2010. Dir: Lasse Hallström. Starring: Channing Tatum, Amanda Seyfried, Richard Jenkins, Henry Thomas and D.J. Cotrona. ●○○○○
If Dear John had opened in 2009 it would have had the dubious homour of being the worst film I had seen that year. As it is it hasn't quite achieved that level of notoriety. Please note this is not an endorsement of the film, just a reminder of how bad my choices have been this year.
With it being a Nicolas Sparks (The Notebook, Nights in Rodanthe) adaptation you could write the plot on the back of a matchbox. Soldier (Channing Tatum - wooden) meets student (Amanda Seyfried - not bothering to act at all) during one summer. They fall in love. He gets called away. They write each other letters. Until something happens that makes them stop - I won't say what it is for fear of spoiling the film but if you've heard the generic term of "Dear John" letters then you probably know how the film will end.
I would like to point out that the movie does have a very realistic portrait of the growth of a relationship and the strains it then couses when they are seperated. Even if the very idea of a "special forces" soldier not trying to coerce or cajole his girlfriend into sex until the night before he's shipped to Iraq seems unlikely it does help to accentuate the deep mytical bond between the characters - enough to make you imagine they're meant to be together. The endless montage scenes with the letters between the protagonists as voiceovers also help in this regard. I'd also recommend the work of the location scout, finding a suitable southern ranch for Seyfried's wealthy family, a gorgeous beachfront and the combat settings were equally realistic.
I have also been told that the themes of how the sense of duty felt by both the characters is what attracts them, pulls them apart and gives them a way forward. However this is not something that occurred to me during or after the film so it's fair to say we can discount the intellectual critique.
On the other hand the performances across the board are pretty terrible. Even the reliable Richard Jenkins, underplaying autistic tendencies, is not giving anything close to his best work. Talking of autism the film grossly exploits two peripheral characters on the spectrum in order to make cheap points about the type of people our lovers are and how they relate to the world. It also uses strokes and cancer to make sly little points. Outside of the lovers characters come and go with no sense of narrative structure and their philosophies and emotional outlook will vary according to the needs of the plot.
One example of this is Seyfried college buddy Randy (played by Scott Porter - who frankly is far more attractive than Tatum). Early on, whilst he's being a jerk just to provoke Tatum, she tells Tatum that he only thinks he likes her, but in fact she's not his type at all. My gaydar instantly went ping at that but there you go. This was followed by another scene later where he apologises to Tatum and lets him into the social set, then finally he's staring at Seyfried's back during a lecture. He's then never seen again. Doesn't add anything else to the plot, you see.
Lasse Hallstrom, who managed to be delicate with Hachi, pours on the bathos until you can stand no more turning this into an even more sickly sweet confection than it had any right to be.
In conclusion I have to say this is the sort of film that idiots like me watch, so you don't have to. Awful awful awful.
Wednesday, 12 May 2010
Dear John
Friday, 16 April 2010
Out this week (16/04/2010)
It's not a classic week of releases, but it's safe to say that a number of the films coming out are generally looking good. There's also a "twin" theme which I'm very pleased to see. I'm personally going to be checking out the thinly veiled Blair film (only 3 weeks until the election) and Channing Tatum's abs, but I think the top film of the week, and this is based purely on the very high standard of reviews, will be Cemetery Junction.
Beeswax
Our first twin film, from the mumblecore movement, has identical sisters Jeannie and Lauren face major decisions in the way they go forward in their lives. It's low-key approach and lack of plot direction may turn off some viewers.
Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●○○○○○○○
Boogie Woogie
A satire of the London Art circle, that neither appears to be funny nor terribly satirical. Probably best to go back to the Banksy doc from a few weeks ago.
Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●○○○○○○○○
Cemetery Junction
Slice of life comedrama from Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, follows three friends in Reading as they face the transition into the patterns that may will set the rest of their life. Christian Cooke is the lead character (getting a job selling insurance) but it's Ralph Fiennes as his boss and Emily Watson that are the draws for me.
Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●●●○○○○○
City of Life and Death
The siege of Nanjing is in vogue these days, with John Rabe coming out a couple of weeks ago. This Chinese film is certainly getting the better notices and would certainly be a great choice for anyone interested in that period of the 20th century.
Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●●○○○○○○
Crying with Laughter
It's the dark side of Facebook as stand-up Stephen McCole falls in with a sinister ex-classmate in Edinburgh. This is a drama, not a comedy mind, as the plot revolves heavily around sexual abuse.
Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●○○○○○○○
Dear John
Amanda Seyfried falls in love with Channing Tatum's abs in this weepie from Nicolas Sparks (The Notebook). Did well in the States, should do well here, but won't be box office champ.
Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●○○○○○○○
The Ghost
Pierce Brosnan plays ex-Prime Minister Adam Lang (not Tony Blair) and Ewan MacGregor his unnamed ghost writer in this thriller adapted from the Richard Harris novel and directed by Roman Polanski. Should be right up his street.
Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●●●○○○○○
Give me your Hand
Our second film about twins, this time boys, has a very different tone as the 18 year olds hitchhike to their mothers funeral and have romantic and sexual encounters on the way (note gay interest here...)
Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●○○○○○○○
The Heavy
Good timing for this British thriller about a Prime Ministerial candidate whose brother has shady links with the underworld. Oddball cast include Vinnie Jones, Stephen Rea and Christopher Lee.
Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●●○○○○○○
Paathshala
This weeks obiligatory Bollywood entry. The not-so-promising tagline: "Teaching is a noble profession".
Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●○○○○○○○○
Repo Men
Forest Whitaker and Jude Law play repossion men in the future, only they're not here to take your TV, they're here to take your kidney. I don't like the future.
Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●○○○○○○○
Veda AtatUrk Farewell
Turkish biopic of the soldier and master politician who unified the Ottoman Empire. Probably no a hatchet job.
Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●○○○○○○○
Tuesday, 9 March 2010
Tuesday Trailers - Dear John
Why yes, this does look like derivative and soppy, but we're running short of decent looking films opening as we head into April so this is the best you're going to get this week. And it did knock Avatar off the top spot in America so it must be worth watching, right? Hello - are you there?
Dear John is released on 16 April 2010.
Monday, 4 May 2009
Richard Jenkins
Happy Birthday to
Richard Jenkins
62 today
After yeasrs of strong character actor semi-obscurity Richard finally got a chance to shine with The Visitor in 2008 which earned him his first Oscar nomination. Coming up next, that I want to see, is Dear John an adaptation of a novel by Nicolas Sparks (The Notebook, Walk to Remember) which looks like it could be low-key and do reasonable box office.
Thursday, 30 October 2008
Catching up - Film news
I'm going to now squeeze into one post all the news I've picked up over the last 5 weeks that I feel is fit to print. Enjoy wading through for anything that you might like.
By the way I'm deliberately avoiding release schedule changes (Bye Bye The Soloist, Cheerio The Road, see you in 2009) and I'm trying not to dwell on castings in films I've already mentioned before (Helen Mirren in The Tempest - Yeah!!! - Helena Bonham Carter in Alice in Wonderland - really?).
Biutiful - Javier Bardem is set to join Alexandro Gonzales Inarritu's latest crime drama. Seems to be a modern update of Angels with Dirty Faces/Dead End only without the Bowery boys.
Book of Shadows - apparently a book chock fulls of spells and wicca and in need of closing to restore balance to the world. I'm not sure why Rob Reiner is the choice to direct this.
Coming after the jump - Brad Pitt's Bum and lots of drugs...
Only not straight away...
Buried - Todd Field's next project will concern a couple so desperate for money they bury a rich man alive and nick his dosh. Given that in Field's last 2 films (Little Children and In the Bedroom) he directed some great performances of desperation this could be worth seeing.
Steven Soderbergh - I manage to spell his name incorrectly in a different way every time I do it - has 2 new films on the go. The Girlfriend Experience about prostitution and [potentially] a Cleopatra musical starring Catherine Zeta-Jones. If that's not diversification then I don't know what is.
Dear John - I'd love this to be a cinematic rehash of the classic BBC comedy series about a depressive who's wife leaves him and then reenter's the singles circuit, but apparently it's about a soldier and a college student. Now starring Henry Thomas.
Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test - Following their successful (looking at the internet buzz) collaboration on Milk Gus Van Sant and writer Dustin Lance Black are to team up again with this true life tale of Ken Kesey, a small van and lots of drugs. Competition to the Hunter Thompson biopic?
High and Low - English Language remake is usually a phase that turns me off, but with Mamet writing, Mike Nichols directing and the source coming from Kurosawa (who's films often translate well) I'm unusually expectent. And the tale of a executive choosing between buying out a company or paying the ransom for his driver's son (it's complicated) sounds like a great dilemma movie.
Matarese Circle - No, I don't understand the title. However it's written by the guy behind the Bourne trilogy, will star Denzel Washington and has Cronenburg at the helm. Could be brilliant, could be barmy, can't wait to find out.
Brad Pitt Double bill - Brad's always choosing interesting films, and hasn't appeared to seek box office championship status since Troy but he's about to return to swords and sandals with the Homer's follow up - The Odessey (since Achilles is dead he's taking the Odysseus role). Hopeful it will be another chance to see his naked torso mmm. He's also lining up Moneyball about computer modelling in baseball. Yes you heard that right. Brad playing a computer nerd - gotta love it.
Scorcese's next move - After tiring of Leo, Scorcese has lined up Robert De Niro to star in his next film about the killer of Jimmy Hoffa (influential corrupt union boss in the 50's). Given their shared history includes Taxi Driver, Raging Bull and Goodfellas this is a must see.
Sunny and 68 - Vince Vaughn is a better actor than he is given credit for. I'm not sure this family drama is the way for him to prove that though.
Thor - has been greenlit with a tentative 2010 release date. I like the idea of a comic book movie based on Norse mythology (even if I am unusually ignorant about the source material) so I'll keep my eye out for news on this.
