One of the more interesting movies of 2007 that I have seen is Paris, je t'aime. As the title indicates it is a portrait of Paris. Why is it so interesting? Well, it is actually a collage of 18 short films that loosely tie together, with the only really common factor being that they all take place in Paris, and most have something to do with love. Sounds shmoozy and there are a few of those short films that were strange or odd, but the majority of them were quite good. There are a ton of well known actors and actresses that you might recognize, and each of the segments was directed by a different director. The clips with Natalie Portman, Steve Buscemi, Nick Nolte, and Catalina Sandino Moreno were particularly memorable for me.
It is kind of hard to rehash any kind of a plot to give you a peek, so I will just say that there were about 6 of the segments that I really liked, about 10 that I liked, and 2ish that I didn't like - so I am giving this a solid recommend.
February 29, 2008
February 25, 2008
Thoughts on the Academy Awards, and Markéta Irglová
Since most of the big movies that were nominated for Academy Awards have not come out on video yet, I can't say much about the big winners last night, other than I am very excited to see There Will Be Blood, No Country for Old Men, and a few others. (Michael Clayton is out now, and I plan to see it this week.)
One pleasant surprise was the three Oscars that The Bourne Ultimatum won – Sound Editing, Sound Mixing, and Film Editing – beating out some of the other heavy contenders. Kudos guys, it was a great film.
Ratatouille beat out Persepolis for Best Animated Feature, which wasn't a big surprise. Although I really liked Ratatouille, and haven't seen Persopolis yet, I was rooting for the underdog, since the subject matter of Perspolis seems so thought provoking, and important – but what do I know, for as I said, I haven't seen Persepolis yet…
There was one Oscar that I was really rooting for, and that was Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová for best song, in the movie Once. As you may already know, Once is my favorite movie of the year so far (again, I haven't seen Blood or Old Men), and is likely to remain a favorite for a long time. The winning song, "Falling Slowly" is superb (I am not sure the live performance at the Oscars quite did it justice). I was ready to throw a conniption if one those songs from Enchanted beat it out.
And indeed I nearly did throw a conniption when the orchestra ushered Irglová off the stage without letting her get a word in. But later, thanks to the supreme tact of John Stewart (he went up a few notches in my book because of this), Irglova was allowed to come back on stage and say a few words. This could have been a really awkward moment for her, but what she said was perfect:
"Hi everyone. I just want to thank you so much. This is such a big deal, not only for us, but for all other independent musicians and artists that spend most of their time struggling, and this, the fact that we're standing here tonight, the fact that we're able to hold this, it's just to prove no matter how far out your dreams are, it's possible. And, you know, fair play to those who dare to dream and don't give up. And this song was written from a perspective of hope, and hope at the end of the day connects us all, no matter how different we are. And so thank you so much, who helped us along the way. Thank you."
Here is the video of their win (at least as long as it doesn't get yanked from youtube):
One pleasant surprise was the three Oscars that The Bourne Ultimatum won – Sound Editing, Sound Mixing, and Film Editing – beating out some of the other heavy contenders. Kudos guys, it was a great film.
Ratatouille beat out Persepolis for Best Animated Feature, which wasn't a big surprise. Although I really liked Ratatouille, and haven't seen Persopolis yet, I was rooting for the underdog, since the subject matter of Perspolis seems so thought provoking, and important – but what do I know, for as I said, I haven't seen Persepolis yet…
There was one Oscar that I was really rooting for, and that was Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová for best song, in the movie Once. As you may already know, Once is my favorite movie of the year so far (again, I haven't seen Blood or Old Men), and is likely to remain a favorite for a long time. The winning song, "Falling Slowly" is superb (I am not sure the live performance at the Oscars quite did it justice). I was ready to throw a conniption if one those songs from Enchanted beat it out.
