4/4/07

Comedy 2006-2014

 

 

 

 

                                             Grand Budapest Hotel
                                         The latest in a series of Wes Anderson’s hermetically sealed worlds. This set in a grand hotel who’s time has passed on the eve of an un named conflagration. Everyone see’s the writing on the wall, with the exception of the concierge M Gustave played by Ralph Fiennes who’s impeccable service to the aged wealthy clients is his hallmark, In a startling appearance Tilda Swinton makes an entrance as the ancient Madame D, her unacknowledged relationship with  M Gustave becomes relevant after her eventual death, as a farcical tussle over her will centering around a priceless painting ensues  with her grasping family, all  set against the oncoming conflict and the disappearance of the world that the hotel was built to cater to. Anderson’s acting ensemble including  F Murray Abraham, Adrien Brody Willem Dafoe Harvey Keitel Jude Law Bill Murray Edward Norton and Tom Wilkinson, make the acting firepower top heavy, given that the undoubted star of this film is the art direction and set design, which are breathtaking. If you like stunningly ornate pre war grandiose snow globes you will probably like this film.

 


 
American Hustle;
                         A stylish entertaining  cross between The Sting and The Grifters  Director David O Russell (Silver Linings Playbook, Three Kings) along with a terrific cast tells the tale of a  con man Irving Rosenfeld played with superb oiliness by Christian Bale and his brainy girlfriend Sydney Prosser wonderfully portrayed by Amy Adams who get caught by FBI agent  Ritchie DiMaso manically brought to life by Bradley Cooper. In exchange for waiving their upcoming conviction he has the two work for him in a scheme to ensnare corrupt politicians in New Jersey. The rest of the cast including a scene stealing turn by Jennifer Lawrence as Irving’s wife are the backbone of this film.  The brisk paced writing  is the second leg , and the assured direction by Russell ensure a worthwhile visit to your local multiplex
375 stars



Enough Said;
                    This well crafted romcom starring the late James Gandolfini as Albert and Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Eva is another well written opus from director Nicole Holofcener. (Friends with Money, Lovely and Amazing and Please Give) They both play single divorcees whose teenage children are about to leave for college. Eva is a massage therapist. At a party she meets Albert with whom she  soon strikes up  the beginnings of a relationship  and Marianne, played by Holofcener mainstay  Catherine Keener, not knowing they  were once married. Marianne becomes a client who at her sessions is constantly bemoaning her ex ,the man Eva is beginning to  take a shine to.  At the point of realizing their connection she elects to say nothing to either party, which leads to a seat squirming confrontation.  Both Gandolfini and Dreyfus handles this part of the film with great acting, combined with Holofcener’s great writing this gives the film  its gravitas. An intelligent well acted and written film well worth leaving the house for.
396 stars




The Worlds End;
 I have a theory about British humor. Its modern anarchic flowering from The Goons through Fawlty Towers, Monty Python and Absolutely Fabulous, is the result of just the right amount repression in society. Too much and terrible winters like Russia, Scandinavia and Germany and you get no humor. at all. Too permissive with great sunny  weather like Italy, France and Spain and once again.. Nada. Britain in this case is in a global sweet spot. Modern evidence of the continuation of this grand tradition is  “The Worlds End” (If ever there was an appropriate title for a madcap comedy in the British comic vista, this is it) This offering hopefully not the final in their “Cornetto Trilogy” is concocted by director Edgar Write, who with actor Simon Pegg both wrote Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz, worthy columns in the modern British comedic pantheon. The story begins when Gary, played  with manic teenage energy by co writer Simon Pegg corrals four of his teenage pals to have another go at conquering “the golden mile” to “have a pint at each of the twelve pubs therein. Everyone else in the group has grown up, gotten jobs, settled down. Reluctantly out of sympathy, nostalgia or even curiosity they all agree  to go back to their teenage town to embark on this madcap epic bender. Without giving anything away their endeavor after a slow start takes a startling turn which after some scenes not unlike “Shaun of the Dead” ends with . Andy exuberantly played by Nick Frost is explaining what happened to the planet as a result of this reunion to some surviving children round a camp fire. Other cast members  Martin Freeman, Paddy Considine, Eddie Marsan, and Rosamund Pike, all British acting luminaries  more than hold up their end of the madness. Comedy being the hardest of the film genres to be successful at, this one gets a gold.  1500 stars






Frances Ha.
                 A collaboration between husband and wife team director Noah Baumbach (The Squid and the Whale, Margot at the Wedding) and co-writer Greta Gerwig This tale tells the story of terminally goofy Frances, an erstwhile dancer her friendship with Sophie, played by  Mickey Sumner,(a woman) they met in college and have been best buds ever since. Mickey spins off eventually getting involved  in a conventionally dysfunctional romance and marriage, leaving Frances, who has nothing other than her dreams, which as she ricochets from one impossibility to another more like a ball in a pachinko machine become more implausible. This film is a showcase for Gerwig who takes over every scene filling Frances with mostly endearing  quirkiness. The photography, refreshingly in black and white and editing are above par. A  lightweight diversion well done.


