Midnight in Paris

What a wonderful little gem Woody Allen’s latest work of love has turned out to be!!

Synopsis: a screenwriter is trying to write a novel when, during a vacation with his fiancé in Paris, suddenly finds himself transported to a different reality that will radically change his outlook on life.

Where to begin singing the praises of this beautiful film?  Perhaps from the Golden Globe winner and Oscar nominated screenplay, written by Allen himself.  It tells a sweet, romantic story with ease and flow, making us smile and laugh, and our hearts feel light and nostalgic.  Who hasn’t dreamed at times of living in other, “better,” times?

The cinematography is so warm and rich, it made me want to get a ticket for the next flight out to the French capital.  The period costumes and art direction are absolutely phenomenal and the score fits the movie like a glove.

The sprawling cast (Owen Wilson, Rachel McAdams, Michael Sheen, Kathy Bates, Marion Cotillard, and Adrien Brody are among the recognizable faces) is overall very good.  Wilson embodies Allen’s archetype effectively and efficiently.  The only problem is that he’s not a great actor, just a good one, but he’s good enough to replace Allen, who himself wasn’t a memorable thespian.  McAdams is actually the one that left me coldest, although maybe that’s because she was quite good at playing the cold, disaffected fiancé.

The Bottom Line: Midnight in Paris movie was a joy to watch and “live” from the first longing frames to its joyful conclusion.  Allen directed another great film that is a love note to Paris as well as cinema and the glorious artists of the past.  Bravo!!!

Grade: 9

Coal Miner’s Daughter

Sissy Spacek has been one of my favorite actresses since seeing her in Carrie many years ago.  Since she won her only Oscar for Coal Miner’s Daughter, I had to check it out.

Synopsis: the life of country singer Loretta Lynn is examined from her early teens as the oldest daughter of a poor but proud family to her reaching superstar status.  In between, lots of joy and pain, a husband and many children, fans and fame.

Spacek plays Lynn to perfection.  I don’t really know Ms. Lynn, her singing style, or her mannerisms, but I can tell that Spacek thoroughly deserved her Oscar.  On top of a great performance, she also sang all the songs herself!!

She’s supported for part of the film by Beverly D’Angelo as Patsy Cline, while a very youthful Tommy Lee Jones plays her husband Doolittle Lynn, the biggest supporter of her career and the one who really pushed and allowed her to become a big country star.

The script is linear and paints a very vivid picture of a woman that went from living a stark life to being very wealthy and successful.  The movie wouldn’t be what it is without Spacek’s performance, but every technical aspect is very good too, from costumes to art direction, to the very bleak and rich photography.

The Bottom Line: Coal Miner’s Daughter, as many biographical movies about music legends, might not feel satisfying for everyone, but it’s certainly a well made film that tells an extraordinary story with details and care.  Spacek is spellbinding.

Grade: 8

“Are you supposed to just die when you're 40?”

Via Boy Culture comes this reminder of Madonna’s take on female artists’ aging:

"What, are you supposed to just die when you're 40?...You're just supposed to just kind of, you know, put yourself out to pasture?..."

The twist is that she said that in 1993, and that now people are saying precisely the things she thought they would say about her back then, that she’s too old to do what she’s doing and should retire, that it doesn’t befit a woman her age.

Well, if last Sunday’s Super Bowl halftime show was any indication, I’d say the old girl still has it!!

Truth Is

Via Towleroad, a nice song accompanied by a great video.

After having experienced this type of bullying myself, after all the young kids who have ended their lives because they simply couldn't take it anymore, and now having two young kids who will likely have to go through all this themselves, this really makes my heart ache...

Marvin’s Room

Marvin’s Room is one of the few Meryl Streep movies I had never watched, so I had to put it on my list.  While not a bad movie, it also doesn’t leave a mark.

Synopsis: two sisters have lived very distant lives for many years.  The older decided to stay with their parents and take care of them when they aged, while the younger took off and went on to have two children.  Unforeseen circumstances now bring them back together against their will.

Streep plays the younger, flimsier sister and her oldest son is played by a very young Leonardo DiCaprio.  Diane Keaton plays the older sister, aid to their infirm father (Hume Cronyn) and their aging aunt (Gwen Verdon).  Needless to say, the acting is all fantastic, especially when in the mix you also throw supporting turns by Robert De Niro, Dan Hedaya, Margo Martindale, and Cynthia Nixon.

The script, while well written, creates a story that is perhaps too easily foretold, ultimately leaving little to surprise the audience.  We all know that Keaton’s illness will turn out to be serious.  That Streep will have to come back home.  That DiCaprio will eventually warm up to his estranged aunt.  That Streep will ultimately opt to stick around to help her family.  It’s all too easy.

The Bottom Line: Marvin’s Room is a movie that offers very few surprises but also doesn’t particularly disappoint.  Catch it on a quite night when there’s nothing more pressing to watch.

