Angel-A

I like Luc Besson...but I don't, you know? Granted I haven't seen all his films. I hated but can't stop watching Fifth Element, I really liked The Professional (but never saw Leon), and I really hated The Messenger, I dug the Transporter but that's the end of the list there. I haven't seen La Femme Nikita or any of his early stuff. For some reason I still like him though, maybe it's cause even when he's bad you can still see his enthusiasm shine through.

But Angel-A knocked my socks off. I was totally head over heels in love with it until the very end, then the happy ending made me take a step back. I still love the movie, but I prefer to imagine a darker ending that never was.

I only know Jamel Debbouze from Amelie but that was enough to hook me when I first saw the preview. In the behind the scenes video you can see he was a bit nervous about carrying a whole film, and a little excited and anxious that he had to do drama as well, but from watching the movie you'd never know it. He owns the film.

Rie Rasmussen starts the movie sort of simplistic, like Lulu in Fifth Element, but her performance sort of snuck up on me cause about half way through I realized I was totally into her character arc. And of course she's visually iconic. With heels she's 6 feet tall and towers over the 5'5" Jamel. I love extreme height/size juxtapositions. The script also puts a few nice spins on the angel concept.

The movie itself is beautiful, all the locations and sets are meticulously framed so no shot is wasted. The black and white is a little funky compared to an old black and white film. I don't know if this is cause I'm used to seeing dirty grainy old movies or because it was shot in color and converted to black in white like most modern day B&W films (I don't know if it was, that's just my assumption). The movie also does a great job of staying simple. There's a few moments of digital trickery, and I actually think they could have done away with them entirely cause the film was so strong in it's editing. But they do a good job keeping the effects subtle so I won't give them too much shit for it.

Labels: comical, critiqua

(Spoils to be had ahead)

I was expecting funny. With everyone involved it had to be funny, but when when Seth and Evan have their last moment across the escalator, it hit me like the final shot of The Graduate. "Holy shit," I thought, "this isn't just a funny movie, this is a great movie!"

Not that I expect it to be hailed as such come Oscar season, but Superbad might end up being the best film of the year.

Superbad is my Dazed And Confused. That's a film that I never got in highschool cause I had no connection to it. That wasn't my life in highschool. I didn't even really get it in college. It wasn't until I graduated that I actually started to enjoy it. Superbad on the other hand, instantly clicked with me, the profanity laden dialogue, the atmosphere, the fear of losing your friends when you leave highschool or leave college, that hit home.

"Bromance" is the hip term to toss around for this type of film, but I feel like this transcended the Will Farrell bromance genre. Behind the overt homo eroticism there was a heartbreaking sincerity. A barrage of dick jokes to mask the honest fear and drama between two friends facing the inevitable separation. And the dawning on them that if they ever want anything to do with girls, it will mean spending less time with each other. I felt like there was so much in this film that I'm not used to seeing in a movie.

A lot of the credit goes to Jonah Hill. His character had the most difficult balancing act, the most over the top gags and physical humor with the most important dramatic beats. It's the only way his character could have worked, those moments of insecurity between being bled on and hit by cars.

Michael Cera's character didn't quite get the same dramatic range to play as he was supposed to be the straight man, but I can't get enough of his twitchy physical humor and passive aggressive deliveries.

I think I wrote so much in my Pushing Daisies reviews I'm tired of typing. Both Daisies and Superbad were really inspiring from a writing standpoint. That's when I know a movie crossed the great line for me, when it gives me a kick in the ass towards my own writing.

I can't wait to see if Rogen, Goldberg and Apatow can bring the same over-the-top-but-honest style to their stoner action film Pineapple Express next year.

Labels: critiqua

Last night ABC screened a preview of the pilot for Pushing Daisies at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery. Three things drew me in: Bryan Fuller, creator of Wonderfalls who also did some great work on Heroes, Lee Pace, the super hot and charismatic brother from Wonderfalls, and Barry Sonnenfeld who I guess is playing in TV now but I didn't realize, I'll have to look up his work on Notes From The Underbelly too.

The screening was at 8, but I should have realized that meant 9 (the sun doesn't set any faster for ABC on Thursdays than it does for the Cemetery screenings on Saturdays).

I really liked the show. It's got some pilot pains, and it didn't knock me out like Wonderfalls did, but by the end of the episode I was excited to see what happens next. I'm going to be spoilery.

Things start of both brilliantly and clunkily as an idilic moment of Ned and his dog running through a super saturated field of flowers is interrupted when a truck splats the dog. On paper, this is all stuff I love, the cartoony colors, the morbid hilarity, the dying pet saddness, but the puzzle pieces don't quite fit exactly. I'm not sure if it's the actual editing, or the decision to not let the young Ned actor speak (using faux-stonefacism as a ZachBraff-esque dramatic cheat?), or the overbearing narration, but the entire first act felt like everything was a beat off. Which is a shame, because the same scenarios could have been brilliant.

The premise of the show is that Ned can bring dead people/animal/plants back to life by touching them. But there's catches. If he touches the person/animal/plant a second time, they die again, this time permanently. If he lets them live permanently though, fate will take the life of someone near by. This little eternal life or death exchange happens one minute after the initial touch.

The narrator is easily the biggest problem in the episode. I guess they decided the premise was too complicated to explain gradually or visually, or through a few simple dialogue exchanges. Instead the narrator attacks us with all the information at once. It almost sounded like they edited out his breaths so they could keep the words coming.

