Caddyshack was on TV today and as I am sick, I decided I would watch it. I have never seen Caddyshack and assumed I was missing out, based on all the pop culture surrounding it. After watching it, I've decided I wasn't missing anything after all.
While watching it, I realized that I couldn't think of a single Chevy Chase movie that I had ever seen. I went to IMDB.com to confirm this. Apparently, the only other movie I have ever seen with Chevy Chase was Sesame Street Presents: Follow That Bird (seriously). However, I learned something even more interesting from IMDB.com: Chevy Chase has made some dumb career moves! Among them:
1. He left SNL after just one year
2. He turned down the role of Peter Venkman in Ghostbusters
3. He turned down the role of Buzz Lightyear
4. He turned down the male lead in American Beauty, for which Kevin Spacey won an Oscar
5. He joked about Cary Grant being gay, for which Grant sued him
whoa! how did this guy get such an ego all things considered?
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Up (and down)
I would have written about the movie Up earlier, but it's taken me a couple of weeks to be able to think, talk, write about it at length without bursting in to tears (only a slight exaggeration). RE: my post about EW's Summer Movie Preview, I previously would have followed Pixar wherever they might lead me. I have agreed with the premise of each and every movie they've released: toys should be well-loved and never discarded; monster's should incorporate; robots and their pet cockroaches need love too. I cried during Toy Story 2, Jay cried during Meet the Robinsons, I cried again during Wall-e. It was a "good cry" and did not detract from our love of these movies. I own them all and have watched them multiple times. They are among my favorite of the Pixar films.
Then there was Up. I went to see Up with my husband and two of our guy friends. All three men bawled their way through most of the movie. I, myself, got so tired of crying that I just took off my 3-D glasses and sighed my way through the rest of the movie. If my belief system didn't prevent me from leaving a movie theatre half-way through a movie, I would have left. SPOILER ALERT. In the first 10 minutes of the movie, Carl (voiced by the wonderful Ed Asner) befriends a quirky young girl when they are both small children, shares with her the same childhood hero, grows up, marries her, finds out that they can't have children of their own, and then she dies from cancer. ARE YOU KIDDING ME, PIXAR???? Why beat me over the head with how much they loved each other and what a wonderful couple they were just to kill her off 7 minutes into the movie??? And that was just the tip of the iceberg. Their childhood hero, Charles Muntz turns out to be a mass-murdering psychopath. Russell, a young boy scout who inadvertently joins Carl on his trip to South America, has an indominable spirit --- did I mention that his father is a dead-beat and Charles Muntz tries to kill Russell multiple times in multiple ways?? Oh, and the happy ending? A photo montage of all the adorable things that Carl and Russell do together once they return from South America. Too little, too late.
As for the message of life after death, all the advetures that a widower can have once his wife is dead, I'll take "fish are friends, not food" over this crap any day. This premise was far worse than let's have a bunch of rats cooking in a French kitchen.
In the future, Pixar, I'll be more extensively reading the reviews before blindly assuming that this movie will be another home run.
All that being said, this is the sweetest movie screening story that I have ever heard. It confirms that Pixar is still my ideal employer.
Then there was Up. I went to see Up with my husband and two of our guy friends. All three men bawled their way through most of the movie. I, myself, got so tired of crying that I just took off my 3-D glasses and sighed my way through the rest of the movie. If my belief system didn't prevent me from leaving a movie theatre half-way through a movie, I would have left. SPOILER ALERT. In the first 10 minutes of the movie, Carl (voiced by the wonderful Ed Asner) befriends a quirky young girl when they are both small children, shares with her the same childhood hero, grows up, marries her, finds out that they can't have children of their own, and then she dies from cancer. ARE YOU KIDDING ME, PIXAR???? Why beat me over the head with how much they loved each other and what a wonderful couple they were just to kill her off 7 minutes into the movie??? And that was just the tip of the iceberg. Their childhood hero, Charles Muntz turns out to be a mass-murdering psychopath. Russell, a young boy scout who inadvertently joins Carl on his trip to South America, has an indominable spirit --- did I mention that his father is a dead-beat and Charles Muntz tries to kill Russell multiple times in multiple ways?? Oh, and the happy ending? A photo montage of all the adorable things that Carl and Russell do together once they return from South America. Too little, too late.
