The Queen

So in the next two weeks I have two papers due, eight pages of writing, my project pitch and one sheet and my finished project due. So of course I spent the afternoon at a matinee. I've been looking forward to seeing The Queen because of all the hype during awards season.

So if you were living under a rock around the time of the Golden Globes and the Oscars, Helen Mirren was getting mad props for her role as Queen Elizabeth. Everybody predicted she'd win both awards for Best Actress, and she did. Directed by Stephen Frears and written by Peter Morgan, the film is about how the English monarchy and the Prime Minister dealt with the death of Princess Diana. From the trivia section of the film's IMDB page..."The writer Peter Morgan reconstructed the events of the week after the death of Princess Diana through extensive interviews with many unnamed sources close to the Prime Minister and the royal family. Many of these sources were able to corroborate the accounts of others, giving Morgan enough information to imagine intervening scenes."


"Do you remember what you were doing when Princess Diana died?" is this generation's "Do you remember where you were when President Kennedy was shot?". I was watching the television at my in laws when they interrupted SNL or whatever we were watching on Saturday night to announce her death. I remember exchanging shocked looks with my (now ex) husband and looking at the time, it was around 9:30pm Calgary time. I felt a great amount of sadness, and stayed up really late the night of her funeral to watch it. I cried and felt the same outrage towards the Royal Family that the rest of the world felt. This film examines what happened inside the palace during this time day by day from her death until her funeral and why they may have responded the way they did.


Helen Mirren deserves all her props for her portrayal as the Queen. She humanized an international figure and in the end, made her sympathetic. Michael Sheen also deserves some props for his portrayal of newly appointed Prime Minister Tony Blair. Blair is confused at the Palace's lack of public response to Diana's death and was instrumental in persuading them to go against tradition to appease the public. A compelling story seen from a different point of view.

More ramblings to come......

DVD Quote of the Day: Comedy Central Roast of William Shatner

I picked this up last week at Walmart. As some of you may know, I love the dirty, raunchy, smutty humour of a good roast because I'm low brow like that. This is the extended & uncensored Comedy Central Roast of William Shatner. Roasters include Greg Giraldo, Betty White, George Takei, Nichelle Nichols, Kevin Pollack, Farrah Fawcett, Patton Oswalt, Artie Lange, Fred Willard, Andy Dick, and of course, it wouldn't be a roast without Jeffrey Ross and Lisa Lampanelli. Also featuring filmed roasts from Sandra Bullock, Ben Stiller, Jimmy Kimmel, Sarah Silverman and hosted by Jason Alexander. George Takei killed, he's actually a pretty good comedian. Some of the best lines of the night.....

Jeffrey Ross: But seriously, this is such a huge honor for me to be roasting the spokesman for Priceline.com. Who are we roasting next year, the Travelocity gnome? What happened we couldn't get the lizard from Geico up in this mother fuckah?

Lisa Lampanelli: Andy Dick is so gay, his chapstick is cock-flavored.

Betty White: ...because let's face it, we all know Shatner's nuts. But George (Takei) has actually tasted them.

More ramblings to come......

300

I picked the movie last week, so my friend Amber got to pick it this week. She chose 300. All I knew going into it was that it's been #1 at the box office for a few weeks, it was shot all on green screen and that it is gory as hell. I guess it being based on a Frank Miller novel would be why.

I really enjoyed it. I didn't know what to expect, but was warned about the blood and gore. Directed by Zack Snyder, the film is also written by Snyder and Kurt Johnstad. I'm going to be a lazy ass and copy-paste this right from the IMDB page of the movie. "Based on Frank Miller's graphic novel, "300" concerns the 480 B.C. Battle of Thermopylae, where the King of Sparta led his army against the advancing Persians; the battle is said to have inspired all of Greece to band together against the Persians, and helped usher in the world's first democracy."


The film opens with a sequence showing how Spartan men are raised and trained with one purpose, which is to be warriors. Starring Gerald Butler as King Leonidas, King of the Spartans and Lena Headey, who is absolutely gorgeous, as his wife, Queen Gorgo. King Leonidas is approached by a Persian messenger sent by the Persian King Xerxes (played by Rodrigo Santoro, who is also Karl, the hot ass engineer Laura Linney's character crushes on in Love Actually). They are warned by the messenger that Persia wishes to take over Greece and they can surrender peacefully now or go to War. Leonidas consults with the Oracle, who advises him not to go to war because they won't win. Leonidas decides he has no choice and gathers 300 of his best men to march out to keep the Persians from advancing. So begins the bloody war.