In Wonderfalls, Jaye's ability is vague and the source of her powers is even more vague, but it was organic, it was in the world of the show. Here the narrator says right off the bat something like "it's not known what entity gave him these powers, or why." If this show reaches any of the heights of Wonderfalls they were probably already planning on exploring the social/moral/religious implications of a man who can bring things back to life, so why bring it up in a such an odd way?

Once the show gets moving with the main cast the narrator mostly disappears, randomly interjecting way too much information that could have easily been explained otherwise and sometimes ruining tender moments. Hopefully he's just the product of a complicated pilot pitch and not a heavy presence in the show. Though I will say there was one line that got a chuckle out of me, with the one eyed aunt, "it appeared the jig was up, and if she'd had two good eyes, it would have been."

The show picks up in a big way when when we're introduced to the present day Ned, "The Pie Maker," have I mentioned how much I love job titles being used for names? Lee Pace conveys brilliantly what didn't quite come across with young Ned. The Pie Maker is twitchy, neurotic, and Pace's lanky physicality expresses so much emotion and vulnerability. He also strikes a great balance between morbid detachment and awkward sincerity.

The only present day character who didn't click with me was Kristin Chenoweth as Olive Snook, an employee, neighbor, dog watcher and not-secret admirer of Ned. Her acting style didn't quite mesh with the rest of the cast, and I'd sort of wished she was more than one character. Why not have an employee, a neighbor, a dog watcher AND a rejected admirer? I guess you could say having them all be the same person adds more complexity, but the Olive character isn't that complex and the show already has such a small cast that I was sort of looking for more regulars.

Chi McBride plays the PI Emerson Cod, who discovers Ned's power and strikes a deal with him to touch the corpses of unsolved murder victims to collect the reward money when they solve the case. He's got almost all the best lines in the pilot and he nails every one.

Rounding out the main cast we have Anna Friel as Chuck, have I mentioned how much I love guys names for girls? This one might be my favorite ever. Chuck is Ned's childhood first kiss who he's reunited with years later when she's murdered. Of course the minute time limit passes and he lets her live. Now they're in the perfect will-they-won't-they tv show scenario of being in love but being unable to touch. Anna's Chuck is adorable and quirky, Amelie with the spunk of Zooey Deschanel.

The look of the show is over the top, but in sort of a classic way. Ned's storefront, "The Pie Hole" looks straight out of a cartoon, like when a cat would dress up it's mouth and roll out it's red carpet tongue for the mice. Barry Sonnenfeld's direction was surprisingly hit and miss. One thing I always associate with Sonnenfeld is his fluidity of movement. His camera is always moving but it always leads you into the next shot. When it works (Adams Family/Men In Black/Get Shorty/Raising Arizona), you get this great rollercoaster sensation in your stomach. I got that feeling a few times in the pilot. But more often shots cut to one another in an abrupt, clunky way. Kinks like this will probably work their way out as the show goes on.

There's a surprising amount of effects in the show. Similar to Wonderfalls I guess except without the reason necessarily. Like the rich set design there's also a lot of Amelie-style effects of things coming to life in a childlike way. While I love it stylistically, it's not really motivated by the characters or the story which makes it sometimes seem unnecessary?

Overall I left the episode excited for the next and that's the important part. The chemistry of the main trio is great and the premise is ripe for all sorts of adventures and genres and guest stars. My only reservations is the narrator, the friend/employee who doesn't seem to have an apparent purpose or story arc and a small cast that might limit the show the longer it plays. For instance, Wonderfalls had 9 some recurring characters introduced in the pilot that went on to play major roles through the season, Daisies has 4, 5 if you count the dog, 7 if you count the Aunts who seemed more like this week's guest stars.

After the screening they passed out cute little pies from Joan's, oh how I love gimmicks. The only downside now is that the show doesn't start until October 3rd! What's up with that?

If you're interested in obsessing, maybe get lost in Lee Pace's dreamy eyes, check out The Pie Maker, that's right, a show that hasn't even aired yet has a fansite. I take that as a sign the show will be cancelled immediately.

Labels: critiqua

I was the only one at work who disliked Transformers.

I'm not a Michael Bay fan. With every film of his the pill gets harder to swallow. But I like robots and I like Transformers. So I thought if I kept my expectations low I could maybe enjoy a shot of a Transformer transforming and maybe two robots fighting for a bit.

Technically, both wishes were met...but with a catch. The rapid cuts, swooping cameras, spastic animation and busy character designs made it near impossible to make out how the characters were transforming and who was fighting who where. There's one shot of Optimus and a red shirt Decepticon (Devastator?) falling off an overpass in the trailer. That's the most coherent action shot in the entire film.

The rest was just a big ole mess.

For the last week or so I've been watching the first season of Transformers on YouTube along with some clips from the animated movie. I didn't remember much of anything, other than the iconic designs of some characters (which I already knew had been thrown out for the movie). I was surprised how simple yet effective it all was. Sure there was cheese and camp and all that, but it was earnest, it had defined characters, it had drama and it had robots fighting.

It reminds me of a common conversation I have with a friend of mine about comic book adaptations and remakes/sequels. "It's not that hard" is our mantra. It's amazing the complicated depths some filmmakers go to screw up simplest stories. Maybe they mistake simplicity for stupidity and childishness so they feel the need to complicate things so that they appear more "adult."

