Recently viewed films

[Jack of All Parades]

"Page One- Inside the NY Times"- turns out the much ballyhooed death of print media may not be so fast approaching. At least that is how this wonderful and insightful documentary makes me feel. That and the dynamic, lucid advocacy of one, David Carr. He is the hero of this film and a 'super' hero he is, hunched over, constantly chewing as if he were digesting his words, and always with the voice of a prophet defending the need for responsible journalism and for the Times. The film shows a model for survival that I think can work as the Times embraces the digital world and tries to carve out a space for itself within it. This film is affirming and I think I still will be waking to ink on my hands with my coffee for many more years to come. I sure hope so.

[migdd]

Enjoyed The Ides of March. A solid political drama about ambition, compromise and, eventually, corruption.

[redsfan720]

"Page One- Inside the NY Times"- turns out the much ballyhooed death of print media may not be so fast approaching. At least that is how this wonderful and insightful documentary makes me feel. That and the dynamic, lucid advocacy of one, David Carr. He is the hero of this film and a 'super' hero he is, hunched over, constantly chewing as if he were digesting his words, and always with the voice of a prophet defending the need for responsible journalism and for the Times. The film shows a model for survival that I think can work as the Times embraces the digital world and tries to carve out a space for itself within it. This film is affirming and I think I still will be waking to ink on my hands with my coffee for many more years to come. I sure hope so.

I've been meaning to see this one. Glad to hear it's getting some positive feedback from real people (not just critics who, for the most part, work for newspapers or were at least trained in print journalism). I'm a journalist so the topic is obviously something that I care a great deal about.

I watched PBS's two-part documentary on Woody Allen this week and was wonderfully entertained. I'm a big Allen fan, and I learned a lot of new information about the man and his style as a writer, actor and director (in no particular order). I think the documentary will serve devoted Allen fans just as well, if not in different ways, than those entirely uninitiated with his work.

(Here I must also admit that I'm irrationally excited to see the new Muppets movie as soon as I get the chance.)

[Jack of All Parades]

All the more reason for you to view. I think it will make you feel that there is still a future in the 'old' model. I am looking forward to seeing "The Descendants" tomorrow night or Saturday night as we are in Boston with family and have to keep up out tradition of catching a new film on the holiday weekend- this is one I am most interested in seeing and do not want to wait for the dvd.

[Jack of All Parades]

Had a great time at "The Descendants" last night in a great old deco movie house in Brookline. The mixture of pathos and humor is effective. So are the ensemble performances offered by the cast of young actors led by George Clooney. Amara Miller, Shailene Woodley and the young man who played the boyfriend of the older daughter, Sid, who may well be my favorite character in the movie, are perfect for their roles. Clooney has never been more natural in a film for me. His underplaying in his role as 'Matt King' is brilliant. By turning down the star power he really holds the screen. The way this family is fractured and then restored is so natural in its progression that you at times forget you are watching a movie- so much of the action is in the moment as if it were not captured on film. It is not Sideways but it is a very good movie on its own terms. I can not recommend it enough.

[ice nine]

I've heard a lot of good things about 'The Descendants', but it was sold out tonight. My sister, her husband, and my nieces were in town and we went to the new Muppet movie. It was surprisingly good. The story was pretty good, the music was good, the cameos were great. There were plenty of kids in the theater and they all seemed to enjoy it.

[Emotional Toothpaste]

Watched Hugo with the kids. Very excellent use of 3D, and some great filmmaking, but overall I was kinda bored and underwhelmed. Kept waiting for something exciting to happen that never did. Great acting on the part of the kids.

[Otis Westinghouse]

Dang, had high hopes. At least if the 3D is well used as opposed to a three second gimmick in minute 3 that they then forgot about, it's a start.

[Jack of All Parades]

My youngest daughter saw it last night with her boyfriend. Her exact words were "Dull and plodding". I do not think she enjoyed it.

[noiseradio]

I loved Hugo. It was the best thing I've seen in ages. Scorsese's best since Goodfellas.

[Jack of All Parades]

Felt like I wasted two hours of my life the other night watching Super8 on DVD. I suppose had I been a kid I might have been entertained but as an adult it felt flat. Too much stuff done before in other movies and too many homage shots to Mr. Abrams's mentor[even to the point of the title as SS got his start as a kid shooting 8 mm films in his neighborhood]. Very predictable and very derivative.

[redsfan720]

I would recommend The Muppets to anyone. It's the most fun I've had at the movies in a long time. Several of the songs new to the movie (if not all of the songs) were written by Bret McKenzie of Flight of the Conchords, and they're great songs. He's a very clever songwriter, and one perfect for this project (the movie was also directed by James Bobin, who was the third co-creator/writer along with the two Conchords on the Flight of the Conchords series on HBO).

And of course, they sing Rainbow Connection, and you'll be lucky not to turn into a puddle on the floor when they do.

