VIDEO REVIEW: Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs

Here's an interesting experiment; go with your spouse and child to an elementary school gym, along with four dozen other elementary school kids and their parents to see a 2-D version of a 3-D movie based on a 30-page book. That's what we did a couple Friday nights ago as we viewed Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs.

I had no preconceived notions about this film. I hadn't read the book, first published in 1978, written by Judi Barrett and illustrated by Ron Barrett. In fact I never even heard of it until the film was being promoted.

This iteration tells the story of Flint Lockwood, science nerd, whose mother (Lauren Graham) believes he'll be someone special; she dies early on, and his monosyllabic, unibrow fisherman-father (James Caan) believes in more practical efforts, wanting his son (Bill Hader) to work at the sardine store with him. Everyone on the island of Swallow Falls eats sardines.

Flint is tortured by an annoying character, Baby Brent (Andy Samburg), who was famous as the Gerber baby, and keeps milking his fame. (Independently, my wife and I thought he was very much like the character in the Back to the Future movies who kept harassing Marty McFly's father.)

Flint, undeterred from his dream, manages to invent a machine that converts water into food. Needing to hide his creativity from the local policeman (Mr. T), he accidentally launches it into the atmosphere. Instead of rain, food of every sort starts falling from the sky. This phenomenon inspires a television station to send a weather reporter trainee (Anna Faris) to cover the phenomenon.

I laughed out loud several times in the first half of the movie at lines that probably went right over the heads of the purported target audience. At least once, I swear I was the ONLY person laughing.

At some point, the movie becomes some illustrated cross between the movies Twister (which I saw) and 2012 (which I did not). This part was less interesting to me, though not without its charms, and frightened the daughter some to boot.

Still, I enjoyed the intelligently-made film overall, and it reviewed well enough. Within the film of writer-directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller were none-too-subtle digs at the food industry (processed foods with no connection to the source, a la Fast Food Nation), gluttony (see also: the latter part of WALL-E), environmental destruction, and sexism in the entertainment industry.

I finally got around to reading the book this week, and while there were nods to the source material (food as rafts, yellow Jell-O, and of course a spaghetti storm), the movie is a whole 'nother animal altogether. Friends of friends of mine who are devotees of the book often HATE the movie because it's not the book; I think the movie should be appreciated on the merits of what's on the screen, NOT based on how it is or is not true to the source material.
***
The movie trailer.

ROG

Theater Review: Spring Awakening

Lust. Domestic violence. Sex. Abortion. Questioning authority. Suicide. Rape. All of these are elements of the book Spring Awakening, written by German writer Frank Wedekind in the early '90s. The 1890s. This may explain why the book was banned in Germany and in English-speaking countries for decades.

Most, though not all, of those same elements, plus a large dollop of indie-rock written by Steven Sater and Duncan Sheik, appear in the 2007 Tony winner for Best Musical, Spring Awakening, playing at Proctors Theatre in Schenectady February 16-21.

The wife's Valentine's Day present for us was a pair of tickets to the opening night this past Tuesday. Really, all we knew of the show was what we saw on the Tonys, and that was almost three years ago.

So we got a babysitter and hoofed it over a few blocks to Central Avenue in Albany to catch the bus to Schenectady. We had gotten 5.3" of snow that day, the most the city had received in 2010. For the record, CDTA got us there (and back) quite adequately, thank you.

Before the show begins, I am awed by the set. There is no curtain so it's just there. You can see snippets of it in the Tony performance, but it hardly does it justice. Bleachers are both stage left (two rows) and stage right (three rows) and people are already sitting out there when the principles come onto the stage to sit with them. So the excellent, eclectic band is likewise on the stage from the beginning, everything from keyboards and drums to a cello? But it works.

As for the technical aspects of the performance, I was also wowed by the choreography. Not just dance per se, but how the players moved about the stage, passing off or getting microphones. The lighting was also first rate.

The fist three songs advanced the story quite well, high energy and great entertainment value. Yet the core action at the end of the first act, which involved a couple of the aforementioned elements felt, for want of a better word, stagy.

Somehow, the second act redeemed it for us, with the best song in show, the tune that got the biggest audience reaction, and the one that my dear wife says we all feel now and then, Totally F***ed (I'm serious here: NSFW or for sensitive ears, big time.)

If you see it, and you should, then it will help to know that two people play all the adult roles; in the production we saw, both actors appeared in various episodes of the Law & Order franchise, which is no surprise. Spring Awakening is ultimately "a cross-generational phenomenon that continues to transcend age and cultural barriers," as the promos suggest, and I am thinking that a greater knowledge of the plot will help the novice theater goer appreciate it more.

Something I didn't know until recently: Lea Michele, who plays the annoying but talented Rachel on the TV show Glee, was the lead in the Broadway production of Spring Awakening.

And now the musical will become a movie. Not sure just how that'll play. I can't really imagine it, but then I couldn't fathom M*A*S*H being a weekly television series, either.

A review of the Wednesday's performance suggested a small-than-expected crowd. We felt the same way about Tuesday's performance, but I had attributed the smallish crowd to the weather. I theorize that, despite its awards, it's pretty much an unknown commodity, relatively speaking; I mean, it's not South Pacific.

ROG

MOVIE REVIEW: Invictus

When the South African rugby team, the Springboks, played in Albany, NY in September 1981, 1200 people braved the torrential weather to protest the apartheid regime that the green-and-gold represented; almost certainly the bad weather tamped down the number of protesters, as there were nearly as many law enforcement folks as picketers. The singer Pete Seeger was there and so was I.

If some Americans were opposed to the Springboks, the black South Africans loathed them, routinely rooting for the foreign opposition when the Springboks played. So when apartheid ended, and Nelson Mandela was released from prison 20 years ago this month, and subsequently became President of South Africa, there was reason to believe that the minority whites would be purged from their government positions and that the Springboks would be disbanded. But former prisoner 46664, who spent over a quarter century in a small prison cell, had a different strategy, one honed by observing his captors. Vengeance was anticipated; instead, he disarmed his former foes with compassion.

