Happy Birthday to
Mercedes Ruehl
62 today
I was recently reminded of Terry Gilliam's Fisher King by an insightful piece from Encore's World of Film & TV so I revisited the film and I'm glad to say it has not lost any of it's fun or delight. Part of that is down to the splendid turn by Aercedes, an actress who is completely unafraid to show her all. I'm afraid she's been since lost to TV movies and guest appearances. Someone please cast her in a proper film.
Sunday, 28 February 2010
Mercedes Ruehl
Saturday, 27 February 2010
Out This week (26/02/10)
You will struggle to find a good film out this week - odd after the glut of high profile releases just seven days ago. Personally I sahll be seeing Amy Adams going all blarney, but I certainly don't think I can recommend that. So I suppose the film of the week will have to be the latest embarassement in Robert De Niro's CV: Everybody's Fine.
The Crazies
Remake of George Romero horror classic sees Timothy Olyphant and his heavily pregnant wife avoiding a horde of psychotic townsfolk and a military plot to kill everyone in the town to contain the virulent cause. Hokum, which has probably lost all trace of it's paranoia roots but the trailer looks fun.
Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●○○○○○○○
Everybody's Fine
Robert De Niro tries hard to copy Jack Nicholson's recent successes by playing a recent widower reconnecting with his children who never felt able to communicate with the old man. This ain't About Schmidt by a long stretch but with Sam Rockwell, Kate Beckinsale and Drew Barrymore as his kids there are some pretty things to look at.
Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●●○○○○○○
Extraordinary Measures
Is Extraordinary measures, with it's medical research storyline give a reasoned arguement against a profit based medical system where orphan diseases get no funding? Or does it say that if you have the money you can cure your terminal children? Who cares when the trailer was a dull as this one?
Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●○○○○○○○
Freestyle
British girl has to choose between completing her studies or following her dreams to become a professional baseketball player. At the risk of being incredibly insensitive I wasn't aware women played basketball.
Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●○○○○○○○○
From Paris With love
Pierre Morel's Taken was a surprise hit in 2008 thanks to Liam Neeson's committed performance, some chewy dialogue and quality action choreography. The follow-up has camply bearded John Travolta and bored looking Jonathan Rhys-Meyers.
Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●●○○○○○○
Karthik calling Karthik
It's an evil doppleganger movie from Bollywood. Starring Farhan Akhtar. (Sorry I don't know anything more about this.)
Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●○○○○○○○○
Leap Year
Absolutely rubbish looking rom-com with Amy Adams falling for Matthew Goode during an unnecessary dash across Hollywood's version of Ireland. Both Adams and Goode are riding high on other projects at the moment, and it looks like the sales weren't so bad this will destroy their careers so naturally this is the film I intend to watch this week.
Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●○○○○○○○
Micmacs
Jean-Pierre Jeunet is one of the few international directors with a clear auterial style, and with his latest, which looks at illegal gun trading and a community based around recycling rubbish (no, not the Wombles) has many of his usual visual tics - such as a brown palette and Dominic Pinon. Well worth braving the subtitles.
Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●○○○○○○○
She, A Chinese
Depressing looking view of a Chinese woman who exchanges an unhappy life in China for an even more unhappy woman as a mail order Bride in Britain. See this if you think your life has too much fun in it.
Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●○○○○○○○○
Teen Patti
Hindi movie directed by Leena Yadav about a mathematical formula concerning probability and randomness that profoundly impacts the life of the mathematician who discovers it. In a casting coup Ben Kingsley plays another statistician who aims to helps publicise the formula.
Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●○○○○○○○
Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa
Boring looking love story from Sri Lanka, noted lack of conflict in the trailer. I really can't imagine why anyone would want to see it.
Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●○○○○○○○○
Joanne Woodward
Happy Birthday to
Joanne Woodward
80 today
Joanne and her late husband Paul Newman are regarded as the pinnacle of Hollywood relationships. Faithfully married for over 50 years their coupling is a wonderful example about how two people can make it work and have seperate and strong careers. Over latter years Joanne has slowly moved away from the limelight, not appearing on the screen since 2005.
