisi. In questa intima confusione decide di completare le 524 ricette della sua eroina in 365 giorni. Apre un blog in cui racconta il proseguire di questa sua sfida. Blog che la porterà al successo…

Regia: Nora Ephron

Attori: Amy Adams, Meryl Streep, Jane Lynch, Stanley Tucci, Mary Lynn Rajskub, Vanessa Ferlito, Dave Annable, Chris Messina, Casey Rose Wilson, Marceline Hugot

Distribuzione: Sony Pictures Releasing Italia

Genere: Biografico, Drammatico

Durata: 123 minuti

Orari: 13.00 – 15.20-17.40-20.00-22.20

Cinema Mexico, 26 novembre 2009, Via Savona 57 – Milano

I love Julie and Julia. And it’s all because of Meryl Streep. I wonder how many times people may have made statements such as the ones I just made after the movie released. The woman is a star beyond compare.

And what’s more, she has let the character come alive rather than let herself shine therein. This feat itself is highly commendable. Rarely – if not never – has an actress managed to keep her charisma aside, don that of the character and not intermingle it all to let her stardom show. Meryl has let Julia Child take complete control of her and not even once do you feel a Meryl mannerism has flitted by. They are all Julia’s and they remain so right till the end.

Meryl is a dream come true to the world of cinema. She is an actress who melts into the role she has been assigned to and pulls it out of the pan fresh and golden.

Quel che si dice una dichiarazione d’amore,ecco ogni volta che lo si ri-ri-rivede. Sono dell’idea che Allen non abbia vie di mezzo o piace o non piace, il suo modo di far cinema è basato sui rapporti umani, anzi no meglio, sull’uso spasmodico del dialogo fino all’essere logorroico, addirittura fino all’uso del monologo e questo spinge ad ascoltare più che a guardare e i suoi personaggi da psicoanalisi cinici , ironici e sarcastici nonchè molto autobiografici e quasi sempre felici sconfitti ci portano a riflettere.  Manhattan è le note di Jazz di George Gershwin che apre il sipario con Rhapsody in Blue (firmando una delle colonne sonore più belle di sempre) in quei minuti iniziali dove il regista lascia spazio alla sua città natale facendone un piccolo ritratto al mondo.Manhattan è la cornice di grattacieli, strade e luci dove si innestano le vicende dei protagonisti.Manhattan è il luogo dove il protagonista , Isaac Davis, si rifugia o da cui forse è frenato. Essì perchè Isaac Davis è un autore televisivo la cui moglie Jil (Meryl Streep)l’ha lasciato per un altra donna,che ora ha una storia con Tracy (M.Hemingway) una ragazza liceale il cui padre potrebbe essere più vecchio di lui per sua stessa ammissione, e come se non avesse buoni motivi per troncare il proprio curriculum relazionale incontra Mary (Diane Keaton , più volte compagna di set di Allen), amante del suo migliore amico Yale (M.Murphy)che scombussolerà ancor dippiù la sua vita. La verità la dirà Tracy al termine con quel ‘bisogna avere fiducia della gente‘ e di risposta Isaac abbozzerà un triste sorriso, sicuro almeno questa volta della sua verità. Il finale ricorda un po’ Io ed Annie.  Signori, questa è Manhattan (c’est la vie)!

Chevvolete che vi dica io stravedo per Allen, sono estremamente di parte nel giudicarlo ma questo è proprio il suo capolavoro, lasciatemelo dire eh. Sono convinto che tutti noi, a nostro modo, siamo abitanti di quella Manhattan, a tutti noi è stato concesso un tempo da trascorrere che non è uguale a quello degli altri ma dell’altro abbiamo comunque bisogno e questo ci rende tendenti all’imperfezione ma estremamente umani. (nel suo cinismo il messaggio è rassicurante, ebbè!)