And indeed I nearly did throw a conniption when the orchestra ushered Irglová off the stage without letting her get a word in. But later, thanks to the supreme tact of John Stewart (he went up a few notches in my book because of this), Irglova was allowed to come back on stage and say a few words. This could have been a really awkward moment for her, but what she said was perfect:
"Hi everyone. I just want to thank you so much. This is such a big deal, not only for us, but for all other independent musicians and artists that spend most of their time struggling, and this, the fact that we're standing here tonight, the fact that we're able to hold this, it's just to prove no matter how far out your dreams are, it's possible. And, you know, fair play to those who dare to dream and don't give up. And this song was written from a perspective of hope, and hope at the end of the day connects us all, no matter how different we are. And so thank you so much, who helped us along the way. Thank you."
Here is the video of their win (at least as long as it doesn't get yanked from youtube):
No Reservations (2007)
On the cover this is a romantic comedy right? Although I don't reject that classification outright, there is a dramatic and depressing streak in this movie. That is not to say I didn't like it, or that it wasn't funny.
Zeta-Jones plays Kate Armstrong, a master chef in a prominent New York City restaurant, who, within the first 15 mins of the show, loses a sister in a car accident. Her niece is sent to live with her, and throughout the movie the two struggle to adjust to one another – Zeta-Jones as the New York affluent sophisticate with a sought after career, and her niece Zoe (played by Abigail Brenlin, of Little Miss Sunshine fame) who is struggling to cope with the loss of her mother. So that is the depressing undertone of the movie. The light hearted Nick Palmer (played by Aaron Eckhart), joins Kate's restaurant as the sous-chef at the behest of its owner, to the chagrin of Kate, who rules her kitchen with an iron fist. Of course, you probably guessed they end up together.
There is some good comedy here – especially when the customers of the restaurant send food back to the kitchen, and the brooding Kate has some choice words and deeds to express her displeasure, despite the fact that they are paying customers (See the embedded trailer for a good example). The interplay between Eckhart and Zeta-Jones is better than I thought it would be. I guess what I am saying here is that this is a surprising recommend from me – I am not usually a huge fan of romantic comedies, but this one was quite well done.
By the way, I know nothing about the restaurant business (other than my mandate to tip generously regardless of the service – at the behest of my wife, who is a former waitress). But after having seen this movie and Ratatouille I feel rather enlightened :). It sure seems to confirm the hypothesis that movies come out in twos (Think Braveheart vs. Rob Roy, Tombstone vs. Wyatt Earp, and The Illusionist vs. The Prestige).
Zeta-Jones plays Kate Armstrong, a master chef in a prominent New York City restaurant, who, within the first 15 mins of the show, loses a sister in a car accident. Her niece is sent to live with her, and throughout the movie the two struggle to adjust to one another – Zeta-Jones as the New York affluent sophisticate with a sought after career, and her niece Zoe (played by Abigail Brenlin, of Little Miss Sunshine fame) who is struggling to cope with the loss of her mother. So that is the depressing undertone of the movie. The light hearted Nick Palmer (played by Aaron Eckhart), joins Kate's restaurant as the sous-chef at the behest of its owner, to the chagrin of Kate, who rules her kitchen with an iron fist. Of course, you probably guessed they end up together.
There is some good comedy here – especially when the customers of the restaurant send food back to the kitchen, and the brooding Kate has some choice words and deeds to express her displeasure, despite the fact that they are paying customers (See the embedded trailer for a good example). The interplay between Eckhart and Zeta-Jones is better than I thought it would be. I guess what I am saying here is that this is a surprising recommend from me – I am not usually a huge fan of romantic comedies, but this one was quite well done.
By the way, I know nothing about the restaurant business (other than my mandate to tip generously regardless of the service – at the behest of my wife, who is a former waitress). But after having seen this movie and Ratatouille I feel rather enlightened :). It sure seems to confirm the hypothesis that movies come out in twos (Think Braveheart vs. Rob Roy, Tombstone vs. Wyatt Earp, and The Illusionist vs. The Prestige).
February 22, 2008
American Gangster (2007)
If there is one movie genre that I love more than zombies and sci-fi, it is a good mob movie. And if there are two actors that I had to say are my favorites of all time, on a given day you probably would hear me annoint Russell Crowe and Denzel Washington. So needless to say, I was super hyped when I first saw the cutouts for American Gangster at the movie theaters last year. I never made it to the theater to see it, but it finally came out on video this last week.