Invictus, directed by Clint Eastwood, for the longest time feels like a "conventional movie", maybe a little too deliberately paced, complete with the "big game". It's not until near the end that you internalize the awe-inspiring wisdom that was Mandela. I must argue with those who suggest that the final match was anti-climatic; it's not the game itself that matters, it's the people's reaction to the game that counts. Oh, and while I learned far more about rugby than I thought possible, I'm still slightly mystified what constitutes an infraction worthy of a penalty kick.

The South African leader was played by Eastwood's old friend, Morgan Freeman; he's already played God, so this is a slight step down. Still I understand why he got his Best Actor nod. Matt Damon, as captain of the Springboks, was good, but I'm surprised by his Best Supporting actor nod. Actually, I was more taken by other characters in the piece.

Nowhere is religion specifically mentioned, to my recollection. Yet there is a powerful message of faith that one can draw from this movie, partially summarized in the 1875 poem for which the movie is named.

I saw this movie Saturday afternoon at the Spectrum in Albany in large part because it's the last week it's playing; I'm glad I did.

ROG

MOVIE REVIEW: A Single Man

I saw the A Single Man a couple weeks ago, in one of those "split date" things my wife and I go on, where we see the same movie in the same weekend, then compare notes. It's the story of George (Colin Firth), a British gay man and a professor in 1962 Los Angeles, who lost his life partner (Matthew Goode) and is just trying to get through the day. His public grieving is limited and his lover's family don't even allow him to the funeral. He's friendly to the housewife neighbor (Ginnifer Goodwin of Big Love), but her husband is less than friendly. His only real friend is fellow British expat Charley (Julianne Moore), who has issues of her own. One of his colleagues (Lee Pace from Pushing Daisies) represents the Cold war backdrop of this movie.

I certainly understand why Firth was nominated for an Academy Award for his role. His character is quite in need of structure in his life. Even when George lets go a little, it's honed with a certain British reserve. There's a surprisingly darkly funny sequence near the end of the film.

Tom Ford is a rookie director, a fashion designer and former Gucci executive who also wrote the screenplay based on the Chris Isherwood novel. While he tells a succinct tale, occasionally he would engage in cinematic trickery that was at times more irritating than enlightening. Julianne Moore is fine in her role, but Ford made her look every one of her 47 years, and then some.

I read someone describe the film as somnambulant, and I do understand his point. This is not a Michael Bay movie. Not much happens in A Single Man, yet quite a bit does.

Recommended, unless you're only a fan of action flicks, in which case this will undoubtedly bore you silly.
***
A few years ago, probably after seeing her in the 2002 movies Far from Heaven and the Hours, I had a dream about Julianne Moore. I almost never dream about real people I don't know. Anyway, I saved her from some some peril - getting hit by a car, I believe. She was grateful, and we became pen pals, with her sending me autographed photos and tickets to her movies. [Alas, I woke up.)
ROG

MOVIE REVIEW: It's Complicated

I am fascinated how much certain people loathed this movie, sight unseen. Back on Christmas Day, Ken Levine (cited recently in this blog for his sagacity re: Up in The Air) listed several well-known bad movies he'd see before he'd see It's Complicated, including HOWARD THE DUCK, CATWOMAN, and STAYING ALIVE. I've seen that same antipathy elsewhere. what is it about this Meryl Streep-Alec Baldwin rom-com that has engendered such vitriol without actually being viewed?

My wife for one was wary about seeing it because of the mixed reviews (57% positive on Rotten Tomatoes), but a couple weekends ago, we went to see it and enjoyed it. Now, I'm not saying it's high art or that it's not pretty lightweight; also, it was too long by about 15 minutes with one too many subplots. But our expectations were so dampened that it turned out to be more than a passable experience.

Streep and Baldwin had chemistry that made the fairly absurd scenario almost believable. The real surprise was John Krasinski as the fiance of one of the daughters of the Streep and Baldwin characters; he was not just another variation of Jim on the NBC sitcom The Office, which his characters in movies usually feel like. And the scene near the end with Baldwin, Streep and Steve Martin did make me laugh. Indeed, we chuckled throughout the movie,. though not constantly. There's also a poignant scene earlier with Streep that I could definitely relate to.

There were some problems. One, not the movie's fault but the trailer's, is that Streep's very best line in some dialogue with some friends appears in the trailer and so when actually delivered in the movie is not as funny as it might have been. Stoned adults are far less funny this century than last. The trophy wife of the Baldwin character (Lake Bell) seemed unnecessarily unsympathetic. And the three adult children of the Streep/Baldwin marriage were rather pathetic.

So, partly because I've had my own complicated relationships, I deem it one of your basic 2 1/2 out of 4 stars, B- movie. We both enjoyed it enough to recommend it, despite its flaws.
ROG

MOVIE REVIEW: Up In The Air

Ken Levine, Emmy winning writer/director/producer declared Up In The Air his pick for movie of the year. I saw few enough 2009 movies that I couldn't say. I will posit, though, that the movie is the best 2009 movie I've seen thus far.

What I don't know is what I can tell you that you don't already know without revealing spoilers. I'm particularly cognizant of that, because when I saw it back on January 9, right after the opening of the new Delaware Avenue branch of the Albany Public Library, I went home and told my wife what I thought was an obscure piece of information. But the next day, after she went to see the film, she declared that my tiny mention helped her figure something out that I regret that she sussed out.

Surely, you know that the film stars George Clooney as a guy emotionally at arms length, who hates his 43 days a year at home, being much happier being a VIP on planes, car rental places and hotels. His job is to come into towns, fire people because the management of the companies are wussses, and move on. Vera Farmiga is his detached near-equal. Writer/director Jason Reitman had previously made Thank You for Smoking and Juno, both of which I enjoyed, and he has adapted the screenplay from Walter Kirn's novel of the same name, which I did not read.