I guess what bugs me the most is the lack of vision and imagination. My most common complaint with adaptations or movies in general I guess. Why not aim higher? Why not shoot for a Transformers film on the same level as Star Wars or Raiders Of The Lost Ark? They were oscar nominated. As it stands it's just another narrow minded franchise, where they're so happy to have a big opening weekend they can't wait to start the sequel, never realizing that if they'd put a little thought and effort into it, they could have had the next Bond or Star Trek series instead of the next failed Matrix or Pirates trilogy.

Looking back that last critique is sort of out of place. Transformers doesn't have 60+ years of source material like other comic book characters going through failed franchises right now, so the Bond/Star Trek analogy doesn't really fit cause they probably only have a trilogy's worth of stories. Still, unless someone else takes over the franchise, there's not much reason to come back.

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On the plus side:

Labels: critiqua, snappy

Sicko is probably Michael Moore's simplest film. It's streamlined, it stays on message, there's fewer gags, and despite being two hours long it feels short.

As a result of all that, I left Sicko less worked up than I left Bowling or Fahrenheit. Maybe it's apathy and the sense of defeat I felt after the 2004 election. Maybe it's my Buddhist practice and the lessons in not putting my faith in politics or the romantic idea that social change can end suffering. Either way, I left the movie a little down, with only a dim glimmer of hope that free national heath care was possible in this country in my lifetime.

The movie does a great job of hitting all the main arguing points, "national health care = communism," "the government decides your fate," "doctors won't make as much," "taxes!!!" etc, etc. Everything you've heard when the topic comes up is touched on by Moore. Nothing shocking or really new to me, but it's all very articulate and succinct and easy to pass on to people who might not know the ins and outs of the argument.

A lot of reviews seem happy to report that Michael Moore doesn't even show up in the movie until half way through. And then they refer to his inevitable appearance as the point where the movie goes downhill. I'm not sure what movie they expect to see when they go to a Michael Moore film, but I go to see Michael Moore. I like his persona, I enjoy his sense of humor, I even click with his brand of melodrama and manipulation. I think it's a shame that his critics (and even himself?) seem to believe that the topics he brings up can only be taken seriously when he's off camera. Or maybe they'd rather believe that even though they feel the same about American medicine, they don't want to face the thought of agreeing with Moore, and his presence ruins the illusion.

I know a lot of people can't stand Moore, and maybe this was his attempt to reach out to them by staying off camera and toning down his usual schtick. Which I guess worked in creating a very focused Sicko, but as a Michael Moore fan I couldn't help but feel like it was all a little gentle and watered down.

Perhaps after the Fahrenheit backlash (and overall conservative pendulum that swung back to win Bush a second term) Moore realized that his power was better used to simply bring the topic up for discussion rather than attack it with a megaphone.

I hope, similarly to Fahrenheit, Sicko gives a lot of small health care and pharmaceutical documentaries the chance for distribution in the coming year.

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It's funny that an online character generator creates a more accurate caricature of myself than I do.

Labels: critiqua

Expectation is the mother of disappointment.

I tried really hard not to inflate my expectations. It's Pixar, it's Brad Bird, The Iron Giant and The Incredibles are two of my favorite films of all time...but I was trying to stay grounded, "remember Cars" I said to myself, "remember A Bug's Life."

The ads and the trailers were awkward, like they didn't know how to pitch it. That's the sign of a great film isn't it? Great films usually stump the advertising departments.

Well there is greatness in Ratatouille, but sadly, it is not a great film. I was really rooting for it to be, but it isn't. Spoilers ahead.

Things start off clunky with unnecessary narration and a "how did I get here?" freeze frame. But then immediately it's followed by a bit of brilliance with a stylized rat, eyes glowing in the dusk light. I guess that sums up the movie. Hit and miss. The narration probably bothered me the most in the film. Cut that out and the film would have taken a great leap forward. It feels like it was either a remnant of an older version of the film or a last minute addition tacked on in fear that there would be too many confused kids in the audience without someone to help them along. Scenes that would have played out as beautiful moody montages instead have Remy telling us EXACTLY what's happening AS it's happening.

After the clunky start and flirtations with brilliance the movie builds. It continually improves with every scene and by the time we get to the final act I was really swept up in it, even as the film repeatedly tried to kick me out with it's grating narration.

But even as it got better and better there were still too many disjointed scenes and leaps in the story to really hold the film up. It's often the films that are so close to greatness that bother me the most. I know this film has a history with a previous filmmaker and even a version of the film that was thrown out when Brad Bird came on board. But that's no excuse cause they proved throughout the movie they could reach those high points, they just kept slipping.

Then, as the movie has me all sorts of torn, really excited by the last act, really bothered by the narration, the credits start...and suddenly it happened. A great film. A brilliant film. A film that does not exist. It's rare that a credit sequence is better than the movie itself. It happened in Lemony Snicket and it ALMOST happened in Ratatouille. The only reason I say almost is because the Lemony Snicket end credit actually told a story, where as the Ratatouille end credit was just a series of playful gags. The end credit is 2d (or 3d using 2d shading?) in the "Art Of Ratatouille" 50's modern style.

It was so so beautiful. And so so frustrating. I'm used to seeing concept art that blows away the finished product, but it's not often you see it so fully realized. It's like they were mocking me "yeah, we could have made a beautiful, groundbreaking 2d film, but we didn't."

