Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Back to the grind...

So, yesterday my friend Fabrizio went back home and it was sad. He was only here a week and we had the briefest visit ever, but it was good to see him.

It was especially nice to spend a couple days in New York City, since I never get to do that anymore. He and I came to NY in '95 (it was my first visit ever) but haven't really spent a full day there together since.

We went to Prospect Park and walked on the Brooklyn Bridge (that was cool), went to the MET and walked around Chelsea and Central Park. We also lived the nightlife a little, and had a lot of fun together.

It almost felt like we were still in 1995, which was very nice.

Now he's back home in Turin and I'm back at my workplace, trying to get something done but way too tired to do anything. Hopefully I'll get some sleep tonight.

I hope I'll see Fabrizio soon. He's hoping he'll be able to come again this summer, so, fingers crossed.

Ciao bello, ti voglio bene!!

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

New York mini-trip

I'm in New York with my friend Fabrizio. He got here last Sunday and I joined him today for a couple days. Friday we'll go home so he can see Ray and the kids again.

Off to dinner now...

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Mr. & Mrs. Smith

Originally billed as the movie in which two of the most beautiful movie stars of our time, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, would first meet, the filming is now widely known to be the genesis of their love story.

Pitt was married to Jennifer Aniston at the time, and he and Jolie didn’t make their relationship official for a few months, but by then everyone knew. It also feels awkward to see Vince Vaughn play the part of Pitt's friend and partner in this movie, knowing that later on, he'll hook up with Aniston.

Anyway, I’m not sure if this was intended as a remake (or new take) on The Prizzi’s Honor, but the plot definitely reminded me of that movie.

[SPOILER PARAGRAPH] It tells the story of a couple that looks like every other married couple, except that it’s all a cover for their real jobs, that of hired assassins. The two, however, are not aware of each other’s alternative jobs, since they work for different agencies. When one, unknowingly, messes up a hit job by the other one, they are ordered to off each other, and that’s when they find out who their spouse really is. Will they follow their orders, since their marriage was nothing more than a cover anyway, or will they discover that there’s more to it than that?

Although the movie doesn’t offer much in terms of brain stimulation, it is enjoyable and occasionally even thrilling (the car minivan chase at the end is quite good). The score helps in keeping the tension up and the glossy photography adds to the stars’ amazing beauty.

Pitt and Jolie make for a good couple on film. Regardless of what their relationship evolved into, they have great chemistry together and it shows.

Overall, I’d recommend this movie for a fun, thoughtless movie night.

Grade: 7

Thank You for Smoking

This very good dark comedy was directed by Jason Reitman before Juno and they both showcase his many talents.

[SPOILER PARAGRAPH] It tells the story of a Washington lobbyist for the cigarette industry, the one that causes the highest number of casualties in the US per year. He rather enjoys his job, in spite of being forcefully hated by the anti-smoking lobby. He thinks of it quite philosophically, as in “Someone has to do it, might as well be me.” His adventures on behalf of his employer, however, bring him to do things morally questionable (to put it mildly), to the point where he starts to wonder if it’s the right job for him after all.

In the title role, Aaron Eckhart shines as a guy whose conscience seems coated with Teflon in order for him to survive the attacks on his moral fiber. Of note are also J.K. Simmons, who plays his boss, Maria Bello and David Koechner, who play two friends of Eckhart's who do his same job in the alcohol and gun industries respectively, and the always great Robert Duvall as the cigarette company's big wig. On the other hand, totally forgettable is Katie Holmes as a journalist who successfully seduces our incredibly handsome “hero.”

Reitman brings great performances out of his actors (which tells me that Holmes must stink as an actress, since she’s the lonely dog in the bunch), and the script is excellent, with little gems of irony subtly sewn into the film’s fabric, like the fact that Eckhart’s ex-wife’s new husband is, a doctor, which is greatly at odds with his stepson's father’s profession.

Greatly enjoyable.

Grade: 7.5

Mean Streets

I feel terrible because I like Martin Scorsese’s work very much, but this one, alas, I did not. Maybe, and I’ll admit it, I just didn’t get it, but this movie was just not interesting or captivating. On the contrary, it was sort of boring.

The performances, as you would expect from the likes of Robert DeNiro and Harvey Keitel, were very good, but the story just dragged along from a lone starting point to a lone ending one, and not much stayed with me when the credits started rolling.

This is what I call a window-movie, meaning that watching it is like opening a window on a street section, only here we open it on someone’s life for a couple of hours and then close it. There isn’t always a starting point (with a clear reason), a development and a conclusion. Sometimes the whole reason for the movie is just to show you a certain moment in time.

This movie felt like that. It shows you a moment in the life of DeNiro’s character when he’s in some trouble with some shady characters from his neighborhood. You can tell from the beginning that the guy is messed up, so you don’t hold out much hope that he’ll have a bright future. And that is pretty much all I remember of the whole story.

Like I said, I generally like Scorses’s work and it’s nice to see one of the first efforts by DeNiro and Keitel, but this movie left me a little cold.

Grade: 5

Fantastic Four

Another comic book adaptation, another semi-disappointment. This movie’s only salvageable element are its visual effects (good and believable), but this isn’t saying much given that eye popping effects are now a staple of any studio wannabe franchise and/or tent-pole product. Other than that, there’s really nothing worth your money or time.

I won’t even bother summarizing the story, since it’s the usual recycled good guys vs. bad guy concept (guess who wins in the end; hint: they’ve already made a sequel).

The direction is bland and the script boring, so much so that even the actors struggle to find ways to make something concrete out of thin air.

This was actually the movie of first performances for me, for virtually all the marquee names. Of the top five actors, I had only seen Ioan Gruffudd in a small supporting role in Titanic, and he’s probably the one that does the best work here. The other one would have to be Michael Chiklis, of The Shield fame.

Chris Evans, gloriously handsome and all too eager to show off his statuary body (thank you, Chris, you didn’t disappoint in that…) is mediocre at best while the other very attractive male, Julian McMahon (the hotter half of the Nip/Tuck duo) seems quite underutilized.

Jessica Alba, the lone female role in this stinker, disappoints because although she has made quite a name for herself, in this movie looks like not much more than a bimbo.

Stay away.

Grade: 4

Eragon

Well, what can be said about this movie? That it’s mediocre at best? That its runtime (about 104 minutes) is way too short to do the story justice? That whoever made the decision to keep the movie’s runtime short didn’t also decide to leave out more material, forcing so much to be told in so little time, I felt like a goose being force fed in order to make foie gras.

Or that it is a clear rip off of the Lord of the Rings? This last point I put separate for two reasons. First, I haven’t read the book, so I really cannot tell how much this story really differs from Tolkien’s opus (or if it does at all). Second, because if it does differ from it substantially or if the book’s author was only tangentially inspired by it and used it as a spring board, the movie still stinks of being rushed into production and into theaters to take advantage of the audience’s thirst for fantasy movies in the mold of the Lord of the Rings. In short, it feels like a copycat job.

[SPOILER PARAGRAPH] The movie tells the story of Eragon (and don’t even try to convince me that this name does not sound vaguely like the name Aragorn), a teenage kid who finds a dragon’s egg that will only hatch when it finds its rider, and promptly does so when Eragon finds it. Our hero is then quickly schooled in the ways of the dragon riders by Brom, a former dragon rider himself now in hiding (who just so happens to live in Eragon’s same village). Eragon has to learn quickly because the anti-hero, Galbatorix (a poorly cast and barely used John Malkovich), a dragon rider who turned bad and killed (almost) all of his kin in order to take power into his own hands, is now targeting Eragon to solidify his control over the land once and for all. Surprisingly (not really), Eragon is a quick learner and masterfully defies all of Galbatorix’s armies.

The direction is not so terrible as much as rushed, but the screenplay is not only stuffed like a turkey with material, it’s also grossly underdeveloped. The actors, especially renown good ones like Jeremy Irons and John Malkovich, do what they can, failing miserably, but at least look like they had more fun making the movie then we have watching them in it. The only consolation might just be that the actor playing Eragon, Ed Speleers, is incredibly good looking, but that’s not enough to save this stinker from getting a bad score.

Grade: 3.5

V for Vendetta

What a wonderful little gem of a movie this was. I’m not a comic book fan (or reader for that matter), so I went into this viewing without expecting too much and was more than pleasantly surprised. I’ll actually go as far as to say that this was one of the best movies I’ve ever seen in this genre.

[SPOILER PARAGRAPH] The story centers around Eve, a young girl who’s saved one night by our hero, V, who readily falls in love with her and to whom she becomes more and more attracted. The problem is that V is on a quest to overturn the British government, now in the hands of a Nazi-like regime that obviously considers him a terrorist and a big threat to its own survival. As a result, the Chancellor’s will is bent on seeking and neutralizing V, with whatever means necessary and at any cost. The relationship between V and Eve will evolve and change over the course of the movie in unpredictable ways.

What makes the movie shine is its screenplay. It is so well written and intelligently developed that it flows flawlessly from the first frames to the end titles. The actors do a very good job, especially Hugo Weaving, who is such a good actor he can make his character’s emotions and feelings seep through a mask. You never see his face, but through his body language, well calculated head tilts and his charismatic voice, his performance turns out to be brilliant. He is V and he carries the whole movie with what seems like little or no effort.

Good are also Natalie Portman, Stephen Rea, a venomous John Hurt and Stephen Fry, in what amounts to little more than a cameo.

The direction is very good, as are the cinematography and the art direction, but one thing that gives added life to the film and stays with you long after the end titles roll is the score, by Dario Marianelli.

An excellent cinematic experience.

Grade: 9

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

California to jump to the future?

I read this post on Towleroad in which they say how the California Supreme Court might be getting ready to rule in our favor on the question of marriage rights, and might even go as far as giving us that right with their ruling:
Sources wishing to remain anonymous in the California Court System indicate that the court, which has until June 2, 2008 to issue it's marriage ruling, is considering issuing it on Friday, May 23, 2008, with the decision being written by Chief Justice Ronald George. The Court is readying itself for a backlash that may follow the rumored and bold decision. There is talk that the Court will not simply strike down Proposition 22, but will move the State of California toward full marriage, if not even granting full marriage rights for gays and lesbians outright.
That would be really good news. Really good news.

California usually leads the country on any cause, so this could be a watershed moment for gay civil rights in America.

Mark your calendars.