As for the message of life after death, all the advetures that a widower can have once his wife is dead, I'll take "fish are friends, not food" over this crap any day. This premise was far worse than let's have a bunch of rats cooking in a French kitchen.
In the future, Pixar, I'll be more extensively reading the reviews before blindly assuming that this movie will be another home run.
All that being said, this is the sweetest movie screening story that I have ever heard. It confirms that Pixar is still my ideal employer.
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Sunshine Cleaning
Anyone who knows me know that my respect and admiration for Amy Adams runs deep. So it is perhaps unsurprising that I adored Sunshine Cleaning. However, before you assume that I'm just a fan girl with no critical eye, let's examine the criticism leveled against this film.
A.O. Scott (who, for once, I totally disagree with) writes, "I’m thinking of a movie. Wait, don’t tell me, it’s on the tip of my tongue. It takes place in Albuquerque. There’s a beat-up old van, a lot of family dysfunction, a cute kid, a get-rich-quick scheme that doesn’t quite work out as planned. Alan Arkin is the grandpa. The title? Something about 'Sunshine.' No, not that one. 'Little Miss Sunshine' came out in 2006. Why on earth would I be reviewing it now? I’m wondering that myself. A better title for the movie I am supposed to review — for the record, it’s 'Sunshine Cleaning,' directed by Christine Jeffs from a script by Megan Holley — would be 'Sundance Recycling,' since the picture is less a free-standing independent film than a scrap-metal robot built after a shopping spree at the Park City Indie Parts and Salvage Warehouse."
First, there are many movies out there that recycle BAD scripts and BAD actors and yet continue to draw large audiences and fans. I'm thinking specifically of movies made by the Wayans Brothers or Aaron Seltzer (Scary Movie 1 through 3289673, Date Movie, Epic Movie, Dance Movie, etc, etc...). I would much rather we recycle Sunshine than crap.
Second, nothing about Sunshine Cleaning was forced or manipulated. There is a joy in the way the girls manage to stand up for themselves while learning to trust others. Case in point, two main characters (whose names I will not disclose to avoid writing "SPOILER ALERT") aren't romantically linked at the end of the movie. I was pleasantly surprised with how simply and naturally the story unfolded. Sunshine Cleaning lacks a lot of the intentional quirkiness of Little Miss Sunshine in favor of the mundane. The van in Sunshine Cleaning doesn't break down or cause any hilarious antics, it's just a run-down crappy van that Rose is forced to drive for her business. But the van does play an important role in the Lorkowski's life nonetheless, as cars are want to do.
Finally, a shout out to the Kimball Theatre for bringing Sunshine Cleaning to Williamsburg. I thought I would have to wait until it's DVD release. So glad that I didn't have to.
A.O. Scott (who, for once, I totally disagree with) writes, "I’m thinking of a movie. Wait, don’t tell me, it’s on the tip of my tongue. It takes place in Albuquerque. There’s a beat-up old van, a lot of family dysfunction, a cute kid, a get-rich-quick scheme that doesn’t quite work out as planned. Alan Arkin is the grandpa. The title? Something about 'Sunshine.' No, not that one. 'Little Miss Sunshine' came out in 2006. Why on earth would I be reviewing it now? I’m wondering that myself. A better title for the movie I am supposed to review — for the record, it’s 'Sunshine Cleaning,' directed by Christine Jeffs from a script by Megan Holley — would be 'Sundance Recycling,' since the picture is less a free-standing independent film than a scrap-metal robot built after a shopping spree at the Park City Indie Parts and Salvage Warehouse."
First, there are many movies out there that recycle BAD scripts and BAD actors and yet continue to draw large audiences and fans. I'm thinking specifically of movies made by the Wayans Brothers or Aaron Seltzer (Scary Movie 1 through 3289673, Date Movie, Epic Movie, Dance Movie, etc, etc...). I would much rather we recycle Sunshine than crap.