☺☺☺☺☺

Son and I are jetlagged as hell in our Bev Hills hotel room. We are on the 11th floor overlooking downtown L.A. and the Hollywood Hills. So nice. But we are pretty much sleepwalking. Ordered up two extra pillows and a club sandwich. The club sandwich was really crap and only cost us $25  for what was essentially two slices of bread, some chicken cold-cuts, a slice of tomatoe and some mayo. Oh well, can’t pay the prices stay outta the hood I guess. I saw the movie UP on the plane, and I thought it was adorable.  I also saw Julie & Julia.  Meryl Streep and Stanley Tucci are out of this world. They are as delicious as any of the dishes that are prepared. Amy Adams is hard to dislike, but Chris Messina is the most annoying fuck on screen. He eats like a pig and looks like a ten year old. He is so dull and god knows how he got this job. Maybe because he is so dull. I also watched a little of Dorian Grey with Colin Firth. It’s unwatchable and god only knows why people keep remaking this story. Anyway, I now smell of the Four Seasons. I am in their robe and covered in their house deoderant and feeling comfy and almost famous. Just wish we could stay awake.  Had one sighting at Heathrow – Lily Cole.

Helen Hayes e Ingrid Bergman - cena de um grande confronto.

# Anastacia – A Princesa Esquecida

O assassinato da família real russa foi um dos atos mais simbólicos do Exército Vermelho durante a Revolução Russa. O mistério que se seguiu quanto o destino dos restos mortais, deu origem a uns dos mais instingantes mitos do século XX, aquele que versa sobre a sobrevivência da Grã-Duquesa Anastásia Nikolaevna Romanov. Quarta filha do czar, Anástasia teria resistido a seus ferimentos e escapado da Rússia com poucas memórias da vida na corte.

Muitas foram aquelas que alegaram ser Anastásia e apelaram pelo acolhimento dos Ramanov espalhados pelas famílias reais européias.  Anna Anderson tornou-se a mais famosa destas levando seu caso aos tribunais alemães e causando muitas controvérsias. Após a sua morte,  foi confirmado (através de exames de DNA) que ela não tinha descendia dos monarcas russos . Neste filme, conta-se uma versão romanceada de sua farsa.

General Bounine (Yul Brynner) é um vigarista que sonha com a fortuna antigo czar e pretende por as mãos nela valendo-se da lenda da princesa perdida. Justamente quando seu orçamento está prestes a acabar, a candidata perfeita aparece. Egressa de uma instituição de saúde mental e cheia de lacunas na memória, Anna Anderson (Ingrid Bergman) apresenta duas características ainda mais cruciais: alta sugestabilidade e uma beleza estonteante.

Grandioso, para os padrões da época,  o filme de Anatole Litvak vale-se de duas grandes atrizes. Ingrid Bergman encarna com vivacidade o papel de uma mulher que nem mesmo a reconquista da identidade (seja lá qual essa for) poderia reparar suas imensas perdas. Helen Hayes, por sua vez, interpreta a Imperatriz Maria, avó paterna da personagem título. Fria, compreensiva, calejada e esperançosa, a Imperatriz imprime outro teor à narrativa desde sua primeira aparição – ainda que esta seja levemente tardia. E embora Bergman tenha ganhado o Oscar, é de Hayes a grande interpretação.

Ideal para quem gosta de grandes atrizes, clássicos ou os irresistíveis romances não usuais de Ingrid Bergman.

Trailer:

# Clube da Luta

No Brasil, Clube da Luta (Fight Club, Estados Unidos, 1999) tornou-se um título notório quando um atirador alvejou espectadores no cinema durante uma sessão do filme. O então estudante de Medicina, acabou matando três pessoas e deixando outras quatro feridas. A despeito disso, o filme conquistou uma base forte de fãs seduzidos pelo seu discurso de protesto quanto o lado ordinário da vida.

Clube da Luta acompanha a vida de seu narrador, e como ele deixou de ser o protótipo de homem urbano bem-sucedido através da auto-destruição e da iconoclastia. Seu “despertar” é promovido por Tyler Dunder. Figura imponente e persuasiva, Dunder arrastará para sua órbita destrutiva um exército de seguidores. Seus argumentos são simples: toda a mediocridade que cerca as relações sociais é sustentada por pequenas convenções, símbolos de poder, e estrutura de controle. E pequenos atos contrário a isto são capazes de provocar grandes impactos.

