Slow Burn

I’ve just been to see the new Coen Bros. flick “Burn After Reading” and wow...I’m kinda speechless. I liked it…mostly. Actually more than I thought I would, with a couple of minor exceptions. More on that in a sec…

A couple of things really impressed me. First, there’s a LOT going on here…it’s a dark comedy with plenty of twists and turns, mistaken identities, and sudden (and surprising) shocks. It could have been confusing, but the Cohen’s have a way of puzzling you while always keeping you up to speed. I like that it takes its time introducing us to these folks before things get really fucked up...which they do pretty quickly. And second, there’s the PERFECT cast.

Frances McDormand has one of the most expressive faces in movies today. I’m not sure how she manages to find so many levels of quirkiness and still hold on to a characterization, but she does it to great effect for the Coen Bros. I was kind of rooting for her from the beginning- even though she’s completely naïve, jumps to conclusions with no thought, and hangs out with total losers like Brad Pitt. Speaking of whom…

Anyone who’s followed my blogs knows that I’ve come to respect Pitt a LOT as an actor. At first I wasn’t sure if he was parodying his earlier dumb-but-pretty roles here, or if he meant us to take this character seriously. Well, you can’t really take him TOO seriously, but after some thought I think he’s pulled off a major feat- his fitness trainer/extortionist is not dumb…exactly. More like innocent…not too bright and completely childlike in his approach to life. His character is simply too…well, simple, to see the consequences of his actions. He and McDormand bounce off each other nicely.

I was looking forward to seeing Tilda Swinton again- she was (IMHO) the best part of “Michael Clayton” and she’s equally good here…but in a completely different way. Where Karen Crowder was a nervous breakdown waiting to happen, Katie Cox is strong, self-assured, bitchy...and a lot of fun to watch. All that AND we get to hear her using her real accent. Great part, great actress.

George Clooney sheds the good-guy image to give us a character that’s twitchy, paranoid, and…well, a little bit of a perv. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. I’m not sure I really liked him, but I sure cared what happened to him. His reaction in a particularly violent scene is at once funny and distressing. As a matter of fact, from this scene on I was riveted and couldn’t wait to see where the film would go.

Also on a casting note…somebody get J. K. Simmons (Juno’s dad) a bigger role in something. Anything. He’s only in 2 scenes, but it both, he’s the voice of US, the audience- asking questions we would ask, and saying the things we would say if we were there. Every line is delivered in a complete deadpan, no expression whatsoever. And he’s funny as hell. Small part, HUGE impression.

Casting segues nicely into the couple of problems I had with the film. Regarding John Malkovich, I have to say that I was just not impressed with his one-note, grate on the nerves performance. I know I’ll get shit for this, but pretty much any actor could have shaved his head, adopted a pissed-off, “the world’s done me wrong” attitude, and huffed and puffed numerous variations on the “WHAT THE FUCK?” theme 20 or 30 times. What a total waste of an enormously talented actor.

Another problem for me is that the film seems to want to be a throwback to 30’s screwball comedies except with a dark side, and I’m not sure it completely pulls it off. The dialogue is dead-on, but some of the twists and turns are SO preposterous that I found myself just shaking my head on occasion.

And is it just me (probably), or did anyone else feel like there was something missing from the ending? I don’t particularly need (or even appreciate) a film that wraps up all its loose ends, but the final act of this one felt rushed, abrupt, and unfinished. On the whole, though, “Burn After Reading” is an entertaining way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

Enchanted

In the past I’ve experienced some remarkable vacation destinations: the Southern charms of Savannah and Atlanta; the hustle and bustle of Vegas; the friendliness of Puerto Vallarta; the excitement that is The Big Apple. But there’s one place that I’ve visited that draws me back time and again. It’s a place of beauty and a place of fun, where you can travel the world, experience thrills (if that’s your thing), or just sit back and enjoy the magic, whether you’re a kid, or just a kid at heart. It’s also the #1 vacation destination in the U.S. and one of the top vacation resorts in the world. It is, of course, the Walt Disney World Resort near Orlando, Florida.

