Adventureland is about the purgatory where young people reside in the often rudderless space of summers off from school--a sort of poor man's American Graffiti for the 80's.
James Brennan (Jesse Eisenberg) has been accepted at Columbia grad school, but his dad's been demoted at his job and is claiming poverty--which means that James will have to hang around and find a job to earn his own money for journalism school. He gets hired at Adventureland, a low budget amusement park where nobody is allowed to win the giant stuffed pandas because they only have a couple of them left.
James meets co-worker Em, (Emily) played by Kristen Stewart. They hit it off right away and begin something of an innocent romance. James is the sensitive type who treats girls with honor and respect--and remains a virgin--while the "dangerous" guys, who are sometimes married, do most of the scoring in the wonderful game that we know as love. That's where Mike Connell, (Ryan Reynolds) the hot looking--but married--maintenance guy at Adventureland comes in.
Em has some obvious self-worth issues and has had this ongoing sexual relationship with Connell. They often rendezvous in the basement of his mother's house to do their thing for the five or ten minutes he can break away from his wife. We can see that this makes Em feel dirty, but it's just the type of scenario that those with low self-esteem are sometimes drawn to.
But now, Em has James (he's got it bad for her) to provide for her emotional needs. It's great to have SOMEONE who adores you when you feel unworthy. (Then again, it's hard to guess how any of these characters REALLY feel because there's so much weed being smoked in this movie you might get a contact high just sitting in the theatre.) Em just hopes that James won't find out about Connell because she can't seem to break her addiction to the ALL PURPOSE handyman.
But you know that he will.
There are comedic moments in this flick--mostly centered around the quirkiness of the park itself. The clientele are on the lowbrow side--they chuck their trash anywhere but in the proper receptacle--and the owner deals with one agitated customer by wielding a baseball bat and shouting, JUST GIVE ME A REASON!
The games at Adventureland are rigged, like the derby hats glued to these dummy's heads so there's no way anyone hurling a baseball can knock them off. In the end, it's about taking what life throws at us and moving on--hopefully becoming a little wiser for the knock on the head.
GRADE: B+
TIMMY'S TIDBITS: Kristen Stewart first got noticed by a talent scout at a grade school Christmas play at the age of eight ( I played a TREE in "Jack and the Beanstalk." It wasn't too challenging...I just had to stand there with leaves in my hair).
Ryan Reynolds started an improv comedy group called "Yellow Snow" in his hometown of Vancouver. (No, Susie--it doesn't come from yellow clouds).
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Thursday, April 9, 2009
SUNSHINE CLEANING
Rose, (Amy Adams) who makes her living cleaning houses, and her quirky sister Norah (Emily Blunt) need to make more scratch--one of the reasons being that Rose's young son, Oscar, has to go to private school because he got kicked out of public school for licking the walls, licking the teachers, etc. The married guy Rose has known since high school days--and is currently having discreet sex with--is a cop, and he inspires the sisters to start their own lucrative crime scene clean-up service. It's a bloody job, but somebody's got to do it, and Norah and Rose make mopping up after murders and suicides as humorous as that sort of thing can be. Their Dad (Alan Arkin) raised the sisters on his own after their mother took her own life, so doing this kind of work brings up some emotional issues for them.
Just when you think the flick is going to go along like your run-of-the-mill dark comedy, something touching occurs. Rose comforts an elderly woman who's husband has just ended his life, and she begins to feel COMPASSION and EMPATHY for another person. This is the juncture where Sunshine Cleaning makes the unexpected leap forward into something altogether artistic and human.
Norah is an intriguing character in her own right. She scrambles up under a railroad trestle and plays chicken with the train that's thundering toward her. Another powerful scene. We observe that Norah is an adrenalin junkie--she just wants to FEEL something--probably due to the emotions she's repressed about her mother for so long.
The movie was produced by some of the same bunch that produced Little Miss Sunshine,
with Alan Arkin being the one holdover from that film, in which he won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. As the dad, he's a schemer and a dreamer, and those traits will figure into the ending of the picture-though his role here isn't large enough to garner a repeat of Oscar recognition.
Rose and Norah are looking for some closure, and as they move toward it, they get opportunities to gain some insight into themselves as well (such as Rose's true feelings about being good enough to be someone's sexual partner, but not good enough to be anyone's life partner).