*sigh*

The other major missed opportunity in the film was the hints of Fantasia-esque color/music sequences as they show visually what "taste" is like. That cried out for a full blown jazz routine, and I thought it would happen in the end with the critic, but instead they opted for the flashback, which while it made me giddy I think they could have done both.

I'm not very good at structured reviews but I enjoy lists. So here's what I liked:
-The moments of "evil" glowing rat eyes.
-Rat poison smell tester.
-The musical "taste" sequences.
-The roof collapse.
-Alone in the sewer.
-The couple with the gun.
-"Hell"
-The puppet master animations.
-The rat corpse scene.
-Colette.
-Drunkenness.
-The walk out.
-Anton Ego.
-The rats running the kitchen. I was waiting the WHOLE movie for this scene.
-The flashback.
-The closing montage.
-The end credits.
-The overall classic/older feel of the film. Removed from pop culture and songs and parody.

The other side of the coin:
-The narration.
-The false start freeze frame.
-Slow first act.
-Clunky pacing.
-A kitchen full of rich character designs and archetypes...wasted?
-Underdeveloped romance.
-The movie mostly runs on light conflict, where's the heavy, story driving conflict?
-Dropped/fumbled plot elements, the ominous rat corpse scene set up...nothing?
-Confusion as to who the protagonist is? Remy or Linquini?
-Remy's story arch was unfulfilling? There was almost a connection between him and Anton Ego...but it could have been built up more? Even so, their quiet moment between creator and critic was ruined by narration.
-Having the ending TOLD to me, when it could have easily been SHOWN.
-"Our Quality Assurance Guaratee: 100% Genuine Animation! No motion capture or any other performance shortcuts were used in the production of this film." I guess it was meant to be lighthearted, but it makes Pixar sound like a bunch of dicks. Did they forget the "shortcuts" they used in The Incredibles? Live action water splashes and what not? Or the rich history of rotoscope animation used since the beginning of film?

From the reviews I've seen, it looks like most people are loving Ratatouille. Yes it's probably the best American animated film this year, yes it's better than Cars. But it didn't reach it's full potential.

Labels: critiqua, listy

The Polyphonic Spree - The Fragile Army Sadly this is the first Spree album that didn't sweep me off my feet. Which is a shame cause I love the theme. Their new uniforms and the Army Of Love concept. There's something really epic in that, like their history as a band is a story and this is the dark chapter. It reminds me of wrathfulness in Buddhism (not anger like we know it, but a virtuous anger powered by love that Buddhas use to battle negative delusions). When I saw them live this winter, they played the show in their uniforms and during the encore returned in their classic robes to a chorus of "love, love, love..." Even then I didn't quite click with the songs, but the theatrics and the energy in the room made it work. Part of what tripped me up on the new album is the eight minute long mash-up preview the Spree released a few months ago. Thirty seconds of every track woven together so seamlessly that it successfully stands as it's own song that I still listen to. What got lost from mash-up to final album is a major quality I look for in a Spree album: operatic structure. I'm a huge fan of songs that weave multiple melodies, choruses, bridges, breaks, and segues into a single song. The Fragile Army's strongest track is it's self titled track "Section 24" for that very reason, it sounds like five songs, each with their own strong hook. Every song mixes it up a bit, and every song has at least one passage that's really catchy and in some cases, Younger Yesterday, euphoric. But only a few songs hold that magic from beginning to end. I'm also not entirely sold on the track order either. Their previous albums toy with standing as one hour long song where the Army feels more seperated. The album's still growing on me. For the very reason that there's something to be found in every song. It's just a shame that there's so many great snippets but very few great songs.
Shortbus Soundtrack I recently fell in love with the movie and randomly decided to see if that love would carry over to the soundtrack. And it did. It's a little hammy in parts, a little melodramatic in others, but the melodies are simple and poppy and waltzy and make me sway and bounce like a Muppet, which is the highest praise I can give songs, "it's gotta Muppet beat." Yo La Tengo was credited in the movie for their contributions, but Scott Matthew does the heavy lifting on the album with his folky ukulele plucking and raspy Bowie vocals. The album breaks up Scott's tracks between lighter faster songs to keep things afloat. My only reservation with the album is that sometimes the sappiness overwhelms, like it wants you to cry along. And maybe you're not in the mood to cry right then.
Kanye West - Late Registration One of my "years after the fact" purchases. Great cause I can listen to the music separate from the hype or the constant movie trailer use, but it doesn't leave me with much to say cause everyone already praised all the praise for this album years ago. Sadly I own very little rap, something I hope to remedy. I picked this one up partly due to my Jon Brion obsession and a few tracks I'd heard with his rich toy piano productions. It's just a solid, end-to-end album. Unlike Army and Shortbus I haven't really picked out individual Registration tracks. When I put it on, it's to listen to the entire thing. I even love the skits, which I know people tend to skip or turn off in their iTunes. I do have to fix my track names though, as the auto-namer in iTunes mixed things up. Looking at the back of the CD it seems there's 5 more tracks than there should be?

I've been in sort of a music-buying-lull lately. I'd been looking forward to the Spree for months. The preview clips of the new White Stripes haven't really won me over and I'm not even sure what's next on the horizon. I know Nellie McKay has a new album due in September, but there must be something before that right?