[Jack of All Parades]

I feel compelled to have to proselytize for a 'little' film I watched last night- something that was originally made for Showtime and given only a small release- "War Eagle, Arkansas". Its two principal actors are new to me and , I suspect, new to the business, but they both give discernibly potent performances as best friends growing up in a small town, each touched by a disability- the one with cerebral palsy and the other with a severe stutter. The complicated friendship they have is palpable and it is brought to life on the screen by Luke Grimes and Dan McCabe. Mr. McCabe is a revelation as the young man with cerebral palsy. His portrayal of his character goes beyond the stereotype of such a person and touches within the first moments he appears on the screen the great humanity of this person. You no longer see a disability but a person who is funny, intelligent, warm and trapped in a rebellious body. That he is the son of my wife's best friend from childhood only makes me want to trumpet his performance all the more. I got the film through Blockbuster and their mailing service- if you can find it I greatly recommend it. These two men have a chemistry and a skill that is rarely seen in young actors.

[Jack of All Parades]

Saw "Warhorse" at the local cineplex yesterday afternoon with my wife. If one is willing to suspend one's natural cynicism and watch with the eyes and heart of a younger person it can be a magical few hours of viewing- a real movie fable. I am glad I saw it on a big screen but I came away not feeling like I was transported but instead, perhaps, manipulated. The vistas are epic; the cinematography by Janusz Kaminski is superior. There are scenes, such as at the end, where you swear you are viewing a painting and it is all done with cameras and light and not a single digital, computerized effect. The clash of time and progress and the shift of paradigms is dramatic- most noticeably when in a scene from the early part of World War I when a Calvary charge is thundering across a field and the camera cuts to a solitary, glistening machine gun and then at the edge of the field the screen erupts with the multiple firings of numerous machine guns and instantly the horses are riderless as they pass through the enemy encampment and into the encircling woods. It is a marvelous scene as Spielberg catches that change ghost-like in the moment.

There are many scenes like that which show the human devastation caused by WWI- the total loss of innocence and the senselessness of trench warfare and the horror of 'no-man's land'. Spielberg once again catches the reality of conflict- the fear and sheer adrenaline rush of combat. I do not think I will easily forget the pulling back camera shot of the strip of 'no-man's land' and the decimated bodies littered about. The futility of streaming from one rat infested trench only to run hundreds of yards to land in yet another rat infested trench is mind numbing. It strikes me that Spielberg has caught the visual equivalent of a Hardy poem about the war.

One last thing is the annoying use of a welling music score- surging up at key moments in the movie. Both my wife and I find this increasingly annoying as we watch a film- I would much more prefer to be moved visually as I react to a given scene than to be regularly and musically cued by a swelling movie score that is all too intrusive. I think I can trust my own feelings as I react to the action on the screen. I liked the movie but at too many times I found it too simplistic in its telling-too manipulative in its images and in its sentiments. But then it is a Spielberg movie.

[Who Shot Sam?]

Enjoyed Tintin, and don't really care that it wasn't like the books. Some absolutely breathtaking action sequences, a fun story that fizzed along at a headlong pace and a lot of humor. Why are people so hung up with films being slavishly faithful to written works?

[Otis Westinghouse]

I loved Hugo. It was the best thing I've seen in ages. Scorsese's best since Goodfellas.

Well I enjoyed The Departed, but I agree. I loved it. Some amazing use of 3D, especially the opening Montparnasse station sequence. Lovely homage to early silent cinema (nicely timed ahead of The Artist, which I can't wait to see), kind of didactic, but nicely so. And it brought tears to my eyes at the end. Great stuff. And remedied the absence of Joyce in Allen's Paris movie by having him nice and visible in an early scene. The Observer's Philip French, never a critic to miss an abstruse cinematic reference, notes the following point in relation to his appearance (see the last para of an excellent review which I agree with in its entirety):

http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2011/dec ... e-kingsley

If you look at the comments that follow the review, you can see it's clearly what we call 'a Marmite' movie - love or hate, as reflected above. It lapses a little bit in places, but I have nothing but praise for it. Magical stuff.

[Jack of All Parades]

Been a nice year for American Comedy- Midnight in Paris, The Descendents, and now Young Adult. I really enjoyed this movie. Loved how it subtly, and not so subtly, explodes those old myths of our youth that high school was the best time, that we can become better selves, that small town life is redemptive. That notion that human beings can grow and change is nicely subverted by Charlize Theron's finely tuned performance as the past prom queen who goes home to try to recharge her life- maybe we are what we are and we never can really change. She catches that in a very strong performance-I loved watching her face at times in this movie as she realizes this first hand and has to come to grips with the shallow monster she really is. The work by Patton Oswalt as the nerdy old high school classmate, who she never would have given the time of day to, is equal to Ms. Theron's. They make this film for me; that and the sharp, funny script by Diablo Cody. Jason Reitman has now completed a trifecta of smart, human and troublesome comedies about human experience. This is a nice addition to Juno and Up in the Air. Also liked the soundtrack- the insertion of the Replacement's "Achin' To Be' was a beautiful coda during a central scene. I also liked 'the true' ending, not Hollywood-ed up to make you feel good.