Tyler manterá uma relação estreita apenas com o confuso narrador que apesar de ignorar o porquê e a extensão dos planos de Dunder irá envolver-se com estes até o pescoço. O mistério sobre o encontro destes dois, porém, é uma surpresa reservada para o final da narrativa. Ainda assim, a  resposta está lá no “acordar” do protagonista (ou talvez em seu não dormir representado aqui por uma eterna insônia).

Edward Norton (Narrador) e Brad Pitt (Dunder) estão ótimos em seus papéis. Desesperados, nervosos e levemente insanos, os atores dão humanidade a personagens não muito críveis. O elo mais frágil do elenco, do filme em geral, é sem dúvida Helena Boham Carter e sua personagem Marla. Esta mais parece Beatriz Lestrange (bruxa histérica que atriz intrepreta na série Harry Potter) perdida no filme errado: exagerada, sem graça e não sexy, Carter derruba quase todas as cenas em que está presente. Curioso que a partir desta experiência em todos seus trabalhos subsequentes ela se deu ao trabalho de repetir a mesma caracterização. A razão disto é realmente difícil de entender.

Trailer:

# O Diário de Bridget Jones

Antes de flertar com a anorexia, Renée Zellweger inspirou centenas de mulheres na pele de Bridget Jones: solteira de 30 anos, fumante compulsiva e acima do peso, a heroína sonhava em arranjar um namorado, perder peso e largar o tabagismo. E como se já não bastassem seus próprios problemas, seus pais sexagenários se divorciam quando sua mãe arranja um amante.

Dona de uma personalidade quase histriônica, a mãe de Bridget ainda insiste em lembrá-la que Mark Darcy (Colin Firth) está solteiro. Porém, onde a mãe enxerga um príncipe, a filha vê um sapo. Mesmo porque esta já foi fisgada pelo charme do grande rival de Darcy: Daniel Cleaver (Hugh Grant).

Inspirado no divertido livro homônimo de Helen Fielding (que também assina o roteiro), O Diário de Bridget Jones (Bridget Jones’s Diary, Inglaterra, 2001) está entre as melhores comédias da década. Tal distinção deve-se especialmente ao carisma da personagem central e da atriz que a anima. Bridget não é somente atrapalhada e impulsa, ela parece tão real quanto alguma mulher que você conhece bem.

Os coadjuvantes são também afiadíssimos. Colin Firth e Hugh Grant se alternam nos papéis de mocinho e vilão nas páginas do diário e sempre com muito charme e graça. Gemma Jones e Jim Broadbent fazem-se grandes como os pais da protagonista apesar do limitado screentime.

Outro aspecto da película que merece destaque é sua trilha sonora. Composta por hits da música pop (All By Myself, It’s Raining Man são exemplos) esta se encaixa perfeitamente em cenas que poderiam ser ridículas como uma luta no meio da rua, ou uma crise de choro em frente da TV.

Anos depois foi filmada uma continuação bastante inferior e caricata. Rumores dizem que a terceira parte está em pré-produção com os mesmos atores envolvidos. Renée Zellweger já declarou que não irá engordar novamente para fazer a personagem. E segundo anunciou Hugh Grant este será o último filme. Espera-se que seja um belo canto do cisne para ele, um ótimo ator que alcançou excelência na comédia-romântica sem nunca ter recebido os devidos louros.

All By Myself:

# A Casa das Coelhinhas

O estereótipo de loira burra e sensual é bastante usual no cinema americano. Marilyn Monroe, Jane Mansfield, dentre outras, tornaram-se ícones representando este papel em diversos filmes. Ao longo dos anos, contudo, devido também a mudanças diante do comportamento sexual e da relação entre os gêneros, o pareamento entre burrice/ingenuidade e sexo acabou vulgarizando-se e perdendo muito de seu glamour. Em A Casa das Coelhinhas (The Bunny House, Estados Unidos, 2008), Anna Faris mergulha fundo na figura de loira burra com um resultado positivo.

Faris interpreta Shelly, uma playmate levada a crer que é muito velha (aos 27 anos) para viver na mansão de Hugh Hefner. Na busca por um novo teto, Shelly chega à fraternidade ZETA onde vivem garotas que a despeito de frequentarem a faculdade ainda são típicas weirdos do high school. As garotas, entretanto, também correm risco de perder sua casa já que nenhuma caloura tem interesse de juntar-se a elas. Então, com a ajuda de Shelly elas tentarão encontrar seu lado sexy podendo assim atrair rapazes e popularidade. Pequenos romances perpassam o mote central.

