Bright Star, Paul Schneider | Oscars 2010: 25 Longshots We Love | Photo 20 of 26 | EW.com
I was so excited to see Peter Sarsgaard on this list! I really hope he gets nominated and I can't wait to see An Education.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Walking and Talking Review
I think everyone who loves witty, funny, 90's movies should see this cult classic:
Walking and Talking is a 1996 cult classic directed by Nicole Holofcener and stars Catherine Keener as a witty, humorously self-deprecating singleton, and Anne Heche as her clever, unsatisfied engaged best friend. The movie revolves around these two best friends as they attempt to navigate through the cynical world of love and relationships. The women talk about things that all women talk about (clothing and men) but the movie takes the traditional romantic comedy and turns it upside down by creating realistic, slightly acidic female characters who leap off the screen and leave an indelible impression on viewers minds, thus making it an instant cult classic.
The film follows Keener’s character Amelia as she attempts to find love, deal with a sick cat, a mooching ex boyfriend named Andrew (Liev Schreiber, who gives the character and sort of charming shamefulness), and a best friend (Heche) who has forgotten about her, and is so desperate for a boyfriend that she dates a video store clerk whom she has dubbed “Ugly Guy.” Amelia deals with all of these situations with wit, humor and tenderness. Anne Heche’s Laura is dealing with her own issues--she has recently become engaged to her live-in boyfriend Frank (Todd Field, who gives the character maturity and drollness) and is overcome with such overanxious premarital jitters that her relationship is almost ended. The plot is fairly formulaic dealing with relationships and finding love is hard, but the terrific performances given by the lead actors set this film apart from other films in the same genre. Catherine Keener adds sincerity and the right amount of quirk to the character of Amelia. Anne Heche’s natural charm saves Laura from being annoyingly neurotic and instead the character comes off as relatable and amusing. The men are particularly impressive--Todd Field gives Frank levelheadedness and humor as he patiently deals with Laura’s neuroses and humor as he makes fun of the women’s taste in music. Liev Schreiber takes Andrew’s mooching, sleazy personality and makes the character likable and ultimately tender. This movie is a must see for anyone who likes quirky, offbeat comedies and witty, neurotic 90’s dialogue.
Walking and Talking is a 1996 cult classic directed by Nicole Holofcener and stars Catherine Keener as a witty, humorously self-deprecating singleton, and Anne Heche as her clever, unsatisfied engaged best friend. The movie revolves around these two best friends as they attempt to navigate through the cynical world of love and relationships. The women talk about things that all women talk about (clothing and men) but the movie takes the traditional romantic comedy and turns it upside down by creating realistic, slightly acidic female characters who leap off the screen and leave an indelible impression on viewers minds, thus making it an instant cult classic.
The film follows Keener’s character Amelia as she attempts to find love, deal with a sick cat, a mooching ex boyfriend named Andrew (Liev Schreiber, who gives the character and sort of charming shamefulness), and a best friend (Heche) who has forgotten about her, and is so desperate for a boyfriend that she dates a video store clerk whom she has dubbed “Ugly Guy.” Amelia deals with all of these situations with wit, humor and tenderness. Anne Heche’s Laura is dealing with her own issues--she has recently become engaged to her live-in boyfriend Frank (Todd Field, who gives the character maturity and drollness) and is overcome with such overanxious premarital jitters that her relationship is almost ended. The plot is fairly formulaic dealing with relationships and finding love is hard, but the terrific performances given by the lead actors set this film apart from other films in the same genre. Catherine Keener adds sincerity and the right amount of quirk to the character of Amelia. Anne Heche’s natural charm saves Laura from being annoyingly neurotic and instead the character comes off as relatable and amusing. The men are particularly impressive--Todd Field gives Frank levelheadedness and humor as he patiently deals with Laura’s neuroses and humor as he makes fun of the women’s taste in music. Liev Schreiber takes Andrew’s mooching, sleazy personality and makes the character likable and ultimately tender. This movie is a must see for anyone who likes quirky, offbeat comedies and witty, neurotic 90’s dialogue.