You may have read how real out-of-work people were filmed talking about their laid off experiences, not knowing initially that they were being recorded for a movie. It was quite an effective technique. However, J.K. Simmons, a character actor you'll likely recognize as J. Jonah Jameson from the Spider-Man movies, Chief Pope from The Closer, or Juno's dad, is also compelling.

I should mention that Vera Farmiga was featured in a story in the local paper because she lives in not-that-far-away Ulster County, NY.

A review wondered if a family event was necessary for the film, and decided in the end that it was. Whereas I thought that event was critical. (That was vague.)

Ultimately, I think two additional factors, other than the writing, directing and acting, really wowed me. One is that the current economic downturn made this movie just right for its time, much the way The China Syndrome, coming out just before Three Mile Island in 1979, made it very topical. The other thing, probably counter-intuitively, is that while George Clooney played a character named Ryan, he also was George Clooney, noted movie star. And some part of my brain wondered if Ryan would AND George will end up alone; somehow this made it even more interesting.
ROG

MOVIE REVIEW: Alvin and the Chipmunks, The Squeakquel

When i was about six years old, I remember that we owned the single The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don't Be Late) by David Seville and the Chipmunks on Liberty Records; it had a greenish label. I loved that tune, and i could do a reasonable imitation of the holiday song.

Somewhere along the line, Alvin and his brothers became television stars in both the 1960s and 1980s. Still, I was mildly surprised that there was going to be a movie, starring Jason Lee, Earl of NBC's now canceled My Name Is Earl. The 2007 movie was a big hit, grossing over $200 million in domestic sales, despite reviews that were tepid at best. I didn't see it.

This meant, naturally, a sequel. When I took the daughter to the Princess and the Frog, Lydia laughed at the previews for Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel. She had such a lousy time at the Disney movie on January 2 that we went to see Alvin 2 on January 9.

It was terrible. My daughter loved it.

Basically, the story finds a way to write out most of the David Seville character, stuck in a French hospital, putting the rodents (voiced by Justin Long as Alvin, Matthew Gray Gubler as Simon, and Jesse McCartney as Theodore) end up under the care of a slacker nephew (Zachary Levi of NBC's Chuck) who plays video games constantly. Meanwhile the Chipmunks are sent to high school. The principal (Wendie Malick of the former NBC show, Just Shoot Me!), who has a chipmunks tattoo, is counting on the group to win the big prize so help save the school's music program.

Meanwhile, the Chipmunks' former manager has discovered three female chipmunks, dubbed the Chipettes (voiced by Amy Poehler, Anna Faris and Christina Applegate), to compete against Alvin and his brothers. And they look remarkably like the Chipmunks.

There's more, but not worth retelling. When I say the film was bad, I don't mean the picture was out of focus. I mean that there was little care taken in creating a coherent, interesting story. Cynical cinema making. Yet, this movie is bound to hit $200 million in less than a month.

The appeal for my daughter, I suppose, was the music, retreads of popular songs such as Single Ladies. There were only four people in the theater when we went, and the other two had left, so the daughter got to literally dance in the aisles. I'm glad she enjoyed it, though a rodent imperiled briefly made her nervous.

Oh, and for you completists, I should note that there's a scene at the very end, after the credits; it is NOT worth waiting for.

How long will it be before the daughter regrets this post?

Oh, one more thing. Why is it Alvin and the Chipmunks? Is Alvin NOT a Chipmunk? Or is this like Diana Ross & the Supremes, somehow?


ROG

MOVIE REVIEW: The Blind Side

Seems that I either don't see films, or I do see films and don't seem to have time to actually review them.

Way back on New Years Day weekend, the wife and I got a babysitter and went to see The Blind Side, written and directed by John Lee Hancock, based on the Michael Lewis book I did not read. I HAD been getting a lot of information about this film quite a bit, though as much in Sports Illustrated as I did in Entertainment Weekly. Incidentally, The Blind Side refers to a quarterback getting hit while he's not looking and the import of an offensive tackle protecting the QB's vulnerability.

The movie tells the true story of Michael Oher (pronounced like 'oar', played by Quinton Aaron), a large, undereducated and mostly homeless black young man. He gets taken in by the Tuohy family, who are white, specifically by Leigh Anne Tuohy (Sandra Bullock), with her husband Sean, a successful restaurateur (played by an almost unrecognizable Tim McGraw) succumbing to his spouse's single-minded compassion. Their two kids, the boy S.J (Jae Head) and the girl Collins (Lily Collins, who looks amazingly like the young woman she portrayed) go along with the mom's mission, S.J. quite enthusiastically.

The family, and some insightful teachers, help Michael fulfill his potential, both in class and on the football field. Michael also helps the Tuohys to learn about themselves. Oher eventually becomes an All-American offensive left tackle at Ole Miss and a first round draft choice with the Baltimore Ravens.

I liked it. Indeed, both my wife and I enjoyed it more than some critics (70% positive on Rotten Tomatoes), who used terms like "utterly unsurprising, unchallenging feel-good flick mostly ignores larger social concerns in telling its implausible tale." Even some positive reviews suggest that it's a predictable "feel-good sports/biographical drama...by-the-numbers. Yet for the most part, this cinematic 'comfort food' goes down pretty well."

There was also criticism from more than one corner of the "institutional racism" in the film, that it is "rich white folks with big heart save poor black kid" that "needed to be more sociably responsible in its portrayal of blacks," and that "all black people are not ghetto waiting to be saved." I'm rather torn on this point. It's true that most of the black people in this movie were poor and from the ghetto- Michael's birth mother was a drug addict - and that the major black character, other than Michael, was a particularly obnoxious dude. All of this is true, yet I don't know how much responsibility a single film is supposed to balance the portrayal of black people. My sense is that, prior to Michael, the Tuohy's didn't KNOW black people, so the folks they DID see fit the stereotype. Was the writer suppose to inject an upwardly-mobile black person, other than the woman from the NCAA?

