Thursday, September 24, 2009

Julie & Julia

Another summer hit from my beloved Meryl Streep!! This actress is blessed with so much talent that she's able to single-handedly make a movie successful even when, by all Hollywood standards, it should fail.

Not only is this movie a light, girly type of picture, it also features female leads and plays in the summer. By all accounts, it shouldn't go anywhere. Unless that is, one of the two female leads is the greatest actress alive.

After the delightful The Devil Wears Prada and Mamma Mia!, which I haven't seen yet, Meryl strikes gold again with her portrayal of the famous Julia Child, a woman whose main talent seemed to be perseverance.

A record smashing 15th Oscar Nomination seems all but assured for Streep, but the rumors are growing that she might finally be handed a long overdue third statuette, which I ardently hope.

The movie is a constant intertwining of two women's stories: Julia Child is in Paris, where she learns how to cook and starts writing the cookbook that will make her famous once back in America; Julie Powell is in New York and, feeling like a total failure at everything, decides to keep a blog of her effort to cook all the over 500 recipes in Child's book in a year.

Although it doesn't sound like much when put that simply, the script and editing move the plot along deftly. Streep is the usual powerhouse, but Amy Adams as Powell is good too and so are Chris Messina, who plays Julie's husband, and Stanley Tucci, who play's Julia's.

The movie made me happy and sad, angry and euphoric and effortlessly took me from the romantic views of 1950s Paris to the polished look of Child's kitchen kept for posterity in the Smithsonian's.

If you like Streep (or food) this movie's for you.

Grade: 8

Robots

A cute animated movie that is very pleasing on the eyes but whose story left me wanting, mostly because we've seen it before in many guises.

Think of the classic story of the guy who dreams of making it big thanks to a talent he has in order to improve the lives of others but who finds himself in a bad spot. Now replace the humans with a bunch of robots and you have this.

I'm not saying it's bad, but it's neither original nor inventive.

The animation, like I said, is pretty good but there isn't much else here to see.

Grade: 5

Monday, September 21, 2009

The 61st Primetime Emmy Awards

Last night's ceremony was brisk and elegant with the right amount of originality and a few surprises.

The host, Neil Patrick Harris, did an excellent job and I wouldn't be surprised if he were soon asked to host the Oscars, given that he's fast becoming an industry darling when it comes to successfully hosting award events. It doesn't hurt that he's gay and very cute.

The big winners of the night were:
  • HBO, with the highest number of wins (21) out of the highest number of nominations (99);
  • 30 Rock, taking home the Best Comedy award for the third time in a row;
  • Mad Men, winning for Best Drama for the second time in a row;
  • and perennial favorites The Amazing Race (the new season starts next Sunday, and I can't wait) and The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.
Other big winners were Glenn Close (Damages), Alec Baldwin (30 Rock), and Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad) for winning a second time in a row for their work.

I was very happy for Toni Collette (who plays 5 characters in one in United States of Tara) and Jessica Lange (for Grey Gardens -- because I like her, even though I wouldn't recognize her anymore with all the work she's had done).

I felt very bad for Neil Patrick Harris, who Ray tells me is very good in How I Met Your Mother and whom I wanted to see win because he is openly gay and plays a womanizer on prime TV, thereby invalidating a lot of stereotypes.

I was surprised by Michael Emerson's win (Lost) even though he totally deserves it (he's wickedly good in the part of the bad guy) and Kristin Chenoweth (Pushing Daisies) and judging from her reaction, so was she.

A good ceremony whose new format, splitting the awards in segments based on their type (Comedy, Miniseries-Made for TV Movies, Reality, Variety, and Drama) made sense and increased the overall cohesiveness, making for a more organic experience.

However, I do wish they hadn't opened with Comedy, perpetuating its lesser status when compared to Drama. Given the innovation of the new format, to a minimum, they could have awarded Best Drama first at the end of the night, perhaps starting a trend were Comedy and Drama's top prizes alternate their order at the end of the show.

Other than that, an entertaining night.

In Memoriam


Patrick Swayze
1952-2009

Another well known and beloved actor has passed away. The cause, once more, was cancer.

I've seen a few of Swayze's movies, most memorably, Dirty Dancing, Ghost and Red Dawn, and while I didn't consider him a great actor, he could hold his own.

