Archive for the 'New York' Category

Raising Victor Vargas

Published
by
Chalupa
on August 4, 2008
in Comedy, Coming of age, Drama, New York and Romance
. 0 Comments

I’m not really sure why I added this one to my Netflix queue.  I think it was suggested to me as something I might like.  Writen, directed and produced by Peter Sollett - you might recognize his name in conjunction with a new film coming out, Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist starring the ever-funny Michael Cera.  I wasn’t really sure what to think of this film.  I think part of the confusion was with the title.  Raising Victor Vargas would imply it might be about Victor growing up or his parents raising him or something.  The story starts off with Victor being ashamed everyone in the neighborhood knows he’s dating a “fat chick.”  So he heads to the pool with his sidekick to try and change his reputation.  We eventually get clued in to his interesting homelife and his grandmother who is raising him.  So I thought maybe the story would be centered on the grandmother, but it wasn’t.  I want to say I didn’t understand the point of the story, but that just sounds bad…even though I still feel that way.

If you check out the cast list on IMDB, you’ll notice that most of the characters real names are also their character names.  I’ve always though that must make the acting a little bit easier.  The two people I recognized were Melonie Diaz from Be Kind, Rewind, and Victor Rasuk from Lords of Dogtown and I’m Reed Fish.  I appreciated the effort put into accents and vernacular.  It seemed to fit the time and place, or maybe it’s just what I’m used to from watching TV.

Overall I wasn’t really thrilled with this one.  I know movies can just be entertainment; they dont’ have to always teach you a lesson.  This one didn’t seem to have a lesson, there wasn’t any major closure, there didn’t even seem to be much of a character change in anyone.

Rating: ★★½☆☆

Dark Days

Published
by
Chalupa
on February 21, 2008
in Documentary, Drugs, Homeless, Independent and New York
. 2 Comments

I heard about this movie a few years ago and added it to my Netflix list.  Had almost forgotten about it, but just watch it through the “on demand” feature.  Dark Days is a documentary about squatters living in the Amtrak tunnels near Penn Station in New York City.  Marc Singer, the director and creator of this film, decides to go live with them and film their stories.

A lot of the people living down there are or where crack addicts.  Some of them have realized what it’s doing to them though and have kicked the habit.   They actually weren’t living too poorly down there.  They had built pretty sturdy one-room houses with scrap lumber and other materials.  They had electricity, lamps, TVs, beds, couches, hot plates, etc.  Most of them scavenged for things people threw out in the trash to re-sell.  Some of them had even been living down there for 20 years.

Eventually Amtrak had enough or found out about it.  During the filming they gave the residents a 30 day eviction notice.  A group of advocates for homeless people were going to try and fight for the squatters’ rights to live there, but, in cooperation with the government, they were able to provide housing for these people and help them find jobs.

I’ve always heard horror stories about handouts and everybody’s hear about “the projects.”  I think these people were different though.  They were so grateful for what they were given.  There was some footage at the end of these people in their new apartments and they were some of the cleanest, neatest places I’ve seen in a long time.  I think some good was done here.  It seems like Singer was able to bring some attention to and get help for this underground community.

Rating: ★★★★☆

Hitch

Published
by
Chalupa
on November 4, 2007
in Comedy, Dancing, New York and Romance
. 0 Comments

Starring Will Smith, Eva Mendes and Kevin James, this is a movie I remember hearing college students, where I work, talk unceasingly about back in ‘05, along with The Notebook - which I still haven’t seen. I didn’t really know what all the hub-bub was about and after two years it finally found its way to slot #1 on my Netflix list.

This is a movie partly about a man hiring a dating coach to help instill confidence in himself while pursuing the woman of his dreams. The other half is the dating coach also pursuing the woman of his dreams. If you know much about the actors listed above, I’m sure you’ve already guessed that Will Smith is the suave and sophisticated dating coach while Kevin James is the somewhat nerdy and uncoordinated client. James’ character, Albert, is after a woman he used to work for and Smith’s character, Hitch, is after Sara, a woman he met in a bar. Throughout the movie we watch Hitch give Albert tips and lessons on how he should conduct himself in public and around his date. We also see Hitch putting his own advice into action while Sara is after this mystery man that supposedly helped to ruin her best friend’s life.

That man turns out to be Hitch, or so Sara thinks. She eventually exposes him in her gossip column, ruining Hitch’s career and the relationships his clients have made or are in the process of forming. Things turn out in the end though - this is a PG-13 feel good, happy, dating movie after all. The last 20 minutes are so do get pretty cheesy for me, but overall I enjoyed myself while watching this.