The movie is based on the real life story of Frank Lucas (played by Washington), a Harlem crime lord that smuggles heroin from Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War in the coffins of dead service men. Crowe plays cop Richie Roberts who makes a name for himself as a good cop in a corrupt New York City police force.
I was really hoping to see some fireworks as the colossal actors faced off, but there is surprisingly little screen time when the two are together - it only happens in the last 10 minutes of the film. Don't get me wrong, the acting was superb, as you would expect, but it didn't quite live up to what I had imagined in my mind. Overall the movie was good, but I can't shake this nagging feeling that it could have been truly great. I give it a qualified recommend - as with Scarface, Blow, and any of those other unknown-ambitious-ruthless-dude-makes-it-big-in-the-drug-business type of movies, there is a lot of language, drugs, and sex, so the sensitive should beware.
The movie is based on the real life story of Frank Lucas (played by Washington), a Harlem crime lord that smuggles heroin from Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War in the coffins of dead service men. Crowe plays cop Richie Roberts who makes a name for himself as a good cop in a corrupt New York City police force.
I was really hoping to see some fireworks as the colossal actors faced off, but there is surprisingly little screen time when the two are together - it only happens in the last 10 minutes of the film. Don't get me wrong, the acting was superb, as you would expect, but it didn't quite live up to what I had imagined in my mind. Overall the movie was good, but I can't shake this nagging feeling that it could have been truly great. I give it a qualified recommend - as with Scarface, Blow, and any of those other unknown-ambitious-ruthless-dude-makes-it-big-in-the-drug-business type of movies, there is a lot of language, drugs, and sex, so the sensitive should beware.
February 21, 2008
Ratatouille (2007)
Back when the movie Cars was coming out, I thought I finally lost interest in Pixar movies - the previews were just so dumb. Thankfully someone sat me down to watch it and my faith was restored. The fact is - Pixar never misses a beat, and I should have known that by now. Every single one of their movies has been a home run as far as I am concerned.
So it was with great anticipation that my wife and I went and saw Ratatouille, in the theater no less (yes we do get out sometimes). The movie is about a rat who loves to cook. He is ostracized from his clan of rats that eat garbage, and moves to Paris to follow his destiny. He soon meets up with an aspiring chef, and almost by accident the young man realizes that this rat can cook. Comedy ensues as the rat learns to control the actions of this young chef by sitting on his head and pulling his hair. Hiding under the chef's hat, the rats culinary creations are the talk of Paris, and soon the pair is squaring off against the premier food critic (voiced by Peter O'Toole).
Smaller children will have trouble keeping their attention - I think this is more for an older audience. However, I loved it. The story was fun, the comedy was fresh, and in general, just another great Pixar movie. As I think back to all the movies I have seen this year, this movie sticks out more and more and is climbing on my list of favorites for 2007.
So it was with great anticipation that my wife and I went and saw Ratatouille, in the theater no less (yes we do get out sometimes). The movie is about a rat who loves to cook. He is ostracized from his clan of rats that eat garbage, and moves to Paris to follow his destiny. He soon meets up with an aspiring chef, and almost by accident the young man realizes that this rat can cook. Comedy ensues as the rat learns to control the actions of this young chef by sitting on his head and pulling his hair. Hiding under the chef's hat, the rats culinary creations are the talk of Paris, and soon the pair is squaring off against the premier food critic (voiced by Peter O'Toole).
Smaller children will have trouble keeping their attention - I think this is more for an older audience. However, I loved it. The story was fun, the comedy was fresh, and in general, just another great Pixar movie. As I think back to all the movies I have seen this year, this movie sticks out more and more and is climbing on my list of favorites for 2007.
February 20, 2008
Grindhouse (Planet Terror and Death Proof) (2007)
OK - So I saw this movie out of a bit of self indulgence - I just get a kick out of zombie movies for some reason - plus, I remember watching those terrible movies from the 1970s (not because I was even alive back then, but because during summer vacation they were always on the weird channels in the middle of the day). So needless to say, this double feature that pokes fun at both genres was a blast to watch.