Interesting note: many of the recruiting coaches, such as Phillip Fulmer, Lou Holtz and Nick Saban, play themselves, and I read in SI that not one of them is still with that program, noting the rapid turnover of college football head coaches. The real S.J. Tuohy, who's now 16, has been razzed by opponents of his basketball team that his daddy needs to adopt someone for his team because "You suck!" And Michael Oher has been hazed by his Ravens' teammates over the sentimentality of the film; I was pleased that in his last game of this season, he was getting kudos from the commentators for his play.

In any case, this movie lives or dies largely on Sandra Bullock's portrayal of Leigh Anne Tuohy and she's totally convincing in the role. Ms. Tuohy also liked it, commenting that she was pleased that Ms. Bullock had "nice ta-tas."

ROG

MOVIE REVIEW: The Princess and the Frog

On New Years Day, the daughter and I walk over to the Madison Theatre in Albany to see the new Disney movie, The Princess and the Frog. The movie had engendered a lot of buzz long before it was released because it would be the first black "Disney princess".

I have to say that the marketing of the "princess" concept is as clever as it is annoying. It is a way to keep the old-line characters (Snow White, Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella) visible and up-to-date, and create a "lineage" that includes Beauty (of...and the Beast), Jasmine from Aladdin and the title characters from Pocohontas and Mulan. I should also note that the popcorn at the Madison is not only inferior to that at the Spectrum, but it costs more.

After at least six trailers, at least half of them sequels (or "squeakquel", in one case), the movie finally started. In was hoping that as a G-rated movie, she would enjoy it.

The lead role of Tiana, a hardworking waitress who grew up in a working-class family, and is trying to follow her dream of owning her own restaurant in 1920s New Orleans, is played by Anika Noni Rose, who I recall from Dreamgirls (2006). While her childhood pal Charlotte is hot to get to meet the debonair, but lazy Prince Naveen, Tiana is only interested in her dream, until...the kiss from a talking frog.

I liked the film visually. The sequence early on where Tiana dreams of her own place is particularly vivid, and the songs are strong. My favorite may be Almost There; indeed, the brief reprise made me almost cry. I also loved Evangeline, sung by Ray the bug.

The great conversation was whether Disney, who has been rightfully charged with occasional racial stereotyping, could pull off a story without falling into the same trap again. I think it was pretty successful in this regard. The race/culture of the Prince was intentionally vague, and that was a smart, if safe, course.

There were people who noted the voodoo roots of the sinister black character Dr. Facilier - but hey, this IS Louisiana - and I think it's countered by the mysterious Mama Odie. And I really believe there are those who are just loaded for bear trying to FIND a flaw. One suggested that the songs should have been done by black composers such as the Neville Brothers, rather than the award-winning, hard-working movie musician Randy Newman; such nonsense. Here's a promo by Ms. Rose, as well as a link to all the songs. I was particularly gratified by this positive review in Racialicious.

Bottom line, I enjoyed it, I'm afraid far more than the daughter, who was frightened some by Facilier and more by his "friends on the other side". She also was bothered by amphibians in peril, though she now denies it.

Unfortunate also is the film's "disappointing box office" of $86 million. With ticket sales up generally, why did this film, released November 25, 2009 do about half as well as Alvin 2, released on December 23? Was it marketing? was there resistance by the audience? I don't know, but5 I hope this movie finds its audience.
ROG

MOVIE REVIEW: Fly Me To the Moon

I told someone recently that we had never taken our daughter to a movie in an actual movie theater. This was inaccurate, a function in part, of the fact that I never blogged about it.

Actually, it was August 2009, right after the wife had (thankfully) returned from her intensive two-week college experience. the three of us went to Schenectady to one of the theaters in the Proctors complex, the GE Theatre. There we saw a 3-D movie from the summer of 2008 called Fly Me To The Moon. And yes, Sinatra, or a Sinatra soundalike, does sing that familiar theme.

The story was about three young bugs who wanted to go to the moon, hitching a ride with these guys named Armstrong, Aldrin and Collins, who looked, BTW, almost exactly alike, even without of their space helmets. Of course, the youngsters don't bother tell their mothers about their trip, who only discover their sons' mischief after they see them on television. The small travelers experience mild peril but (hardly a SPOILER in this type of film) make it back home safely.

The voicework is done by name stars such as Tim Curry, Robert Patrick, Nicollette Sheridan, and Ed Begley Jr., with Kelly Ripa and Adrienne Barbeau as a couple bug moms, and Christopher Lloyd as a bug grandpa.

The bad news is that it's a pretty dopey story with minimal animation techniques. It was painful to watch the real Buzz Aldrin at the end of the film explain to the audience that there were really no insects in space, let alone on the moon, in 1969. The good news is, given those limitations, the 3-D effect wasn't half bad, with bugs "flying towards us" at times. At least once the bugs were "flying from behind us" and toward the screen, and I instinctively shooed an insect away.

The mixed news was that it was short, maybe 50 minutes. At $8 a pop, it's a bit pricey, but then it was pretty tame fare for the child's first flick, so that was a plus.

Fly Me To the Moon must be a reasonably successful film at this venue, since it's showing again every weekend in January 2010. I can't recommend it, obviously, but it's less painful than, say, root canal. And I've HAD root canal.
***
Oh, and when I misstated Lydia's movie experience, I was asked if we have surround sound at home. Well, no, we STILL have that 1987 19" GE color TV with no SAP or V-chip, which I turn on and off ---ready for this? manually --- and I am still NOT replacing it until it dies, I tell you, until it DIES.
ROG

MOVIE REVIEW: Amreeka

Let me at the start say this about the new movie Amreeka; when it ended, I was disappointed, because I wanted to know more about the lives of these people.

