For of those of you have access to Turner Classic Movies, I highly recommend checking out the four films airing tonight (8PM Eastern): The Harvey Girls, Here Comes the Groom, Breakfast at Tiffany's, and Days of Wine and Roses. These selections encompass the Best Song Academy Award Winning films in the career of the prolific and brilliant Johnny Mercer. Before and after each film there will be discussion between our TCM host Robert Osborne and his co-host for the night, theater historian and Mercer expert Robert Kimball. What makes tonight special for me is that it marks my first foray into the realm of Producer. This was a really fun project, and one which I hope will lead to many more. Not only are the INTROs and OUTROs to the films entertaining and filled with great facts about Mercer, but the films are enjoyable as well. Thanks so much for all the support, and I hope you like what you see!
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
I guess we'll just have to adjust...
It was four or five years ago when I heard the rumors that Spike Jonze and Dave Eggers were settling into adapt Maurice Sendak's most beloved children's book Where the Wild Things Are, and immediately I thought, of all the directors out there, Jonze seems like the ideal choice to create a live-action feature film of the book. From his filmography - which, yes, is minimal and heavily weighted with music video credits - Jonze definitely has the ability to capture those childhood fears and fantasies. He, along with Michel Gondry, are two of the most creative and bizarre indie-mainstream filmmakers out there (I say indie-mainstream because they are able to straddle the boundary between the two, and I'm sure, they're more than happy to include themselves in either category depending on the conversation). Needless to say, I was stoked about this movie! Finally, after re-writes, sign-offs, production schedule changes, and months of anticipation and excitement over the first posters and trailers, the film was released last month.
The Art of the Movie Trailer (which, if that's not a blog, it should be) can be a blessing or a curse for a film, and the trailer for Where the Wild Things Are is absolutely brilliant! While settling into my theater seat, Arcade Fire's "Wake Up!" played over and over in my head as I thought back on that trailer. Finally, the lights dimmed, the silver screen lit up, and with a steadicam and muted colors, we meet Max, an out of control product of divorce who embodies an animalistic violence that seems to come when he dons his wolf costume. Now, obviously this movie takes liberties with and expands upon Sendak's very short children's book. I would say the movie is inspired by not based on the book, but you can weigh in on that. I, for one, was a tad surprised by how sad the movie is, and I realized that it is not at all a children's movie but one based off of the nostalgia Jonze and Eggers (and the rest of us who are well into our mid-twenties and beyond) have for the book. The animation was great and the soundtrack fitting. All the actors who lent their voices to Carol and Ira and KW and Douglas were fantastic, and I have to say the kid who played Max, Max Records, fit the part well. He was a little scary at times, but he captured the loneliness and misunderstood nature of Max incredibly well.
Overall, I really enjoyed the film. I think the trailer and marketing team did a brilliant job of getting me psyched for this movie, and I'll associate that Arcade Fire song with this movie for a long time. I have to give kudos to whomever selected it because it works. Jonze also managed to get tears in my eyes as his vision of Sendak's illustrations really was a touching adaptation and one that I would recommend to anyone above the age of 14 who has a fondness for the book. I'm not so sure about getting those kiddies who have just been introduced to Max and his Wild Things friends into the theater. I'd wait a few years then watch it on Blu-Ray, or streaming, or in hologram form - whatever is available to you when that time comes.
The Art of the Movie Trailer (which, if that's not a blog, it should be) can be a blessing or a curse for a film, and the trailer for Where the Wild Things Are is absolutely brilliant! While settling into my theater seat, Arcade Fire's "Wake Up!" played over and over in my head as I thought back on that trailer. Finally, the lights dimmed, the silver screen lit up, and with a steadicam and muted colors, we meet Max, an out of control product of divorce who embodies an animalistic violence that seems to come when he dons his wolf costume. Now, obviously this movie takes liberties with and expands upon Sendak's very short children's book. I would say the movie is inspired by not based on the book, but you can weigh in on that. I, for one, was a tad surprised by how sad the movie is, and I realized that it is not at all a children's movie but one based off of the nostalgia Jonze and Eggers (and the rest of us who are well into our mid-twenties and beyond) have for the book. The animation was great and the soundtrack fitting. All the actors who lent their voices to Carol and Ira and KW and Douglas were fantastic, and I have to say the kid who played Max, Max Records, fit the part well. He was a little scary at times, but he captured the loneliness and misunderstood nature of Max incredibly well.