Obviamente, as piadas são bastante óbvias e de conteúdo praticamente misógino. Mesmo a transformação das garotas da ZETA parece passar a mensagem de que beleza é realmente um padrão pelo qual vale a pena perder a individualidade. Mas há também um pequeno esforço em caracterizar Shelley e sua ocupação como um anti-exemplo para jovens e bonitas mulheres e de não julgamento por primeiras impressões.

Apesar da presença de  Katherine McPhee (ex- American Idol), Rumer Willis e Kat Jennings – ambas iniciantes já com certa notoriedade – é Anna Faris e seu excelente timing que sustenta todo o filme. E somente por isso, ela já mereceria melhores papeis em melhores filmes.

Trailer:

#Kramer Vs. Kramer

De todos os valores sociais que o Ocidente endossa talvez os mais caros sejam justamente aqueles ligados à família com todos as demandas que condicionam: casamento, amor maternal, monogamia, dentre outros. Conflitos ou sagas familiares sempre renderam boas histórias e mesmo a Bíblia está recheada deles. Kramer Vs. Kramer (Estados Unidos, 1979) explora um conflito familiar que corre não no ambiente doméstico e sim em seu lugar de excelência desde a aceitação social do divórico: os tribunais de justiça. Entre advogados e em frente a um juiz os Kramer tentam chegar a um acordo pela guarda de seu único filho. E diferentemente do que poderia parecer a questão vai além de um “simples” desquite.

Outrora um dona de casa, Joanna (Meryl Streep) abandonou seu filho e marido para “se encontrar”. E se num primeiro momento, Ted (Dustin Hoffman) achou que ela fosse voltar, cada nova dificuldade do papel de pai solteiro reitera a certeza dela. Na ausência da esposa, um novo Ted floresce e ele torna-se mais sensível quanto a parentalidade e necessidades de seu filho. Foi ela quem partiu, mas ele é quem se encontra.

O retorno de Joanna e seu desejo de brigar pela guarda da criança soam como um ultraje ao forte laço que se formou entre pai e filho.  Contudo, seus argumentos no tribunal (apoiados por uma excelente atuação de Streep) conseguem sustentar que talvez ela realmente mereça ter a guarda. Isso que torna  a obra interessante: a despeito de  motivações e interesses, uma disputa em família nem sempre conta com um vilão e um mocinho.

Apesar de Streep estar muito bem em seu papel, o filme é, de fato, de Dustin Hoffman. Todos seus momentos em tela são tocantes e conduzidos sem exageros ou manerismos. Por tudo isso, Kramer Vs. Kramer é recomendado àquelas que apreciam um bom drama.

Trailer:

E se eu tivesse que ordená-los:

1º O Diário de Bridget Jones

2º Anastacia – A Princesa Esquecida

3º Kramer Vs. Kramer

4º A Casa das Coelhinhas

5º Clube da Luta

That’s one of my favorite lines from the new movie from Writer/Director Wes Anderson, FANTASTIC MR. FOX, based on the story by Roald Dahl. A, well, fantastic effort on just about every level. This is probably my new favorite movie of Anderson’s, the story deftly holds on to it’s origins of being from the mind of Roald Dahl, and most importantly, it’s just pretty cussing cute! With a voice cast featuring the likes of George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Bill Murray, and lots more (including Mario Batali!!)

I’ve long felt that Anderson’s movies, while all fun in their own right, were essentially little boy exercises in playing. Whether it’s BOTTLE ROCKET, THE ROYAL TENENBAUMS, or even the closest in what I mean, represented in RUSHMORE. The stories are all about men being immature, idiosyncratic and rebels for their own causes; which is basically what little boys play at, when playing cowboys and indians, GI Joes, or any other backyard activity. We’re the cleverest, most-invulnerable creatures in the world – especially if we have an audience of in awe friends and younger siblings. And FANTASTIC MR. FOX, fits in with these ideals, but also presents a new maturity.