Grade: 6

Terra Nova

Ever since hearing the first tidbits about this show, I was very looking forward to it, albeit warily.  Why was I wary you ask?  Because sci-fi shows are either fantastic (like the Battlestar Galactica reboot) or cheese and lousy (like the many run-of-the-mill shows on Syfy).

The show was going to be set on prehistoric Earth (85 million years in the past), where a group of humans from the future (2149, when the planet is dying from global warming and who knows what else) are sent back for a second chance at creating a human civilization.

The plot sounds intriguing and the backing of Steven Spielberg as executive producer promised to give the series luster, a big budget, and great visual effects.

Unfortunately, there’s always that pesky business of having to create three dimensional characters and coming up with interesting scripts for each episode of a television series, which can be challenging, as it turned out to be the case here.

The cast wasn’t bad, although the younger actors were a little weak, but mostly it’s what they were given to work with that was way too thin.  The major hook, that there is a powerful faction from 2149 trying to take over the colony with the help of the Sixers, would be very interesting, if it weren’t fed to the audience in such small morsels all the way to the end that one stops caring.

The biggest problem though was that the main storyline, solidly connected to the Shannon family, just wasn’t interesting enough.  So here we are with a cool backstory we all want to know more about (political intrigue, military alliances, weapons and money, blackmail and family history) often sidelined by the boring daily lives of these 5 people.

The writers and producers probably thought we’d all be curious to see how life would have been 85 million years ago when aided by highly sophisticated future technology, and we do, but not if it becomes the main focus of the show.  At that point, the suspense and intrigue end up on the back burner, together with our enthusiasm and interest.

The visual effects were good, but given their price tag, seemed to be kept to a minimum too.

The Bottom Line: Terra Nova is the typical high-concept show that falls victim of its own hype (Steven Spielberg!! Dinosaurs!! Time travel!!) and ultimately disappoints.  At the time of this writing it looks like it might get renewed for a second season, but whether I’ll be back for more remains to be seen.

Grade – Season 1: 5

Enlightened

This new HBO dark comedy is a pretty gem that requires the audience to stick with it for a few episodes to be really appreciated.

Laura Dern deservedly won a Golden Globe for her role as a spiritually reborn, slighted by her boss woman, who suffered a nervous breakdown and pulled herself up from the ruins of her life afterwards.

She’s joined by her real life mother, the great Diane Ladd (who plays her mom), Luke Wilson (her ex husband), and series co-creator Mike White (a new friend/pursuer).

The Bottom Line: Enlightened is a show that makes you laugh but mostly just smile, for all the positive energy flowing out of this strong woman who won’t allow the world to bring her down and is hell bent in making it a better place for everybody.  You have to give it more than a few episodes before it takes you fully, but when it does, you’ll be glad you stuck around.

Grade: 8

A Quote By

Rt. Rev. Greg Rickel, VIII Bishop of Olympia, Washington, on the legitimacy of gay marriage (Washington state is on the verge of approving gay marriage legislatively):

“It seems to me we have held our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters in a “catch-22.”  We say they cannot live up to our value because they cannot be married, or even blessed in their union.  While many of them have begged for this, it is still not possible.    What they ask of us, the church and the government, is to put boundaries around their relationship, to hold them in the same regard and with the same respect, which would also mean that we expect the same from them.  They are not asking for special treatment.  They are asking for equal treatment.   They are asking to be accountable, as a couple, in community.  To me, this is a conservative proposal.  I am for it, and I hope we will finally make way for this to happen, not only in our society, but also in our church.”

A Quote By

Daniel Radcliffe, film, television, and theater actor and staunch gay-rights supporter:

“Don't define yourself by your sexuality, don't define as straight or gay, define yourself as people and help another person if they're in trouble. The ultimate reason gay marriage should be legalized everywhere is because, as a kid, you look to your mum and dad and they're married, then you look at the gay couple who've been together for the same amount of time, but because they can't get married their relationship doesn't seem the same. Yes, gay marriage is about symbolically blessing a relationship, but the larger issue is about transmitting a fundamental message about equality. Gay people should have equality in law everywhere. If you grow up as a young gay man knowing you dont' have the same opportuniteies as everyone else, you're going to feel victimised and massive prejudice towards you.”

OK Go

I don’t know OK Go at all, I don’t know what type of music they make, or anything about them, but this video they created for “Needing/Getting” for a Chevrolet commercial for Sunday’s Super Bowl is absolutely brilliant:

OK Go set up over 1000 instruments over two miles of desert outside Los Angeles. A Chevy Sonic was outfitted with retractable pneumatic arms designed to play the instruments, and the band recorded this version of Needing/Getting, singing as they played the instrument array with the car. The video took 4 months of preparation and 4 days of shooting and recording. There are no ringers or stand-ins; Damian took stunt driving lessons. Each piano had the lowest octaves tuned to the same note so that they'd play the right note no matter where they were struck.

Via Towleroad.