 
                                Ruby Sparks;
                    A light hearted rom com without the com.. Paul Dano  plays Calvin a successful 20 something writer, facing the inevitable writers block, but still riding on the coattails of his first successful tome. Everybody is nagging him for his next book, which only increases his angst. Implausibly inept with women, he returns to the (typewriter!!!) to invent one. This, he finds opens the literal  sluice gates  and he is on a roll again. After a feverish session at the TYPEWRITER  (how lame is this symbol) he comes downstairs in his very stylish apartment to find the girl in his story fixing him breakfast. In disbelief  he refuses at first to  accept what he is seeing, but eventually realizes she is real. Egged on by his lowlife brother Harry, played by Chris Messina, he takes advantage of the fact that whatever he writes in his story about this girl she will, do in real life, like immediately being able to speak French and various other behaviors  Harry has a hilarious line in the film after Calvin discloses this ability. “On behalf of men everywhere, don’t let this go to waste” He doesn’t but not in the way that Harry and men everywhere would like.  Much like Mickey Mouse in  Fantasia you have to be careful what you wish for. The device of your dream girl coming to life is not new, but this is handled in an inventive and deft manner, much to the credit of Dano, and  Zoe Kazan  (the granddaughter of Elia)who is also the writer as Ruby. The luminous Annette Bening, and  Antonio Banderas  put in an appearance  as Calvin’s wacky parents, as does Elliot Gould  (not looking a day over 100) as Calvin’s shrink. Overall, well written and acted and above average all round.
265 stars




 
 
Moonrise Kingdom;
                            In this terminally quirky tale, Set on an island  off the coast of New England  in the summer sometime in the ‘60’s.  Wes Anderson (the king of quirk) spins a sometimes charming tale of a pair of kids in their early teens, who run away together,  and “hang out”. Much to the consternation of the townspeople who mount a search, and in the process expose their own ineptitude as searchers and as adults. Juxtaposed against the honesty and innocence of the fleeing kids, the townspeople’s antics are more and more absurd, which might be the moral of this tale. Out of the mouths of babes, ect ect. Bruce Willis  does a nicely restrained performance as the town cop. Edward Norton as the idiot scoutmaster who loses the boy, Sam played by Jared Gilman.  Bill Murray…. well is Bill Murray playing Walt Bishop the father of the runaway girl, Suzy, a terrific performance by Kara Hayward. And Frances McDormand  plays Laura Bishop, also a terrific performance.
300 stars   uneven lighthearted and entertaining






Friends With Kids;
From the same family tree as the much vaunted “Bridesmaids” and with 2 of the same cast members Kristen Wiig and Maya Rudolph. This yuppy ( is this still a “term”?) follows and erstwhile couple, Jennifer Westfeldt, who also wrote and directed this smart Rom Com and Jason Fryman, who decide, in this film, to have a baby outside of the conventional marital structure of theirs struggling friends. Even though this ruse has predictable enough results. The writing and acting are sharp enough to surf blithely over these troubled waters. The end result being, an enjoyable evenings entertainment, Provided you can get a sitter, either for YOUR kids, or your PARENTS, depending where you are in the life cycle. The cast are polished and practiced and deliver their performances with ease, the directing and editing are brisk and assured. Worth the trouble of going to see it at a MOVIE theater.
275 stars



Bridesmaids;
I’m not sure how qualified I am to make any comments about this film at all, even though I DID see it and sat through the whole performance, laughing out loud on several occasions at some really funny lines. I am definitely not the target audience here. My estrogen levels being way off the charts (on the down side) Never the less this film does have its genuinely funny moments mainly due to the obvious talents of Kristen Wiig, who as well as having a starring role shares the writing credits with Annie Mumolo. It concerns the the impending wedding of Annie’s (Wiig) best friend Lillian Played by Maya Rudolf set against the backdrop of her own imploding (ne non existent) love life. I won’t go into details of the storyline here, but the girls in the audience loved it. Wiig to my mind carries most of the film on her very capable shoulders and along with her obvious writing chops makes this a fun ride. 237.5 stars




The Kids Are Alright;
Director Lisa Cholodenko has fashioned an inventive funny poignant family drama in which the “mothers:” expertly played by Annette Bening and Julianne Moore grapple with all of the usual middle class family dramas of bringing up their 2 children who are on the cusp of going to college and finding their own voices. When the oldest of the two at the behest of her younger brother decide to try and find their “sperm donor” father, not knowing what they are letting themselves in for they unleash what turns out to be a torrent of mayhem, especially when they initially find out that they actually like the guy, played with rumpled raffishness by Mark Ruffalo, much to the dismay of their mothers. There are more involvements and complications that take place amongst the 3 adults in this triangle to make the ride at turns familiar and sad. It is this knowing maneuvering in this emotional pentagonal soup that lift this film out of the trite or mundane. All of the action throughout has air of realism and truth, that this could actually happen. And because of the actors talents and performances along with Cholodenko’s assured direction it just reinforces that notion. Bening is superb, Julianne Moore is wonderful, Mia Wasikowska as Joni the daughter is terrific as well. An unusually well realized film full of all the ingredients to make the effort of going to the theater worth while.
347 stars and listen to your mothers





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Please Give:
The latest by director Nicole Holofcener (Friends with Money) Is a tale of urban angst told with a particular astute female perspective, one that few directors can successfully bring to the screen with as much authenticity as this one. Katherine Keener (wonderful) is Kate the guilt ridden wife of Alex played by Oliver Platt, (also terrific) a New York couple who run a used furnishing store in Manhattan. The get their “stock” from the apartments of recently deceased tenants, buy up what they think will sell and then more often than not sell it for many times what they paid for it. The New York way. They have a teenage daughter who amongst all of these goings on unknowingly adds fuel to the guilt burden bourn by Kate. In one great scene Kate, while walking down the street with her family attempts to give money to a person she thinks is homeless but is simply waiting for a table in a restaurant. There is a subplot in which the couple is also
surreptitiously waiting for the demise of their neighbor, an extremely grumpy old lady who is being taken care of by her 2 feuding granddaughters, so that they can knock through the wall and expand their own living space, (more fuel for the guilt fire) This dare I say it “Allenesque” view on urban life is so much better than the whinemeister has ever done. She substitutes the aforementioned whining with razor sharp insights, pathos and ultimately forgives all of her characters for their human frailties. The casting is perfect, the acting top rate, the dialog by turns hilarious and tragic, the story multilayered and engaging. Holofcener is firing all cylinders, and then some.