Mr. Fox starts off the movie as the best chicken hunter of the forest, and when he and his wife – Mrs. Fox – get caught in a steel trap, she reveals she’s pregnant and that Mr. Fox has to stop being risky and get a real job. We then cut to two years later (or 12 fox years), where Mr. Fox writes a column for the local newspaper – which no one reads – and he starts to feel an itch. First it is scratched in the form of needing a better home. Instead of the hole in the ground that he and his wife, and their adolescent son Ash (voiced by RUSHMORE’s Jason Schwartzman) to a large tree where you can see the entire valley. Then comes the further plotting of pulling one last big job, in three phases. This job is to break into each of the three local farmers barns, cellars and freezers, and steal their wares.

How this movie differs and is more mature, in my view, from Anderson’s previous movies is that we get an acknowledgment that these characters are in-fact not mature adults, because well, they’re wild animals. It’s a strange thing, but in that revelation, it brings these anthropomorphized animals into the realm of the adult. Grown ups enjoy playing cowboys and indians, GI Joe’s and whatever else. We just tend to do it either more lethally – through actual wars – or find a way of rebelling on our own, but can’t admit that yes, we are still kids inside. And in some part, wild animals of our own kind.

The movie is animated with stop-motion puppets. A little more in the vein of the Rankin-Bass Christmas cartoons from long-ago, than the smoother animation of the Henry Selick, CORALINE, crowd. We see the fur on the animals move in strange ways that is the effect of moving the puppets and taking separate, single-frame photos of them. And it does take a little getting used to, but the way the movie starts by throwing us straight in to the style of the movie – plotting out the Foxes breaking into a farm to nab some squabs (pigeon-like birds).

The style of the movie is the extreme to which Anderson has become known for, with the elaborate plans, funny costumes, and dancing (don’t you remember the Steve Zissou dance sequence?). I also kind of feel like the humor works here a little better than in Anderson’s other movies. Maybe it’s another side of the immaturity in his stories, but sometimes it’s hard to accept living people doing some of the things that they do in say THE ROYAL TENENBAUMS. But, here seeing a fox explain to us that beagles love blueberries, or the fun ways that the animals smile at each other by baring their teeth, all adds some great humor.

The voice acting is all fantastic, from the people I listed above to the not headlining names, but still great coups to have in this little movie; like Michael Gambon, Brian Cox, Jarvis Cocker, and Willem Dafoe (probably one of the greatest characters/acting performances of the movie).

It’s a great movie, and I hope that it enjoys lots of success in the beginning of this 2009 holiday season.

Okay, so, I was reading over some posts in the blog of a friend of mine, just waiting for the battery on my laptop to die so I can hook it up and not use it so that it can fully charge while I recharge my own batteries.  Well, one of her posts is that she doesn’t care who reads her blog.  She’s perfectly fine with just writing to nobody, to empty cyberspace.

Man, I wish I had her attitude about this.  I’ve only had this blog a little while, and already, I can tell that I’m hooked.  By the time I post this, you might think, “Oh, another post.  She wrote about this today.”  Not really.  I actually started this post only a little while after I finished the third.  But I want to get my thoughts down so I can remember.

I can rationalize and rationalize, but in the end, all it comes down to is that I’m hooked.  Why?  Why am I so eager to know what people — who I don’t even know, and that’s the kicker! — think about me?  Who are you out there, who has so fascinated me???

I don’t know.  I can’t answer that question.  All I know that is that I’m fascinated by the statistics option that shows you a chart of how many people have looked at you.  And pathetic me, my heart was warmed when I saw that three people had visited my page already.  I can’t help but be aggrieved with myself, and yet, here I sit, still writing.  In all honesty, I’ll probably save this and visit the statistics page again, just to see, even though I know that it’s silly to think that someone will be up in the middle of the night to read what I’ve written.  Silly.

I’ll manage not to.  I’ll check email, Facebook, distract myself with other things until the remaining fifteen minutes that my computer battery has pass and the laptop — his name is Gerry, by the way; it’s short for “Geriatric” — shuts down.  Then, I’ll let myself go to bed.  We’ll see what happens next.

Well, I’m back, and I’m going to be a little more general.  This blogging mania will wear off soon, and I’ll be posting only once or twice a week.  Probably after I get back into classes.  But whatever.