The best films are the ones that can make you alternately (or simultaneously) laugh and cry,
and Sunshine Cleaning gets the job done.
GRADE: A
TIMMY'S TIDBITS: Amy Adams once worked as a hostess at Hooters (guess she thought it was classier than working at that place called "Boobs." )
Back in the day, Alan Arkin was lead singer of the folk group, The Tarriers. He co-wrote Harry Belafonte's huge hit "The Banana Boat Song" (or "Day-O" for those of you who know the lyrics but don't pay any attention to the title).
Just when you think the flick is going to go along like your run-of-the-mill dark comedy, something touching occurs. Rose comforts an elderly woman who's husband has just ended his life, and she begins to feel COMPASSION and EMPATHY for another person. This is the juncture where Sunshine Cleaning makes the unexpected leap forward into something altogether artistic and human.
Norah is an intriguing character in her own right. She scrambles up under a railroad trestle and plays chicken with the train that's thundering toward her. Another powerful scene. We observe that Norah is an adrenalin junkie--she just wants to FEEL something--probably due to the emotions she's repressed about her mother for so long.
The movie was produced by some of the same bunch that produced Little Miss Sunshine,
with Alan Arkin being the one holdover from that film, in which he won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. As the dad, he's a schemer and a dreamer, and those traits will figure into the ending of the picture-though his role here isn't large enough to garner a repeat of Oscar recognition.
Rose and Norah are looking for some closure, and as they move toward it, they get opportunities to gain some insight into themselves as well (such as Rose's true feelings about being good enough to be someone's sexual partner, but not good enough to be anyone's life partner).
The best films are the ones that can make you alternately (or simultaneously) laugh and cry,
and Sunshine Cleaning gets the job done.
GRADE: A
TIMMY'S TIDBITS: Amy Adams once worked as a hostess at Hooters (guess she thought it was classier than working at that place called "Boobs." )
Back in the day, Alan Arkin was lead singer of the folk group, The Tarriers. He co-wrote Harry Belafonte's huge hit "The Banana Boat Song" (or "Day-O" for those of you who know the lyrics but don't pay any attention to the title).
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
(Retro--2007) MARGOT AT THE WEDDING
It's always refreshing to see a film with no explosions or cars being driven by maniacs and then, of course, exploding. The explosiveness here lies just below the surface, and some of these characters do eventually crash into one another.
Margot (Nicole Kidman) returns to her old stomping grounds ostensibly to attend the wedding of her estranged sister Pauline, (Jennifer Jason Leigh) though Margot's primary motivation may be to have another go at it with Dick, a former lover. Pauline's fiance, Malcolm, (Jack Black) is a quasi-musician with no ambition who brings to mind the quaint term "layabout boy." Margot has a nasty mouth , and speaks to people in a way that deletes the editing for sensitivity that most of us do when we're trying to be diplomatic. And while the sisters claim to be best friends, they snipe at each other in bitingly sarcastic ways that would make the casual observer think otherwise. (Though, in my experience, such behavior is not uncommon among female siblings who, at their core, really DO care for each other--it's just hard for them to get past the petty, childish resentments they've been carrying around with them since they were kids.)
At one point Margot climbs to the top of a tree to prove she's still got some of the old tomboy in her, but can't get back down on her own and has to be rescued--perhaps a metaphor for people who act impulsively without considering the possible consequences, which is what most of these characters do. Margot is married--though the relationship is on the rocks--but she dives back into a tryst with Dick, who is arrogant and insensitive to her feelings. Pauline is going to marry Malcolm basically because no one else asked her. Things come to a head when Margot and Pauline "have it out" in a deliciously caustic exchange where Margot reveals her true feelings about Malcolm.
Margot At The Wedding has the feel of a small independent production with some big stars. All three headliners gave me something I liked: Kidman has some poignant moments as a woman who is unsure of which way her life is headed; Jack Black is understatedly hilarious; and we get a couple of topless views of Jennifer (always good to see her again). But the true star of this picture is the quirky dialogue from writer/director Noah Baumbach with lines the the likes of: "I left a piece of skin in a movie theatre once so it could watch movies the rest of its life."
In the end, there's no accounting for who we love or why we love-- and Love itself is the most capricious entity of all in this wicked, offbeat comedy.