Overall, I really enjoyed the film. I think the trailer and marketing team did a brilliant job of getting me psyched for this movie, and I'll associate that Arcade Fire song with this movie for a long time. I have to give kudos to whomever selected it because it works. Jonze also managed to get tears in my eyes as his vision of Sendak's illustrations really was a touching adaptation and one that I would recommend to anyone above the age of 14 who has a fondness for the book. I'm not so sure about getting those kiddies who have just been introduced to Max and his Wild Things friends into the theater. I'd wait a few years then watch it on Blu-Ray, or streaming, or in hologram form - whatever is available to you when that time comes.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
What a Way to Go! Indeed
Netflix can be the bearer of some great surprises every now and again, even if they're really not surprises. You know, you create your queue when you set up your account, then you keep moving items to the top of the queue, then you forget about updating your queue for a while, and BAM! Surprise! Some random movie you totally forgot you added on that first day shows up in your mailbox! Well, that's what happened last week for me. I've had my Netflix account for about 10 months now and there are a ton of films that have yet to make their way to me from my original entries. This next one is one of those....
When I was a little kid, I remember watching a movie with Shirley MacLaine and a bunch of different well-known actors. The story involved how MacLaine would marry some poor sap, then presto! They're rich and famous, and soon to be dead, with Shirley inheriting all their wealth - and it's A LOT. Rather morbid, I know, but I really had a hankering to watch that film again, especially since Paul Newman AND Gene Kelly play two of MacLaine's beaus. It's called What a Way to Go! from 1964 and it proves its quirky, kinda strange nature right at the beginning. What I love about these American comedies that found themselves caught between Old and New Hollywood is how bright and colorful they are. And this film - WOW - is bright. And colorful. Shirley was an established star at this time and well matched with - get this - Dick Van Dyke, Paul Newman, Robert Mitchum, Gene Kelly, Dean Martin, and Bob Cummings. Talk about a line-up - especially for me! A great aspect of the film is the way Shirley explains her marriages to her psychiatrist - in movie terms. With Dick Van Dyke it was a Chaplin silent comedy; with Paul it was a French art house film; with Robert Mitchum it was a lavish, Hollywood production; and with Gene it was - shock - a musical. What a Way to Go! is slightly bizarre, yes, but very entertaining! It's fun, silly, and is a great distraction from all the seriousness in one's life. It was actually nominated for a couple Oscars - one for its Art Direction and the other for its Costumes. And both are really outstanding. And that Gene Kelly segment just might get you in some Singin' in the Rain mood. Add that to your queue, too!
When I was a little kid, I remember watching a movie with Shirley MacLaine and a bunch of different well-known actors. The story involved how MacLaine would marry some poor sap, then presto! They're rich and famous, and soon to be dead, with Shirley inheriting all their wealth - and it's A LOT. Rather morbid, I know, but I really had a hankering to watch that film again, especially since Paul Newman AND Gene Kelly play two of MacLaine's beaus. It's called What a Way to Go! from 1964 and it proves its quirky, kinda strange nature right at the beginning. What I love about these American comedies that found themselves caught between Old and New Hollywood is how bright and colorful they are. And this film - WOW - is bright. And colorful. Shirley was an established star at this time and well matched with - get this - Dick Van Dyke, Paul Newman, Robert Mitchum, Gene Kelly, Dean Martin, and Bob Cummings. Talk about a line-up - especially for me! A great aspect of the film is the way Shirley explains her marriages to her psychiatrist - in movie terms. With Dick Van Dyke it was a Chaplin silent comedy; with Paul it was a French art house film; with Robert Mitchum it was a lavish, Hollywood production; and with Gene it was - shock - a musical. What a Way to Go! is slightly bizarre, yes, but very entertaining! It's fun, silly, and is a great distraction from all the seriousness in one's life. It was actually nominated for a couple Oscars - one for its Art Direction and the other for its Costumes. And both are really outstanding. And that Gene Kelly segment just might get you in some Singin' in the Rain mood. Add that to your queue, too!
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Lovely Sunday Films Part II
After a very blah and dismal week, the sun made her way out from behind the clouds and shed much appreciated light all over Virginia Highlands. I felt motivated to get out of the apartamento and venture to the theater (movie that is).
Preface: I saw a film at BAM a few years back entitled Paris, Je Taime and absolutely loved it. It's such a great collaboration of various filmmakers - directors, writers, actors - in all different genres branching out around the City of Lights, sharing stories of everyday inhabitants and visitors. I think anyone who enjoys film will love Paris, Je Taime even if you don't enjoy every segment of it.
Well, after the success of that film, another group of filmmakers got their creative sparks going and decided to move across the Atlantic and try the same idea with the City that Never Sleeps - my favorite place - New York, New York ("A city so great they named it twice - the other one is Manhattan"). Simply called New York, I Love You, the film takes place all over New York and Brooklyn with lots of vignettes about couples, friends, strangers and the overall relationship with New York itself. While the film itself didn't strike quite the same chord with me as Paris, Je Taime, I loved basking in the celluloid images of the city. I do have to say, I appreciated how well all the vignettes intertwined with one another - much more so than in Paris, Je Taime - and anything with Eli Wallach I will always like (he was the main reason I did not completely hate The Holiday). I think my favorite segment of New York, I Love You, the one that really moved me, was the one involving Chris Cooper and Robin Wright Penn (if she still has the Penn). I don't want to say too much since there is a twist involved, but it was really well done with great sensitivity and delicateness, and I love the inclusion of "No Surprises." As soon as I heard the first note of that Radiohead song, I thought, great choice. Really nicely done. Overall though for me, and why I might be biased with this film, is that I needed some sort of escape, even if it wasn't in the physical sense such as an actual excursion to the city. New York, I Love You proved to be a great treat, and a great reminder of happy memories as well as my own grapples with NYC. It's a city that I may have issues with at times, but no matter what, New York will forever hold a most special place in my heart. New York. I truly do love you.
Preface: I saw a film at BAM a few years back entitled Paris, Je Taime and absolutely loved it. It's such a great collaboration of various filmmakers - directors, writers, actors - in all different genres branching out around the City of Lights, sharing stories of everyday inhabitants and visitors. I think anyone who enjoys film will love Paris, Je Taime even if you don't enjoy every segment of it.
Well, after the success of that film, another group of filmmakers got their creative sparks going and decided to move across the Atlantic and try the same idea with the City that Never Sleeps - my favorite place - New York, New York ("A city so great they named it twice - the other one is Manhattan"). Simply called New York, I Love You, the film takes place all over New York and Brooklyn with lots of vignettes about couples, friends, strangers and the overall relationship with New York itself. While the film itself didn't strike quite the same chord with me as Paris, Je Taime, I loved basking in the celluloid images of the city. I do have to say, I appreciated how well all the vignettes intertwined with one another - much more so than in Paris, Je Taime - and anything with Eli Wallach I will always like (he was the main reason I did not completely hate The Holiday). I think my favorite segment of New York, I Love You, the one that really moved me, was the one involving Chris Cooper and Robin Wright Penn (if she still has the Penn). I don't want to say too much since there is a twist involved, but it was really well done with great sensitivity and delicateness, and I love the inclusion of "No Surprises." As soon as I heard the first note of that Radiohead song, I thought, great choice. Really nicely done. Overall though for me, and why I might be biased with this film, is that I needed some sort of escape, even if it wasn't in the physical sense such as an actual excursion to the city. New York, I Love You proved to be a great treat, and a great reminder of happy memories as well as my own grapples with NYC. It's a city that I may have issues with at times, but no matter what, New York will forever hold a most special place in my heart. New York. I truly do love you.