Labels: amoebaeats, critiqua

Amy Winehouse - Back To Black This album just blows me away. She should have done the Casino Royale song. The Bond producers better nab her for the next.
Air - Pocket Symphony I've listened to this album twice today and both times it sort of passed me by. Like it got to the end and I barely realized I'd been listening to it. That's good and bad.
Carla Bruni - Quelqu'un m'a dit My friend turned me on to her. Pretty pretty.

My friend gave me a 3 disc mix tape of 2006 music, so I might be making a second music trip soon to pick up stuff that's catching my ear in the mix.

Labels: amoebaeats, critiqua, listy

My thoughts in italics

Performance by an actor in a leading role
Leonardo DiCaprio in "Blood Diamond"
Ryan Gosling in "Half Nelson"
Peter O’Toole in "Venus"
Will Smith in "The Pursuit of Happyness"
Forest Whitaker in "The Last King of Scotland"

I didn't see any of these. From the trailers I'd pick Forest. MIA: Joseph Gordan-Levitt in "Brick" Will Farrell in "Stranger Than Fiction" and someone else I'm forgetting

Performance by an actor in a supporting role
Alan Arkin in "Little Miss Sunshine"
Jackie Earle Haley in "Little Children"
Djimon Hounsou in "Blood Diamond"
Eddie Murphy in "Dreamgirls"
Mark Wahlberg in "The Departed"

Tough choice between Jackie Earle and Alan Arkin (loved Wahlberg but his role had less screentime). Jackie was more of a surprise, I'll say Jackie.

Performance by an actress in a leading role
Penélope Cruz in "Volver"
Judi Dench in "Notes on a Scandal"
Helen Mirren in "The Queen"
Meryl Streep in "The Devil Wears Prada"
Kate Winslet in "Little Children"

Kate was the only one I saw, none of these really leap out at me, they all seem obvious. MIA: Catherine O'Hara in "For Your Consideration" Cate Blanchet in "The Good German"

Performance by an actress in a supporting role
Adriana Barraza in "Babel"
Cate Blanchett in "Notes on a Scandal"
Abigail Breslin in "Little Miss Sunshine"
Jennifer Hudson in "Dreamgirls"
Rinko Kikuchi in "Babel"

Another tough one between Abigail and Jennifer. I think despite Jennifer's awesomeness, my distaste for Dreamgirls would give it to Abigail.

Best animated feature film of the year
"Cars"
"Happy Feet"
"Monster House"

Monster House please. Happy Feet would be ok. Dear God not Cars.

Achievement in art direction
"Dreamgirls" Art Direction: John Myhre Set Decoration: Nancy Haigh
"The Good Shepherd" Art Direction: Jeannine Oppewall Set Decoration: Gretchen Rau and Leslie E. Rollins
"Pan’s Labyrinth" Art Direction: Eugenio Caballero Set Decoration: Pilar Revuelta
"Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest" Art Direction: Rick Heinrichs Set Decoration: Cheryl A. Carasik
"The Prestige" Art Direction: Nathan Crowley Set Decoration: Julie Ochipinti

I haven't seen it yet, but I'm pretty confident it's "Pan's Labyrinth." MIA: "Children Of Men" "The Science Of Sleep" "Stranger Than Fiction" "Brick" "Idiocracy" "V For Vendetta" "The Good German" and "Little Children" (it was a good year for art direction)

Achievement in cinematography
"The Black Dahlia" Vilmos Zsigmond
"Children of Men" Emmanuel Lubezki
"The Illusionist" Dick Pope
"Pan’s Labyrinth" Guillermo Navarro
"The Prestige" Wally Pfister

I want to say "Prestige" for some reason...maybe because it was so dark. MIA: "The Good German" "Brick" "Little Children" "The Science Of Sleep"

Achievement in costume design
"Curse of the Golden Flower" Yee Chung Man
"The Devil Wears Prada" Patricia Field
"Dreamgirls" Sharen Davis
"Marie Antoinette" Milena Canonero
"The Queen" Consolata Boyle

I only saw "Dreamgirls" but give it to "Marie" MIA: "Nacho Libre" but I feel like a more subtle movie should be here, like "Stranger Than Fiction" "Brick" or "Little Miss Sunshine" movies that used simple iconic costumes instead of just parading a bunch of outfits around.

Achievement in directing
"Babel" Alejandro González Iñárritu
"The Departed" Martin Scorsese
"Letters from Iwo Jima" Clint Eastwood
"The Queen" Stephen Frears
"United 93" Paul Greengrass

Boring. Give it to Scorsese. MIA: "The Good German" Steven Soderbergh "Brick" Rian Johnson "Stranger Than Fiction" Mark Forster

Best documentary feature
"Deliver Us from Evil" Amy Berg and Frank Donner
"An Inconvenient Truth" Davis Guggenheim
"Iraq in Fragments" James Longley and John Sinno
"Jesus Camp" Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady
"My Country, My Country" Laura Poitras and Jocelyn Glatzer

I only saw "Truth" but "Camp" looked the most intriguing.

Best documentary short subject
"The Blood of Yingzhou District" Ruby Yang and Thomas Lennon
"Recycled Life" Leslie Iwerks and Mike Glad
"Rehearsing a Dream" Karen Goodman and Kirk Simon
"Two Hands" Nathaniel Kahn and Susan Rose Behr

shrug?