RETRO GRADE: B
Margot (Nicole Kidman) returns to her old stomping grounds ostensibly to attend the wedding of her estranged sister Pauline, (Jennifer Jason Leigh) though Margot's primary motivation may be to have another go at it with Dick, a former lover. Pauline's fiance, Malcolm, (Jack Black) is a quasi-musician with no ambition who brings to mind the quaint term "layabout boy." Margot has a nasty mouth , and speaks to people in a way that deletes the editing for sensitivity that most of us do when we're trying to be diplomatic. And while the sisters claim to be best friends, they snipe at each other in bitingly sarcastic ways that would make the casual observer think otherwise. (Though, in my experience, such behavior is not uncommon among female siblings who, at their core, really DO care for each other--it's just hard for them to get past the petty, childish resentments they've been carrying around with them since they were kids.)
At one point Margot climbs to the top of a tree to prove she's still got some of the old tomboy in her, but can't get back down on her own and has to be rescued--perhaps a metaphor for people who act impulsively without considering the possible consequences, which is what most of these characters do. Margot is married--though the relationship is on the rocks--but she dives back into a tryst with Dick, who is arrogant and insensitive to her feelings. Pauline is going to marry Malcolm basically because no one else asked her. Things come to a head when Margot and Pauline "have it out" in a deliciously caustic exchange where Margot reveals her true feelings about Malcolm.
Margot At The Wedding has the feel of a small independent production with some big stars. All three headliners gave me something I liked: Kidman has some poignant moments as a woman who is unsure of which way her life is headed; Jack Black is understatedly hilarious; and we get a couple of topless views of Jennifer (always good to see her again). But the true star of this picture is the quirky dialogue from writer/director Noah Baumbach with lines the the likes of: "I left a piece of skin in a movie theatre once so it could watch movies the rest of its life."
In the end, there's no accounting for who we love or why we love-- and Love itself is the most capricious entity of all in this wicked, offbeat comedy.
RETRO GRADE: B
Thursday, April 2, 2009
KNOWING
Caleb, the young son of astrophysicist John Koestler, (Nicolas Cage) brings home a cryptic message from a time capsule that was buried 50 years ago by the students at his elementary school. The writings came from a spooky child named Lucinda, and as John sets about to decipher them, he realizes they are accurately predicting future disasters--right down to the exact date and location. This messes with John's head because he's something of an agnostic--favoring a random universe over the theory of determinism (that means...like...FATE, man).It starts to REALLY mess with his head when the disasters start getting up close and personal.
John locates the deceased Lucinda's daughter, Diana, (Rose Byrne) who he HOPES to enlist as an ally in his quest to figure out what's going on before all hell breaks loose on the planet.
I haven't been too keen on Nicolas Cage ever since I saw him swallow a huge live cockroach in one of his earlier films. They might look ugly to US, but that roach was probably somebody's mother! There are certain disgustingly creepy things I wouldn't do for ANY amount of money, and it makes me wonder about those who have no such ethics. That aside, I'll give him credit here for an appropriately frenetic portrayal of a truly freaked out dude.
On the minus side, the film comes with the most intrusive, unsubtle, and overbearing soundtrack ever to assault these virgin ears. Even taking into account that it's a thriller, the music tries too hard and seemingly never stops. But I'm willing to mitigate my feelings about the soundtrack because the picture has great special effects and the ending BLEW ME AWAY!
Knowing is an ambitious film, the scope of which you'll have NO CLUE going in. It's like coming home expecting to get a burrito for dinner and being served a seven course meal instead.
NOTE: Remember when movie reviewers use to feed you just enough about the plot to whet your appetite? Well, today's bunch comes from the same school as my girlfriend when she tells me she's constipated...that's the school of TOO MUCH INFORMATION! The trend is to basically reveal EVERYTHING that happens in the film except the very ending. STAY AWAY FROM OTHER REVIEWS ABOUT THIS PICTURE...they will spoil it for you.
Just go and see it.
GRADE: B+
John locates the deceased Lucinda's daughter, Diana, (Rose Byrne) who he HOPES to enlist as an ally in his quest to figure out what's going on before all hell breaks loose on the planet.