Second, nothing about Sunshine Cleaning was forced or manipulated. There is a joy in the way the girls manage to stand up for themselves while learning to trust others. Case in point, two main characters (whose names I will not disclose to avoid writing "SPOILER ALERT") aren't romantically linked at the end of the movie. I was pleasantly surprised with how simply and naturally the story unfolded. Sunshine Cleaning lacks a lot of the intentional quirkiness of Little Miss Sunshine in favor of the mundane. The van in Sunshine Cleaning doesn't break down or cause any hilarious antics, it's just a run-down crappy van that Rose is forced to drive for her business. But the van does play an important role in the Lorkowski's life nonetheless, as cars are want to do.
Finally, a shout out to the Kimball Theatre for bringing Sunshine Cleaning to Williamsburg. I thought I would have to wait until it's DVD release. So glad that I didn't have to.
Angels & Demons
For all of those DaVinci Code haters out there, let me offer a brief disclaimer: when it comes to The DaVinci Code, my personal opinion is that the book was just okay and the movie was not. Dan Brown writes good Scooby Doo-esque art mystery novels - a race across Paris! a race across Rome! What is there not to love about that? Unfortunately, he sprinkles in a bit of his pseudo-religious, pseudo-academic, fiction meets fact craziness. The DaVinci Code film adaptation reminds me of the 4th Indiana Jones movie - both made me think, "who thought that plot sounded sane?" Audrey Tatou as the last descendant of Christ? Really? The saving grace of the movie is that they were allowed to film in the Louvre. That's pretty cool! However, Jumper got permission to film at the Coliseum and that didn't stop the movie from being total crap. I fear that The DaVinci Code likewise wasted what was a golden opportunity. And finally, what was going on with Tom Hanks' hair?!? Who thought that was a good look?
In Angels and Demons, Hanks' Robert Langdon gets a hair cut. Director Ron Howard also cuts out the fat from Dan Brown's novel. The novel of Angels and Demons is roughly 400 pages: 300 pages of Robert Langdon's cheesy genius as he searches for the four altars across (a cross) Rome. The last 100 pages, however, taking a running leap off the deep end of the pool. In the case of Angels and Demons, Ron Howard adapted the novel to film in almost the opposite style as his adaptation of The DaVinci Code. In The DaVinci Code, Ron Howard cut a lot of the cheesy art drama in favor of ramping up the religiosity. In Angels and Demons, he scaled back the craziness of the last 100 pages and the character of the Carmelengo had fewer layers to explore (who knew that was a good thing!). Ron Howard, I thank you. As a result of those decisions, Angels and Demons was fun! It's not going to shake anyone's faith in science or G-d and it clearly wasn't meant to. The pacing was solid and the characters were compelling. And, thanks in no small part to that hair cut, the character of Robert Langdon was truly a-dork-able.
A.O. Scott (who, let's face it, I almost always agree with) summed it up best when he said, "The utter silliness of 'Angels & Demons' is either its fatal flaw or its saving grace, and in the spirit of compassion I suppose I’d be inclined to go with the second option. The movie all but begs for such treatment. 'When you write about us,' an erstwhile nemesis says to Langdon near the end, 'and you will write about us, do so gently.' It was as if he were looking right into my soul. And how could I refuse such a humble, earnest petition? Go in peace."
Yes, indeed.
In Angels and Demons, Hanks' Robert Langdon gets a hair cut. Director Ron Howard also cuts out the fat from Dan Brown's novel. The novel of Angels and Demons is roughly 400 pages: 300 pages of Robert Langdon's cheesy genius as he searches for the four altars across (a cross) Rome. The last 100 pages, however, taking a running leap off the deep end of the pool. In the case of Angels and Demons, Ron Howard adapted the novel to film in almost the opposite style as his adaptation of The DaVinci Code. In The DaVinci Code, Ron Howard cut a lot of the cheesy art drama in favor of ramping up the religiosity. In Angels and Demons, he scaled back the craziness of the last 100 pages and the character of the Carmelengo had fewer layers to explore (who knew that was a good thing!). Ron Howard, I thank you. As a result of those decisions, Angels and Demons was fun! It's not going to shake anyone's faith in science or G-d and it clearly wasn't meant to. The pacing was solid and the characters were compelling. And, thanks in no small part to that hair cut, the character of Robert Langdon was truly a-dork-able.