This is based on a real battle but is obviously not meant to be a true to life re-enactment. Certain aspects are added for dramatic effect like the immortal soldiers, strange, killing hippo creatures, and the fact that King Xerxes is half man, half God and a giant. I loved the rockin' soundtrack that would come in from time to time, which was a nice touch. The cinematography was great, too, and I loved the visuals and the fast/slow motion shots during the battle scenes. I can tell whether I've found a movie good or not by the conversation I have with Amber when we leave the theater. If the conversation is about what didn't quite work or what was annoying, it was bad. If the conversation is about the parts we liked and what was cool, it was good. I really liked it, but when I asked Amber what she thought of it, she said, "Eh." She wondered why the Persian King was a great, big drag queen and asked, "After that one battle scene, where the hell did the apple come from?" (that King Leonidas was eating). So, you may like it or you may wonder why Xerxes is a great, big drag queen.

300
7.5/10
Recommended: If you like a good action movie and don't mind a lot of blood, if you like good eye candy (male or female) or if you like war movies.

Leonidas: "We Spartans have descended from Hercules himself. Taught never to retreat, never to surrender. Taught that death in the battlefield is the greatest glory he could achieve in his life. Spartans: the finest soldiers the world has ever known. "

More ramblings to come......

Stomp the Yard

I caught Stomp the Yard in a matinee today at my favourite cheap theater. I had been interested in seeing this when it first came out, but didn't get a chance. I guess now that I've seen it, I'm glad I didn't spend ten bucks to see it.

Columbus Short stars as DJ, a young man who enjoys battle dancing with his group, until he suffers a tragedy. He gets sent to college to keep out of trouble, enrolling in the predominantly black Truth University in Atlanta, Georgia. He immediately falls for one of the campus hotties April (Meagan Good, who was kickass as Max in D.E.B.S.). Of course April has a boyfriend and of course he becomes DJ's rival. DJ finds himself in between two rival fraternities who catch some of his dance moves. They each want him on their team to help win the national step competition. I don't think I even need to keep on with plot details as you've seen this movie many times in previous incarnations.


The movie began with a Baz Luhrmann type battle dance sequence. You know what I mean, those trippy, frenetic, seizure-inducing jerky visuals from Moulin Rouge! and Romeo + Juliet. This went on during most of the intense dancing scenes, which was too bad because I wanted to see what the dancing looked like without them. Columbus Short was good as DJ. Other than that, it was very predictable and formulaic. I still rooted for his team in the end, but from about fifteen minutes in you could see the plot coming a mile away. The dancing was cool, but I feel I would enjoy a documentary on step dancing more than Stomp the Yard.



More ramblings to come.........

Shopgirl

A friend of mine asked me recently, "What's up with you and Steve Martin lately?" I love watching his work, that's all....and maybe I'd have a few of his babies. It's also been awesome watching the progression of his work from The Jerk and the Wild and Crazy Guy to L.A. Story to Shopgirl and everything in between.

I picked up the Shopgirl DVD over the weekend and really enjoyed it. Based on a novella by Steve Martin of the same name, Martin based the story on personal experience, stories from friends and anecdotes heard along the way. He wrote the script and Anand Tucker directed. Martin made the comment in the special features that Tucker, being from England, brought a great look to the film because he was able to see Los Angeles from an outsider's point of view and put that on the screen. Just like Mick Jackson (another Brit) had done in L.A. Story.


The story is about Mirabelle Buttersfield (Claire Danes), a young and lonely woman who works at Saks Fifth Avenue behind the counter in the glove department and is a part time artist. Mirabelle meets Jeremy (Jason Schwartzman), a slovenly slacker, in a laundromat and they go on a date. Mirabelle isn't impressed by Jeremy, but seems to hang out with him out of loneliness. Mirabelle also meets Ray Porter (Martin) shortly after her date with Jeremy when he buys a pair of gloves from her and begins to pursue her. Their age difference is vast, but Mirabelle is impressed with his sophistication and wealth. He knows who he is and is cultured and successful, unlike Jeremy.


Ray and Mirabelle begin a relationship with a misunderstanding. Ray tells Mirabelle they should keep their options open and that it's only a temporary arrangement. Mirabelle hears something different and believes they have a future. They begin to spend more and more time together. Complications arise in their relationship in the form of Mirabelle's depression and Ray's infidelity. In the meantime, Jeremy is on the road with a rock band and begins a journey of self improvement. Ultimately, Mirabelle feels she has been given a choice on whether to hurt now or later.


