Few New Reviews

Even though it's a cool picture, I actually saw the following films from the comfort of my own couch.

I’ve seen a few movies over the last week or so that I figured I’d weigh in on, but not too heavily. The first is Reign Over Me starring Don Cheadle and Adam Sandler. Don Cheadle plays, Alan Johnson, a happily married, successful dentist, who reconnects with his college roommate, Charlie (Sandler) who lost his wife and three daughters on 9/11. The film isn’t about 9/11, it’s about a man who isn’t able to deal, and ultimately function, with the loss of his family. I liked the film overall, it’s a little heavy handed at times and could’ve been better by laying off some of the schmaltz, but Cheadle and Sandler are good and there’s some nice moments so I think the film ultimately succeeds.

Next I saw The Invisible, which was a nice surprise. The film is about a bright kid who’s about to graduate high school and has aspirations of being a writer. One night on his way home from a party, he is attacked, beaten brutally and left for dead. Thing is, he turns up in the morning, walks into to school only to discover no one can hear him or see him- this is were the title comes from- He’s invisible (clever, huh?). He has to convince one of the living, or pray to God, that someone finds his body before he dies. The film goes into a direction I couldn’t have possibly imagined from the previews and I liked that it had more on it’s mind than a revenge thriller or some stupid seen-it-all-before bullshit. I recommend this one too. The film stars Justin Chatwin, who has been in The Chumscrubber and War of the Worlds and seems like a pretty promising young actor. Another find is Margarita Levieva who is very good and also very pretty- I’m sure you’ll see more of her in the future, starting with Noise, a movie starring Tim Robbins, which has an interesting concept- a man living in NYC is overwhelmed by the noise and takes a vigilante approach to solving it. Check out The Invisible.

Have you ever seen Shaun of the Dead? Oh for real? Well go rent it right now because it’s friggin hilarious! And so is the latest from the same filmmakers- Hot Fuzz. Both films star Simon Pegg and Nick Frost and are directed by Edgar Wright. Here’s the drill: Hot Fuzz is about a policeman who gets reassigned to the quiet country because his arrest re cord is too high and he’s making the other cops look bad. He relocates to the quiet country and finds out it’s not so quiet. I watched Hot Fuzz for the second time this past weekend and found myself laughing even harder than I did when I saw it in the theater. Same went for Shaun of the Dead. Both films start out by poking fun at the genre their films take place in but they do it in a very underhanded, unassuming way and before you know it the film turns into just the thing they were initially making fun of. Very, very, very funny…I highly recommend them both.

Finally, I saw Spiderman 3 this weekend. Frankly I’m not sure what to make of it. I loved the first 2 Spiderman films. Solidly acted, and very well directed by Sam Raimi, the excellence of the first 2 made me think the third would be another out of the park home run. Not necessarily so. I didn’t hate the film, but it felt unfocused and certainly bloated. It bit off more than it could chew and then tried to swallow everything quickly. In between were varying degrees of tone which didn’t switch as deftly as they should’ve. Whether they’ve or not is beyond me because I wasn’t sure what Raimi was trying to do. Anyway, the jury is still kind of out for me because of how I felt about the first and how I feel about Raimi as a filmmaker. But at this point the film was a bit of a letdown. The action scenes were incredible as usual but I think the franchise has run it’s course. Of course they are making a fourth one, but without the help of any of the actors or director…so far at least. I have Sicko, I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry and Ratatouille on the way from Netflix so I’ll drop a note about those when I watch them.

My excitement lays upon more emotion than words can express- my good friend, and incredibly talented DP- Adrian Correia- just landed the head DP (Director of Photography) job for a documentary, which will carry him around the country and air on the WE channel. He was one of two candidates up for the job, the latter of which being a 30 year experienced DP in documentary work, and he fucking won out! The director/producer chose Adrian based on his “work” and “personality.” Clearly this woman is intelligent. Adrian is one of the most genuinely sweetest, kindest, nicest person(s) (did I write that right?) I know and his work is one of a true artist. This is a major break into the broadcast television world and I don’t know of anyone more deserving. Adrian is an artist. Plain and simple. Period- end of fucking story. On top of which, as I stated, he is also a top notch human being. Being on set is very stressful and all one can ask for in a DP and friend, beyond natural talent, which he has in spades, is a calming, ‘I’m-all-for-it’ attitude and he has all that and MORE. His work and attitude are unparalleled. I can’t express my happiness for him in words- as I would want to, but I can offer him all the best wishes I can possibly muster. Say goodbye to the dayjob, Sir, and say hello to everything you deserve- CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!!!