Wednesday, 24 February 2010
A Single Man
2009. Dir: Tom Ford. Starring: Colin Firth, Julianne Moore, Matthew Goode, Nicolas Hoult and Jon Kortajarena. ●●●●○
I am not a student of film. Like the proverbial boor I know nothing about art, but I know what I like. Indeed it is the way a movie stirs me or causes me to think about the situations of the characters that I most like about films, and that guarantees a positive review. It is with that in mind when I say A Single Man left me cold. I appreciate it's a well made movie, stylistically and thematically stimulating but for me it comes across as an exercise in great film techniques and not as a great film.
The film follows Professor George Falconer (Colin Firth, giving an excellent low key performance) during a seemingly ordinary day. He has breakfast, goes to work, visits his bank and has dinner with his closest friend Charley (Julianne Moore). As the day progresses we become increasingly aware that Falconer intends this day to be his last, he plans to end his life because it is now empty, because his one love (Matthew Goode in flashbacks) has died and he cannot see a way forward without him; "Getting up hurts" without Jim in his life.
Luckily for director Tom Ford Firth rises to the challenge in the role. The wistful way he touches his lips in the opening scene, remembering Jim kiss is painfully real. Another stand-out is the moment when he hears of Jim's death in flashback and slowly sinks into himself. First is able to convey not only the horror of losing a loved one but also the betrayal he feels for it happening elsewhere, where he cannot attend the funeral and start to build a new life. Finally the indignation that his best friend still doesn't understand the importance of his relationship and the cry against "substitute" is a feeling I believe many of us know only too well.
Not only does the camera track Falconer, but it often reflects his state of mind, the cinematography appearing muted and fuzzy during most of the time, with occasional bursts of colour and definition co-inciding with occasions when his senses are heightened. Whilst this could be heightened by a smell or a gesture or, as often as not, by sexual arousal. The camera also focused on little details, eyes, lips in extreme close-up daring us to look for the telling details that show the characters true moods.
Not that we ever really get the chance. As this is essentially Falconer's movie all the other characters are defined purely in terms of their relationship to him, and whilst we have a clear idea of Falconer and his motives the remainder of the cast are more iffy. This does work well - if we take Nicolas Hoult's enigmatic student as en example during the number of scenes he shares with Falconer we understand clearly that the professor is curious about the boy and is stifling feelings towards him by Hoult's actions could equally be defined as callously observant or sexually precocious.
The design is generally light on detail as befits a work about grief, and naturally the costumes are all utterly gorgeous.
On the negative side I suppose I was not taken in by the central conceit. It seemed to me that Falconer was crying out in every conversation that he had that this was his last day on earth and that he wanted someone to stop that. This therefore removed the dramatic tension for me, and whilst the last minute was surprising, the five minutes beforehand were pretty well telegraphed in the movie.
There was also something self-consciously arty about the whole enterprise, the same camera tricks I spoke of earlier with the changing focuses and extreme close-ups seemed to be a case of shoving in too much style. But as I said at the beginning, I'm no artist.
Overall a very well made film, if one that I would struggle to recommend to see.
Edward James Olmos
Happy Birthday to
Edward James Olmos
63 today
Olmos, who's an accomplished rock musician as well as actor, has been a major player in 2 highly regarded television programmmes. "Miami Vice" and "Battlestar Galatica" may have been set literally worlds apart but his commanding and austere presence has been a rock in both for the other characters to cling to. And unlike many performers Olmos regularly visits schools in deprived areas to show kids there is a way out of the slums and cycle of violence they are in. Look out for his next appearance in The Green Hornet.
