You’ve probably heard of this independent, art-house drama about four adults caught up in adultery with each other’s spouses…but you probably haven’t seen it. I’d recommend waiting to video, but if you happen to see it playing nearby and feel like experiencing a tiny bit of the torture and pain and anguish of what couples who go through affairs go through, check it out. It leaves you with a very sad feeling, as it should, and while some of the performances tend to be a bit melodramatic, Laura Dern’s stood out to me as being the best (i hope she gets some award-recognition). Naomi Watts and Mark Ruffalo also start, but both of them I feel like have played this same-type character before. Anyone see “XX/XY”? This reminded me a lot of that…only better. Okay, that’s two quick ones in a row…sorry, been meaning to do it for awhile but just haven’t gotten around to it.
Archive for September, 2004
It’s probably too late to catch this one in theaters, but that’s okay. If you missed the first one (”Before Sunrise”) about 9 years ago, do yourself a big happy favor and rent it sometime. Then see this one and tell me that the screenplay doesn’t deserve some kind of award for being so close to reality and everyday conversation…it’s a bit scary!
Went and saw Mean Creek tonight with Liz, Jeremy, Jamin, Emily and…..I think her name was Danielle. The movie was a bit of a downer, but it was good too. There’s this kid that has a learning disorder and a weight problem. He’s also bigger than everybody else in junior high cause he’s been held back a couple years. Well his way of dealing with people is to be the bully cause that’s one thing he’s good at and it forces people to fear him. Well, George picks on the wrong kid, Sam, and pisses of an older brother. Sam, Rocky (older brother) and two of Rocky’s friends decide to teach ol George a lesson. Well, the lesson goes wrong…really wrong.
This movie starts of by making you hate George. Then you realize that George is just a very insecure kid with no friends who is crying out for some positive attention. Then George realizes these people really aren’t his friends and goes back into his defense mode which gets pretty ugly. A huge moment for me in the movie is when Millie, Sam’s girlfriend, tells them to start the game. The game they’re playing is truth or dare in which they’re going to dare George to do something. Millie was the main person against “the plan” from the start because she didn’t want to hurt George. However, she’s the one who gives in to George’s provoking and wants to start the game.
This definitely isn’t a happy movie but life isn’t always happy. I used to be a sucker for movies like this but at some point in time came to realize that just because it’s not happy doesn’t mean it’s good. If you saw this please leave a comment. I think this is definitely one of those discussion type of movies.
One would think that a movie with a cast that included Reese Witherspoon, Jim Broadbent, Rhys Ifans, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, and Gabriel Byrne would be, at least on some level, good.
Sadly, it’s not so. Vanity Fair has some very good acting, but it is long, dull, and lifeless. Even Mira Nair, who directed the amazing Monsoon Wedding, can’t do much good for this terrible script. I was just begging for the movie to end by the last hour.
There are a few very funny, very well done scenes. Good job, Cast, and good job, Mira. Other than that, nothing. Jonathan Rhys Meyers is typecast as an uppity bastard, Gabriel Byrne is reduced to a shady non-threat, and Reese Witherspoon suffers through bad dialogue and a poorly developed character.
In other words, I’m not recommending this film.
Well, another movie I’ve wanted to see for a while and I’ve finally seen it. It’s been so long since I’ve seen a movie. Neville - you were right all along. I loved this movie. Just amazing. The cast was great. I especially loved the grandma who seems to only play senile, weird, old women in the movies I remember her from. This is a story about a girl who’s 21 and out on her own. She’s never really gotten along with her family…in fact some of them are pretty outgoing with their “dislike” for her. Well her mom has cancer and she invited everyone out to her place for Thanksgiving which is probably going to be her mom’s last and is trying to make the perfect dinner. Nothing is going right, everything seems to be going wrong, but everything works out in the end. For those who have seen it….when she goes running down the stairs to meet them I got so excited and then when she opened the door I almost cried. Yes, that’s right, I almost cried. And for those of you who know me I think that means a lot. So go out and watch/buy this one. It’s hard to describe stuff in here without stopping so I don’t think I’m going to start. I think I definitely need to watch it again before giving it back to Shorb.