No Country for Old Men

Not sure if this movie is on anyone's radar yet but it's released next friday and I can't wait. This is the new Coen brothers film, based on a novel by Cormac McCarthy. I've yet to read the novel but the trailer looks great and the early word is very good.

I'm a big fan of the Coen brothers. Raising Arizona is one of all time favorites and I still laugh my ass off when I watch it no matter how many times I've seen it. Miller's Crossing is a truly underrated film and it's hard to fully appreciate until watched it a few times. Blood Simple, Fargo, Barton Fink, O Brother Where Art Thou (just revisited this film on sunday), The Man Who Wasn't There, The Big Lebowski...impressive stuff. Sadly their last 2 films The Ladykillers and Intolerable Cruelty have disappointed me. No Country looks to be a return to form, of sorts, for the Coens. Although their films are fucking hilarious, their films can also be brutally violent. Watch the trailer and see if you sense the doom for poor Josh Brolin's character.

Another thing I like about them is that they've employed my favorite cinematographer, Roger Deakins, for almost 20 years. Good trivia question...What now famous director was the Cinematographer for the Coen's in the early days. Same said director also shot some pornos on 16mm back in the day. Start googling...

One Flush at a Time

In a you-tubed world we all strive for funny online videos and it's just not always the case. One can only hope for some truly dedicated individual to come along and not only sort out the "crap" for us, but create his/her own entertaining videos for us websurfers to enjoy. Well, look no further. My good friend Michael Berndt has launched a new website for the world to enjoy. www.pottyboy.com is poised to be the ultimate online video vestibule. He and the incomparable Justin Starr are out in the crazy concrete jungle of NYC constantly looking for new material to film. They shoot and edit their own work and are two truly talented guys who settle for nothing less than top of the line content. Potty Boy will be posting at a consistent rate so be sure to keep checking back. Enjoy!

Ladies & gentlemen...Potty Boy Productions

Hey more Lehane & Cloverfield to boot...

The NY Post had some info via Brad Grey yesterday. Brad Grey currently runs Paramount. He's a force in Hollywood. I'm a fan because his taste is right in my wheelhouse (that’s disgusting) and he supports people and projects I want to see get made. Check out his imdb page. You may recognize a few titles, like, um, oh I don't know, The Departed, a little show called The Sopranos and dozens of others...Well he spilled some beans recently. He stated that Leonardo DiCaprio is starring in Shutter Island, a Dennis Lehane novel I've been anxiously awaiting to be brought to the big screen. Guess who's directing? Scorsese. Um, hi, can someone knock me out? I never in a million (years that is) would've guessed he would be behind it. Let's hope it stays that way. Apparently they're set to roll cameras in March. Who'll play opposite Leo is the question? I love Billy Crudup. He rules and he hasn't gotten the recognition he truly deserves. Either way, being that it's Scorsese, I'm sure it won't be tough to get an excellent actor in the role.

Before I move on I need to express my love for Shutter Island. I take the train to work everyday so it affords me the time to read a lot of books, which is nice. It’s practically the only thing I enjoy about the commute. I read Shutter Island on the train. One night as I was coming into my station, I was like 40 pages out from the end. Got off the train, raced home and immediately sat down and started reading. Couldn’t put the fucker down. I dare say it’s my favorite Lehane book. So that’s where my excitement started.

Cloverfield. Grey spilled that it is a "classic monster movie" Either I missed something along the way or he didn't realize there is a big internet movement drumming up buzz about this film by not exactly saying what it's about. I know that it's been hinted at severely by several sources but this is a major player, who would know, saying it is a monster movie. So there's that.

Gone Baby Gone

I'm a big fan of Dennis Lehane. His books are heavy subject matter with lots of moral questions and they don’t offer the easy way out. They also have sharply drawn characters and excellent dialogue (“I hate Coors light, it’s like sex on a boat. It’s fucking to close to water.”) so you get the sense they’d translate well to film right off the bat. I read Mystic River before the movie came out and I thought it was an amazing adaptation of a fantastic book. Gone Baby Gone is another amazing adaptation of a fantastic book and I think it’s a better film- no small feat.

Gone Baby Gone is my favorite book in a series of five novels centered around private detectives, Patrick Kenzie and Angie Gennaro so I went in with a certain anticipation as well as loaded gun ready to fire in the direction of any discrepancy I had with the movie in regards to it’s treatment and faithfulness to the book. By the time the introduction to the story had started - about 3 minutes into the film - I had a sense I was in for something special. Ten minutes later I was enthralled. Enthralled is one of those words that gets tossed around recklessly when describing movies- I’m sure I’ve done it myself – but this film is truly deserving of the word. My fiancé turned to me about 30 minutes and said, “It’s so good.” So true. She loved the books too so we were both super amped.