Mostly, he brought to the screen a raw masculinity and handsomeness that was magnetic and forced you to watch his every move.

I remember him from a TV Miniseries as well, North and South, and TV was were he had been planning a short lived comeback by starring in a new series that obviously suffered from his inability to nurture it properly.

Swayze was only 57 years old.

Misery, by Stephen King

I watched the 1990 movie adaptation and loved it, so given that King is one of my favorite authors, this book had been on my to-read list for a long time, and it didn't disappoint.

As I expected, the book has a lot more going on than what I remembered from the screen version, and it elicited fearful reactions and anxiety even though I generally knew what was going to happen.

King is a master of the horror genre and this is one of his best products, but I also have to give Kathy Bates and James Caan their dues, because the whole time I was reading, their faces were the ones I'd see. Their portrayals were so good that for all intents and purposes, they have become Annie Wilkes and Paul Sheldon respectively.

The story, briefly, is that of Paul Sheldon, famous writer, stranded by a car accident in a snowstorm at Annie Wilkes' secluded house. Wilkes takes care of him, while at the same time keeping him captive. Will Sheldon, once he realizes the gravity of the situation, manage to survive what she puts him through and maybe find a way out?

A must read.

Grade: 9

Monday, September 14, 2009

In Memoriam

Raymond Martin Acunto
February 2, 1930 - August 18, 2009

Ray's father passed away last month after several years of slow health decline due to many ailments that had left him pretty much unable to be self-sufficient. The past couple of years had been particularly trying for both him and his beloved wife Mary.

Big Ray, as I always referred to him to differentiate between him and my Ray, was a fun loving, people person, who never disliked chatting with someone. Being of Italian descent, he and I viewed many things the same way, especially when it came to money, which probably endeared me to him while the rest of the family shook their heads ...

I sadly realized recently that I never knew Big Ray as a healthy individual. By the time I met him in 1997 he had already suffered a heart attack and a stroke, and was virtually legally blind as a result of years of undetected glaucoma. All that had left him pretty much dependent on others for anywhere he needed or wanted to go or even for simple tasks like reading a newspaper column.

Luckily for him, he was gifted with such a bright and optimistic personality that I never heard him complain about anything, even though he had plenty of justifiable reasons to do so. Whenever you asked him how he was doing, he'd say "Perfect!" or "Wonderful!," and would immediately ask how you were doing.

Many times I felt like saying, "Oh boy, who cares how I'm doing, are you sure you're doing fine??" But I guess that's just who he was. He took life the way it came and never complained. I believe he considered himself fortunate and was content with what he had. He was a glass half-full kinda guy.

Big Ray had been a teacher, the perfect job for a guy who liked meeting and talking to people, and he used whatever leverage he had throughout his career to help others, whether students or teachers, get more work or better opportunities.

Big Ray was probably the biggest influence in my husband's life. So many times Ray told me he became a teacher because he was proud of what his father had accomplished, and most of all, Big Ray was the main reason Ray wanted kids of his own, to be for them what his father had been for him. So far, I'd say he's doing an exemplary job.

I see so much of Big Ray in my husband and I occasionally tease him about it, "Just like Big Ray ... ," but it's always done to point how the positive in his behavior. Big Ray was a guy you were wise and right in emulating and whose example deserved to be followed.

He leaves behind a wife with whom he shared 41 years of ups and downs in marriage (plus five more before their wedding), a son and daughter, and three grandchildren who will never forget him. Towards the end, he used to say he was about to rejoin his adored son David, who left us unexpectedly two years ago.


Ray told me a few times already that he misses talking to his dad. I know it's true, but in a way I feel like he can always talk to him. Big Ray was such an open book, you always knew what he was going to say when you asked him what decision would be best or what advice he'd give you.

He's now gone, but he's still always with us.

Goodbye Big Ray. Rest in peace.

Tuesday, September 01, 2009

Visual Effect

I love visual effects in movies, especially when they look awesome, are used to great effect, seamlessly blend into the story, and aren't self serving.

I guess that's why I often skirt the summer blockbusters, because even though they overflow with visual effects, they have so little to say, your eyes feel raped, but your soul feels dumped.

Anyway, here's a cool clip about visual effects throughout the years: