BRIEF INTERVIEWS WITH HIDEOUS MEN Review

Recently, I got a chance to see Brief Interviews with Hideous Men, which comes out to theaters today, September 25, 2009.

Brief Interviews with Hideous Men is based on David Foster Wallace's books of the same name, which are transcripts of interviews with male subjects.

In the movie, the protagonist, Sara Quinn (Julianne Nicholson), whose boyfriend (John Krasinski) just left her, does a series of interviews with multiple male subjects, in order to find out the deepest thoughts that drive their behaviors.

I didn't really know what to expect when I went into the movie apart from the fact that John Krasinksi directed it and that Julianne Nicholson starred, along with a few other actors I knew. I didn't read the synopsis, because I wanted to be surprised.

So what's the verdict? Well, it's hard to say in one word, there were things that I enjoyed and things that didn't enjoy so much. So I thought I would break it down for you.

Negative things

The story didn't really flow together really well, and that had a lot to do with the source material used for the film. The interviews are at the core and it works well when you see some of the subjects talk about their issues or thoughts, but the story around it with Sara felt a little out of place sometimes.

The movie also moves back and forth in time a lot, which makes it hard to sometimes follow the story. In addition, the story is driven by the interviews, which sometimes happen in a control environment (a room in which Sara films the subjects) and sometimes they randomly happen with people that she encounters. The problem here is that you don't really understand what it is she is doing until the end of the film (it's literally the last scene).

And finally I think one of the weakest part of the film was dialogue. The problem is they tried to include some of the interviews as part conversations, which makes them sound artificial, instead of adapting the main idea and make it into a real life conversation. One particular scene in which John Kraskinski's character explains something to Sara just didn't work for me. Why? Well because it just didn't feel true. People don't talk like that when explaining something about themselves, it really felt like they took the interview that was relevant at this point in the film and made it as a monologue, which just doesn't work.

Positive things

Now that we know some of I didn't like, let's talk about what I did enjoy.

I liked some of the points made and stories from the interviews. I especially like a scene with Daniel aka Subject #46 (Dominic Cooper) who tries to argue the grade Sara gave him on his paper. I found that whole conversation really interesting and I also really enjoyed the way it was all edited together, which gave it a sense of urgency. This was my favorite part of the movie.

Overall, Brief Interviews with Hideous Men is the type of movie that I am happy to have seen, just because I enjoy watching different types of movies, and this was definitely different and made me think about it afterwards. But would I want to see it again? No, not really.

___________________________________________________________

Title: BRIEF INTERVIEWS WITH HIDEOUS
Director: John Krasinski
Cast: Julianne Nicholson, Will Forte, Dominic Cooper, Bobby Cannavale, Timothy Hutton, John Krasinski, Christopher Meloni, Max Minghella, Ben Shenkmen, Lou Taylor Pucci, Josh Charles, Franke Faison
Synopsis: John Krasinski makes his debut as a screenwriter and director with Brief Interviews with Hideous Men. The film also marks the first big-screen project ever derived from the literary library of the late David Foster Wallace. When her boyfriend leaves her with little explanation, Sara Quinn (Julianne Nicholson) is left looking for answers as to what went wrong. Directing all her energies into her anthropological dissertation, Sara conducts a series of interviews with men in an effort to uncover the secret thoughts that drive their behavior. She thinks she can remedy both her heartache and her academic challenges with a new research project and begins conducting a series of interviews with men. As she records the astonishing and disquieting experiences of various subjects, Sara discovers much more about men and herself than she bargained for. Krasinski also co-stars in this dark comedy.
Release Date: September 25, 2009
Watch the trailer

COCO BEFORE CHANEL Review

I recently got a chance to see Anne Fontaine's film Coco Before Chanel, which comes out to theaters this Friday, September 25, 2009.

The film follows the life of Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel (played by Audrey Tautou) before she became the iconic Coco Chanel. We learn about the two most important men in her life, Etienne Balsan (played by Benoît Poelvoorde), a rich racehorse owner, who became her lover, and Boy Capel (played by Alessandro Nivola), the love of her life, who helped her along the way.

The problem with films based on someone's life is that sometimes they might end up boring. Let's face it, not everyone's life is interesting enough to become a movie and even if it is, the filmmaker needs to make sure they are telling a story and not just recounting events.

I think that Anne Fontaine achieved that. While Coco Before Chanel is based on a real story, the film would still work even if it wasn't because it is so well put together. In fact, Coco Before Chanel is really a love story, a tragic one, but a love story none the less.

Read more

THE INFORMANT! Movie Review

Yesterday, I had an opportunity to watch the new Matt Damon movie The Informant and I want to share my review of the movie.