I first visited The World almost exactly 20 years ago, and my first impression wasn’t a good one. I had booked the trip on a whim, expecting to go with a friend. The friend backed out and instead of canceling, I decided to go it alone- my first solo trip anywhere, ever.

I had booked a room at the Polynesian Village, a sprawling, island-themed resort that I was told sat on a lake directly across from the Magic Kingdom. I arrived in a thunderstorm, and I was soaking wet by the time I finally made it to the hotel. After calling the folks to let them know I arrived safely and then changing into dry clothes, I headed out to see what the resort had to offer. Unfortunately, thunderstorms in Florida mean gray, dark skies, heavy humidity haze, and constant dampness. I ventured out to the beach and found the lake, but it was so hazy I couldn’t tell where the water ended and the sky began, and I certainly didn’t see any signs of a kingdom, magic or otherwise. So, I found an ice cream shop, had a quick snack, and went back to the room to hang out. I looked through park info, watched a tour of the resort on TV, listened to it rain, and finally went to bed- not quite what I had expected from my first night.

The next morning I woke up bright and early, with the Florida sun streaming through the windows. The Orlando news showed the temperature as 79° and 80% humidity…at 7:00 in the morning- not a great start. I ventured outside and found the beach again, and from there I roamed up a grassy hill that overlooked the beach and the lake. It was all haze across the water, with nothing to be seen but gray skies, and I couldn’t believe I was finally at Walt Disney World, and I was disappointed. And just then, something amazing happened. As I stood there, a gentle breeze stirred through the palm trees, the skies across the lake began to brighten, and floating in the sky at the far side of the lake was the glint of something golden. As the breeze continued to blow the haze away, spires came into view. And as the last of the haze faded away, Cinderella Castle emerged from the mist, gleaming in the morning sun. The Magic of Disney, indeed.

I just came back from my 7th trip to WDW, and no matter how many times I experience it, my first glimpse of Cinderella Castle sitting majestically at the end of Main Street always takes me back to that first moment, some 20 years before, when my first Disney trip really began. And I’m happy to report that to this day, the Magic lives on.

°o°

A Knight's Tale

I was one of the many who saw the premiere of “The Dark Knight” at 12:01 a.m. on opening day. The hype behind the Bat was huge…and for my money, at least, it lives up to every single expectation, and then some. One thing was obvious as the release date approached; people would either be going to see this film because of the film itself, or they were going to see Heath Ledger’s final performance. It’s a win/win either way.

The vibe is completely different when you see a film at the very first showing of its run; the midnight crowd is involved, energetic, and very vocal. That 12:01 a.m. showing has the potential to change a good movie experience into a GREAT one. Keeping that in mind, I recently saw the film again by the “light of day”, and the good news…it’s as phenomenal as I remember.

There’s a LOT of story going on here, and it’s by far the darkest of the Batman films to this point. I like that. The darker these films get, the more we learn about the characters. And the look of the film is incredible. The comic-book look of the original movies is fun to watch, but I prefer the more “realistic” approach of these last two outings- for me, the style is more appropriate for a character called “The Dark Knight.” Even the FX don’t stand out- they’re there of course, but they just blend in to help tell the story, not make you notice the cool effects.

Until these last two films, Michael Keaton had always been my favorite Bruce Wayne/Batman. Val Kilmer was…ok. George Clooney was a joke. But I don’t think you can find a better actor to play the part than Christian Bale. Like Daniel Craig as James Bond, Bale brings something brand new to the character, and that’s conflict. His Batman isn’t sure he’s doing right by the people of Gotham City; he’s flawed, and that makes him fascinating to watch.

Bale’s moody Bruce Wayne is perfectly balanced by Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman as the wise advisors in his life. They provide not only heart, but comic relief- something Wayne needs in his life- and WE as the audience need to occasionally lighten the mood.