This is a story of a Palestinian woman struggling to live in the Israeli military-occupied West Bank, where a trip between her work and her home has stretched from 15 minutes to two hours. When she's been chosen in a lottery to receive a U.S. green card, she makes the difficult decision to uproot herself and her 16-year-old son for Amreeka (America), leaving her mother and brother behind. She soon realizes that life the new country, outside of Chicago, is also difficult as she, her son, and even the family she's been staying with face prejudice and struggle to make ends meet.

One of the things that I think made the movie more believable is the lack of actors I recognize. Unless you're a fan of Arrested Development, in which case you might note one performer, these are folks you just don't know. Notably, the lead actress, Nisreen Faour, is very compelling, very genuine.

A complaint about the movie is that it's obvious as an After School Special. Not having watched a whole lot of them in the day, I'm lead to believe that this is a putdown of a film that's overly simplistic. I'm more with the 88% of the critics who liked the film, such as Louise Keller of Urban Cinefile, who writes: "Writer director Cherien Dabis writes about what she knows about being a stranger in a new land: the difficulties, the isolation, the conflicts, the misunderstandings. The result is a heartfelt and engaging film."

There are a couple obvious pointed political points, notably the changing SUPPORT OUR TROOPS sign which distracted briefly. The movie begins just as the Iraqi war begins, and that backdrop is important in the story's development.

My wife liked the film as well. A good Sunday afternoon date movie.


ROG

MOVIE REVIEW: An Education

The wife and I had a babysitter a couple weeks ago, so we looked at the movies playing at our favorite cinema emporium, the Spectrum 8. While there were other movies we hadn't seen, none had intrigued me as much as An Education, a movie for which Nick Hornsby - who had scripted About A Boy, a movie I liked a lot - had written the screenplay, based on a Lynn Barber memoir. The film had also received big kudos at one of the film festivals. AND my wife is an educator.

Based on a true story, An Education is a tale of a girl named Jenny, 16 going on 17, in 1961 suburban London, England. She's a very smart secondary school student, probably posed to go to Oxford University. Yet she is also quite bored with her perceived lot in life, secondary school to ensure getting to Oxford University.. During a rainstorm, a man in his 30s offers her cello a lift. This starts a very subtle and slow-moving courtship, not just of romance but also of lifestyle, which involves wooing her parents as much as the girl.

This is a very subtle film, with few BIG MOMENTS. Watching the film, directed by Lone Scherfig, I didn't have big reactions until near the end. Thinking about it afterward, it all made a great deal of sense.

Even critics not loving the film, and it has a 94% positive rating in Rotten Tomatoes - gave kudos to the lead actress, who is a real find. Played by newcomer Carey Mulligan, she plays the character with that know-it-all teenager without being too grating. She has a certain young Audrey Hepburn-type beauty in this film.

My favorite character in this film is actually Jenny's father, Jack, played by Alfred Molina, who I probably last saw as Doc Ock in the Spider-Man 2 movie. Jenny thinks of him as a real stick-in-the-mud, and maybe he is, but he shows colors of who he used to be.

Also starring Cara Seymour as Jenny's mom, Majorie; Peter Sarsgaard as the suitor, David; Dominic Cooper and Rosamund Pike as David's friends Danny and Helen; Olivia Williams as Jenny's teacher, Miss Stubbs; and Emma Thompson as the headmistress. It was actually an Emma Thompson line that I most reacted to until near the end.

My wife liked the picture but didn't want to because David was not who he said he was. But we see this throughout the film; at some level, Jenny sees this too. I do wish I loved this picture, but it felt somehow at arm's length. It was a well-crafted film, and I enjoyed it well enough.

ROG

MOVIE REVIEW: My One and Only

Hmm. It appears that the movie My One and Only is now available on DVD at least at Target and from Blockbuster. Odd, since I just saw it on Veterans Day at the Spectrum Theatre and in fact it is STILL playing there once a day.
The movie is about Anne Deveraux (Renée Zellweger) who, discovering her philandering husband, Dan (Kevin Bacon) in the act, decides to take her two sons, George (Logan Lerman) and Robbie (Mark Rendall) on an adventure which largely consists of traveling from city to city trying to find a husband for herself. In their "adventure" from their home in New York to Boston to Pittsburgh to St. Louis and eventually Hollywood, she finds guys (played by, among others, Steven Weber and Chris Noth), who seem promising at first.

This is a pleasant enough film. The problem is that, at least until they get to St. Louis, I always thought I was watching Renée rather than Anne. Also the situations had a certain sameness - Robbie gets in the school play, Robbie leaves before the production can be mounted. The other problem is that I thought the travelogue of 1950s-style postcards, which happens in the very beginning of the film - my reveal was hardly a spoiler - both tells too much and seems to be trying too hard to prove the movie is authentic to the period.

Still, the latter part of the film is the most satisfying. You may know that this is the largely true story about a noted actor. I had heard this before I watched it but I had forgotten; it was more satisfying not knowing. This is one of those two and a half stars out of four flicks. Oh, and if you do see it, avoid the trailer - it's on the movie's website - which, as these things do, reveals WAY too much.
***
I've had a particularly busy stretch. Saturday, November 14, we had the dress rehearsal of the Faure requiem, after four Sunday night rehearsals. Then Saturday night, our friends couldn't go to to the Albany Symphony and gave us their tickets. So we arranged for a babysitter and went to the Palace Theatre in Albany. On the way in, we happened to see the conductor scurrying to the locale from a pre-concert talk.

The first piece is almost always new, sometimes avant garde, and occasionally just peculiar. Stacy Garrop's Becoming Medusa, a tone poem, was not only listenable, she actually described the piece competently; too often, I've heard composers offer an incoherent rambling. She is the Mellon-supported Composer-Educator Partner.

But the star of the evening was George Li, the pianist on Saint Saëns' Piano Concerto No. 2. He showed energy, passion and lyricism in his play. Did I mention he was only 14, and looked about 11? We saw him on our way out of the theater.