Friday, November 13, 2009
December 2009: Evgenia Peretz on Robert Pattinson Hollywood: vanityfair.com
December 2009: Evgenia Peretz on Robert Pattinson Hollywood: vanityfair.com
I was reading this, and no lie Rob Pattinson absolutely fascinates me, but I can't help but wonder is he genuine? Because I want to like him because he's rebellious and reclusive and we don't see this kind of actor that often.
I was reading this, and no lie Rob Pattinson absolutely fascinates me, but I can't help but wonder is he genuine? Because I want to like him because he's rebellious and reclusive and we don't see this kind of actor that often.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Half Nelson Movie Review
So I think this is technically cheating since I wrote this review last week for my college newspaper, but whatever I'm too lazy to write anything new, but I wanted to make sure I didn't neglect my blog. Also everyone should see this movie because I think the world needs to see Ryan Gosling in something other than The Notebook, which I actually decided I liked, who knew?
In 2001’s The Believer Ryan Gosling gave a breakthrough performance as an Orthodox Jewish man who becomes a neo nazi. The film was acclaimed for the way in which it dealt with a difficult subject matter and more importantly for the exciting performance by its star. It was in 2006’s The Notebook that made him widely recognizable to the public and although the film was not a critical success it did allow its star to be choosy about his film roles, case in point, he gave another critically acclaimed performance in 2007’s Lars and the Real Girl which firmly established him as one of the most interesting actors of his generation. The movie that earned Ryan Gosling his first Academy Award nomination and cemented his status as a critics favorite was 2006’s Half Nelson about a young man who is a history teacher by day and a drug addict by night.
The film Half Nelson and the performance given by Ryan Gosling are nothing short of remarkable; Mr. Gosling takes what could have been—in the hands of a lesser actor—an overacted, showy performance, and transforms it into a harrowing, realistic portrait of a man struggling to live two lives. His character, Dan Dunne, teaches at an inner-city school where the majority of the students are African-American; we see him interact with the students in a way that shows he cares about them. Not only does he talk to them in a relatable and realistic manner, he also takes time to coach basketball after school. The first turning point of the movie comes one night after a game. Dan is in the locker room smoking crack when one of his students, Drey (Shareeka Epps), discovers his addiction. Upon this discovery, Drey helps him to his car and he gives her a ride home. This event begins a bizarre kind of friendship. As the film continues we see Dan deteriorate and sink deeper into the drudges of addiction; we also see that Drey's life has been negatively affected by drugs and wishes to help her unfortunate teacher recover and begin to live without the hindrance of drugs.
There are many different directions this movie could have gone, Half Nelson is not a sweet feel-good movie, but an honest portrayal of a drug addict’s life. This portrayal is ultimately more satisfying, for it allows the viewers to come to their own conclusions about the direction Dan’s life will take. This movie could have gone in a direction that would have sweetened its ending by showing Dan recovering and going to counseling, but instead it offers viewers an untidy ending that is ultimately more satisfying and one that leaves viewers to come to their own conclusion about what direction Dan’s life will take. The ending is made more poignant because films like this that end in untidy endings are often the ones that we get more of a message out of because they make us think about what we’ve just seen; it doesn’t just slap a message in our faces, we have to dig for it.
The movie, directed by Ryan Fleck, has a raw artistic honesty to it that is a rare but refreshing change from the overproduced blockbusters seen in theaters. This is a remarkable movie that is made even more noteworthy by its star who from a rub of his bloodshot eye, to a playful smile, offers us an interesting character that he seems to inhabit, as though he isn’t actually acting.
In 2001’s The Believer Ryan Gosling gave a breakthrough performance as an Orthodox Jewish man who becomes a neo nazi. The film was acclaimed for the way in which it dealt with a difficult subject matter and more importantly for the exciting performance by its star. It was in 2006’s The Notebook that made him widely recognizable to the public and although the film was not a critical success it did allow its star to be choosy about his film roles, case in point, he gave another critically acclaimed performance in 2007’s Lars and the Real Girl which firmly established him as one of the most interesting actors of his generation. The movie that earned Ryan Gosling his first Academy Award nomination and cemented his status as a critics favorite was 2006’s Half Nelson about a young man who is a history teacher by day and a drug addict by night.