There are a few welcome new additions to this cast. Maggie Gyllenhall as Rachel Dawes finally makes the character real for me. Katie Holmes is cute and all, but an Assistant D.A.? Never believed it for a second. Gyllenhall has the class, style, and confidence to pull off the character and finally make us care what happens to her.

I’ve been a fan of Aaron Eckhart since “Thank You For Smoking” and he makes the perfect Harvey Dent/Two-Face. His transformation from Gotham City’s “white knight” to villain is understandable, sad…and totally believable.

And last, but certainly not least, is Heath Ledger as The Joker. All hype aside, this truly is a stunning, Oscar-worthy performance. Ledger’s Joker is a cold, maniacal sociopath, and a complete enigma to the audience. We have no idea who he is, or why he is the way he is; even the story of how he received his disfiguring scars changes throughout the film. He’s chilling, and riveting, and you can’t take your eyes off him when he’s onscreen.

After that midnight showing, I was a little bit surprised at myself to find that I wasn’t saddened by the appearance of Heath Ledger, but after the second viewing, I know why- because Heath Ledger does not appear onscreen. He simply IS The Joker. Not for a second do you see Ledger’s face, or hear his voice, or see his mannerisms. He literally hides behind a painted mask…and disappears.

Long Live The Bat.

At The Movies

Well friends, the summertime movie season is off and running! I’ve caught up with a few of the more recent offerings and I’ve found quite a lot to like in what’s been- up to now– a year with some highly anticipated releases but very little to love. So, here’s a roundup of some recently seen releases:

“Wanted” is an action flick starring James McAvoy as an underachieving loser working in a dead-end job who suddenly finds himself thrown into the mysterious world of “The Fraternity,” an uber-secret society of assassins. The group is headed by Morgan Freeman, and Angelina Jolie is the seasoned veteran who shows the newbie the ropes.

I went in to this one expecting the standard shoot-em-up, chase-em-down action adventure, but it turns out there’s a bit more to it than that. The members of The Fraternity possess some unusual powers, secret identities are revealed, and a couple of interesting twists keep the story moving along. Jolie and Freeman may be the “big” names, but the real reasons to see “Wanted” are James McAvoy (I’m tellin’ ya, he’s gonna be HUGE!), and the FX. Sure, there are plot holes big enough to drive trucks through, and there isn’t a whole lot of characterization, but if you’re a fan of these actors and of the genre, “Wanted” is a fun, adrenaline-filled step above the standard “action flick” fare.

Next up, the big red guy and his rag-tag team of mutant sidekicks is back in “Hellboy 2”. If you’ve seen and liked the original (and I did), then this one’s right up your alley. HB2 is one of those big, loud, rip-roaring, FX-filled spectacles that wants to do nothing more than entertain you for couple of hours. Mission accomplished. While I had a great time at this one, I was hoping for a bit more from del Toro than the standard sequel that overlooks character development in favor of huge set pieces overstuffed with FX. That said, it’s a great way to spend an afternoon.

With “WALL-E”, Pixar strikes gold (Oscar pun implied and intended) yet again with this simple story of a lonely ‘bot that finds love, defeats the bad guys, and saves the Earth, all while keeping us smiling and teaching us a thing or two about ourselves and our planet. The CGI animation is spectacular, with scenes and details that look SO realistic that you might not believe they’re CG. There are a couple of clever references to previous Pixar features, and I found myself admiring the beautiful original score by Thomas Newman many times throughout the film. “WALL-E” is smart, funny, inventive and entertaining…and though it may be too subtle for the little ones to catch, there’s a message (or two) there that we can all learn from.