Mid August lunch:
Or to give it its Italian title “Lunch of Ferragosto” which is an Italian holiday. The slight charming trifle is the story of a middle aged son, Gianni, played by writer/director Gianni Di Gregorio, who lives with his ancient mother and who amongst other things is 3 years behind on his electricity bill. The landlord who needs someone to take care of HIS mother for a couple of days, while he leaves town for the Ferragosto holiday proposes that in return for this favor he will pay Gianni’s apartment debts. Gianni reluctantly agrees, only to have the landlord show up the next day with his mother AND her sister. The next day suffering from the stress of now dealing with3 very elderly ladies, his doctor (who he hasn’t paid either) unloads HIS mother on the beleaguered Gianni, merry mayhem ensues, including some great cooking scenes. Juggling his increasingly cranky mother with his new houseguests makes for a lighthearted and very charming entertainment.





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Alice;
You have to be a fan and I am, of Lewis Carroll, his fabulously inventive and inspired stories about Alice, and also Tim Burton, and his weirdly skewed world view incorporating as it does and equally inventive and wondrously child like treatment of many of his filmic fables. If anyone could bring the telling of this classic story successfully to the screen, and many have tried, with limited success before, it was Burton. He did and he has. By melding Through the Looking Glass and Wonderland, plus inserting some of his own story as well Burton has with the aid of screen writer Linda Woolverton and some great voice talent, headed up by Alan Rickman as the voice of the blue hooker smoking caterpillar, and Stephen Fry as the wonderfully vaporizing Cheshire cat. Mia Wasikowska with fab hair plays the teenage Alice, Johnny Depp does a star turn as the Mad Hatter, Helena Bonham Carter is perfect as the Red Queen and Anne Hathaway is the White Queen. With this conglomeration of three stories, Burton has fashioned a terrifically entertaining film and a visual treat to boot, with just the right amount of CGI and no more to make this tale take off.
556 stars be careful what you smoke.




The Imaginarium of Dr Parnassus;
Director Terry Gilliam’s world view is not like yours and mine, and we are much better off
because of it. In this latest glimpse into his imagination we have another fantastical tale. This one set in modern London where a turn of the century fairground side show is towed around to various locations to attract customers into the imagination of the good Dr played by Christopher Plummer. Aided by his daughter and a couple of quirky assistants they all gamely try to make a go of it with their hopelessly outdated traveling theater. Long ago unbeknownst to anyone the good Dr made a deal with the devil wonderfully played by Tom Waits. In exchange for immortality the devil would come to claim the doctors daughter when she turned 16, a date which is rapidly approaching. Desperate to prevent the devil from claiming his prize he enters into another deal, whoever claims 5 souls before her birthday wins, either forestalling the devils prize or handing her over. During the actual filming of this epic, Heath Ledger who does a great job as Tony a new addition to the crew and who is responsible for its revival died, Gilliam did a great job in finishing the film as well as his part with the help of Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Colin Farrell, playing the part of Tony in the Imaginarium. As with most of his films, The Time Bandits, Brazil, The Brothers Grimm, the visuals are fantastical as is the story, he has a childlike sense of wonder coupled with an adults skill as a director to bring it to life intact. If you are a fan of his work you will like this one too.
306 stars, & no need for mind altering drugs.



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Pirate Radio;
A nostalgic (for me) look at then birth of broadcast rock and roll in England. While the BBC had a stranglehold on broadcasting in England. The lid could not be kept on the simultaneous explosion of rock and roll during the same time period. The Beeb refused to air any of this degenerate music, hence the birth of offshore boats to fill the cultural gap. These rogue pirate radio stations soon became, because of their rampant popularity amongst British youth, a thorn in the side of the authorities. Undermining the monopoly of the Beeb by these hairy teenagers was not to be tolerated. This then is the story behind this film. Youthful exuberance against stifling hidebound authority. They were bound to loose, even though they managed eventually to close them all down. Aided by some of the best classic music of the era, this good natured version of events, is told with gusto by director Richard Curtis (Love Actually, Bridget Jones) along with an enthusiastic cast that includes, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Rhys Ifans, and the always wonderful Bill Niighy. Lots of Fun.
316stars



MenWho Stare at Goats;

Ewan McGregor plays a lovelorn reporter from a small town newspaper who gets what he thinks is a dream assignment in Iraq (just the thing to take his mind off his just dissolved marriage) There he stumbles upon Lyn Cassidy (George Clooney) who claims to be a former member of the Army’s “First Earth Battalion” a secret unit that employs people who are trained in paranormal powers. This secret troop is headed up by Bill Django brilliantly played by Jeff Bridges. This film plays a certain kind of homage to “Burn After Reading” in as much as it, it displays with brilliant deadpan delivery the lunacy of some of the top brass in the military. The script has some terrifically funny lines in it. Everyone in the cast is in top acting form. The screenplay is lean, clever and briskly paced. Everything works… And yet I came out of the theater feeling that as a film it fell short. I dunno why. But I would still recommend it.
256 stars don’t be a goat.