A.O. Scott (who, let's face it, I almost always agree with) summed it up best when he said, "The utter silliness of 'Angels & Demons' is either its fatal flaw or its saving grace, and in the spirit of compassion I suppose I’d be inclined to go with the second option. The movie all but begs for such treatment. 'When you write about us,' an erstwhile nemesis says to Langdon near the end, 'and you will write about us, do so gently.' It was as if he were looking right into my soul. And how could I refuse such a humble, earnest petition? Go in peace."
Yes, indeed.
Monday, May 4, 2009
Foreign Relations Film Festival
Two bloggers for Foreign Policy, Stephen Walt and Daniel Drezner, drew up lists of what they regard as the best movies ever made about international relations. Let me tell you it's barely worth looking at the original two lists when you could read this insightful response instead.
In case you do actually want to read the original lists, here they are: Walt's and Drezner's.
My favorite part of the original lists is when Walt gives an honorable mention credit to The Interpreter saying, "The Interpreter (not that good a movie, but how many films take place at the UN?)" That's my kind of logic, buddy. My husband, James, is a big fan of the UN with many Model UN conferences under his belt and the only other UN-related movie that he could think of was Winning London (Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen at a Model UN conference that makes The Interpreter look like Citizen Kane of UN movies). That being said, The Interpreter was not a good movie ...
In case you do actually want to read the original lists, here they are: Walt's and Drezner's.
My favorite part of the original lists is when Walt gives an honorable mention credit to The Interpreter saying, "The Interpreter (not that good a movie, but how many films take place at the UN?)" That's my kind of logic, buddy. My husband, James, is a big fan of the UN with many Model UN conferences under his belt and the only other UN-related movie that he could think of was Winning London (Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen at a Model UN conference that makes The Interpreter look like Citizen Kane of UN movies). That being said, The Interpreter was not a good movie ...
Monday, April 20, 2009
The Lovely Ms. Adrienne Shelly
As a fan of Ms. Shelly from way way back, I - along with millions of others - was horrified and deeply saddened by her death in November of 2006. Aside from being a great loss to her family and friends, it was an abrupt end to what would have been a fantastic career. Waitress is one of my favorite movies and it is bittersweet that she did not get to experience the success of her film.
I have been following her husband's movements following her death - the creation of The Adrienne Shelly Foundation and the production of a completed script (one of many) that she left behind. And so it is with great excitement that I anticipate the response to Serious Moonlight at this week's Tribeca Film Festival. From all reports it should be wonderful! With any luck they'll find a distributor who will bring the film to Williamsburg.
I have been following her husband's movements following her death - the creation of The Adrienne Shelly Foundation and the production of a completed script (one of many) that she left behind. And so it is with great excitement that I anticipate the response to Serious Moonlight at this week's Tribeca Film Festival. From all reports it should be wonderful! With any luck they'll find a distributor who will bring the film to Williamsburg.
Friday, April 17, 2009
EW's Summer Movie Preview!!
While experiencing a brief reprieve from April showers, I flipped through the Entertainment Weekly's Summer Movie Preview issue. In February, I realized that there was a movie coming out every weekend that I wanted to see through July (with the exception of only 3 weeks when a movie wasn't coming out that I was interested in seeing).
My Favorites:
Up ... I will follow Pixar wherever they lead.
Angels & Demons ... I may be seeing this film alone. This was my favorite of Dan Brown's books; I read it when traveling through Italy. I don't have high hopes for the finished product, but I will be there opening weekend anyway. I'm nothing if not loyal.
Night at the Museum 2: Battle of the Smithsonian ... I will follow Amy Adams wherever she leads. If seeing Ms. Adams as Amelia Earhart wasn't enough of the draw, then the trailer hooked me. This sequel looks better than the first movie. This is the same motivation for my wanting to see Julie & Julia
Easy Virtue ... I will follow Noel Coward wherever he leads.
My Least Favorites:
Star Trek ... I can't get over Zachary Quinto as Spock. Heroes has ruined Mr. Quinto for me; he will always be Sylar. Even Simon Pegg as Scotty can't get me amped for this movie.
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen ... I watched quite a bit of The Transformers cartoon and did not think the first movie was any good. Watching Megan Fox show a lot of skin while avoiding multiple explosions is just not my cup of tea.