I haven't been too keen on Nicolas Cage ever since I saw him swallow a huge live cockroach in one of his earlier films. They might look ugly to US, but that roach was probably somebody's mother! There are certain disgustingly creepy things I wouldn't do for ANY amount of money, and it makes me wonder about those who have no such ethics. That aside, I'll give him credit here for an appropriately frenetic portrayal of a truly freaked out dude.
On the minus side, the film comes with the most intrusive, unsubtle, and overbearing soundtrack ever to assault these virgin ears. Even taking into account that it's a thriller, the music tries too hard and seemingly never stops. But I'm willing to mitigate my feelings about the soundtrack because the picture has great special effects and the ending BLEW ME AWAY!
Knowing is an ambitious film, the scope of which you'll have NO CLUE going in. It's like coming home expecting to get a burrito for dinner and being served a seven course meal instead.
NOTE: Remember when movie reviewers use to feed you just enough about the plot to whet your appetite? Well, today's bunch comes from the same school as my girlfriend when she tells me she's constipated...that's the school of TOO MUCH INFORMATION! The trend is to basically reveal EVERYTHING that happens in the film except the very ending. STAY AWAY FROM OTHER REVIEWS ABOUT THIS PICTURE...they will spoil it for you.
Just go and see it.
GRADE: B+
Thursday, March 26, 2009
I LOVE YOU, MAN
Take your classic boy gets girl--boy loses girl--boy gets girl back again plot and change it to boy gets BOY, etc., and you have the gist of I Love You, Man.
Paul Rudd gives an Oscar worthy performance as Peter, a mild-mannered real estate guy (he's trying to sell Lou Ferrigno's house) who enjoys hanging out with his fiance and watching chick flicks. He doesn't have any real male friends, and that's probably why. It wouldn't be a problem except he needs a best man for his wedding, and that sends him on a buddy search (man dates, no less).
Peter wants desperately to be just one of the guys, but he may have gotten shorted on his allotment of testosterone and can't seem to master the intricacies of male bonding. Enter Sidney, (Jason Segel) Peter's serendipitous new best friend and male "role model." Sidney is a devil-may-care type who pumps Peter for details about his sex life with wife to be Zoey (the hot Rashida Jones) and allows his dog named "Anwar Sadat" to relieve himself on the sidewalk, beach, or wherever without bothering to clean it up. People step in it (sometimes barefoot) and let loose with barrages of profanity (potty talk, we might say) and sometimes threatening behavior towards Sidney. It's an ongoing gag, and the funniest thing in the movie because the blue streaks are always creative and Sidney's counter behavior is unpredictably bizarre.
But Peter's tragicomic lameness is at the heart of this film--does he have it in him to be a "regular" booze swilling, chick ogling, trash talking guy--or is he trying to be something he's not? You can talk the talk, but that doesn't mean you can win your fantasy football league!
The plot, for the most part, is predictable--as is the ending. But I Love You, Man isn't about keeping us in suspense--it's about making us laugh...AND, along the way, ponder the meaning of what it is to be a "real" man. Speaking of which, Lou Ferrigno (the Incredible BULK) plays himself. That's typecasting.
GRADE: B
TIMMY'S TIDBITS: Paul Rudd's original family name is "Rudnitzky." Before he got into acting, Rudd worked as a DJ for Bar Mitzvahs. (Haven't we ALL done that at one time or another?)
Jason Segel plays piano and is also a talented basketball player. Segel went to high school with Jake Gyllenhaal.
Paul Rudd gives an Oscar worthy performance as Peter, a mild-mannered real estate guy (he's trying to sell Lou Ferrigno's house) who enjoys hanging out with his fiance and watching chick flicks. He doesn't have any real male friends, and that's probably why. It wouldn't be a problem except he needs a best man for his wedding, and that sends him on a buddy search (man dates, no less).
Peter wants desperately to be just one of the guys, but he may have gotten shorted on his allotment of testosterone and can't seem to master the intricacies of male bonding. Enter Sidney, (Jason Segel) Peter's serendipitous new best friend and male "role model." Sidney is a devil-may-care type who pumps Peter for details about his sex life with wife to be Zoey (the hot Rashida Jones) and allows his dog named "Anwar Sadat" to relieve himself on the sidewalk, beach, or wherever without bothering to clean it up. People step in it (sometimes barefoot) and let loose with barrages of profanity (potty talk, we might say) and sometimes threatening behavior towards Sidney. It's an ongoing gag, and the funniest thing in the movie because the blue streaks are always creative and Sidney's counter behavior is unpredictably bizarre.