Tuesday, 23 February 2010
Tuesday Trailers - Hachiko: A Dog's Story
As you know by now - I'm on tour which means that I won't get a chance to do box office news this weekend coming. But if I did one of the new releases is for Hachiko. It's a simple story about the bond between dog and master. No doubt with Lasse Hallstrom on board as director there will be an opportunity to reach for the hankies. I just don't care. Here's the trailer:
Hachiko: A Dog's Story is released on 12 March 2010.
Monday, 22 February 2010
Julie Walters
Happy Birthday to
Julie Walters
60 today
British comic actress Julie is most certainly the best thing ever to come out of Smethwick (I've worked there - I know). Since then she's sparkled on TV working with Victoria Wood and notched up 2 Academy Award nominations. Her meal ticket of late has been with Harry Potter, but with that coming to an end soon I guess she'll be thinking about the next stage of her career.
Saturday, 20 February 2010
Brenda Blethyn
Happy Birthday to
Brenda Blethyn
64 today
Completely unafraid, Brenda excels in roles that require a little extra pizzazz. She's also a personal hero of mine, leaving a career in her late 20's and then moving into acting. She's also run the London Marathon which is quite an achievement.
Friday, 19 February 2010
Out This Week (19/02/10)
I'm a little ashamed about this week's releases. Not that the releases themselves have shamed me, but that the excitometer numbers are a little high. You see although part of it is based on what I think about the trailers and the concept equally a large part is defined by reviews, cast, off-screen talent and awards buzz. So there are three films getting high scores this week, and I have to admit it's mainly due to the oscar noms. So ignoring them I'd probably recommend Samantha Morton's foster drama The Unloved (although it was screened on Channel 4 last year so I'm not sure why it's getting a cinema release. Regardless, mathematically the film of the week is The Lovely Bones.
Closed Book
Tom Conti is a blind art historian, Daryl Hannah his mysterious assistant helping him with one last book. There are secrets galore in this murky thriller, but aside from the money shot of Conti with just empty eye sockets there's little to recommend it.
Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●○○○○○○○
Crazy Heart
This is the film that will bring Jeff Bridges his fully deserved Oscar. Naturally this film would have normally faded away over time, but for this reason only it will stay in the history books. I'm sure Jeff's performance as a washed-up country singer hitting the bottom of his bottle and rock bottom of his life is worthy, however...
Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●●●●●●●○
Headless Woman
The third feature from acclaimed Argentinian director Lucretia Martel follows a middle class mother of three who begins to lose her sanity after running over a neighbours dog.
Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●●○○○○○○
The Last Station
Based on the final days of Leo Tolstoy's life, apparently the vast majority of the screenplay is based on the diaries that most of the characters are keeping. In that respect it's as close to the truth about what happened as can be made about events that took place 100 years ago.
Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●●●●●●●○
The Lovely Bones
Peter Jackson's adapatation of the Alice Sebold novel. The novel has a wistful attitude to death which may have been lost in translation but Jackson's always a fascintaing director, even when he mis-fires - as this might be - it's worth taking a look at.
Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●●●●●●●○
Solomon Kane
Puritan adventure (now's there's a combination you don't hear everyday) as 16th century soldier James Purefoy battles ancient demons and shadowy sects to save Rachel Hurd-Wood (and his soul, apparently). Expect much blood-letting and faux-important speeches. Max von Sydow and Pete Postlethwaite lead the supporting cast.
Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●●○○○○○○
The Unloved
First shown on TV last year, Samantha Morton's disection of the foster care system, with all it's failures on display, gets a belateded cinematic release. Morton writes from the heart, having spent much of her childhood in care and the deeply unsettling child's view of situations they cannot understand or control is hugely affecting.
Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●●○○○○○○
Jon Whiteley
Happy Birthday to
Jon Whiteley
65 today
Former child star, and recipient of a Juvenile Oscar for his performance in The Little Kidnappers back in 1953, Whiteley grew out of acting in his early teens and has since gone on to become a renowned Art Historian with the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford. Which goes to prove that you can have a normal future if you start acting at an early age.
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