If you want to see the best film out of Germany since “Run Lola Run,” check out “Good Bye Lenin!” and you won’t be disappointed. It’s one of those movies where from the very beginning, you just want to know what will become of it. It’s also one of those movies where you smile so much throughout it, you’d think you were going to take the characters home with you or something.
I had no idea what this movie was about and this was a good thing. So I won’t tell you anything about it either (plot-wise). I will say though it’s a film with many layers, and when each is examined, it amounts to the kind of movie that restores your faith in the coming film years. Funny? Yes. Entertaining? Yes. Enjoyable? Yes. Touching? Yes. What’s not to love about it? However I think for me, what stood out as the most memorable or unique aspect of the story in the film was watching an ordinary son care so much about his mother. The way he loves her and does everything in the world to keep her happy might very well be–dare i use the word inspiring– to a generation who often looks down on guys with such an admirable character trait. If you don’t have movie plans for Friday night…you have some now. It’s going on my list of DVD’s to buy (however, maybe that’s not saying much…considering my growing DVD collection). Ah well. Loved it! Good Night Movie-lovers!
While in L.A. in the spring of 2003, there was a movie dancing around independent and art-house theaters that I never caught. I wanted to see it, but just hadn’t gotten around to it. It’s funny when people like me start to feel bad about not seeing movies they know they should see. Anyways, this past spring, my sister and I rented “Raising Victor Vargas” and only got through about 30 minutes of it before I took her look of ‘what are we watching?’ to heart. I politely stopped it and was frustrated that I had rented a movie that I knew I wouldn’t end up finishing that weekend.
Last night though, I was scanning channels and saw the movie playing on HBO and surprisingly it was exactly where I had left off. So I watched and slowly liked the movie more and more as it went along.
I won’t say much b/c I’ve already blabbed too much, but this is a coming-of-age story about a young high school kid who wants to be in love. The cast is luminous, with a flare for realism both in looks and speech, however, it never becomes dull or uninteresting. These kids are living here in America, but most of us haven’t had the chance to see them. So here it is. And just a little hint if you plan to go rent it: blockbuster has it for sale for $4.99 right now on previously viewed DVD so if you want, you could just buy it and if you don’t like it you could return it back / trade it in for $5 of blockbuster credit…meaning, it would be a freebie. Just a suggestion. (Oh and if you do rent it, look for Victor and his real life brother who plays his brother in the film…their subtle relationship is one of the more endearing parts of the film…even though it’s not the primary focus of the story).
This is definitely my most favorite Wes Anderson film. I just watched it again recently and figured might as well write something about it. For me it kinda ranks up there with American Beauty as showing what some American families are like and are films where I think most people can directly relate to on one or more levels. For me I feel like I can relate to various characters in both movies, or have members in my own family that greatly resemble some of the characters.
The basic premise for this film is a man trying to reconnect with his family after pseudo tearing it apart over the past 30 years or so. He seems to be a very selfish, self-centered person which is very evident in why he wants to reconnect with his family in the first place. He has 3 children who were all geniuses as children, however “Virtually all memory of the brilliance of the young Tenenbaums had been erased by nearly two decades of betrayal, failure, and disaster.” Now that right there is a very powerful statement. Here’s a family that had so much potential but has been torn apart at the seems by outsiders, circumstances, and each other.
At times this can be a hard movie to watch because it brings up memories, thoughts and images from my past. It’s not like I can’t look at the screen, but it always gets me thinking about things during and afterwards. I mentioned this in my other blog but I’d have to say my most favorite - and hardest to watch- scene is when Richie tries to kill himself. He has just found out some things about his sister and kinda loses it. I’ve never attempted suicide myself, but have definitely been in a depressed state like that before. Kinda sucks.
Well, I must suggest you watch this if you haven’t seen it yet. Come talk to me and borrow it or we’ll watch it together.
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