In the Loop


In this LOL, comedy? About the idiocy that is taken for granted at the very highest levels of government, Brit director Aramando Iannucci has made a film that lays bare in the most hilarious way the psychotic incompetence of power and the people who are drawn to it. Peter Capaldi plays with venomous ferocity Malcolm Tucker a Scottish foul mouthed pit bull communications chief who despite his own powerlessness terrorizes both senior and junior people in his orbit. Tom Hollander plays Simon Foster the mild mannered and completely (incompetent does not cover it) minister for international development. Cornered by a press gaggle while leaving his office in mistakenly implies in the most convoluted and hilarious government speak that he might be in favor of an impending war that the US is planning on an un named middle eastern country, in spite of his dovish public and private beliefs. This brings down on him the aforementioned Malcolm Tucker like a falcon on a mouse. James Gandolfini playing Lt General George Miller and Mimi Kennedy playing Karen Clark two doves in the American power machine surrounded a cabinet full of hawks both give memorable performances. The ensuing mayhem and power plays that Iannucci displays for us bring to mind some of the mindset of films like Brazil and Burn After Reading. If the insight was not so plausible and sharply observed this would be a hilarious comedy, in the absence of those two provisions its quite terrifying. 459 stars but such a potty mouth

Julie & Julia:
Director Nora Ephron (You’ve got Mail, Sleepless in Seattle) has crafted a wonderful bifurcated film skillfully combining the stories of Julie Powell who transformed her blog about cooking every recipe in Julia Childs cookbook, into a book and now part of this very entertaining story, and the tale of Julia Childs early life in France. Here is an example of the sum being very much more than its parts, at least in the hands of this director. Meryl Streep as Julia Child dominates this film inhabiting the part to the same extraordinary degree as she did in “Doubt” and almost every role she has appeared in, undoubtedly the best female actress on the planet. Coming in a very close second in that category is Stanley Tucci as her husband Paul, a wonderful portrayal. Amy Adams playing Julie Powell who was also in Doubt does well but is not in the same league as these two heavyweights. Switching back and forth between these two stories keeps the pace brisk and interesting. A fun and terrifically engaging piece of work.
375 stars & More Butter!

The Hangover:
Much in the Judd Apatow vein this formulaic comedy about a wild bachelor party in Vegas in which the 3 contenders loose their groom in a wild night of drunken debauchery that none of them can remember details of the following morning. The rest of the film is spent in trying to find their groom to get him back to LA in time for the wedding, all the while trying to keep the story of what happened (which they can’t remember anyway) from the increasingly frantic bride. Despite it’s lame story line is in parts funny due to the writing and the comic abilities of its actors.
89 stars & be careful what is in your cocktail




You Kill Me;

A wry comedy in which a hit man (Ben Kingsly) fails to knock off a rival gang leader who is muscling in on his family’s trash hauling business. This occurs because of his drinking problem. His family hands him an ultimatum sober up or get whacked. They send him to San Francisco her he reluctantly joins AA.
Here after a shaky start he meets Laurel Pearson, played by the mysteriously absent Tea Leoni, who does a great comic rendition . Love takes over, Kingsley finishes the failed whacking, everyone is happy. Here is another example of the writing being the star of this piece, it is clever, intelligent, funny, and doesn’t treat the audience like morons. All the actors have to do is follow the script, do their acting, and bingo you have a good film instead of what could have been a slight flop.
Everyone does their job well, a good cast including Phillip Baker Hall, as a mob boss on the losing team, Dennis Farina, another boss who gets his comeuppance, Bill Pullman, and Luke Wilson have nice supporting roles too
230 stars




Knocked Up;

This is a tale of an extreme slacker, who as the title suggests, knocks up a girl he picks up in a bar, who being very inebriated at the end of the evening invites him back to her place for some drunken unprotected sex. Said slacker is then looking fatherhood very urgently in the face. This type of comedy is the latest in a barrage of sophomoric lowbrow comedy that is washing over the American psyche. The stereotypical slackers are so extremely over characterized as to suggest that the audience must have some kind of severe cognitive disorder, and need this kind of display in order to “get it” The director Judd Apatow (the 40 Year Old Virgin) as well as other TV comic masterpieces, (not) is being hailed as some kind of new comic wunderkind, If this is so then the end of the republic must be dangerously near. This is nothing more than another overblown, overwrought, bash ‘em over the head with a 2x4 un humorous mess. I walked.
-300 stars




Fay Grim;

This film is a continuation of a film by Hartley he did in 1997 called “Henry Fool”The completely wonderful Parker Posey stars in this comedy about a wife who is on the search of her husband, who unbeknownst to her has a very murky past involving his secret journals and possible terrorist connections. The completely naive Grim has to quickly get her wits about her in order to find out why the CIA, (Jeff Goldblum does a nice turn as the leading agent) is on her husbands trail, and get to him before they do. This takes her to Paris and Istanbul
In an almost Incomprehensibly convoluted set of circumstances Grim/Posey carries this out with comic deftness, that belies her wonderful mouth. The aforementioned plot is to complex to go into here. Suffice it to say that it keeps you engaged all the way through as do the chuckles and the drama, nicely mixed up by director Hal Hartley, who I am grateful to for being as much a Posey fan as I am.
300 stars and turn off the vibrate function on you mobile.



Hot Fuzz;

A hilarious British send up of American cop shows (CSI. ect), brought to you by the team who did “Shaun of the Dead”
An earnest cop is transferred from London’s Metropolitan Police for “being too good at his job and showing the rest of the force up” He is then given a promotion and a transfer to an idyllic village in the country, where he finds the police very much different than his “by the book training” at the police academy.
Hiding behind this seemingly blissful scene, a despotic police chief a string of grizzly “accidents” and a nefarious plan to take “the most beautiful village in Britain” prize.
Our earnest hero vainly tries to shape up these “village idiots” only to have an insurrection break out amongst the entire population, after he discovers their evil plot to win the aforementioned competition , which he has to put down in a blistering CSI type gun battle with the entire village. This entire farce is played out in deadly earnestness and also with tongue firmly planted in cheek. The end result , in which much credit is due to the writers, for keeping this from being a sophomoric pie in the face mess, is a really funny film.
273.5 stars + throw me a clip




For your Consideration;