So, I’m sitting here blogging and watching Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations.  My family loves food; we often insist that we should be Italian by food.  My parents are amazing cooks.  You should’ve tasted the ribs we had that my father smoked.  Delicious!  And my father always really liked Alton Brown, as did I.  The man’s thorough knowledge of food combined with a goofy sense of humor really caught me, and the themes that he had for some of his episodes — a spy episode stands out in my mind — really made it engaging to watch.

No Reservations is different.  A cameraman just seems to follow Mr. Bourdain around wherever he currently is, and he just has a lot of fun eating and immersing himself in the locals’ culture.  He is obviously very intelligent, and he’s so respectful of the cultures around him, especially since it’s not his own.  It’s refreshing to see that on television.  He doesn’t hesitate to let loose some colorful words, but he’s always very conscious of the company that he’s in.

I guess I’ve got food on my mind.  It’s noon, and I did go see Julie and Julia with my boyfriend last night.  And no, that is not the reason why I have a blog!  I’ve been tossing around the idea for a while, like I said, and it is serendipitous (Wow, did I really spell that right?  Score!) chance that the two coincided.  I suppose I should write a little review now.  Well, here goes.  It took me a couple minutes to realize that the flashes between Julia Child’s life and Julie Powell’s were not taking place at the same time, mostly because I’d missed the date that they flashed right in the very beginning.  But I got it!

I thought that there was a lot of focus on Julia Child, and not enough on Julie.  It seemed a little sporadic at points when they introduced Julie back into the story.  Did I hate it?  No.  In fact, I loved the movie.  Meryl Streep was absolutely fantastic, and I can’t help but adore Amy Adams since her appearance in Enchanted.  Amy Adams played her character so well, and I was intensely gratified that, at the part where Julie and her husband Eric have their large fight, Julie didn’t blog about it.  It showed real maturity on her part, I think.

Yes, I’m talking about characters in a movie, but seeing as how this is based off a true story (two true stories!), then I think I can applaud her.

Well, as I said, it’s noon, and I’m getting rather hungry.  TTFN!

OLD DOGS

(Disney) John Travolta, Robin Williams, Kelly Preston, Seth Green, Ella Bleu Travolta, Conner Rayburn, Lori Loughlin, Matt Dillon, Bernie Mac. Directed by Walt Becker

From the director of Wild Hogs comes this new comedy that similarly involves older men in a younger man situation. In this case, two successful businessmen on the verge of closing the biggest deal of their careers are derailed by the revelation that one of them is in fact a father and at one of the most critical junctures in their negotiations, will be babysitting his newfound brood. As will happen around kids, chaos ensues.

See the trailer here.

For more on the movie this is the website.

Rating: PG (for some mild rude humor)

Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day

(Apparition) Norman Reedus, Sean Patrick Flannery, Clifton Collins, Julie Benz. This is the sequel to the cult classic penned by Troy Duffy (the making of which was the subject of the acclaimed documentary Overnight). The brothers MacManus who have been taking it easy in Ireland since the events of the first film find themselves compelled to return to the mean streets of Boston when a priest is brutally gunned down.

See the trailer here.

For more on the movie this is the website.

Rating: R (for bloody violence, language and some nudity)

Fantastic Mr. Fox

(Fox Searchlight) Featuring the voices of George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Jason Schwartzmann, Bill Murray. From the minds of the late novelist Roald Dahl and director Wes Anderson (Rushmore) comes this animated feature that pits a clever, tricky fox against three brutal but not-so-bright farmers.

See the trailer here.

For more on the movie this is the website.

Rating: PG (for action, smoking and slang humor)

Ninja Assassin

(Warner Brothers) Rain, Naomie Harris, Sho Kosugi, Rick Yune. Taken from the streets as a child by the legendary but lethal Ozunu Clan and trained as an assassin, Raizo becomes one of the deadliest killers on the planet. However he butts heads with the clan and is forced to vanish. Now, he finds an Interpol agent who has stumbled upon one of the secrets of the Ozunu Clan and is marked for death. He must protect her – and himself – from the world’s most skilled assassins and try to find a way to bring the clan down for good. This stylized anime/video game hybrid is from V for Vendetta director James McTeigue.