And now, to my small band of movie-going friends, a personal note: Let’s get this out of the way right now…you will hate “Mamma Mia”. You will not like the singing. You will not like the dancing. You will not like Meryl Streep (I thought she was a riot- quirky, funny, moving, belting out tunes like a Broadway vet- is there any part this woman can’t play!?), you will not like a singing Pierce Brosnan (wait…neither did I), and you will not like the silly ABBA songs that make up the soundtrack. This film is sappy and short on characters, and the thin storyline exists only to support the songs. And yet- it’s bright, it’s funny, it looks great (the Greek isle locations are gorgeous), it has enjoyable supporting performances (Christine Baranski and Julie Walters are hilarious), and it does exactly what it sets out to do, which is to have a little fun with us and send us on our way. Now if I could just get “Dancing Queen” out of my head…

And that’s it for now. As I’m putting this entry “to bed” I’m getting ready to head out with friends to a midnight movie premiere. I won’t reveal too much just yet…let’s just say it promises to be an interesting Knight.

Kung Fu Hustle

The weekend movie scene last weekend seemed so promising, with not one but TWO major openings; “The Incredible Hulk” and “Get Smart.” But when The Big Green Guy opened at only 72% and the Secret Agent Man came in at a whopping 52% (Rotten Tomatoes of course, the movie-goer’s bible), I decided to skip the new releases and head to a flick that promised lots of laughs and loads of summer fun…’Kung Fu Panda.” I mean, hey…the trailer looks great, right? And at 88% on good ol’ RT, could I be wrong? Hell, yeah.

Let’s start with the good stuff. First, it looks absolutely amazing. It is DreamWorks, after all, so it should. The martial arts scenes are particularly well animated, and the backgrounds are beautiful. The Asian-ish soundtrack by composer Hans Zimmer does its job without being overwrought. And be sure to watch for the very cleverly animated DreamWorks logo at the very beginning of the film.

I was also glad to see (hear?) that the voice talent was not over-used. Sometimes the actors’ voices are so well known that they overshadow the characters; this time around they’re certainly well known, but they don’t take over.

Now, for the bad stuff- which is just about everything else. Oddly enough, the first thing that comes to mind is…the voice talent. There are some pretty famous people here, including Jack Black, Dustin Hoffman, Angelina Jolie, Lucy Liu, Michael Clarke Duncan, and Jackie Chan (?!?) …yet with only a couple of exceptions, the characters speak so little that I didn’t even recognize the voices until their names came up in the credits. I guess this isn’t so much a problem as it is an oddity to me- do you really need to pay Angie to say two lines when anyone could have done it, possibly even better, and for a whole lot less money? In hindsight, I guess the fact that the producers thought they needed that much “clout” should have been a clue that there wasn’t much going for it from the start.

As for the rest- there’s almost no story, what’s there isn’t funny, there’s no characterization, and I found myself bored through most of the film. I couldn’t even muster up sympathy for the fat, luckless panda. Only Dustin Hoffman got a smile out of me, but unfortunately, he can’t carry it alone-try as he might.

Here’s hoping that Disney/Pixar’s “Wall-E” will finally deliver the goods and be the summer CG movie to beat.

Legends of the Fall

The summer blockbuster season is on! And so far it has seen the surprisingly good continuation of one franchise, the meteoric rise of another, and a spectacular fall from grace of a movie icon.

If you enjoyed “The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe,” book one of the Narnia Chronicles, you’ll want to check out the second entry in the series, “Prince Caspian.” There’s not a lot of real characterization in either flick, but the heroes are likeable enough that you root for them to succeed, and the effects and scenery are both beautiful to see. Caspian is the darker of the two, dealing with the trials of growing into adulthood, family betrayal, and death. It’s a long one, and probably not for the kiddies, but for fans of fantasy/adventure films, it’s well worth the time.

Then there’s the movie based on a comic book about a man who saves the world wearing a suit made of iron. Oh, and it stars Robert Downey, Jr. When I first heard about “Iron Man” I laughed my ass off, and not in that good way- it sounded like a terrible concept, and the trailer looked boring and stupid. Then it showed up on Rotten Tomatoes at 94%...holy shit! But I’m happy to say that Mr. Downey, Jr. is in fine form, and this is the most fun I’ve had at the movies in quite a while. It has an interesting story, great performances, amazing effects, and it moves along at the speed of…well, Iron Man himself.