Capote

Published
by
Chalupa
on July 13, 2006
in Based on a book, Based on a novel, Biography, Crime, Drama, Journalism, Murder and New York
. 1 Comment

I was going to see this three separate times while it was still in the theaters, but none of them worked out, so I guess the 4th time is a charm. We watched this last night for Movie Night.

If you didn’t know, this movie is about Truman Capote, who was an actual author. Some parts of the movie might make more sense to you if you didn’t know this earlier. Parts of it can be a little slow and some of the things that Capote does and says just don’t seem to fit. At least not for a ficticious character. This movie happens to be about his most famous publication, In Cold Blood. It’s about a family in Kansas that was brutally killed in their home. The movie chronicles Capote befriending the killers, all the while trying to get research for his book. It’s amazing to watch him manipulate people and situations while trying to get information. It reminded me a bit of The United States of Leland and The Chumscrubber in how a character is “befriending” someone just to get a story. In the same way, Capote pretends to be friends with the killers, while at the same time wishing they would just be executed so he could finish his book.

The part of Truman Capote is played by Philip Seymour Hoffman, who I have always found to be just amazing. The two killers are played by Mark Pellegrino (The Big Lebowski) and Clifton Collins Jr. (Tigerland, The Last Castle, Replacement Killers). Chris Cooper is also in here as the police chief and Catherine Keener as Harper Lee, Capote’s friend.

The movie can be a bit slow in parts, but it’s really good if you can stick it out til the end. I personally, had never realized how influential Capote was. I want to read some of his books. After the movie, Adrienne brought up that Capote was mentioned in the movie 10 Things I Hate About You. In the classroom somebody says, “Capote” with a long ‘o’ sound and the teacher corrects them with the proper pronunciation. I had completely forgotten about that. I guess there’s a movie I need to re-watch.

The movie also ended with some general information about Capote and the rest of his life following the book. There was one quote I really liked - “More tears are shed over answered prayers than unanswered ones.”

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang

Published
by
Chalupa
on June 26, 2006
in Based on a book, Based on a novel, Black Comedy, Buddy Comedy, Comedy, Film Noir, Filmmaking, Murder, Mystery, Neo Noir, New York, Suicide, Thriller and Twist
. 0 Comments

From the previews I was really looking forward to this movie, but I have to say I was pretty disappointed with it after actually seeing it. I really wanted to just turn it off while watching. I felt like it was giving me attention deficit disorder. The flow was choppy and hard to follow, the events just didn’t make sense, the lines were cheesy, etc. I then realized why the movie seemed so weird. They were trying to mimic a myster-detective-trashy-romance paperback series they reference throughout the movie. When I finally realized this, everything started to make sense. However, I still didn’t like the movie.

For starters, we have Robert Downey Jr., Val Kilmer and Michelle Monaghan as the three main characters in the film. Downey is a theif-actor who is job shadowing Kilmer. Kilmer is an actual private detective investigating some murders. Monaghan is Downey’s childhood/high school crush that randomly turns up and runs into Downey. The movie is narrated throughout by Downey as he re-tells this story with Kilmer interjecting a couple times. I will say the movie is clever, but it’s probably a little too clever for most people to follow. So much so that I really, really wanted to just turn it off. Luckily I have a rule that I need to just watch movies til they’re over because you never know how you might feel about it after the credits start to roll.

Some of the reason it’s hard to follow, in my opinion, is because the story is being narrated. And just like when some people tell a story, Downey would accidently leave a part out or have to re-tell something. So the story would backup or pause while the details were worked out. The story also jumped from one character to another, which isn’t bad in itself (Look at Pulp Fiction for example), but didn’t flow very well. Another problem I had is that things just weren’t making sense. I felt like I was watching a soap opera at times. This can be explained by the following-the-book-genre theory of mine. People would say weird things or have stupid ideas, crazy thoughts, do weird things, etc. Many of the situation just seemed contrived and not real. There were even several times where nudity was introduced. However, it didn’t have a point and it wasn’t really that American Pie/National Lampoon-esque either. You know - the kind that draws in the 13-20 yr old crowd.

If I didn’t think this movie was the way it is, I would say this is probably the worst movie I’ve seen in a long time. I’m sure there are many that would disagree with me on this one, so maybe you should give it a watch yourself and then put up a comment as to what you think.