The Informant is a true story of one highest ranking corporate whistleblower in US history, Mark Whitacre (played by Matt Damon) who out of the blue reached out to the FBI to reveal one of the biggest price fixing scandal that has ever faced the country.

The scandal concerns the biggest manufacturers of the key ingredients in food who are colluding to decide the price of their products therefore insuring fat profits for themselves. However what starts out as a story of David trying to bring down a Goliath quickly turns into a story of a David trying to steal money from Goliath while taking down Goliath. Oh and David is also a big fat liar.

The criminal part of the story is wildly entertaining if you happen to be into corporate intrigue and have a strong grasp of the economic system. However, if you are like the friend who watched the movie with me, you will find your eyes glazing as the discussions of production levels and prices are pretty prevalent in the movie. Plus the scam perpetrated by Mark Whitacre to extort money from his employer is slightly complicated to understand if you don't really follow the world of finance. Basically, it was too complicated for the average movie watcher and could have been more dumbed down in my opinion.

The part of the story that was far more interesting and more accessible to all was the part where we see Mark Whitacre lying to everyone and I mean everyone. No one is safe from his lying, not even himself as he starts to believe his own BS. Throughout the movie, there is just this weird feeling that we have as we watch the character weave this tale of deception. At times, we feel bad for him as we really think that he is simply delusional and at other times, you just cannot believe how unbelievably stupid he is. It's like watching Michael from 'The Office' for almost 2 hours straight. It's sometimes funny but mostly it's just cringe-worthy.

Did I like The Informant? Yes, I loved it. Mostly because I am into corporate/finance/business intrigue stories where the characters are flawed (in this case, really flawed). However, I think that it is definitely not for everyone, especially if you are not into corporate/finance/business intrigue stories where the characters are flawed (OK, I am really repeating myself but you try naming that genre in three words or less).
___________________________________________________________

Title: The Informant

Director: Steven Soderbergh

Producer: George Clooney, Jeff Skoll, Michael London

Cast: Matt Damon, Scott Bakula, Joel McHale, Melanie Lynskey, Thomas F. Wilson

Synopsis: What was Mark Whitacre thinking? A rising star at agri-industry giant Archer Daniels Midland (ADM), Whitacre suddenly turns whistleblower. Even as he exposes his company's multi-national price-fixing conspiracy to the FBI, Whitacre envisions himself being hailed as a hero of the common man and handed a promotion. But before all that can happen, the FBI needs evidence, so Whitacre eagerly agrees to wear a wire and carry a hidden tape recorder in his briefcase, imagining himself as a kind of de facto secret agent. Unfortunately for the FBI, their lead witness hasn't been quite so forthcoming about helping himself to the corporate coffers. Whitacre's ever-changing account frustrates the agents and threatens the case against ADM as it becomes almost impossible to decipher what is real and what is the product of Whitacre's rambling imagination. Based on the true story of the highest-ranking corporate whistleblower in U.S. history.

Watch the The Informant trailer.

INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS Movie Review

Yesterday, I tucked into a comfy seat at the movies to watch the new Quentin Tarantino movie INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS. So without further ado, here is my review of Inglourious Basters.

Inglourious Basterds takes place during World War II where a group of Jewish-American soldiers known as "The Basterds", lead by their intrepid leader Lt. Aldo Raine (played by Bradd Pitt) are on a mission to terrorize the Nazi regime by savagely attacking and scalping Nazis.

I am not going to give away too much of the rest of the plot but let me just tell you that although the movie is called Inglourious Basterds, the actual Basterds are only one part of the great ensemble cast that peppers this entire movie.

On the Basterds side, I particularly want to talk about one character, Hugo Stiglitz (Til Schweiger), a quiet German-born soldier who is recruited by Aldo to kill other Nazis. His character was just riveting as his approach of a cold blooded bastard was very well executed. Til Schweiger has a great future ahead of him.

On the nazi side, you cannot ignore Hans Landa aka "The Jew Hunter" (Christoph Waltz) who is just a perfect mix of terrifying and funny. That character would give Hannibal Lecter and any other bad guy a run for their money.

In short, you will be amazed by the great acting that Tarantino managed to get out of his actors. Absolutely genius stuff.

One thing that I have to give Tarantino props for is his willingness to kill off likeable characters very easily. Not unlike British TV shows, Tarantino movies are excellent at setting up very likeable characters for which you cannot help but root for, and then killing them off pretty brutally. Essentially, Mr Tarantino just knows how to keep it real, extra real in fact.

In addition, for all you French speakers out there, you will not be disappointed by the french spoken throughout the film. Not only were the accents authentic, but the actual dialogue felt ...French and not like some American script that is crudely translated in French.