Christopher Guest (Best of Show, A Mighty Wind) has assembled most of his stock acting company, and produced another, droll and often hilarious film, this time seriously poking fun at the Oscars.
The scenario; an impossibly hokey and dreadful film, titled “Home for Purim” peopled with actors well past their “sell by” date is being made on one of the very back lots in Hollywood. During the shooting an internet story starts about possible Oscar buzz for one of it’s actors, (Catherine O’Hara) the word slowly spreads thought the cast despite the help of the films publicist and agent, jockeying and mayhem (of the quiet dignified type) lead up to the nomination. (I’m not going to divulge the outcome). Guests group of actors, by this time have done so many films with him they must completely understand his comic direction, they are mostly so effortlessly funny either on their own or in a group that it defies belief.
They are, Christopher Guest as the frizzy haired director, Catherine O’Hara, as the appropriately named actress Marilyn Hack, Eugene Levy as the agent, Harry Shearer as an actor on the decline, (only he does not know it) The wonderful Parker Posey as another leading cast member, Bob Balaban and Michael McKean as the hard done by writers , Fred Willard & Jane Lynch as the impossibly cheesy TV show hosts and Ricky Gervais as a producer, who comes in late and “ruins everything” This is not a “pie in the face” comedy with lots of teenage bathroom humor, but it is much funnier.
300 stars



Running with Scissors;

Based on the memoir by Augusten Burroughs of his bizarre upbringing, this film follows his mothers,(brilliantly played by Annette Benning) delusional descent into insanity, and the effect this has on him. Adopted by the equally insane psychiatrist played with gusto by Brian Cox Augusten is exposed to the rest of Cox’s equally dysfunctional family, his 2 daughters played by Evan Rachel Wood and Gwyneth Paltrow and his wife wonderfully portrayed by the long absent Jill Clayburgh. Thrown into this mayhem Burroughs , played with great intensity by Joseph Cross struggles to form some kind of coherent reality of his own. The juxtaposition of comedy and tragedy here are at first jarring, and then, tiring and ultimately unsuccessful. The film is full of wonderful performances, but in the end is too scattered to leave you with any coherent emotion.
175 stars, (mostly for Benning) Take your Meds



Shortbus;

In James Cameron Mitchell’s (Hedwig and the Angry Inch) he has displayed that even on the very fringes of the New York scene, everyone is looking for the same thing as the rest of us. A meaningful relationship. That he goes to what some would think as outrageous lengths to illustrate this is only testament to his inventiveness, and singularity of vision. Here he has fashioned a multilayered story in the most extravagant, intimate, hilarious and tragic way you will have seen. If graphic sex bothers you stay away, it’s in here by the tractor trailer load, but it is only peripheral to the story being told here. The genius of this film is despite it’s flamboyant presentation, it deals with the most universal and fundamental human needs. The direction is masterful, the acting by the cast (which took a year to assemble) is pretty much perfect.
523 stars and a crate of condoms



Man of the Year:

At last a comedy. Barry Levinson who has worked with Robin Williams on several occasions, has done good work here. Working with current themes, elections, corruption, voter fraud, Washington nitwits, he has fashioned a thoughtful comedy (an oxymoron?) Not in this instance. Williams plays Tom Dodd a late night TV comic and comedian, who runs as an independent, with the egging on of his fans, in the upcoming presidential race. The votes are now cast electronically and this is where the evil corporation raises is ugly head, there is a glitch in the program which causes Dodd to win and which one of the lowly upstanding employees, played by Laura Linney, has discovered, What to do? Well go see the film to find out. I ‘aint tellin’ you.
Christopher Walken plays Dodd’s agent, and the rest of the cast (Lewis Black & Jeff Goldblum) are up to speed as well. Williams gets most of the laughs, which is as it should be. This film is much better than you think.
250 stars



Jesus is magic;

In Comedienne Sarah Silverman’s new concert film, one thing stands out clearly. She has the best teeth on any comic working today. Her comic chops are nothing to be sneezed at either. She goes over several “controversial” subjects with the ease and charm of an Olympic figure skater, her timing is near perfect, her self parodying is right on, and she is quite the expressive actress. While she is not as funny as the early Margaret Cho. The film is still quite entertaining.
200 stars & “I’m becoming my Mother”




Kiss kiss bang bang;

A colossal waste in every sense, with Val Kilmer & Robert Downey Jr. This is one of those hollywood created by smug producers who think they know what fun is.
I walked –300 stars. I want my money back… and it was a free screening.








The Family Stone;

A familiar theme just in time, you guessed it , for the holidays.
A dysfunctional (unbeknownst to them) family gets together for a Christmas from hell, well maybe not hell itself, but in the neighborhood anyway. Every cliché in the book is thrown into this pot along with some liberal ethnic base covering, in the form of a multi racial gay deaf couple. Most of the rest of the family have unresolved “issues” that come to the surface during this festive gathering. And while there is no actual Jim Carrey pie throwing, it gets close. Sarah Jessica Parker, (can’t she just choose a name???) plays a very waspish uptight career woman,(any actual acting here?) who is about to be married to one of the brothers (Dermot Mulroney) but they both have their doubts, while unwinding (finally) she falls into the clutches of the other brother played by Luke Wilson (trying to imitate his brother Owen in the loopiness stakes). It’s mostly harmless, if it weren’t so chock full of the aforementioned producer induced, teeth grinding cliché’s. Diane Keaton plays the matriarch to this unruly brood, and her time on the screen is one of the few saving graces here. Craig T Nelson plays dad, (stoic) Claire Danes plays Parkers sis (willowy) and Rachel McAdams is in there somewhere as well.
150 stars and some quiche on the floor



Match Point;