Everyone in the audience was offered a glass of wine during intermission, after which, Brahms Symphony No. 2 was performed, which, according to the program "features one of the greatest of all cello melodies in its second movement."
***
Sunday afternoon, the Faure, which went well.
***
Sunday night, Lydia got sick. She coughed all night, and I could not sleep all night; there IS a correlation. So I stayed home with her Monday all day and half of Tuesday. Played Uno to 1000 (she won) - do you know how long it can take to play Uno to 1000? and also Sorry and Candyland; she's well enough to need to be occupied. Took her to the doctor on Monday; he recommended a cough syrup I had previously tried, to no great effect, but I tried it again Monday night. She, almost immediately, threw up. Then a few minutes later, threw up again, which was actually, from a medical POV, productive, as she FINALLY stopped coughing.

But I felt obliged to tell the in-laws who were going to watch Lydia Tuesday night, and they opted out.
***
So we had tickets to see The 39 Steps at Proctors Tuesday night, but no babysitter. Carol tried to find friends to go with her to the show, but was ultimately unsuccessful. So I asked my friend the Hoffinator at 4:15 pm if she wanted to go, and she said yes. Had a great time; the review of the show is here.

ROG

Unabashed Plug: Conversations with ADD

Alan David Doane (pictured at left) is a mensch. Now, for those of you not down with your Yiddish, mensch means a person having admirable characteristics, such as fortitude and firmness of purpose.

Or you could say, ADD is a PITA, which means pain in the tookus. I mean that in a good way. As Christopher Allen describes him, Alan is an agent provocateur.

ADD was one of those young people who were customers of FantaCo, the comic book store/publishing empire where I used to work in the 1980s. Subsequently, ADD became a noted blogger in the comic book realm. This week - September 1st, 2009 - marks the ninth anniversary of his Comic Book Galaxy's original launch, and "approximately the tenth anniversary of my beginning to write about comics online," he noted.

To mark the occasion, he has released his third eBook, Conversations with ADD. It is nearly 300 pages long, and "contains nearly four dozen interviews, including cartoonists, writers, artists, publishers, editors, comics retailers and bloggers."

I had the chance to look at a preview copy, and I got to read interviews with some of my favorite creative people, including Peter Bagge, Howard Chaykin, Tony Isabella, Denny O'Neil, Harvey Pekar, and Walt Simonson, along with the ever-enigmatic Dave Sim. There's a piece on Earthworld Comics owner J.C. Glindmeyer, who really DOES do Free Comic Book Day right, as I can attest from personal experience.

There is even a brief interview in there with a historic relic, yours truly. I should note that it's largely ADD's persistence that got me to blog about old FantaCo stuff such as the counterfeit Cerebus or the Fantastic Four Chronicles, so you can partially credit (or blame) him.

ADD's POV comes through in his questions without overwhelming the interviewee, a delicate balancing act. Of course, many of the subjects have their own strong personalities, so the resulting interaction can make for a lively piece.

These interviews span the entire last decade, which in part gives a snapshot into the comic book market over the period.

As Mark Evanier likes to say, Go See It!
***
Since I'm plugging things:
The Vermont Monster Guide by Joseph A. Citro, illustrated by Stephen R. Bissette
Harvey Pekar: Conversations, edited by Michael G. Rhode
From the Wall Street Journal: Spider Mouse? Marvel/Disney Mash-Ups for True Believers. Analysts applauded Disney’s offer to buy Marvel, announced Monday, saying that the move would help the company make inroads with boys.
But were they expecting Gooflactus?
We do know that Hitler is ticked. And the fandamentalist internerds are all whiny.

Photo stolen from Fred Hembeck. Probably taken by Lynn Moss.

ROG

MOVIE REVIEW: District 9

An odd thing: Carol and I had secured a babysitter. OK, scratch that; Lydia does not like the term "babysitter"; she IS five, after all. We'll go with "child sitter."

Anyway, Carol and I could not agree on a movie. She wanted to see The Time Traveler's Wife, which reviewed poorly (36%) on Rotten Tomatoes and got a thumbs down from our babychild sitter. We considered that Carol would see TTW while I would go to watch Food, Inc., which she had already seen. But Alison, the child sitter, who's going to be a junior in high school in the fall, and an avid movie goer, pushed HARD for District 9. "It's really good. It'll make you think."

As it turned out, District 9 was playing at the Madison Theatre, our local movie emporium, well within walking distance, at 1:30, which meant that we had time not only to see a movie, but to go to the Curry House beforehand for Indian food - extended date!

As it turned out, we were the ONLY people in the theater for that showing. I must say the previews were making me nervous. They were all approved for a general audience, but all were pretty intense. Sorority Row, a prank gone wrong/revenge from the grave flick; Final Destination 3-D; Law Abiding Citizen with Gerard Butler and Jamie Foxx which at least seemed to be about something, and Zombieland with Woody Harrelson, which looked to be goofy, albeit bloody, fun.

Finally, District 9. It was cleverly developed as quasi-documentary about these aliens whose ship hovered...wait, here's reviewer Amy Biancolli's description:
"The aliens are bipedal, exoskeletal and vaguely crustacean, with lobster claws that snap from their midriffs and tentacular, writhing mouths. South Africans call them 'prawns.' They speak in gurgling clicks — subtitled for our convenience, but understood perfectly well by the humans who've been oppressing them for the past two decades. We meet one such oppressor early on, a smiling drone named Wikus Van De Merwe (...Sharlto Copley...) who's responsible for moving all 1.8 million aliens into a new encampment hundreds of kilometers outside Johannesburg."

Ms. Biancolli is loathe to reveal too much, as am I. But a few points:
*It addresses South African ghettoization of the "prawns" - it's hard to miss the comparisons with apartheid - without being a screed
*The wuss Wikus is a great example of the Peter Principle in action
*The important introduction of the Nigerians makes it a lot more than a "good guys vs. bad guys" dynamic
*It touches on how easily the media can be manipulated

One other not so small point: The movie becomes, in an almost cartoonish way, terribly violent by the end, like Robocop on steroids, by which point one is already so invested in the story that one has to stay until the surprisingly satisfying end.

The clever structure of this movie, ultimately a science-fiction drama/shoot-em-up, may not be for all viewers. I can imagine some being moved by the set up but disappointed by the last half hour of blowing stuff up. I for one bought the transition.

So the child sitter was right; I'm STILL thinking about issues brought forth in District 9.
ROG

MOVIE REVIEW: 500 Days of Summer

I took off from work on Thursday, in part so I could complete the split movie date thing my wife and I do. She saw 500 Days of Summer a couple weeks back and thoroughly enjoyed it. I...well, three days in, I'm still running it through my head.

The movie has been described as a romantic comedy; this would be a stretch. Certainly the guy (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is interested in romance. But the woman of his dreams (Zooey Deschanel) just doesn't believe in that stuff.

500 Days (Variety and Roger Ebert aren't using the parentheses around 500, so I'll opt out too) evokes a lot of other movies. Evokes them pretty well too, though perhaps too much "on the nose."

There"s a scene that uses a Hall and Oates song that is clearly inspired by a scene in a John Hughes movie. The song title from the Hughes film even appear in the lyrics of the H&O tune. On the other hand, I enjoyed it - a lot, actually - for what it was.

Likewise, there seems to be an homage to the movies of Woody Allen from the 1970s. But not only did the split screen work, it was quite reminiscent of my real life.

Finally, it is stated that the female in the movie totally misreads the ending of The Graduate, and it is actually that final scene on the bus, complete with the Bookends Theme by Simon & Garfunkel, that, in retrospect, 500 Days pivots on.

It just feels that all of these elements plus the cute-at-first-but-eventually-annoying time shift dynamic didn't always feel like the same film, as though it were being made by a guy stitching a bunch of music videos together. Yet through it all, it did speak truthfully, it played fair, the characters were believable, even though the female lead was (intentionally) less than accessible. There was no deus ex machina.

Read Roger Ebert's four-star review:
Some say they’re annoyed by the way it begins on Day 488 or whatever and then jumps around, providing utterly unhelpful data labels: "Day 1," "Day 249." Movies are supposed to reassure us that events unfold in an orderly procession. But Tom remembers his love, Summer, as a series of joys and bafflements. What kind of woman likes you perfectly sincerely and has no one else in her life but is not interested in ever getting married?

Then look at the less than favorable one from Joe Morgenstern of the Wall Street Journal:
Marc Webb’s bright bauble of a boy-meets-girl comedy is a rueful tribute to the wisdom of hindsight (if you want to be philosophical); an elaborate exercise in deconstruction (if you want to be trendy), a postmodern mishmash (if you want to be uncharitable), a cautionary tale about the perils of projection (if you want to be psychological) or, if you want to be as clinical as the film finally decides to be, an exhaustive and exhausting dissection of a relationship that was never all that promising in the first place.

Thing is, I totally agree. With BOTH of them. A blogger who seemed to like it called it "treacherously twee." So go see the movie. If you're like 88% of the critics, you'll enjoy the film. But if you don't, I'd understand that too.

ROG

MOVIE REVIEW: Julie & Julia

My goodness; Carol and Roger not only went to the movies, but saw a film playing in its first weekend! We got a babysitter and went to see the only film playing at the Spectrum in Albany, our favorite movie theater, we could agree on. (To be fair, Carol's already seen a couple of them.) Actually had to briefly stand in line.

Julie & Julia is writer/director/co-producer Nora Ephron's clever intertwining of two true stories: the coming of age of Julia Child, a bored American housewife in Paris after World War II, with Julie Powell, a frustrated would-be writer who works in a New York City agency to help those affected by the events of September 11, 2001. Julie worships Julia, the cookbook author who made French cooking accessible to Americans, and starts a blog to track her Child-like efforts/obsession.

The strength, and perhaps the weakness, of this movie is that Julia Child is played by the incomparable Meryl Streep, who quickly disappears into this role. Entertainment Weekly already says this year's Oscar is Streep's to lose; I haven't seen that many other movies in 2009, but this is a bravado performance, steeled by great support from Stanley Tucci as her husband. Tucci, BTW, appears in the possibly greatest foodie movie of all time, Big Night; Tucci and Ephron are foodies in real life. I also enjoyed the brief turn by Jane Lynch.

So the more modern story suffers by comparison because it features Amy Adams, who costarred with Streep in Doubt, but shares no real scenes here. Adams is a fine actress, but her somewhat whiny story and the attendant acting by her, Chris Messina as her husband, and others, were not as interesting, or nearly as funny.

I should note, however, that the more historical tale had some built-in advantages. When Paul Child suggests to Julia that she could be on television, she laughs. The audience laughs too, in part because they know that Julia eventually DOES appear on the small screen.

Some critics suggested they had difficulty keeping track of which time period the story was in; my wife and I had no such difficulty. Others wished that it was more about Julia and less about Julie, if at all; the reality that with a mere history of Child, the viewer would miss some insights about Julia that Julie exposes to us.

So, I recommend the film. If I did stars, it'd be 3 out of 4; grade would be B+.
***
A 10-minute Streep interview. Interesting how an agent provocateur's comments and response to same took over. He said - I assume it's a he, "There's a reason why old fart and over the hill actresses aren't in great demand--because no one wants to see them! Let's compare: Meryl Streep vs. Angelina Jollie? Not Meryl! Or, how about Meryl Streep vs. Scarlett Johanson? Not Meryl here either! One more shot: how about Meryl Streep vs. Megan Fox?" Evidently talking about something other than acting. Even Megan Fox, in the EW cover story, noted that her acting skills are nascent.
***
Carol and I once saw Stanley Tucci at Capital Rep theater in Albany several years ago. Can't remember what we saw, but I was close enough to say to him, if I had had the nerve, "Loved you in Murder One and Big Night." But I didn't; so it goes.