[redsfan720]

Been a nice year for American Comedy- Midnight in Paris, The Descendents, and now Young Adult. I really enjoyed this movie. Loved how it subtly, and not so subtly, explodes those old myths of our youth that high school was the best time, that we can become better selves, that small town life is redemptive. That notion that human beings can grow and change is nicely subverted by Charlize Theron's finely tuned performance as the past prom queen who goes home to try to recharge her life- maybe we are what we are and we never can really change. She catches that in a very strong performance-I loved watching her face at times in this movie as she realizes this first hand and has to come to grips with the shallow monster she really is. The work by Patton Oswalt as the nerdy old high school classmate, who she never would have given the time of day to, is equal to Ms. Theron's. They make this film for me; that and the sharp, funny script by Diablo Cody. Jason Reitman has now completed a trifecta of smart, human and troublesome comedies about human experience. This is a nice addition to Juno and Up in the Air. Also liked the soundtrack- the insertion of the Replacement's "Achin' To Be' was a beautiful coda during a central scene. I also liked 'the true' ending, not Hollywood-ed up to make you feel good.

You left out Thank You for Smoking among Jason Reitman's oeuvre, which may be my favorite of his films. Reitman's vision for both comedy and emotion is so real and so reasonable. I relate to his films, and in turn to him as a filmmaker, more than any director working in film right now.

I'm very much looking forward to this weekend. I don't have to work and I already have plans to see both Young Adult and The Descendants (which is differently spelled than the punk band I listened to so much in high school).

[Jack of All Parades]

Watched Visconti's "Rocco and His Brothers" on DVD last night with my wife. Do not know how I ever missed this film. Its epic scope combining both elements of high melodrama with film realism is mesmerising. This tale of five brothers and their interactions in the big city[Milan] is handled deftly. I loved how Visconti shot the actors up close so that they could react to one another and let the city and its grubby urban locations sit in the background. Particularly enjoyed Annie Girodette as the prostitute, Nadia. She and Alain Delon keep your eyes on the screen. My wife could not get enough of him. The scene towards the end where Rocco is triumphing in the ring and his brother, Simone, is falling apart is magically intercut. Cannot recommend this one enough. 180 minutes just seem to fly by.

[Jack of All Parades]

Yet one more lovely American comedy from this past year and a special one at that- Cedar Rapids. Saw it last night with my wife on DVD and thoroughly enjoyed its small, deeply human and funny pleasures. As played by Ed Helm, the title character is sort of an everyman going out into the wide world of Cedar Rapids. His adventures as he steps out of the insular world in which he has lived his life up to that date in Wisconsin are all too real in their comic worldliness. Supported by sound character actors like Stephen Root, Siguourney Weaver, Anne Heche, John C Reilly and Isiah Whitlock, Jr, the movie is a bracing moral journey for the insurance salesman, Tim Lippe. The humor is never smug and the script by Phil Johnston is smart-funny. The director Miguel Arteta never lets the movie go big and instead keeps the action human scale and hence it hits you harder and this allows its central scenes to stay with you after the film is over. I really liked how he creates an Apollonian/Dionysian contrast for the lead character to play off- the jokes are not cheap and they have some heft to them.

[Otis Westinghouse]

The director Miguel Arteta

Arsenal's Spanish midfielder's been moonlighting?

[mood swung]

I loved Cedar Rapids! Just a nice little movie, with something like a plot, and heroes, and villains, and John C. Reilly.

[Jack of All Parades]

With you on that Miss Mood- outside of Bridesmaids last year the only film that just made me 'purely' laugh and Mr. Reilly was a big reason for that- am familiar with that milieu so it hit home even harder. If he is not nominated for a Best Supporting turn will be extremely disappointed- he was that good!

And Otis- you know the old saw that we each have our doppelganger somewhere on this planet- could very well be his- he also directed The Good Girl- another bittersweet comedy from a few years ago with Jennifer Anniston in it. Then again he could be your identified mid-fielder!

[redsfan720]

I watched "Conan O'Brien Can't Stop" on Netflix streaming last night. I grew up watching Conan, and I also went to see him on the live tour around which the documentary centers, so I'm prone to being a bit biased. But I really thought it was a documentary done very well. It does a fantastic job of showing the viewer that Conan O'Brien really can't stop, even when he was legally bound to staying off television and the Internet for six months following the NBC-Jay Leno disaster.

Even if you're not a particular fan of O'Brien, it's a really telling portrait of an entertainer at the top of his game and all of the conflict that comes with being in such high demand. The travel, the performing, the endless meet-and-greets that even celebrities were vying to get into—all of it took such a toll on him, but he never stopped. It's a very fascinating watch.

[noiseradio]

I loved Hugo. It was the best thing I've seen in ages. Scorsese's best since Goodfellas.

Well I enjoyed The Departed, but I agree. I loved it. .

I adored The Departed as well. As good as I thought that was, I think Hugo is a stronger (and wildly different) film. The Departed was like classic Scorsese, and there's little I enjoy more. Hugo was completely new, and for him to have broken ground at this point in his career is just stunning to me.