Achievement in film editing
"Babel" Stephen Mirrione and Douglas Crise
"Blood Diamond" Steven Rosenblum
"Children of Men" Alex Rodríguez and Alfonso Cuarón
"The Departed" Thelma Schoonmaker
"United 93" Clare Douglas, Christopher Rouse and Richard Pearson

I've only seen two of these. I'll say "Departed" MIA: "The Prestige" "Stranger Than Fiction" "The Science Of Sleep"

Best foreign language film of the year
"After the Wedding" Denmark
"Days of Glory (Indigènes)" Algeria
"The Lives of Others" Germany
"Pan’s Labyrinth" Mexico
"Water" Canada

Lets say "Labyrinth" since I haven't seen any.

Achievement in makeup
"Apocalypto" Aldo Signoretti and Vittorio Sodano
"Click" Kazuhiro Tsuji and Bill Corso
"Pan’s Labyrinth" David Marti and Montse Ribe

"Click" ...really? Go "Labyrinth"

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original score)
"Babel" Gustavo Santaolalla
"The Good German" Thomas Newman
"Notes on a Scandal" Philip Glass
"Pan’s Labyrinth" Javier Navarrete
"The Queen" Alexandre Desplat

Some composers I like, but I haven't heard any of these. MIA: "Little Children" Thomas Newman "Little Miss Sunshine" Mychael Danna & Devotchka "Brick" Nathan Johnson "The Science Of Sleep" Jean-Michel Bernard

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original song)
"I Need to Wake Up" from "An Inconvenient Truth" Music and Lyric by Melissa Etheridge
"Listen" from "Dreamgirls" Music by Henry Krieger and Scott Cutler Lyric by Anne Preven
"Love You I Do" from "Dreamgirls" Music by Henry Krieger Lyric by Siedah Garrett
"Our Town" from "Cars" Music and Lyric by Randy Newman
"Patience” from "Dreamgirls" Music by Henry Krieger Lyric by Willie Reale

Lame. MIA: "Kikapoo" from "The Pick Of Destiny" by Tenacious D "Til The End Of Time" from "Little Miss Sunshine" by DeVotchka "Golden The Pony Boy" Jean-Michel Bernard & Kimiko Ono

Best motion picture of the year
"Babel" Alejandro González Iñárritu, Jon Kilik and Steve Golin, Producers
"The Departed" Nominees to be determined
"Letters from Iwo Jima" Clint Eastwood, Steven Spielberg and Robert Lorenz, Producers
"Little Miss Sunshine" Nominees to be determined
"The Queen" Andy Harries, Christine Langan and Tracey Seaward, Producers

Mostly boring and obvious. I'm rooting for "Sunshine" or "Departed" MIA: "The Good German" "Brick" "Stranger Than Fiction" "The Science Of Sleep" "Monster House"

Best animated short film
"The Danish Poet" Torill Kove
"Lifted" Gary Rydstrom
"The Little Matchgirl" Roger Allers and Don Hahn
"Maestro" Geza M. Toth
"No Time for Nuts" Chris Renaud and Michael Thurmeier

Wish I'd seen some of them.

Best live action short film
"Binta and the Great Idea (Binta Y La Gran Idea)" Javier Fesser and Luis Manso
"Éramos Pocos (One Too Many)" Borja Cobeaga
"Helmer & Son" Soren Pilmark and Kim Magnusson
"The Saviour" Peter Templeman and Stuart Parkyn
"West Bank Story" Ari Sandel

Ditto

Achievement in sound editing
"Apocalypto" Sean McCormack and Kami Asgar
"Blood Diamond" Lon Bender
"Flags of Our Fathers" Alan Robert Murray and Bub Asman
"Letters from Iwo Jima" Alan Robert Murray
"Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest" Christopher Boyes and George Watters II

I don't understand these categories, the "loud noises go boom" categories. MIA: "Brick" (that awesome footstep chase)

Achievement in sound mixing
"Apocalypto" Kevin O’Connell, Greg P. Russell and Fernando Camara
"Blood Diamond" Andy Nelson, Anna Behlmer and Ivan Sharrock
"Dreamgirls" Michael Minkler, Bob Beemer and Willie Burton
"Flags of Our Fathers" John Reitz, Dave Campbell, Gregg Rudloff and Walt Martin
"Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest" Paul Massey, Christopher Boyes and Lee Orloff

what?

Achievement in visual effects
"Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest" John Knoll, Hal Hickel, Charles Gibson and Allen Hall
"Poseidon" Boyd Shermis, Kim Libreri, Chaz Jarrett and John Frazier
"Superman Returns" Mark Stetson, Neil Corbould, Richard R. Hoover and Jon Thum

Boring. Go "Pirates" I guess. MIA: "The Fountain" "The Science Of Sleep" "Stranger Than Fiction"

Adapted screenplay
"Borat Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan" Screenplay by Sacha Baron Cohen & Anthony Hines & Peter Baynham & Dan Mazer Story by Sacha Baron Cohen & Peter Baynham & Anthony Hines & Todd Phillips
"Children of Men" Screenplay by Alfonso Cuarón & Timothy J. Sexton and David Arata and Mark Fergus & Hawk Ostby
"The Departed" Screenplay by William Monahan
"Little Children" Screenplay by Todd Field & Tom Perrotta
"Notes on a Scandal" Screenplay by Patrick Marber

"Notes" is the only one I haven't seen. But I'd be cool with any of these. MIA: "The Good German" "The Prestige" "V For Vendetta"

Original screenplay
"Babel" Written by Guillermo Arriaga
"Letters from Iwo Jima" Screenplay by Iris Yamashita Story by Iris Yamashita & Paul Haggis
"Little Miss Sunshine" Written by Michael Arndt
"Pan’s Labyrinth" Written by Guillermo del Toro
"The Queen" Written by Peter Morgan

"Sunshine" or "Labyrinth" MIA: "Brick" "Science Of Sleep" "Stranger Than Fiction" "Inside Man" "The Oh In Ohio" "For Your Consideration"

Phew.