But Peter's tragicomic lameness is at the heart of this film--does he have it in him to be a "regular" booze swilling, chick ogling, trash talking guy--or is he trying to be something he's not? You can talk the talk, but that doesn't mean you can win your fantasy football league!
The plot, for the most part, is predictable--as is the ending. But I Love You, Man isn't about keeping us in suspense--it's about making us laugh...AND, along the way, ponder the meaning of what it is to be a "real" man. Speaking of which, Lou Ferrigno (the Incredible BULK) plays himself. That's typecasting.
GRADE: B
TIMMY'S TIDBITS: Paul Rudd's original family name is "Rudnitzky." Before he got into acting, Rudd worked as a DJ for Bar Mitzvahs. (Haven't we ALL done that at one time or another?)
Jason Segel plays piano and is also a talented basketball player. Segel went to high school with Jake Gyllenhaal.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
LAST CHANCE HARVEY
Dustin Hoffman as a romantic lead? Clark Gable must be saying, "There goes the neighborhood!" But yes, there IS on-screen magic between Hoffman's "Harvey" and Emma Thompson's "Kate," who finally collide-after several near misses--in a bar where each has come to take the edge off the crappy day they've just had.
Harvey, who creates jingles for commercials--but whose job is hanging by a thread--is in London to attend his daughter's wedding, which carries with it an encounter with his ex-wife and the next-in-line guy she's settled down with. Both his ex AND his daughter come off as real turds in the beginning--and that speaks to the level of estrangement that exists better than any flashbacks could. We immediately feel for Harvey, who seems like a decent but hapless sort who gets less respect than Rodney Dangerfield.
Kate is a lonely Londoner who is ripe for picking--even though romantic involvement is something she normally resists because, heaven forbid, it might make her feel like she's alive!
It appears that each of them might just have enough left in the tank for one more go at the romance game--IF they can survive the inevitable plot complications that are headed their way.
There's a cute little subplot involving Kate's seventy-something mom (or mum, we should say) and the sweaty new neighbor guy she's got the hots for...and mum's the word on the rest of this plot synopsis!
The music soundtrack by Dickon Hinchliffe (which can often make or break a film, in my opinion) is appropriately tender and sweet.
Last Chance Harvey hasn't gotten a whole lot of buzz, (but just like Elizabeth Perkins-- who thirty or forty years from now will be regarded as the Donna Reed of the 80's and 90's...she has that "certain something" that will be appreciated more by future generations) this movie will one day be thought of as one of the better representations of Hoffman's body of work.
GRADE: B+
Harvey, who creates jingles for commercials--but whose job is hanging by a thread--is in London to attend his daughter's wedding, which carries with it an encounter with his ex-wife and the next-in-line guy she's settled down with. Both his ex AND his daughter come off as real turds in the beginning--and that speaks to the level of estrangement that exists better than any flashbacks could. We immediately feel for Harvey, who seems like a decent but hapless sort who gets less respect than Rodney Dangerfield.
Kate is a lonely Londoner who is ripe for picking--even though romantic involvement is something she normally resists because, heaven forbid, it might make her feel like she's alive!
It appears that each of them might just have enough left in the tank for one more go at the romance game--IF they can survive the inevitable plot complications that are headed their way.
There's a cute little subplot involving Kate's seventy-something mom (or mum, we should say) and the sweaty new neighbor guy she's got the hots for...and mum's the word on the rest of this plot synopsis!
The music soundtrack by Dickon Hinchliffe (which can often make or break a film, in my opinion) is appropriately tender and sweet.
Last Chance Harvey hasn't gotten a whole lot of buzz, (but just like Elizabeth Perkins-- who thirty or forty years from now will be regarded as the Donna Reed of the 80's and 90's...she has that "certain something" that will be appreciated more by future generations) this movie will one day be thought of as one of the better representations of Hoffman's body of work.