Despite my long rant over Allen’s last release (Melinda ect) see May 05, I went with trepidation and some domestic pressure to see his latest “comeback” effort. Set in London instead of New York (the venue seems to make no difference, as they get the same treatment) It tells the story of a tennis pro and social climber who marries (with some indifference) a woman who comes from a very wealthy family. Whilst he is wooing his intended, he spies the fiancé of his future brother in law, and lusts after her as well. He marries his intended, his brother in law breaks up with his fiancé,(the object of his lust), and after a while commences to have an affair with the brother in laws ex, which culminates in her pregnancy, and a very messy solution.
I have discovered what I despise about most of Allen’s films, It is not his filmmaking craft, choice of actors or any technical aspect of his efforts. It is his world view, (which he transposes into his characters and films, and onto the screen)
Our hero here is once again, a spineless malcontent, who after shambling into a life of luxury and privilege, as well a marriage of convenience, cannot even find any joy in his marriage or the affair that he initiates. The wives and mistresses are simply inconvenient appendages to his own misery.
Allen says that this film is really about the role that blind luck plays in our lives, but the lives that he displays in this film, are so mired and self absorbed that the fail to see any luck that passes them by, (good or bad).
All that being said, this is a good film, with excellent acting by it’s leads, Scarlett Johansson (outstanding) and Jonathan Rhys-Meyers.
51 stars



Mrs. Henderson Presents;

A good hearted look at music hall life before and during the second world war in London. Judy Dench plays Mrs. Henderson a very wealthy, eccentric recently widowed woman who on a whim buys a rundown theatre (the Windmill, which I believe is still there) and turns it into a Mecca for topless reviews. Aided by Vivian Van Damm the manager she hires to run the reviews ,played by Bob Hoskins, this mismatched couple, against all odds keep the theater running throughout the blitz , entertaining the troops, and despite their very different personalities have a good time in the process. Judy Dench as always gives a sparkling performance, as does Bob Hoskins. Christopher Guest plays the very stuffy Lord Chancellor who is the censor of good tastes. 150 stars



Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World;

Certainly a provocative and timely title, but this slight film starring and directed by Albert Brooks, is not that funny. While it’s premise has lots of potential Brooks misses the mark, even though there are some funny laughs in it, they are too few and far between, proving that comedy is really the hardest genre to perform. He plays himself, asked by the State Department to go to India & Pakistan on a mission to find out what makes Muslims laugh, and while this is a humorous film I didn’t find it funny enough.
75 stars




Tristram Shandy;

Apparently, taken from a novel written in 1767, (which is why I’ve never heard of it) This film is a mess. Played as the making of the film , we have here, a film within a film, even though it has received many thumbs up from a variety of nitwit critics, stay away. It bills itself as a comedy, I found nothing funny in it. Steve Coogan the British actor, who did a good turn in “24 Hour Party People” also directed by Winterbottom, falls on his face here, which is not surprising given the materiel he has to work with. Winterbottom is a talented adventurous director, but he has copious amounts of egg on his face with this one, (which is allowed)
26 stars




Friends with Money;

This very engaging comedy has a wonderful cast, great script, terrific acting, and has some barbed truisms stuck in there every once in a while to keep the whole thing on an even keel. The story centers around 4 women and their various life passages. 3 of them whose marriages are in various states of disarray, one terminally so. and (Jennifer Aniston) is on the hunt, but working as a maid, has not had much success lately. This situation is good grist for the characters stories, and although this film covers much ground that has been fairly well dug before,(The Big Chill, Hannah and her Sisters) director Nicole Holofcener brings a fresh eye to this ever interesting subject.
Our other leading ladies are; Cathleen Keener, Joan Cusak, and Frances McDormand, all of them giving outstanding performances, and surprisingly, Jennifer Aniston who I have never liked much (although I’m told she has no bad words about me) more than holds her own amongst this high powered group of actresses. This is not necessarily a chick flic ( far be it from me to even suggest any denigrating association to the term). It will be enjoyed by any number of men, provided they have their heads screwed on and facing the right way.
300 stars



American Dreamz;

This film is a parody of the American Idol show (which I have never seen) so taken on face value it has some funny moments but mainly falls on its face, because it is more of a skit rather than a full length film. The foppish Hugh Grant ,playing the Simon Cowell role and Many Moore playing a Midwestern girl with a scheming heart, who makes it big, there are some other subplots involving an Arab terrorist and Denis Quaid who plays the bumbling president under the influence of Wilem Dafoe in the Karl Rove/Dick Cheney role. This film is an equal opportunity insulter, under the guise of being funny, which it is only occasionally. The whole mess is a lightweight producer driven, money grabbing vehicle whose producers cynicism is matched only by that it’s host.
75 stars



The West Wittering Affair:

Kath, horny and video friendly, invites Jamie, an obsessive chef, who she hardly knows, over to a country retreat with the goal of curing her horniness. Also invited is her best friend Natasha, who was supposed to bring her boyfriend, Gregg, ( a shrink).
Prior to the weekend Natasha has a blazing row with Gregg (the Shrink) and shows up alone. So Now we have two girls, an obsessive chef, lots of booze, a ruined meal that Kath manages burn to a crisp, (too horny) and that the obsessive chef refuses to eat. Much drinking ensues. The night approaches, no cable, what to do.
Our obsessive chef decides to order everything on the menu. The girls discover the next morning that they have both been cured of their horniness, have a brief row, and decide to tie up and leave Jamie on the table in the farmhouse, where he remained for 1 1/2 days (what a twit).
This who story has now been retold, to Gregg (the Shrink) some time later, by Jamie, who does not know that one of the girls he cured of her temporary horniness is Gregg’s girlfriend. Gregg listens intently… This convoluted plot continues until the end of the film, which ends up at the country retreat in West Wittering, where the original weekend took place. (why do the Brits have such twee names for their villages).
Anyway the film is mostly engaging and fun, apart from the annoying hand held jiggly camera work in parts, the fact it was shot on tape, and some horrendous songs on the sound track.
275 stars and some carefully placed veg.