Labels: critiqua, listy

Just like last year, only it's this year. In no particular order:

My Favorite Movies of 2006
-Brick
-The Science Of Sleep
-Stranger Than Fiction
-The Departed
-The Prestige
-Monster House
-The Oh In Ohio
-Little Miss Sunshine
-The Inside Man
-Superman Returns
-Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan
-Talladega Nights: The Ballad Of Ricky Bobby
-V For Vendetta
-Idiocracy
-Happy Feet
-An Inconvenient Truth
-Who Killed The Electric Car?
-Tenacious D: The Pick Of Destiny (the first and last song)
-The Good German
-Scoop

My Favorite TV Shows of 2006
-The Office
-Heroes
-Studio 60 On The Sunset Strip
-The Class
-Sex Hospital

My Favorite Albums of 2006
-Regina Spektor: Begin To Hope
-Joanna Newsom: Ys
-Yeah Yeah Yeahs: Show Your Bones
-Nellie McKay: Pretty Little Head
-Beck: The Information
-Suzanna Choffel: Shudders & Rings
-Cat Power: The Greatest
-Thom York: The Eraser
-Lily Allen: Alright Still

Non-New Bands I Discovered and/or Started Buying A Lot Of in 2006
-Broken Social Scene
-The Dresden Dolls
-Serge Gainsbourg

Live Stuff I Had Fun At in 2006
-Jon Brion (twice!)
-826 Benefits (twice!)
-The Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players
-The Polyphonic Spree
-Sondre Lerche
-Fiona Apple

Stuff That Bugged Me in 2006
-Casino Royale
-X-Men 3
-Superman Returns
-Cars
-A Scanner Darkly
-Art School Confidential
-Idiocracy
-Tenacious D & The Pick Of Destiny (everything else)
-Studio 60 On The Sunset Strip
-Sex Hospital
-Dreamgirls
-A Prairie Home Companion
-United Flight 93 (I didn't actually see it)
-HD
-My Super Ex-Girlfriend
-The Last Kiss

Stuff I'm Looking Forward To in 2007
-Charlie Kaufman's directorial debut Synecdoche, New York
-a new album from Jon Brion?
-more shows at the Largo with Jon Brion?
-a new movie score by Jon Brion?
-Spider-Man 3
-a new Feist album?
-The Polyphonic Spree: The Fragile Army
-Sondre Lerche: Phantom Punch
-Tideland
-The Wendell Baker Story
-a new Postal Service album?
-Caótica Ana
-The Shins: Wincing The Night Away
-Sicko
-Fantastic Four 2: Rise Of The Silver Surfer
-There Will Be Blood
-a new Bjork album?
-the return of Futurama!
-Knocked Up
-The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford

Stuff That Scares Me in 2007
-The Transformers
-Fantastic Four 2: Rise Of The Silver Surfer
-Spider-Man 3

Movies I'm Bummed I Missed In 2006 But I'll See In 2007
-Little Children
-The Fountain
-Pan's Labyrinth
-The Secret Life Of Words
-Shortbus
-Come Early Morning
-Dixie Chicks: Shut Up & Sing
-Fast Food Nation
-Children Of Men

This is totally incomplete. I'll update as I go.

Labels: critiqua, listy

I feel like there were other purchases between that last one and this one, but I can't remember...

Lewis Black - The Carnegie Hall Performance A little looser than his other stuff, like he's just coming on stage and talking. Still hilarious.
David Bowie - Diamond Dogs I actually haven't given this a proper end to end listen yet, I bought it before my Mother's Day flight and then slept the whole time. But it's Bowie, so I'm probably safe.
The Flaming Lips - At War With The Mystics Almost sounds a little hip-hoppy, just bought it today so I haven't heard it all yet. The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song is such a fun opener.
Broken Social Scene - You Forgot It In People I'm really getting into these guys. I can't wait to listen to this one.

Labels: amoebaeats, critiqua, listy

Sondre Lerche - Duper Sessions My reason for going to the store. He really nailed the quartet/lounge/jazz vibe, there's a few covers on the album, but he emulated the style so well that even the originals sound like covers. That may not be an entirely good thing though.
Ms. Dynamite - Judgment Day Not as instantly catchy as "A Little Deeper" but I haven't listened to everything yet. I do admire the way she wears her politics on her sleeve.
The Beach Boys - Little Deuce Coupe / All Summer Long I think I'm about done with the Beach Boys now.
Steve Martin - Comedy Is Not Pretty I have this on vinyl, I should really sell all my vinyl, I never listen to it.
William Shatner & Leonard Nemoy - Spaced Out I don't know where this desire for camp came from, but it isn't healthy.
David Bowie - Space Oddity Now that I wrapped up Simon and Garfunkel and the Beach Boys I needed a new artist to obsess over. Picking up original albums after only having Best Of's is extremely satisfying, so many little nuggets that I'd never hear until Wes Anderson decides to include them in a soundtrack.
David Bowie - Hunky Dory For example...