GRADE: B+
Thursday, March 19, 2009
LOVE IN THE TIME OF CHOLERA (playing at home where you absentmindedly stuck your gum onto the underside of your easy chair)
One of my favorite things to do is to find, among all the films that I see, ones that I truly love and feel a special connection with--then impart those feelings to the world in hopes that at least SOMEONE will be intrigued enough to see the film and, perhaps, develop that same kind of connection. You could say it's a mission of love, and my primary purpose in authoring this blog.
And that brings us to Love In The Time of Cholera, based on the novel by Gabriel Garcia Marquez.
Young Florentino Ariza (Javier Bardem) has a powerful thing for the lovely Fermina Daza, (Giovanna Mezzogiorno) in this exquisite tale set against the backdrop of a cholera epidemic in South Ameerica on the cusp of the 20th century. Fermina is intrigued by Florentino's fascination with her, but her father doesn't want her to marry a lowly telegraph operator. Nonetheless, she accepts her lovestruck suitor's proposal with the statement: "I will marry you if you promise not to make me eat eggplant."
But a short time later, Fermina mysteriously changes her mind (a woman's perogative, as all men know) and Florentino is devastated. Florentino carries that torch...and carries it...even when Fermina marries a prominent doctor and seems to want no part of her former paramour.
Florentino's attempted cure for his lovesickness is to run through a series of female conquests, (in scenes that hand us a healthy helping of feminine pulchritude) which eventually grows to the kind of numbers that would make any man envious (except, I suppose, Gene Simmons of Kiss). But even through all that, there is something of the monomaniacal in Florentino's obsession with Fermina, and he will wait forever, if need be, to fulfill his dream.
It must have been more than half way through the film before I realized that this lush romantic drama is also a comedy--what else would you call it when a cat pounces on your bare ass during a scene of lovemaking?
Directed by Mike Newell, with a haunting score from Antonio Pinto and original songs by Shakira. Also featuring Benjamin Bratt, Hector Elizondo, and John Leguizamo. Love In The Time of Cholera is a film for the ages about a love that survives the ages.
GRADE: A
TIMMY'S TIDBITS: Javier Bardem hails from Spain and has starred in more than two dozen films in that country. It is reported that he does not know how to drive. (Neither does my girlfriend, but she THINKS she does.)
Giovanna Mezzogiorno wanted to be a ballerina and studied dancing for 13 years. She is a Scorpio, and has a tattoo of the scorpion zodiac sign on her ankle.
And that brings us to Love In The Time of Cholera, based on the novel by Gabriel Garcia Marquez.
Young Florentino Ariza (Javier Bardem) has a powerful thing for the lovely Fermina Daza, (Giovanna Mezzogiorno) in this exquisite tale set against the backdrop of a cholera epidemic in South Ameerica on the cusp of the 20th century. Fermina is intrigued by Florentino's fascination with her, but her father doesn't want her to marry a lowly telegraph operator. Nonetheless, she accepts her lovestruck suitor's proposal with the statement: "I will marry you if you promise not to make me eat eggplant."
But a short time later, Fermina mysteriously changes her mind (a woman's perogative, as all men know) and Florentino is devastated. Florentino carries that torch...and carries it...even when Fermina marries a prominent doctor and seems to want no part of her former paramour.
Florentino's attempted cure for his lovesickness is to run through a series of female conquests, (in scenes that hand us a healthy helping of feminine pulchritude) which eventually grows to the kind of numbers that would make any man envious (except, I suppose, Gene Simmons of Kiss). But even through all that, there is something of the monomaniacal in Florentino's obsession with Fermina, and he will wait forever, if need be, to fulfill his dream.
It must have been more than half way through the film before I realized that this lush romantic drama is also a comedy--what else would you call it when a cat pounces on your bare ass during a scene of lovemaking?
Directed by Mike Newell, with a haunting score from Antonio Pinto and original songs by Shakira. Also featuring Benjamin Bratt, Hector Elizondo, and John Leguizamo. Love In The Time of Cholera is a film for the ages about a love that survives the ages.
GRADE: A
TIMMY'S TIDBITS: Javier Bardem hails from Spain and has starred in more than two dozen films in that country. It is reported that he does not know how to drive. (Neither does my girlfriend, but she THINKS she does.)
Giovanna Mezzogiorno wanted to be a ballerina and studied dancing for 13 years. She is a Scorpio, and has a tattoo of the scorpion zodiac sign on her ankle.
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