The film is very nuanced and subtle. It's a little reminiscent of Lost in Translation with the May-December relationship and slow moving action. The visual aesthetic reminds me a little of Amelie, with the colours, but not as oversaturated as Amelie. The film has a beautiful aesthetic look to it and gets more beautiful and colourful with Mirabelle's arc and sensual awakening with Ray. Great compositions. The performances are all great and everybody is perfectly cast. Claire Danes gives a depth and intelligence to Mirabelle that not many actresses her age could.

Instead of ending with a quote from the movie, I will quote from the IMDB message board of Shopgirl. There is an interesting thread where people have debated about whether Mirabelle should have chosen to hurt now or later. From the user named cindic8....

"You always need to consider how the other person makes you feel about yourself. If you have a healthy self-image, you won't stay with someone who doesn't behave in a way that indicates that they feel damn lucky to be with you." Word.

More ramblings to come........

I Think I Love My Wife

Movie night and it was a choice between I Think I Love My Wife and Premonition. We went with I Think I Love My Wife. Written and directed by and starring Chris Rock, the film is about Richard Cooper (Rock) finding himself bored with his marriage.


Richard is an investment banker at a medium sized firm. He lives in the suburbs with his lovely schoolteacher wife, Brenda (Gina Torres). They have two children and have their routine pretty much down pat. SUV, chicken for dinner, Saturday afternoons shopping with the kids, and the occasional dinner with their other married friends. They seem a solid married couple on the outside, but see a marriage counsellor and have stopped having sex for quite some time. The inciting incident begins when Richard is visited at work by an old friend's ex flame, Nikki (played by the gorgeous Kerry Washington). Nikki is flirtatious, seductive and spontaneous. They begin a friendship on the sly with her only contacting him at work. Richard knows he's just tempting himself by getting closer and closer to Nikki. Richard's marriage starts unraveling the more time he spends with Nikki and begins to neglect his work. Ultimately, Richard has a decision to make.


I love Chris Rock's other work, but this film didn't quite work for me. It was interesting to see the story from his point of view. However, I have a problem with the way Nikki is portrayed as predatory and manipulating while Richard is merely the innocent, clueless victim of her charms. This seems to say that women are always crafty and after the married man and he has no mind or will of his own when he sees cleavage or the back of her thong over her jeans. Richard's moment of clarity with his inner conflict is pretty unrealistic as well. Something didn't quite click and I wasn't pulled into the story. There were a few laughs, but for the most part, our theater was pretty quiet. Basically if you were to ask me "How was it?" I'd have to answer with one of those head nods to the side, "It was...okay."

I Think I Love My Wife
5.5/10
Recommended: Not really, unless you're a huge Chris Rock fan.

More ramblings to come.......

DVD Quote of the Day: The 40 Year Old Virgin

Last weekend I talked with a friend of mine who has not seen The 40 Year Old Virgin. That's right, someone who has NOT seen The 40 Year Old Virgin. What's up with that?

Quick run down: Andy Stitzer (Steve Carell, love, love, love him) is a 40 year old virgin who works at Smart Tech as the store's stock supervisor. His life is mundane without any social activities other than watching Survivor with his elderly neighbours. His co-workers David (Paul Rudd), Jay (Romany Malco) and Cal (Seth Rogen) invite him to play poker with them one night and discover that Andy's a virgin. They decide to make it their mission to get Andy laid. After a few of their disastrous attempts, Andy meets Trish (Catherine Keener), a single mother, who piques his interest. They begin dating and Andy feels the pressure to have sex mounting.


It's an excellent movie that's part raunchy buddy comedy, part sweet romantic comedy, which works. Directed and written by Judd Apatow (Freaks and Geeks), the humour is extremely raunchy but great with the running "pussy on a pedestal" joke, the whole "you know how I know you're gay?" improv scene and the infamous waxing scene. Apatow shares the writing credit with Carell, but a lot of the movie was improvised. Strong performances from all of the cast.


I remember the theatrical version very well. The timing, the flow, the performances and the jokes were all perfect. The DVD is the Unrated version with 17 extra minutes. Although those 17 minutes are still funny, they interrupt the flow that the theatrical version had. The DVD commentary is hilarious with director/writer Judd Apatow, Steve Carell, Paul Rudd, Seth Rogen (also one of the producers), Romany Malco, Leslie Mann (who plays the drunk girl and is married to Apatow), Jane Lynch (hilarious as store manager, Paula), Gerry Bednob (hilarious as Mooj), Shelley Malil (Haziz) and Jonah Hill (who plays the eBay store customer) all getting drunk while reflecting on the making of the film. The DVD also features the obligatory deleted scenes, with or without a commentary, blooper reel and dinner with a porn star.