My Maybes:
X-Men Origins: Wolverine ... I loved the first and second X-Men movies, but was burned by X-Men: The Last Stand (and have still not forgiven Bryan Singer for abandoning the series to make Superman, blech). The jury is out on whether or not I will see this prequel in the theaters or wait to see it on DVD. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.
Ghosts of Girlfriends Past ... It looks cheesy and predictable. That being said, there hasn't been a good chick semi-mindless flick in theaters in a while and I'm excited for this one, but also for ...
The Proposal ... I love me some Ryan Reynolds (I'm a devotee since the Two Guys, A Girl, and a Pizza Place days) and I'm also a fan of Sandra Bullock (she had me at While You Were Sleeping). And honestly, I enjoy the "Guy hates Girl, Girl hates Guy, until Guy falls in love with Girl and Girl falls in love with Guy" formula more than the "Guy has Girl, Guy loses Girl, Guy gets Girl Back" storyline.
Land of the Lost ... Will Ferrell and Danny McBride in a feature adaptation of the popular Saturday morning television show from my childhood. Will it be good, will it be crap, or will it be craptastic???
Then there are countless small(er)-budget films being released this Summer that may or may not come to Williamsburg, VA. I'm trying not to get my hopes up too high just in case I have to wait another year before these are released on DVD. But if they come to the local cinema, I will be going to see: My Sister's Keeper, The Hangover, Cheri, (500) Days of Summer, Hide and Seek, The Boat that Rocked, and Paper Heart.
There are quite a few films that I'm leaving out because it's a Friday and there's no time to list them all. Let's just say, it's going to be a good summer.
My Favorites:
Up ... I will follow Pixar wherever they lead.
Angels & Demons ... I may be seeing this film alone. This was my favorite of Dan Brown's books; I read it when traveling through Italy. I don't have high hopes for the finished product, but I will be there opening weekend anyway. I'm nothing if not loyal.
Night at the Museum 2: Battle of the Smithsonian ... I will follow Amy Adams wherever she leads. If seeing Ms. Adams as Amelia Earhart wasn't enough of the draw, then the trailer hooked me. This sequel looks better than the first movie. This is the same motivation for my wanting to see Julie & Julia
Easy Virtue ... I will follow Noel Coward wherever he leads.
My Least Favorites:
Star Trek ... I can't get over Zachary Quinto as Spock. Heroes has ruined Mr. Quinto for me; he will always be Sylar. Even Simon Pegg as Scotty can't get me amped for this movie.
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen ... I watched quite a bit of The Transformers cartoon and did not think the first movie was any good. Watching Megan Fox show a lot of skin while avoiding multiple explosions is just not my cup of tea.
My Maybes:
X-Men Origins: Wolverine ... I loved the first and second X-Men movies, but was burned by X-Men: The Last Stand (and have still not forgiven Bryan Singer for abandoning the series to make Superman, blech). The jury is out on whether or not I will see this prequel in the theaters or wait to see it on DVD. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.
Ghosts of Girlfriends Past ... It looks cheesy and predictable. That being said, there hasn't been a good chick semi-mindless flick in theaters in a while and I'm excited for this one, but also for ...
The Proposal ... I love me some Ryan Reynolds (I'm a devotee since the Two Guys, A Girl, and a Pizza Place days) and I'm also a fan of Sandra Bullock (she had me at While You Were Sleeping). And honestly, I enjoy the "Guy hates Girl, Girl hates Guy, until Guy falls in love with Girl and Girl falls in love with Guy" formula more than the "Guy has Girl, Guy loses Girl, Guy gets Girl Back" storyline.
Land of the Lost ... Will Ferrell and Danny McBride in a feature adaptation of the popular Saturday morning television show from my childhood. Will it be good, will it be crap, or will it be craptastic???
Then there are countless small(er)-budget films being released this Summer that may or may not come to Williamsburg, VA. I'm trying not to get my hopes up too high just in case I have to wait another year before these are released on DVD. But if they come to the local cinema, I will be going to see: My Sister's Keeper, The Hangover, Cheri, (500) Days of Summer, Hide and Seek, The Boat that Rocked, and Paper Heart.
There are quite a few films that I'm leaving out because it's a Friday and there's no time to list them all. Let's just say, it's going to be a good summer.
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