Lovely Sunday Films Part I
Wow, it's been a while, eh folks (I feel like I say that a lot, huh)? Well, I'm going to do my best to post once a week (and that, too). And I have a lot to catch up on writing wise since I've seen quite a few films in the last month or so. I may only mention them at this point in time (i.e. (500) Days of Summer, It Might Get Loud, The September Issue, and a few classics), but I'm going to try to be better about more in depth analysis. Especially since I'm rusty after writing my thesis and will be starting classes again in January. Whew...always the student. Never the M.F.A. recipient. I think I'll go backwards in time, starting with today...
It's funny. You know how every once in a while you get a movie scene or quote stuck in your head, and you can't really remember what it's from? Well, I've had this one segment in my head about smiles for a few weeks. I couldn't remember which movie it was where the male protagonist is in love with the female lead and there's a monologue about the number of smiles she has. Luckily, while I was sitting eating my bagel and sipping my latte, I decided to turn on the tele which I haven't done in a few days and see what the weekend movie was on Peachtree TV. When the commercial break finally ended, Josh Duhamel and Kate Bosworth appeared on screen, and I remembered just where that smiles discussion was from: Win a Date with Tad Hamilton! Now, it's not the finest work of the cinema (the acting may turn you away), but I do remember enjoying it - that hopeless romantic movie escapee that I am - when I watched it at the Union Square theater in NYC. I hadn't seen it since, and that's why it's funny that that smiles talk has stayed with me. Movies - especially romantic comedies - can be torturous but at the same time sweet and fun. I guess when I saw Win a Date, I always wondered if anyone would notice how many smiles I have and if I would be able to distinguish someone else's. Or if there are differences in smiles - because I've been more astute at differentiating among laughs - but the smile question still intrigues me. And how a silly, pretty soon forgotten movie has the ability to make me wonder something like that five years later? Anyway, the point is, I no longer have to search my memory for where that line came, and I kinda hope Peachtree TV repeats Win a Date. I think I might have to watch it from the beginning and not 3/4 of the way through. But I'm not so sure I want to Netflix it - yes, I am a pretentious movie snob. Accept. And move on (Dot Org). God. Where is Lorelai when I need her??
It's funny. You know how every once in a while you get a movie scene or quote stuck in your head, and you can't really remember what it's from? Well, I've had this one segment in my head about smiles for a few weeks. I couldn't remember which movie it was where the male protagonist is in love with the female lead and there's a monologue about the number of smiles she has. Luckily, while I was sitting eating my bagel and sipping my latte, I decided to turn on the tele which I haven't done in a few days and see what the weekend movie was on Peachtree TV. When the commercial break finally ended, Josh Duhamel and Kate Bosworth appeared on screen, and I remembered just where that smiles discussion was from: Win a Date with Tad Hamilton! Now, it's not the finest work of the cinema (the acting may turn you away), but I do remember enjoying it - that hopeless romantic movie escapee that I am - when I watched it at the Union Square theater in NYC. I hadn't seen it since, and that's why it's funny that that smiles talk has stayed with me. Movies - especially romantic comedies - can be torturous but at the same time sweet and fun. I guess when I saw Win a Date, I always wondered if anyone would notice how many smiles I have and if I would be able to distinguish someone else's. Or if there are differences in smiles - because I've been more astute at differentiating among laughs - but the smile question still intrigues me. And how a silly, pretty soon forgotten movie has the ability to make me wonder something like that five years later? Anyway, the point is, I no longer have to search my memory for where that line came, and I kinda hope Peachtree TV repeats Win a Date. I think I might have to watch it from the beginning and not 3/4 of the way through. But I'm not so sure I want to Netflix it - yes, I am a pretentious movie snob. Accept. And move on (Dot Org). God. Where is Lorelai when I need her??
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