Kinky Boots;

A Brit comedy by the folks (or should I say chaps) who brought you “Calendar Girls” a couple of years back. This time the story involves a shoe factory that has been in business for 150 years coming to grips with the current market after having made the same high quality product for the “well heeled” for ever.
After The father in the story dies, the factory comes into the somewhat unwilling hands of the son, who realizes that financially the factory is on the last of it’s uppers. Faced with changing the product line or shutting the place down, through a series of unlikely events he comes across a female impersonator who proves to be the salvation of the factory., With that plot twist you can imagine there is plenty of room for hilarity (the English version). You won’t recognize any of the cast except for Chiwetel Ejiofor, whose name you won’t recognize but who is a very busy actor in England and has many films to his credit including, Inside Man She Hate Me(Spike Lee) Melinda & Melinda (W Allen) and more besides. He carries the film. Playing Lola/Simon the cross dressing savior of the factory., This is really one of those very British films that has many universal themes, some of the comedy though does not translate as well as it might. Has a lot of good laughs though.
200 stars and some very stout thighs



A Prairie Home Companion;

In this film version of the long running radio show of the same name Garrison Keillor runs through what is supposed to be the last broadcast. In this version the always amazing Meryl Streep and Lilly Tomlin team up as the singing Johnson Sisters, John C Reilly and Woody Harrelson are Dusty & Lefty the singing cowboys, Kevin Kline plays Guy Noir, and Tommy Lee Jones plays the corporate guy who has come to close the place down. Virginia Madsen plays a white trechcoated angel.
Robert Altman, 81, is the perfect directorial choice. With his rambling camera, intercut scenes, it stops this film from being a documentary, and perfectly suits the tone of the show.
If you are a fan or not you will like it’s affection. 150 stars



The Devil Wears Prada;

In this comedy, based on the book by Lauren Weisberger , the incomparable Meryl Streep plays the tyrannical Miranda Priestly, editor of Runway magazine, with such repressed glee, that were she not the actress that she is you feel that she could have burst out laughing at any moment, as many of the audience members do. This is the story of a college graduate (Anne Hathaway) looking for a job in journalism in New York only to stumble into a job “that millions of girls would love to have” that she looks at as merely transitional. After being exposed to some of Miranda’s’ withering dismissives, including a wonderful soliloquy on the color blue, rises to the challenge, decides to take the bull by the horns, and try to conquer the job, at the cost of her own lifestyle (such as it was).
Her selfish wimpy, but very handsome boyfriend, whines about “his needs” during her career climb, but when she relents near the end, goes off on his own.
In the process she finds this ordeal greatly rewarding, although her successes are neither rewarded or acknowledged by Priestly.
Even though this film is another showcase for Streeps prodigious talents (just juxtapose this performance against the one she gave in “A Prairie Home Companion”) it has some real life lessons buried in the story. Stanley Tucci also gives a great performance as Priestley’s right hand fashionista
Mostly great because of Streep, and the writing. 350 stars



Little Miss Sunshine;

Dysfunctional family values, how many times have you heard that line? Well in this highly entertaining film directed by Jonathon Dayton, and Valery Faris it give new comedic weight to that well worn phrase.
Gregg Kinnear plays a failing motivational speaker who won’t give up on his daughters dream, Toni Collette plays his long suffering wife, Alan Arkin does a wonderful turn as the foul mouthed drug taking grandfather, and Steve Carrel gives a surprisingly muted and poignant portrayal as the somewhat haunted brother just in rehab from a suicide attempt. Paul Dano plays the usually moody & disaffected teen step son on a mission to become a military pilot , and finally Abigail Breslin plays Olive, the little girl on whose behalf this entire motley bunch piles into a yellow Volkswagen camper, with no clutch, to make the road trip to California to enter her in “the Little Miss Sunshine“ beauty pageant, an event which grandpa has been coaching Olive for many months.
As can be expected mayhem ensues, but it is well written, intelligent, comedic mayhem, with Kinnear giving an especially good performance, and the other cast members not far behind.
This is well worth the effort, (in theses 100+ degree days) of going so see this very funny film
300 stars




I Want Someone to Eat Cheese With:

Jeff Garlin who directed and stars in this romantic comedy plays a hopeless looser masquerading as a loveable putz, who cannot get his life together, at the age of 39. He is still living with his mother, is a failing actor who gets fired by everyone he is associated with in the business. This film fails on every level, a tired scenario we have seen a hundred times, even with the help of Amy Sedaris and Sarah Silverman (the main reason I went to see this mess). Some critics have compared this effort to the early films of Woody Allen, and with the exception of the script, dialog, screenplay and acting and humor they are correct.
28 stars (for Sarah Silverman in her underwear)




Juno;

Once more, here is an example of the writing rescuing what could be a tired old theme, that we have seen a thousand times. Ellen Page, plays Juno MacGuff, a 16 year old high school student, who on an evening where there was nothing on TV decides to have sex with a schoolmate who she does not find objectionable. This fling results in her pregnancy, (not the outcome she expected or wanted). It is her response to this outcome which makes the basis of this film. It is to Ms Page’s credit that she makes the most of the script handed to her and delivered a quirky, refreshing, if not intelligent portrayal of a young girl facing this dilemma. She decides early on to give the baby up for adoption, and selects a young yuppie couple, as the prospective parents, not knowing that, they are on the verge of a divorce, this element just adds a little twist to the plot.
There is enough intelligence in the plot and script to keep a sentient being’s attention and thankfully a sparse use of saccharine to prevent any undue projectile vomiting during the sentimental parts. The rest of the cast’s acting is up to par, with Jennifer Garner playing the adoptive mother whose maternal instinct is strong enough to generate solar flares, Jason Bateman as her husband, who really wants to be Kurt Cobain (before he died) JK Simmons as Juno’s befuddled father and Allison Janney has his somewhat jaundiced second wife, who really wants some dogs. All in all a worthwhile evening’s entertainment. I might even evoke the “C” word for this one. (cute)




Run Fat Boy Run.

With Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz Under his belt Brit actor Simon Pegg stars in a new comedy, he plays an overweight looser, who on his wedding day runs out on his pregnant wife, played by Thandie Newton. Cut to 5 years later when his ex, (who hasn’t aged a nanosecond) now is in charge of young Jake (to prove that he is an authentic British lad he has the worst set of choppers ever to grace the screen) Dennis (Pegg) is still inexplicably a father figure to this boy and so still sees his ex. By this time she has taken up with a new love interest, a loud American played by Hank Azaria, (of the Simpson’s) Still holding a candle for his ex, he gets talked into running in a London Marathon, (as if this is going to win back the heart of the woman he ran out on).
Pegg is not on his own in this film as the looser, he is accompanied by director David Schwimmer (I should have known) and as co-writer on this mess Pegg deserves an extra helping of egg on his face.
By know you might surmise that horrendous, trite, over acted, badly directed, corny, lame, waste of celluloid (film) might be my opinion of this mess, and you wouldn’t be far off the mark. The producers owe me stars.




Son of Rambo;

In this Brit import, timid young boy, Will played by Bill Milner who’s mother belongs to a religious sect is bullied into participating in a home made movie by Lee Carter the class tough, played by Will Poulter. Because of his repressive upbringing young Will invents a vivid fantasy world, which he illustrates in his bible, his imagination is further enhanced after inadvertently seeing a bootlegged tape of Rambo’s “First Blood” after which he then takes over the making of the film, aided by a very flashy French exchange student who is the idol of the schools girls, and everyone else as well. Rivalries and competitions inevitable take place between, the now emboldened Will and former tough guy Lee. This whole growing up scenario in intricately played out, even though the general theme is well worn director/writer Garth Jennings keeps the plot, and pace lively, without being sappy and the acting is generally first rate,
the visuals are inventive in places and even though this is a film mainly with kids as the center of the action there is enough here to engage adults as well. A good heartwarming comedy.
227 stars the kids rule alright !!



Bottle Shock;

Sideways goes Californian. Based on a true story, as they say, of a wine tasting competition, in which for the first time California trumps France. Alan Rickman is wonderful as a snotty Brit who in order to bring some notoriety to his failing Parisian wine shop, concocts the aforementioned competition. He makes an exploratory trip to California, to sample some of the products of the nascent wine industry, expecting nothing other than barely drinkable vinegar , he is naturally surprised by what the yanks have been up to. Bill Pullman plays a bitter owner of a struggling vineyard at odds with his hippie son and the rest of the world as well. The story is somewhat predictable, but has enough charm to make it worthwhile. Wonderful visuals, decent screenplay, Rickman stars and make this one worthwhile.
275 stars wine is sunshine held together by water Galileo



Burn After Reading;

This is a film about human stupidity. But because it is the latest opus by the Coen brothers who are undoubtedly at the top of their illustrious game, and because they have enlisted an extremely A list cast, none of whom have the time (or the inclination I suspect) to mess this one up, because of the frenetically clever writing, it is a very satisfying, farce. Comedy would be a misnomer, as it is not that funny in the conventional sense. John Malkovich (one of my least favorite actors) does a great turn as a recently fired CIA agent who decides, in order to soothe his battered ego, to write a memoir. Part way through this effort he leaves the disc at his health club, where it is discovered by a completely witless trainer played with air headed abandon by Brad (how many kids do I have now) Pitt. Thinking that this is top CIA material he tries to blackmail, the increasingly hysterical Malkovich. Part of the supposed haul will go to finance a slew of cosmetic surgeries that Pitt’s co worker the always terrific, Frances McDormand feels she must have in order to stay in “the game”. Malkovich’s problems are compounded by his icy wife, played by Tilda Swinton, who while having an affair with George Clooney is contemplating divorce. This not so merry romp is kept swirling at furious pace by the aforementioned Coen brothers deft hands mostly to good effect. 278 stars



Ghost Town;

After having been led by the nose for decades by the Hollywood romcom machine through a series of fatuous duds, here at last seems to be one that actually fulfills it’s promise. Thanks to intelligent and funny writing, a well thought out screenplay, wonderful casting, in this film at least the genre seems to be back from the dead. Misanthropic dentist Bertram Pincus, effortlessly played by Ricky Gervais, is enduring his miserably empty existence when after a snafu by the anesthesiologist whilst undergoing a routine procedure, he “dies” for seven minutes. After he leaves the hospital he realizes he can “see” ghosts, this irritates him even further. One particularly insistent ghost, played by the always engaging Greg Kinnear strikes a bargain with the rattled dentist in that he will get rid of the other ghosts that are dogging him if he will break up the impending romance of his wife with a suitor he does not approve of. To regain his previous life Pincus agrees, and in the process is opened up to how miserable his life has been, and how much better it can be if he follows his newly resuscitated heart. Kicking and screaming all the way he eventually does this, with predictable but enjoyable results. The ending which at once is predictable still has a nice twist to it in where in this version at least good deeds are rewarded. Gervais has his character down pat, Tea Leoni as Gwen the wife in question is wonderful,(why we don’t see more of this terrific talent is a mystery) and Kinnear is neigh on perfect in his performance as well. David Koepp’s direction is sure and accomplished. In it’s genre there is very little to fault in this one
301 stars