The film Half Nelson and the performance given by Ryan Gosling are nothing short of remarkable; Mr. Gosling takes what could have been—in the hands of a lesser actor—an overacted, showy performance, and transforms it into a harrowing, realistic portrait of a man struggling to live two lives. His character, Dan Dunne, teaches at an inner-city school where the majority of the students are African-American; we see him interact with the students in a way that shows he cares about them. Not only does he talk to them in a relatable and realistic manner, he also takes time to coach basketball after school. The first turning point of the movie comes one night after a game. Dan is in the locker room smoking crack when one of his students, Drey (Shareeka Epps), discovers his addiction. Upon this discovery, Drey helps him to his car and he gives her a ride home. This event begins a bizarre kind of friendship. As the film continues we see Dan deteriorate and sink deeper into the drudges of addiction; we also see that Drey's life has been negatively affected by drugs and wishes to help her unfortunate teacher recover and begin to live without the hindrance of drugs.
There are many different directions this movie could have gone, Half Nelson is not a sweet feel-good movie, but an honest portrayal of a drug addict’s life. This portrayal is ultimately more satisfying, for it allows the viewers to come to their own conclusions about the direction Dan’s life will take. This movie could have gone in a direction that would have sweetened its ending by showing Dan recovering and going to counseling, but instead it offers viewers an untidy ending that is ultimately more satisfying and one that leaves viewers to come to their own conclusion about what direction Dan’s life will take. The ending is made more poignant because films like this that end in untidy endings are often the ones that we get more of a message out of because they make us think about what we’ve just seen; it doesn’t just slap a message in our faces, we have to dig for it.
The movie, directed by Ryan Fleck, has a raw artistic honesty to it that is a rare but refreshing change from the overproduced blockbusters seen in theaters. This is a remarkable movie that is made even more noteworthy by its star who from a rub of his bloodshot eye, to a playful smile, offers us an interesting character that he seems to inhabit, as though he isn’t actually acting.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
What About Prom Blane?
As I was watching The Breakfast Club, I remembered that I have been meaning to write an entry about John Hughes for quite awhile and as I was laying down to go to sleep the entry wrote itself in my head.
When John Hughes died in August, I know I felt like I had lost one of the few filmmakers who understood how I felt as a teenager and even now as a twenty-something.
I remember the first time I saw The Breakfast Club--I was a freshman in high school and I just felt (as all teenagers do) that no one understood how I felt and that no one else felt as much like a misfit as I did. And then this movie came along, and so did characters I could relate to--John Bender? Totally my other half in terms of sarcastic comebacks. I loved the oddity of Allison and how multidimensional she was--at least until the end when they take her personality from her just so she can go out with Andrew. My point is that this was the first time I had seen depictions of actual teenagers put up on the screen.
After this I rediscovered Sixteen Candles, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, discovered Pretty in Pink (and just recently) Some Kind of Wonderful (which I know is Pretty in Pink in reverse) but it's still pretty awesome and having recently watched all of these films I realize what a treasure teenagedom has lost. John Hughes understood that we had voices; I think David Bowie said it best "And these children that you spit on as they try to change their worlds are immune to your consultation they're quite aware of what they're going through." Now I don't know, but I think every teenager at some point or another just wants their parents to shut up and let them figure life out for themselves--in this instance I think Keith in Some Kind of Wonderful really took the words out of my mouth when he said to his father, "when does my life belong to me?" See no other filmmaker was giving us lines like these--and really they weren't lines, they were our honest to God thoughts and someone thought to put them out there so that we could say "finally someone understands what it's like to be me."
I feel like that was a really rambling entry, but I think it rambled because I felt I had so much to say and it was really hard to write; I guess I felt like I lost a friend and that's never an easy thing to write about.
So thank you John Hughes for speaking to the misfit in all of us and for understanding us.
When John Hughes died in August, I know I felt like I had lost one of the few filmmakers who understood how I felt as a teenager and even now as a twenty-something.
I remember the first time I saw The Breakfast Club--I was a freshman in high school and I just felt (as all teenagers do) that no one understood how I felt and that no one else felt as much like a misfit as I did. And then this movie came along, and so did characters I could relate to--John Bender? Totally my other half in terms of sarcastic comebacks. I loved the oddity of Allison and how multidimensional she was--at least until the end when they take her personality from her just so she can go out with Andrew. My point is that this was the first time I had seen depictions of actual teenagers put up on the screen.