The plot of Planet Terror is pretty senseless, and the details won't do you much good - by some crazy plot device the locals in a small town start turning into zombies, and a small group bands together to fend them off. By far the coolest part of the movie (I am laughing out loud as I type this because it is going to sound so ridiculous) was when they attached an assault rifle onto Rose McGowan's leg, and she starts wasting people with it.
Death Proof is a little more grounded in reality, with Kurt Russell as "Stunt Man Mike" a sadistic serial killer who kills people by smashing into them with his souped up stunt car. The film is slow getting going, but gets quite exciting towards the end, as his next victims turn out to be more than a handful themselves.
I loved both films - and laughed through a lot of it, enjoying the spoof/tribute. However, I think you have to be of the right persuasion to like them - as evidenced by the fact that Grindhouse got great critical reviews but did poorly at the box office.
The plot of Planet Terror is pretty senseless, and the details won't do you much good - by some crazy plot device the locals in a small town start turning into zombies, and a small group bands together to fend them off. By far the coolest part of the movie (I am laughing out loud as I type this because it is going to sound so ridiculous) was when they attached an assault rifle onto Rose McGowan's leg, and she starts wasting people with it.
Death Proof is a little more grounded in reality, with Kurt Russell as "Stunt Man Mike" a sadistic serial killer who kills people by smashing into them with his souped up stunt car. The film is slow getting going, but gets quite exciting towards the end, as his next victims turn out to be more than a handful themselves.
I loved both films - and laughed through a lot of it, enjoying the spoof/tribute. However, I think you have to be of the right persuasion to like them - as evidenced by the fact that Grindhouse got great critical reviews but did poorly at the box office.
February 18, 2008
Gone Baby Gone (2007)
Ben Affleck's directorial debut finally came out on video, and I snatched it up. There has been a lot of buzz around this movie, and I was interested.
Casey Affleck (Ben's brother) stars as a private detective hired to help search for a kidnapped little girl in inner city Boston. Turns out the girl's mother (portrayed by Amy Ryan) is just about as despicable of a person as you could find - addicted to crack, prone to leaving the little girl alone for long stretches at a time - and yet, she is guilt ridden for leaving her daughter long enough to be taken from her. Affleck's character knows "the people" around the neighborhood - meaning of course, he knows all the drug dealers and shady people that lurk around. One clue leads to another as he searches for the girl, and well... the plot is a little complex, and it has a twist ending, so I won't ruin it for you.
I will say this though - it was very good. I have been hearing hype about this movie for a while now, and though it wasn't quite as good as I thought it would be (thats usually the way it is with movies that I have heard a lot about), I still consider it one of the best movies of the year, and think it does deserve the Oscar and Golden Globe nods it is getting. Casey Affleck really shines, and he has a great supporting cast which includes Morgan Freeman, and Ed Harris - two fantastic actors. Who would have thought that geeky dude from Ocean's Eleven was a headlining actor?
Casey Affleck (Ben's brother) stars as a private detective hired to help search for a kidnapped little girl in inner city Boston. Turns out the girl's mother (portrayed by Amy Ryan) is just about as despicable of a person as you could find - addicted to crack, prone to leaving the little girl alone for long stretches at a time - and yet, she is guilt ridden for leaving her daughter long enough to be taken from her. Affleck's character knows "the people" around the neighborhood - meaning of course, he knows all the drug dealers and shady people that lurk around. One clue leads to another as he searches for the girl, and well... the plot is a little complex, and it has a twist ending, so I won't ruin it for you.
I will say this though - it was very good. I have been hearing hype about this movie for a while now, and though it wasn't quite as good as I thought it would be (thats usually the way it is with movies that I have heard a lot about), I still consider it one of the best movies of the year, and think it does deserve the Oscar and Golden Globe nods it is getting. Casey Affleck really shines, and he has a great supporting cast which includes Morgan Freeman, and Ed Harris - two fantastic actors. Who would have thought that geeky dude from Ocean's Eleven was a headlining actor?
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