Extremely quotable with too many choices for just one quote of the day. So I'm giving a couple....first from when Cal advises Andy to tell Trish he's a virgin to test her....

Cal: Here, tell me, this is how it's gonna go.
Andy: I'm a virgin.
Cal: Sweet! I like that, because you don't have... chlamydia....and I *know* that....and that shit is everywhere.

The part when David, the bitter dumpee still getting over a four month relationship two years later, tells Andy about love.....

Andy: It sounds horrible.
David: Of course it's horrible. It's suffering and it's pain and it's....you know, you lose weight, then you put back on weight, and then you, you know call them a bunch of times, and you try to email and then they move or they change their email. But that's just love.

The part where Andy is drunk and about to go home with Beth and has to tell her he doesn't drive....

Andy: I hope you've got a big trunk, because I'm putting my bike in it.
Beth: (misunderstanding his meaning) Oh, ho, ho, ho....Hello!

Steve, see the damn movie! More ramblings to come......

Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason

I watched Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason, the sequel, before I watched Bridget Jones's Diary, because I'm a dumbass who can't read the outside of a freakin' DVD case.

The sequel picks up six weeks after the original's end. Bridget Jones (Renee Zellweger) is happy in her new relationship with Mark Darcy (Colin Firth). The inciting incident happens when when an attractive, younger woman (Rebecca Gilles, played by the beautiful Jacinda Barrett) begins working with Mark, causing Bridget to doubt her new relationship. Of course, more obstacles arise with the return of Daniel Cleaver (Hugh Grant) when he starts working with Bridget again.

I neglected to discuss the other characters in the post on the first movie. The whole ensemble was great with Bridget's three bitchy yet supportive friends, Tom (James Callis), Jude (Shirley Henderson, Moaning Myrtle from the Harry Potter movies) and Shazzer (Sally Phillips). Bridget's vulgar, too-much-information giving Mum (the fabulous Gemma Jones) and her charmingly pessimistic Dad (Jim Broadbent) are also comical and complement each other.


I have read the comments section for this film on the IMDB page and it seems a lot of people were disappointed by the sequel. I guess not having seen either, the sequel was new stuff to me, so I enjoyed it. Another criticism was about the outlandishness of some of the situations like the mushroom trip, skiing and prison scenes. I actually found those the most humorous because they were over the top. More criticism at a twist in the plot at the end that is different in the book. I won't give it away, but I actually really like this twist for a few reasons. The biggest one being that I hate it when obstacles are presented to make another woman seem predatory and out to get the heroine's man. There are already way too many stories pitting women against each other over men. The other reason is that it shows that Bridget made up some of this conflict in her head. I think it's fairly common but usually the conflicts in these types of movies are external.


On the flipside, the cons include the fact that Bridget is a little TOO much into her head and comes off as more insecure and unsure than in the original. Another factor about why the audiences may not have been as happy with this one is that the great ensemble cast of the first movie were not as prominent in the sequel because of the time spent in Thailand and the prison. I did still enjoy it, in particular, the scene where Bridget is trying to buy a pregnancy test in a language she does not know with the pharmacist and the other customers trying to guess what she wants.

Bridget: Look...I'm a girl who met a boy....frauleine and I met frau...boy and now, possibly meet bebe." (I think it's all in the delivery)

More ramblings to come.......

Bridget Jones's Diary

Yes, I know...I suck. This is the first new post in a week. I hadn't seen this movie until recently because I always thought, "Ewww, chick flick". I received Bridget Jones's Diary and Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason for my birthday because my friend was insistent that I had to see them (Thank you, Amber!). Anyhoo, I really, really like both of them.

Directed by Sharon Maguire, this film is based on Helen Fielding's popular novel of the same name. Renee Zellweger stars as Bridget Jones, a single thirty something woman living in Britain, who is looking for love and ways to improve herself. Bridget feels she's one of the only 30's something single women in a world full of couples. Her parents are attempting to fix her up with a neighbour's son, a human rights lawyer names Mark Darcy (Colin Firth). However, they don't really hit it off. She soon falls for her boss, the charming, womanizing Daniel Cleaver (Hugh Grant) when they begin an inter-office affair.