ROG

MOVIE REVIEW: Up

On Sunday, July 5, I realized that I hadn't seen a movie since late April, So I looked at the listings for the Spectrum, my favorite theater and discovered that Up, the new Pixar flick, was in its final week. Reluctantly, the wife and I agreed to the split movie date, which involves one of us going, then later that day or soon thereafter, the other one attending. The first cannot reveal anything other than a generic thumbs up or thumbs down. The flaw with this, besides the inability to share the moments in real time, is that on at least three different occasion, the first person went, but then the second couldn't for some reason; I know I got sick once and never saw a film Carol saw and liked.

Anyway, I opted for the noon showing of the movie, in 2-D. First up, the previews. I really would like to see the new Hayao Miyazaki film, Ponyo; great voice lineup in the English translation, including Cate Blanchett, Matt Damon, Tina Fey, Cloris Leachman, Lily Tomlin, and Betty White. And surprisingly, I think I'd like to see the new Harry Potter film; I suppose, having seen only the first one, I should catch the subsequent ones beforehand.

The short is Partly Cloud. It was pretty much a one-joke bit, with lots of old Warner Brothers cartoon violence. I enjoyed it less than some of their previous efforts, though at least I learned about procreation.

Then the main event. I must say that I got caught up (i.e., became a little verklempt) in the whole backstory of Carl and Ellie; as others have noted, she looks quite a bit like Elastigirl from The Incredibles. Indeed, there was also a documentary style that also borrowed from that earlier Pixar film.

Carl (voiced by Ed Asner) finds a reason and the means to uproot himself, and his home along with it. But he is not alone. Will Carl get to South America, as he promised Ellie they would?

The rest I don't know how to describe without spoiling it except there is a character who looks a lot like Kirk Douglas but is voiced by Christopher Plummer who has a major role. Also dogs; lots and lots of canines, not all of the friendly kind.

I previewed this in part to see if this would be the first movie Lydia, the five-year-old daughter, will see in the movies; it will not. If we see it on video later, the pause and fast-forward buttons will be used at least a couple times. Now other kids may react differently, but I know my child.

This was a good Pixar film. It had more depth in the characters than I would have imagined. And the house is definitely one of the characters. Yet part of the problem, I realized, had to do with little things - continuity problems regarding some important plot details - that distracted me. But it was most definitely worth seeing, and I'd give it an A- or B+.

Did I mention that I was the ONLY person in the theater? One might think I would have appreciated the private screening, but I like to hear where others laugh and gasp and cry; but for the size of the screen, I might as well have been home.
***
Little girl's last wish: to see 'Up'. Tip o' hat to Jaquandor.
***
I check Rotten Tomatoes now and then, because I love seeing, for instance. The Hangover (78%) rate better than the more prestigious Public Enemies (65%). Up, BTW, got a 97%
***
Today, Ringo Starr turns 69. Please don't send him anything to sign; he's too busy.

ROG

GRAPHIC NOVEL REVIEW: Britten and Brülightly

Three or four weeks ago, I received a package in the mail at work, opened it, thought it looked nice and put it on the shelf. This week, weeding my e-mails, I came across a missive from a woman named Ashley, dated March 17, asking me if I would like to receive a review copy of Britten and Brülightly, "Hannah Berry’s gorgeously drawn and strikingly original debut graphic novel murder mystery."

So, I thought I had better actually READ the thing. Yes, it LOOKED nice; I could tell that at first glance. But I've always been one of those people where the greater issue is the story. Serviceable art can support a great story, but the best art can't save a lousy tale, IMO.

Now I've promised -again - that I'd write a review. But what if it's just not very good?

Fortunately, it's very good.

I enjoyed this from the very first sentence: "As it did every morning, with spiteful inevitability, the sun rose." It conveys a noir mood, but it is punctuated with a certain whimsy, as provided by the interplay between "researcher" Fernández Britten and his unlikely partner, Stewart Brülightly, as they attempt to figure out whether a women's dead fiancé committed suicide, as the police concluded, or was murdered, as she maintains.

English author Berry has blended characterization and story together in a seemingly effortless way. Upon further inspection, the art does not merely accompany the story, it really enhances it.

There are points where the narration explains the story, lest you miss it in the drawing; ultimately, this turns out to be a good thing. The one criticism I've seen is that the cursive narration can be difficult to read; I did not find this to be so.

The book retails for $20, but of course, one can find it for less on Amazon. Go see some sample pages.
***
Beaucoup Kevin's very positive review.


ROG

MOVIE REVIEW: Sunshine Cleaning

Carol's and my long weekend away was coming to an end, and so we decided, as a last hurrah, to drive back to Albany's Spectrum 8 Theatre to see Sunshine Cleaning.

Amy Adams stars as Rose, the former high school head cheerleader whose life hasn't turned out as she planned, but she works hard to take of herself and her son, even though she sometimes has to drop him off into the hands of her slacker sister Norah (Emily Bluth). Rose is also involved with her married high school beau who recommends Rose quit being a maid and start cleaning up biohazard at crime scenes.

Ultimately, the story chugs along to its more-or-less happily ever after conclusion, after some detours. I remember Amy Biancolli's review addressing a plot device in the story that one either believers or not; I bought the conceit. I realized that I had seen a couple very solid performances. Yet the story, while initially intriguing, tended to wander off and so did I.

The makers of the indie hit Little Miss Sunshine also made this movie, right down to casting Alan Arkin as the grandfather; it's a different role, but not so dissimilar that one would find it a variation on the theme.

Ultimately, in spite of the fine actors, and the initial intriguing premise, the story of Sunshine Cleaners didn't always work, much to my regret, for I wanted to really like this film. This is one of those movies that's quirky, but that's not always equivalent with good. I don't regret seeing it, but at best, I recommend with strong reservations.

ROG