Cinderella Man

Published
by
Chalupa
on April 10, 2006
in Based on a true story, Biography, Boxing, Drama, Family, Great Depression, New York, Rags to Riches and Sport
. 1 Comment

It’s not very often anymore that I get really sucked into movies. You know, the feeling where you’re on the edge of your chair? Well I wasn’t actually sitting on a chair. I was sitting on my floor leaning against a pillow thing butted up against my bed. Anyways, this movie definitely kept my interest.

Russell Crowe portrays the legendary boxer, Jim Braddock, in this film and does an amazing job. I don’t care what you have to say about this man’s personal life, he just does awesome at playing historic fictional and nonfictional characters. Look at movies like Gladiator, L.A. Confidential, A Beautiful Mind or Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World. Even the not well known film Romper Stomper is a great performance. This guy can act. Renée Zellweger and Paul Giamatti round the cast out. I was also surprised to see Paddy Considine, from In America and Bruce McGill, who always seems able to play serious parts.

This movie is also pretty clean, which can be hard to find these days. It ranks in at a PG-13 which is mostly for the violence of the boxing matches. If you’re into good boxing movies you might want to also check out Raging Bull which is about the life of Jake LaMotta. The Hurricane is about Rubin ‘Hurricane’ Carter and how he was injustly imprisioned and later on freed. Million Dollar Baby is another good movie, but it’s not about anybody real to my knowledge.

King Kong

Published
by
Chalupa
on January 12, 2006
in Adventure, Drama, Film in film, Great Depression, Kidnapping, New York, Remake and Romance
. 0 Comments

Before even seeing this I heard a lot of criticisms. After seeing it, I had to agree that this film does lend itself a bit towards the film fanatic. Mostly because of it’s length. I will say though that I think cutting the film would have taken away from some of the story. It’s not like everything you saw was just fluff.

I’ve always heard that Peter Jackson’s favorite movie was King Kong and his dream was to do a remake. I wasn’t ever very interested because I had seen bits and pieces of several versions on TV and was never really impressed. Then I finally saw a trailer and I immediately wanted to see this.

I think Adrien Brody, Naomi Watts, Thomas Kretschmann, Colin Hanks, and Andy Serkis were cast very well for this. You might have noticed I left out one important person and that would be Jack Black. If you know me very well you’ll know that I love Jack Black - not in the Neil Diamond obsession sort of way from Saving Silverman, but in a ‘Jack Black rocks’ sort of way. I have a lot of respect for this man and the comedy he creates that leaves me laughing night and day. This role was very similar to many of Jack’s other roles. He did the eye thing, the crazy faces, the hands, the voice intonations…..the only thing I don’t remember seeing were his happy feet. You know, when he does that little dance thing. I thought Jack did a great job, however, I think somebody else would have been better suited for his role.

The animation was great in this movie. I mean really great. But this is Peter Jackson we’re talking about. The man that pulled off the beloved Lord of the Rings. King Kong looks amazing, the T-Rexes looked sweet, and even the insects. Cause who could forget those scenes? Poor Lumpy.

I also really loved the indigenous people that had on the island. They looked so amazing. Everything from their skin color, their hair, their jewelry, their movements - even the crazy ones with their eyes rolled back in their heads. You kind of get the feeling that Kong is their protector because there’s a lot of crazy stuff on that island.

I really enjoyed how Kong was personalized in this movie. He wasn’t just a crazed ape. He had feelings, hopes and dreams. You realized he had a home and used to have a family. He was the last of his kind. A very lonely creature; living out his days. I can’t say I’ve ever thought of a personified Kong before. I think Jackson did a good job here.

I think the only other thing I would maybe point out here is the seemingly growing/shrinking size of Kong. If you take him in relation to Naomi Watts throughout the movie, sometimes she’s just this tiny little thing in his hand and other times she’s about the size of his whole arm. I suggested maybe he has a little Hulk-syndrome. You know, get angry and become this huge, hulking behemoth that nobody wants to mess with.

Overall I think this movie was very well made and really enjoyed watching it. If you’re not into those long movies, like special editions of LOTR, then maybe you should think twice before trying to sit down and watch this all at once.

The Squid and the Whale

Published
by
nathanshorb
on January 3, 2006
in Comedy, Drama, Dysfunctional, Family, Independent and New York
. 5 Comments

Well, my school finally unblocked Blogger, so why not celebrate by telling you about a movie I saw recently?

The Squid and the Whale is getting plenty of rave reviews, and I think it’s mostly for good reason. It’s a solid film with a great screenplay carried out by good actors. It was written by Wes Anderson’s good buddy Noah whatshisface, and it’s pretty apparent. It has the retro feel with the dry humor that makes you laugh and simultaneously wonder why you’re laughing at such depressing material.