It's a fairly straightforward romantic comedy. Everybody is well cast and there is a lot of great humour, mostly in Bridget's internal dialogue. She's refreshing because most rom coms have a lead character that is charmingly clutzy (Debra Messing, Wedding Date) or adorably neurotic (Meg Ryan, When Harry Met Sally) so that the average woman can sympathize with them and they will be likable. However, even when they show their "faults" they're still disgustingly cute (Kate Hudson, How To Lose a Guy in Ten Days). Bridget really, truly embarrasses herself. Not only that, she's not a size 6. Everybody made such a big deal because she gained 25 lbs for this role. Ooooh, so she was what.....125lbs? Anyhoo, it was easy to root for her.


There's a few things that bother me about romantic comedies. One is how seemingly easy it is for the characters to fall in love. It seems like the general rule of thumb is that the two main characters have to be annoyed as hell by the other one until they realize that they love each other. They don't only have to be annoyed and bicker with each other, but they have to run to that person the second they realize they really love them to give them that big "this is how I feel about you, even though you annoy the hell out of me" speech. But the stakes have to be high, that other person has to be either boarding a plane to Timbuktu or walking down the aisle to get married to someone else when they give their big speech. But in Must Love Dogs, Diane Lane's character can't wait one more second to tell John Cusack's character how she feels, and can't even wait until he docks his canoe. She jumps into the lake and swims to his boat. In rom com land, these gestures are considered romantic and touching instead of psychotic and needy like they would be if they happened in real life. It's still a good movie, but mostly escapism.

From the part of the film after the man she really loves leaves and her friends try to cheer her up........

Shazzer: Exactly. I mean there's been all these bloody hints and stuff, but has he ever actually stuck his fucking tongue down your fucking throat?
Bridget: No. Not once!

More ramblings to come.......

The Lonely Guy

As mentioned a few posts below, I got the Steve Martin: The Wild and Crazy Comedy Collection DVD box set. I watched The Lonely Guy because I hadn't seen it before and it's sitting here. Based on a Neil Simon play, the film stars Steve Martin as Larry Hubbard, a man who goes home one day to his girlfriend to find her in bed with her lover, Raoul, and informs him that he will be moving out, just as soon as he takes out the garbage. Larry becomes a "lonely guy".


Also starring a young and barely recognizable Charles Grodin as Warren, an oft-times 'lonely guy' who becomes Larry's guide and mentor to the life of a 'lonely guy'. The lonely guy is a sort of code for a secret club of lonely men. There are certain rules to the club and things all lonely men learn. Warren teaches Larry things like how to eat alone in a restaurant without arousing suspicion from other patrons that you are a lonely guy (pretend you are a restaurant critic). He also teaches him about the lonely guy must haves (a fern plant, dog) and some of the lonely guy hangouts (the best bridge to jump from, The Lonely Guy store on 81st and Lex). Larry meets Iris (Judith Ivey), a flaky, friendly, interesting woman who immediately identifies Larry as a lonely guy. Iris piques Larry's interest and he soon begins chasing her. The film's narrative follows the normal plot outline rules with obstacles to him finding Iris and "getting the girl" and a small subplot with his friend Warren.


This film is funny, but unfortunately suffers from a lack of identity. It doesn't quite work. The film has a voice over narration at the beginning of the film from Larry introducing himself and his situation to the audience. Fine. A little bit into the film, now Larry is directly addressing the camera and looking right into it. Okay. Then other times the voice over and Larry directly addressing the camera are glaringly obviously missing. Think of the voice over narration part of Clueless, then think of the part of Annie Hall when Alvy (Woody Allen) talks right to the camera, then think of any other movie where a character is walking through the park in a long shot with no dialogue or music. Now think of them all in the same movie. All three can be good and effective apart, but not so much when they are all are used together. The humour is very funny and surreal-like (like when Larry is being seated at a busy restaurant and the whole restaurant stares at him in silence while the room darkens and a blue spotlight follows him to his table) and Martin and Grodin both give good performances (like when they sit in the park discussing why bums always have a lot hair). The soundtrack is pretty outdated. Yes, I realize that it was released in 1984, that would be why, but it's not even dated in a "it's so bad it's good" kind of way.

In spite of all that it's okay and would be worth checking out if you're a Steve Martin fan and have never seen it. From the part of the film where Iris tells Larry it would never work because they're perfect for each other......

Iris: I need someone who I don't care a damn about. Someone mean and unfeeling and rotten.
Larry: I could be that! Just give me a day or two to work on it......I mean sure we have a few problems like not having sex, but we don't have to have sex, there's plenty of other things we can do. We can go to motels and listen to other people have sex!"

More ramblings to come........