After this I rediscovered Sixteen Candles, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, discovered Pretty in Pink (and just recently) Some Kind of Wonderful (which I know is Pretty in Pink in reverse) but it's still pretty awesome and having recently watched all of these films I realize what a treasure teenagedom has lost. John Hughes understood that we had voices; I think David Bowie said it best "And these children that you spit on as they try to change their worlds are immune to your consultation they're quite aware of what they're going through." Now I don't know, but I think every teenager at some point or another just wants their parents to shut up and let them figure life out for themselves--in this instance I think Keith in Some Kind of Wonderful really took the words out of my mouth when he said to his father, "when does my life belong to me?" See no other filmmaker was giving us lines like these--and really they weren't lines, they were our honest to God thoughts and someone thought to put them out there so that we could say "finally someone understands what it's like to be me."
I feel like that was a really rambling entry, but I think it rambled because I felt I had so much to say and it was really hard to write; I guess I felt like I lost a friend and that's never an easy thing to write about.
So thank you John Hughes for speaking to the misfit in all of us and for understanding us.
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Underappreciated Actors.
I have an obsession with actors who are underappreciated--I'm not sure what it is--maybe I feel like if no one else knows who these actors are at least I recognize their greatness (of course this could also be construed as if I like holding this knowledge over the heads of those I consider less cultured than myself--or maybe I'm just incredibly nerdy). I suppose my obsession started after I really got to love Gone With The Wind and I realized how much I loved the actor who played Ashley Wilkes (whose name is Leslie Howard--it's such an annoyance for me that no one knows his actual name) and I felt so bad that this character got everyone's hate (and justly) but still...So I looked up other movies he was in and I discovered how much I loved this actor--my three favorites are:
1. Intermezzo--A Love Story (Ingrid Bergman's Hollywood debut)
2. The Petrified Forrest (made Humphrey Bogart a star--he named one of his kids Leslie because Leslie Howard petitioned for Bogie)
3. The Scarlet Pimpernel
I also love Edward Norton (and if you know me then you know the extent of my love for him) I first saw him in Primal Fear during my Junior year of high school and his performance just blew me out of the water--plus he totally acts the pants off of Richard Gere and Laura Linney. After I saw him in this, I looked him up on www.imdb.com and started watching his movies and looking up reviews for his movies in Entertainment Weekly (my go-to review guide) and found out that critics love him--it was the mainstream who didn't really know who he was, which makes me really sad because if people went to the movies and saw actors like this on the big screen more often then the standard for theatergoing would be higher.
Top Five Films:
1. Primal Fear (but only for his performance--the actual movie's kinda dumb)
2. The Score (he totally holds his own onscreen with Robert De Niro and Marlon Brando)
3. The Illusionist
4. The Painted Veil
5. American History X
alternate (and purely for pleasure)--Keeping the Faith.
1. Intermezzo--A Love Story (Ingrid Bergman's Hollywood debut)
2. The Petrified Forrest (made Humphrey Bogart a star--he named one of his kids Leslie because Leslie Howard petitioned for Bogie)
3. The Scarlet Pimpernel
I also love Edward Norton (and if you know me then you know the extent of my love for him) I first saw him in Primal Fear during my Junior year of high school and his performance just blew me out of the water--plus he totally acts the pants off of Richard Gere and Laura Linney. After I saw him in this, I looked him up on www.imdb.com and started watching his movies and looking up reviews for his movies in Entertainment Weekly (my go-to review guide) and found out that critics love him--it was the mainstream who didn't really know who he was, which makes me really sad because if people went to the movies and saw actors like this on the big screen more often then the standard for theatergoing would be higher.
Top Five Films:
1. Primal Fear (but only for his performance--the actual movie's kinda dumb)
2. The Score (he totally holds his own onscreen with Robert De Niro and Marlon Brando)
3. The Illusionist
4. The Painted Veil
5. American History X
alternate (and purely for pleasure)--Keeping the Faith.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