Speaking of material, it got a little heavier and more disturbing than I was expecting. It tells the story of two brothers dealing with their parents divorce, and a lot of sexual stuff comes along with it, which wasn’t all that pleasant.

The theme that struck me most, the thing that made me really like the movie, was about trying to be who we want to be rather than who we are. The father in the movie is an artsy-fartsy intellectual writer and he’s training his son in all of his opinionated pretentious ways. Thus, the boy has all these opinions about things he knows nothing about. At one point in the movie, his mother tries to give him advice, and he says, “But that’s not who I see myself as.” She says, “But what if it’s who you are?” And he doesn’t quite get it and repeats, “But it’s not who I see myself as.” It’s something that is being struggled with throughout the movie. I thought it was a powerful illustration of our pride and desire to be better than everyone else, and the exhaustion that comes when we try to keep up a front of being someone we are not.

I don’t know if this film deserves all the hype it seems to be getting, but it is definitely very well done and has some great things to think about, with some good ol’ dry humor to boot.

Shopgirl

Published
by
Chalupa
on November 18, 2005
in Art, Based on a book, Based on a novel, Drama, Narrated, New York, Road Trip and Romance
. 0 Comments

This is the much awaited movie-form of Steve Martin’s novella and I’d have to say I really liked it. Martin also wrote the screenplay, directed the movie, and acted in it. Zach Braff anyone?

I remember seeing a trailer for this a little while ago and thought it had potential, but then Liz started telling me all about it because she’s read, and owns a copy of, the book. Apparently this really captures what it’s like to be a 25 year old female. I can’t say I have much experience in that department, but I’m just going to agree.

The other main characters in here are Claire Danes and Jason Schwartzman, son of the unforgettable Talia Shire from Rocky. Schwartzman had a lot of funny lines that were very I Heart Huckabees-ish, yet it wasn’t like he was being typecast here.

The other day I was being asked if this was more of a comedy or a funny drama. I wasn’t really sure what to say. It definitely has that independent film feel to it. You know, the type of movie that doesn’t fit any one cookie-cutter genre type/style so they just call it “independent”.

All I know is that if you get a chance, get yourself down to Castleton Arts before they shut down. I love that place and sadly enough….they’re closing down.

The Weatherman

Published
by
Chalupa
on October 30, 2005
in Chicago, Comedy, Drama, Dysfunctional, Family and New York
. 1 Comment

Saw this one over the weekend in Chicago. I liked it, but nobody with me did. Friedberg said it was like About Schmidt and I’d say that makes sense. This isn’t a cheery, happy movie with a feel-good ending, but I think it’s good nonetheless.

This movie is about a man, Dave, who is the weatherman on a local TV station. He’s divorced from his wife and has two kids, a son and daughter. His dad is also around who is sort of a no-nonsense sort of person and won the Pulitzer prize in his early 30’s. He was also declared a ‘national treasure’ by one of the presidents with whom he regularly played racquetball. Dave’s life is pretty crappy. This isn’t because he lives in the street or has no money or nobody cares about him, etc, etc. This is mainly because of things Dave has done. The whole ’sow what you reap’ thing tends to come true in many situations.

Dave wants to be able to relate to his kids and get back together with his wife, but he seems to do all the wrong things to make this happen. At times it even seems like he’s hardly trying at all, sabotaging his own efforts. After Dave’s father is diagnosed with cancer and it becomes very apparent his kids’ lives are going down the tubes, Dave finally starts to come around and get things together. He starts to appreciate his father a bit more and takes up archery as a way to release some of that stress he’s walking around with all the time.

The people I saw this with said they were all depressed afterwards. I thought the movie had a very satisfactory ending. Dave ended up getting a job in New York and moving. He came to terms with many of the things that were eating him away. Dave was flying back to Chicago every weekend to still spend time with his kids. Things were much better for Dave personally. I think maybe people won’t like this movie because it’s so close to home for some. Some will also get annoyed with many of the subtle product placements. Still some will like it because it’s not happy and cheery and things aren’t resolved in the most awesome-est ways possible.

Dave was played by Nicolas Cage and his father was played by Michael Caine who happens to be one of the best British actors ever (in my opinion). Excellent performances by both. Dave’s wife was played by Hope Davis (American Splendor, Arlington Road), his son by Nicholas Hoult (About a Boy), and his wife’s new husband was played by Michael Rispoli, (Spinner Dunn from Death to Smoochy). Even though this movie is dark, there were still a lot of funny parts to it. I’m going to recommend this one to fans of the more independent films. Hopefully you’ll find some worth in it like I did.