Last, and certainly least, is the long-awaited (?) Indiana Jones sequel, “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.” This just sounded like a bad idea from the beginning, and had too much going against it even before it got started; it’s been 19 years since the last Indy flick, which means a 19-years older Harrison Ford. Spielberg hasn’t had a great track record as of late. And George Lucas is…well, still George Lucas, unfortunately. Crystal Skull is deadly dull.

Where this movie should be light, fun and fast, it’s dull, uninvolving and slow. I found it a bit jarring to see a Raiders flick set in the mid-50’s, complete with Elvis music. A major character from the original film is back, and the characterization is so wrong that it no longer feels like the character we once knew and loved. The riddles and clues that lead us to the final outcome are lame and poorly thought out. At least one character is completely unnecessary (if I hear “Jonesy…” one more fuckin’ time…), and Cate Blanchett? She looks great and does the accent really well, but all I kept thinking was, “Wow, Cate Blanchett looks great and does the accent really well.” Even the John Williams score sounds like a tired rehash of the classic original. Where, oh where, is John Rhys Davies’ Sallah when you need him??

The biggest disappointment for me, though, is the turn from the occult interests of the original films to something that is…well, not to give anything away here…completely alien to an Indiana Jones tale. It was obvious from the very beginning, and not very original at that. A HUGE misstep, in my opnion.

Kudos all around, though, to Shia LaBeouf, for giving us a character that at least provides some energy and fun; to the photo of Henry, Sr. (Sean Connery) on Indy’s desk, for reminding us what a good Raiders movie really looks like; and for the production designers who at least managed to make this film look like the originals in tone and style. It looked great…and that’s the only thing it has in common with its predecessors.

To quote Indiana Jones himself, “It ain’t the years, honey, it’s the mileage.” Here’s hoping that Indy and company can finally retire, and fade away gracefully into the sunset.

To Have and Have Not

“There’s only us, there’s only this. Forget regret, or life is yours to miss.
No other road, no other way. No day but today.”
-Jonathan Larson

I had one of the best weekends I’ve had in a long time a couple of weeks ago, doing something that I very rarely get to do…shop. Not just the “I’m going to the store to get a couple of things that I need” shopping; no, this was “I’ve got the money to go out and get whatever the fuck I want” shopping. I bought shorts. I bought shirts. I bought a wallet. Went out to lunch. Then went out to dinner. I’d forgotten how…satisfying?...it can be to be able to buy what you need, AND have what you want, without having to consult the checkbook for every dollar.

The week following my “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous” shopping spree, I checked into a local hospital for a couple of simple tests, not really medically necessary right now, but something that would need to be done in the not-too-distant future anyway. I had my trusty insurance card with me, because I understood that the procedure was covered under most insurance. I either understood wrong or my insurance sucks. Let’s go with my insurance sucks. I walked out of there owing several hundred dollars, which I no longer had…mainly due to the above-mentioned shopping spree.

My first thought was, “Why the fuck did I do all that shopping the other day?” The money I spent on that fun, happy weekend would have easily paid for at least half of the medical bill. I still had other bills to pay, grocery shopping to do, and a whole lot less money to do it with now. I felt like I couldn’t afford anything “extra” now, because I didn’t know what might come up in the future.

But you know what? I don’t care. I’m finally fed up with worrying about money. How much I have. How much I don’t have. How much I owe. I’m tired of feeling like I can’t go to a movie, or buy a CD, or pick up a 6-pack or two to share with my friends, without going broke. I have a new philosophy: if I want it, and I have the money for it at the moment, I’m going to get it. I can’t worry about what might happen anymore; life is too short. I’ll take care of my obligations, but then I’m going to take care of ME. In a hundred years-shit, in 10 years- is anybody really going to care that I was a day late with the rent, or that I had to make double payments because I missed a month? I don’t think so.

And with that, I’m off to get that 6-pack or two and have some fun with my friends, because there is, indeed-

“No day but today.”