The film is about a little girl, Amanda McCready, who is kidnapped right out of her mother’s apartment. Her mother may or may not have been drinking and doing coke in a bar. She doesn’t seem to be too concerned that her daughter is gone. Baby. (sorry I had to do it.) The girl's Aunt & Uncle do care and they hire Kenzie and Gennaro to supplement the investigation because they will get info on the street and through the neighborhood unlike the cops. The film wastes little time getting into the meat of the story and letting us soak in the locals and locales. The film was shot in and around Boston, mainly in Dorchester where the film took place and you get an immediate sense of time and place thanks to the use of real locations and actual people from the neighborhood. I don’t want to get into the plot anymore as it’s better to discover it as you watch the film.

The acting is terrific across the board. Casey Affleck is perfect in the role of Kenzie and so is Michelle Monaghan as Gennaro. Again, they are sharply drawn in the book so I had a clear idea in my head of all the characters. Both Affleck and Monaghan are exactly what I pictured and they nail the roles. Casey Affleck is having a helluva year. I’ve heard his performance in The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford is incredible. And his work here is nothing less than exceptional. Ed Harris and Morgan Freeman are great as usual but some of best performances come from Amy Ryan, as the girl’s mother and Titus Welliver, as the girl’s uncle. Their characters are complex and three dimensional and you never doubt them for a moment. Welliver has a pivotal scene that I won’t soon forget. Of special note, John Ashton is in the film. Anyone who is a fan of Beverly Hills Cop or Midnight Run knows who I’m talking about. He’s a gem and he’s great in the movie. Why he doesn’t get more work is beyond me. The film is beautifully shot by John Toll and perfectly cut by William Goldenberg. This is the type of film that needs to be spot on editing-wise because if there’s any lag or confusion you’re done for. The pacing in this film is not your normal type where there’s a constant build to the ending. It makes you work and think. Which leads me to my next point.

For those of you that didn't already know this, Ben Affleck directed the film. Yes the same Ben Affleck who starred in Armageddon, Gigli, Surviving Christmas, Jersey Girl and Daredevil. He’s also the same Ben Affleck who wrote and acted in Good Will Hunting. He’s smart guy. I’ve never had a beer with him but I’ve seen him on Bill Maher a few times and he’s clearly very intelligent. But I also think he gets a bad rap for his acting. He hasn’t made some of the best choices but he also has done some very good work. Have you ever seen Changing Lanes? How about Dogma, Chasing Amy, Boiler Room, Going All the Way or Smokin’ Aces? I liked him better than Matt Damon and Robin Williams in Good Will Hunting. His speech about “You’re sitting on a winning lottery ticket” is great and it’s what gets us to the end of that film, another scene he nails. He gave the best performance EVER as the typical “dick” in high school in Dazed & Confused. Given the right role, the boy can act. Gone Baby Gone proves he can direct. Really, really, really well. He co-wrote the screenplay and the choices he makes there are perfect but to translate it to the screen is a whole different ballgame. He pulls it off but at the same time he never takes the easy way out. The film is a huge moral question and it doesn’t let you off the hook. There are no simple solutions in life and this film understands that and doesn’t feel the need to interject a neatly wrapped up little package of them. Again, it makes you work and think. Where do you stand?

As I mentioned earlier, the pacing is way off from you’re normal thriller, but it works. Really fucking well. There is a documentary feel to a lot of the street scenes- it feels authentic yet self-contained- it doesn’t take you out of the film. Tone and pacing are paramount to making a good film. If you don’t have it you might as well pack up and go the fuck home. Gone Baby Gone has it in spades but the tone and pacing they created must’ve been a challenge. I can’t wait to see what Affleck directs next. I hope he does something soon.

I need to see the film again, but there may not be anything wrong with it. That’s pretty back-slappingly impressive.

All right then

I wanted to check in, it's been quite awhile, with all 4 of my readers...Things have been busy and it's been hard to find time to post stuff but I have some good things coming in the next few weeks. Aside from work-work, I've been working on a mini-doc for my friend Carla Ten Eyck. For the past 2 1/2 years Carla has been working on an amazing project titled See Real Women: Really See Women and a few weeks ago we conducted some interviews and shot broll at the show opening. We had a blast and I'm in the middle of putting the piece together. Keep your eyes peeled.

I'm still editing Okay Great and I'm getting ready to cut a trailer for my friend Mike Timm's new webisode show. This past weekend I saw Gone Baby Gone and all I can say is it's incredible and I'm going to post a full review, plus thoughts on it and Ben Affleck's directing career in the next few days. More to come...