See the trailer here.

For more on the movie this is the website.

Rating: R (for strong bloody stylized violence throughout, and language)

The Road

(Weinstein) Viggo Mortensen, Robert Duvall, Kody Smit-McPhee, Charlize Theron. After a global catastrophe kills nearly all life on earth and ends civilization as we know it, a father and his son make their way across a barren, dangerous landscape trying to avoid predators of the natural and unnatural kind in an effort to make it to the coast and survival. Based on the Pulitzer Prize winning novel by Cormac McCarthy, this post-Apocalyptic thriller boasts an all-star cast.

See the trailer here.

For more on the movie this is the website.

Rating: R (for some violence, disturbing images and language)

Andrew Yorke from xteamartists attending the midnight opening of Wes Anderson’s ‘Fantastic Mr. Fox’ this evening and reported this:

Wes Anderson has a style that is polarizing to the masses.  Some embrace the intimate complexities Wes places in his characters while others find it nihilistic.  I say this one is the film that brings those two groups together.  Clever, visually beautiful.  A true product that carries a pulse the whole way through.  Rolling Stone magazine was right when saying this film challenges the talent monopolized by Pixar.  Truly a great film.  Good job Wes.

‘Fantastic’ hit theatres nationwide today.

Julie & Julia is Nora Ephron’s latest movie starring Meryl Streep, Amy Adams, Stanley Tucci and Chris Messina.

Plot:
Julie Powell (Amy Adams) is working in an office, but her real passion in life is cooking. So, one day, she decides to cook her way through Julia Child’s (Meryl Streep) French cookbook and blog about it, not anticipating the changes this will make to herself and her life.
Interwoven into Julie’s story, we see how Julia Child’s gets to write the book and how hard she had to work for it.

Julie & Julia is good, solid entertainment: Nothing too deep, nice sense of humour and good performances. Makes for a very enjoyable evening.

Julie & Julia did not knock me out of my socks or surprise me but it is one of those comforting movies where you know exactly what to expect – and you get it.

The story itself is sweet and most people leave the movie with the desire to get cooking (I, on the other hand, only got hungry). It unfurls in the way you expect it to, the only thing that might come a bit as a surprise is that [SPOILER] the two Js never get to meet after all and that Julia doesn’t seem to approve of what Julie’s doing. [/SPOILER] But I guess that’s because it’s based on a true story. Or on Two True Stories.

The performances were good. I like Amy Adams and it was nice to see her act at least sometimes (instead of just looking pretty and naive with her big blue eyes, which seems to be a summary of most of her roles). Meryl Streep was, of course, delightful (damn you, Meryl Streep, because of you I might actually watch It’s Complicated).

But I also have to point out that Julie as well as Julia seem to have found the only perfect guys in the world. Both their husbands – played by Chis Messina and Stanley Tucci, respectively – were absolutely wonderful.

I don’t know what else to tell you than that this could very well become one of my regular comfort movies and that if you want light, fun entertainment, you’re going to be perfectly alright here.

Martes 24 de noviembre del 2009.- La pelí más galardonada y reconocida del año. Basada en la obra teatral ganadora del Premio Pullitzer y del Premio Tony; La Duda es un fascinante drama lleno de suspenso, con cautivantes actuaciones de Meryl Streep, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Adams y Viola Davis que te mantendrán pegado a la pantalla. La hermana Aloysius Beauvier (Streep), la estricta y temida directora de la escuela de la Iglesia de San Nicolás, desaprueba por completo las ideas modernas del Padre Flynn (Hoffman), un sacerdote de la parroquia.

Encontrando algo de qué sospechar en cada esquina, la hermana Aloysius está convencida de que el Padre Flynn es culpable del máximo pecado, debido al interés especial que demuestra por un niño atromentado. Pero sin ninguna evidencia, lo único que ella tiene por cierto es…La Duda.

Y para que no te quedes con La Duda…acá te tenemos 3 DVDs y así puedas descubrir el final de toda esta inseguridad. Sólo mándanos un mail con todos tus datos (nombre, teléfono y mail) a pinkmagazine@mail.com