The clearest way to define Inglourious Basterds is that it is a near perfect blend of thriller, drama, comedy and social commentary. This blend is then delivered in a very well crafted and tension filled masterpiece of a movie. Bravo, Mr Tarantino.

Definitely a must watch.
___________________________________________________________

Title: Inglourious Basterds
Director: Quentin Tarantino
Cast: Brad Pitt, Eli Roth, BJ Novak, Mike Myers and Michael Fassbender
Synopsis: Inglourious Basterds takes place during World War II where a group of Jewish-American soldiers known as "The Basterds", lead by their intrepid leader Lt. Aldo Raine (Played by Bradd Pitt) are on a mission to terrorize the Nazi regime by savagely attacking and scalping Nazis.
Release Date: August 21, 2009
Watch the Inglourious Basterds trailer.

PONYO Movie Review

I have enjoyed a lot of Hayao Miyazaki's previous films, especially My Neighbor Totoro and Spirited Away (if you haven't seen those yet, go rent them). I heard of Ponyo and was immediately interested in seeing what Miyazaki had came up with next.

Ponyo tells the story of a goldfish, Ponyo, who after meeting a little boy, Sosuke, decides that she wants to become human, against her father's wishes. The story is very close to "The Little Mermaid," except in this case, the two protagonists are children.

Unfortunately, the movie didn't live up to my expectations. Don't get me wrong, it's not a bad movie, I think it's just targeted towards children too much for me to fully appreciate it. The conflict was also resolved too easily, that I just didn't understand why there was so much fuss around it.

That said, there were a few things that I really enjoyed. For one, the goldfish were really adorable. But the really best thing from the movie, which I don't think they used enough to promote the film was Ponyo's father, Fujimoto (voiced by Liam Neeson). Now that character was memorable for me, because he was so eccentric, but funny to watch. I actually wish there had been more scenes with him, and more exploration of his character.

Overall, I think that children will enjoy Ponyo, so I definitely recommend you take them to see. As for me, I am glad I saw it too, because although I didn't love it as much as Miyazaki's previous films, I still enjoyed myself.

___________________________________________________________

Title: Ponyo
Director: Hayao Miyazaki
Cast: Noah Cyrus, Cate Blanchett, Matt Damon, Tina Fey, Liam Neeson
Synopsis: From the Academy Award®-winning director and world-renowned Japanese animation legend Hayao Miyazaki comes PONYO, a story inspired by Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale "The Little Mermaid." Already a box-office success in Japan, the story of a young and overeager goldfish named Ponyo (voiced by NOAH CYRUS) and her quest to become human.
Release Date: August 14, 2009
Watch the Ponyo trailer.

THE TIME TRAVELER'S WIFE Movie Review

Over the weekend I went to see The Time Traveler's Wife with a friend, who I would have never expected would want to see it. Turns out he had seen Rachel McAdams on 'The Daily Show' talk about the movie and it made him want to see it. The funny thing is, Rachel McAdams pretty much gave the movie away on that show, but even then my friend really enjoyed the movie. And so did I.

The Time Traveler's Wife, which is based on the book of the same name by Audrey Niffenegger, tells the story of Henry (Eric Bana) and Clare (Rachel McAdams), how they fell in love and how they dealt with Henry's unusual problem. You see, Henry is a time traveler, which means he spontaneously goes back and forth in time to places and times that are important in his life. It is during one of his "travels" that Clare first meets him when she is still a young girl. The interesting part is that Henry on the other side is in his forties and already knows that he will end up marrying her.

Read more

DISTRICT 9 Movie Review

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to watch DISTRICT 9. This movie had a lot of buzz, especially after it was screened at Comic Con 2009. So without further ado, here is my review of the movie District 9.

Since seeing some clips at Comic Con 2009, I was eager to see the movie. I had pretty high expectations for it. However, District 9 didn't quite live up to these expectations and I partly blame myself for that.

Indeed, I thought that this was going to be a movie about the struggle of a human hero trying to fight hard to save the embattled aliens from the evil government and corporations. Instead I got a movie about a very flawed and not very likeable guy, Wikus van der Merwe (Sharlto Copley), who just wants to get his way at the detriment of literally millions of living aliens. Fully explaining this statement would involve me revealing too much about the movie but needless to say that I wasn't really engaged with the Wikus character. Although I really liked the actor, Sharlto Copley, who delivered a very intense and believable performance of what I think is basically a douche. Wilkus wasn't all bad mind you, especially towards the end when he tried to redeem himself. However, by that time, it was really too late for me to like him.

The story of District 9 was pretty well put together but also had a lot of missing bits that were pretty glaring. Certain questions were simply not addressed, and for the sake of expediency, I will quickly fire them away in a list that I shall call "All The District 9 Unanswered Questions" (Warning SPOILERS):

- Where do the Aliens come from?
- Why did they crash land on earth?
- Where were they coming from when they landed on earth?
- Where were they going when they landed on earth?
- 1.8 millions aliens and only two guys who seem to know how to fly a ship. How is that possible?
- Why did they stay months in the ship before being rescued by humans? No one knows how to open a door?
- So these guys have mastered the science of space travel but couldn't figure out a way out of the planet for 20 years?

I can go on but you get the point. What ticks me off about this whole thing is that they could have answered all of those questions with just a couple of lines of dialogue. How hard was that really?

Overall, I gave District 9 3.5 stars because they failed to deliver the basic stuff story wise but still managed to have enough enjoyable and interesting scenes to watch to keep me glued to the screen.

JULIE & JULIA Movie Review

Over the weekend I went to see Julie & Julia with one of my girlfriends. I wasn't expecting much more than a fun and entertaining movie with a good cast, but we got so much more.

Julie & Julia follows the story of two women, Julia Child and Julie Powell, living in two different times, and the effect that cooking has on their lives.

I thought it would be easier to break this review down and look at each story separately.

Julia Child

Julia Child learned how to cook when she was 37, because she wanted to learn how to cook for her husband Paul, but also because she lived in France, loved to eat and wanted to find something to do to fill her days.

I didn't expect the movie to be as funny as it was, but I spend most of it laughing at scenes featuring the adorable Julia Child portrayed by the wonderful Meryl Streep. Speaking of Meryl Streep, it's no secret that she is one of the best actors of our time, but what I didn't expect after years of watching all her great performances was for her to surprise me by how amazing she was once more. I know that this shouldn't be news to me, but I couldn't help but being amazed at how she is able to create and become a character. She was so good that she pretty much stole the movie from all the other actors, who are all also very good in their own right, which is saying something.

Read more

COLD SOULS Review

I love discovering movies that are not targeted to a mainstream audience, that make you think, that have original stories, and that are fascinating to watch. These are the reasons I love going to film festivals, because you discover movies you would have never seen otherwise.

That's sort of how I feel about Cold Souls. The movie tells the story of an actor, named Paul Giamatti (played by Paul Giamatti of course), who decides to literally store his soul because he can't deal with it anymore. This of course leads to some really absurd, but really funny scenes. But that's not the whole story. Something goes wrong with the storage, which leads Paul to go on a journey both physically and mentally.

Cold Souls is a character study film with a very slow pace, although not in a boring way. It is definitely not going to appeal to everyone one, but I found it to be a breath of fresh air.

Read more

HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE Movie Review

Harry Potter and The Half Blood Price was released today in theaters and of course I was one of the first in line to check it out. This was one of my favorite books in the series and the movie had a lot to live up to. There's never been a Potter movie that I've enjoyed more than the book, but most have been quality films that are fun to watch. The acting seems to get better as the films go on and as the kids get older. More than the other movies, I've been anticipating this release more heavily because of what a fantastic and pivotal book the Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince is. I won't give anything away for those who have not read the books, but oh man. A LOT of stuff goes down in Book 6, and I have been so excited to see it come to life on the big screen.

I arrived at the theater plenty early, and even though the particular cinema I visited has assigned seating (You rock Arclight!), I was a little shocked to see how packed it was before the show. I also didn't expect to see too many freaks dressed in wizard costumes (since this is the 6th movie after all), and was surprised to see quite a few. One guy in particular, a Snape, dressed in a long robe, black wig, wand, and fake tattoo of the dark mark. I have to admit I love it when these sorts to turn up the cinema as I totally think they add to the movie watching experience.

Now for the movie. I think I actually got goose bumps as the opening credits began, and after the crowd stopped cheering you could hear a pin drop…which was when some guy in the back yelled in his best Mrs. Weasly voice "Harry Potter!", which made everyone laugh. As with the other movies, certain scenes are added that didn't happen in the book, and some are changed around, and the true Potter fans might get a little annoyed. The movie did manage to get the important scenes right however, and probably more spot on than any other movie in the Potter series. I also thought this was the best directed movie in the whole Potter series and at some points, especially during the Tom Riddle flashbacks, I felt as though I stepped right into the book.

This was a dark movie, scary at times and immensely sad in others. For those out there that haven't read the books, I would be surprised if you'd be able to watch Harry Potter Half Blood Prince and not want to read Book 7 to see how the series ends. I'm extremely interested to hear what other Potter fans thought of the movie, so please leave a comment and let me know what you thought of the film!

(You can also check out a review for the book Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince here.)

« Previous Page — Next Page »