Labels: amoebaeats, critiqua, listy

The Beach Boys - Sunflower / Surfs Up These last two Beach Boy's purchases have taken a turn for the bizarre. The songs I've liked are more for camp-value then anything else, and the idea that I could use them ironically in a movie or TV show.
Simon & Garfunkel - Bookends This finishes off my S&G collection. "Old Friends" makes me want to crawl into a fetal position.
Seu Jorge - The Life Aquatic Studio Sessions I'm so happy they released this.
Bob Marley - Exodus I'm not sure if I agree with the "remastering" of this album. They cleaned it too much, it doesn't sound like music from 1977.
Broken Social Scene - Feel Good Lost Haven't given it a full listen yet, but I like what I've heard so far. Oddly enough I'm not really in the mood for ambient instrumentals (ten years ago you'd be hard pressed to get me to listen to anything with words).
Broken Social Scene - Broken Social Scene Wooo Feist! Sounds more like Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs on this album, but easier on the ears.

Labels: amoebaeats, critiqua, listy

They Might Be Giants - Then, The Early Years Good God what a lot of songs. Favorite right now has to be Kiss Me, Son Of God.
Paul McCartney & Wings - Wings Wild Life I wasn't into this one right away, but like Red Rose Speedway it's growing on me more and more.
Stereolab - Sound-Dust More haunting then their other stuff. I like.
Stereolab - Mars Audiac Quintet Bummer, I bought it used and the CD inside was Transient Random-Noise Bursts, so I returned it when I got off work. Guess it wasn't meant to be.
Simon & Garfunkel - Parsley, Sage Rosemary & Thyme I've only got "Bookends" to buy to complete my little S&G collection. Good stuff. And now I know where that "Hey there lamp-post, whatcha knowing? I come to watch your power flowing" bit by Mr. Burns came from (I knew it was a song reference but I could never remember).
Simon & Garfunkel - Bridge Over Troubled Water Feuilles-O.
The Beach Boys - Carl & The Passions "So Tough" / Holland This is another one that's growing on me. I find myself oddly drawn to the fairy tale EP included as bonus tracks.

Labels: amoebaeats, critiqua, listy

Babilonia - Readymade FC I went ahead and bought it on iTunes for $10. I don't usually buy anything but singles on iTunes but I really wanted this album and didn't want to wait for the price to come down (or a used copy to show up). Such a great album.

Labels: amoebaeats, critiqua, listy

So I went to Amoeba to buy Babilonia by Readymade FC...but it was 20 bucks! I don't know why it's so expensive, maybe it's an import? Anyway, as much as I adore the CD, I decided to wait until it comes down a few bucks. Of course I couldn't leave without buying something:

John Lennon - Mind Games I was pretty turned off by the production on RockNRoll and that bled into my thoughts on all of John's solo albums. But I'm starting to come around now. Still don't really like R'N'R, but I'm really digging the rest now.
John Lennon - Double Fantasy Yoko rocks.
Paul McCartney & Wings - Red Rose Speedway Hmmm, I'll need to give it another listen or two, but it didn't grab me.
The Beach Boys - Today! / Summer Days (And Summer Nights!) I prefer post-Pet Beach Boys to pre-Pet Beach Boys, but this stuff is just classic, you can't fight it.
Simon & Garfunkel - Sounds Of Silence Continuing my "best of" replacements.

Labels: amoebaeats, critiqua, listy

First impressions of my latest lunch break purchases:

Rick Moranis - Agoraphobic Cowboy After two weeks was it all I hoped for and more? Yes. Musically, it sounds like a country album, for better or worse, but the lyrics make me smile every time. When I'm in a Mighty Wind mood this will do nicely.
Cat Power - Moon Pix I just found out she cancelled her US tour due to illness. :(
Sigur Ros - Agaetis Byrjun A little more energetic and melodic then "()" so it'll probably spend more time in my rotation.
John Lennon - Walls And Bridges I like the production more then Rock'N'Roll and Milk And Honey, but my favorite track is the stripped down acoustic "Nobody Loves You (When You're Down And Out)" bonus track included with the remaster.
Paul Simon - The Paul Simon Songbook Down and dirty Simon, I like.
They Might Be Giants - John Henry I didn't recognize any of the song titles when I picked this one up, but once I listened to it I was all like "hey, I know these songs!" True story.
Belle & Sebastian - Dear Catastrophe Waitress This was the wild card purchase. I heard it on someone's iTunes at work and sort of dug the sarcastic lyrics with the sunny-pop sound of the first few songs so I went ahead and bought it. But I'm not sure if it's an album I love, at least on first listen. We'll see.
Simon & Garfunkel - Wednesday Morning, 3AM I have a "best of" SiGa CD that I plan on replacing with all the real albums cause I'm anal like that.

Labels: amoebaeats, critiqua, listy

I was very disappointed to find out that even though "Agoraphobic Cowboy" is on iTunes, it won't be in stores till February 7th. I still came out on top yesterday I think:

Cat Power - The Greatest It's toe tappin. Not as hypnotic as "You Are Free" but the Memphis band clicks with her voice. "Willie" is my favorite track right now.
Sigur Ros - () I haven't given this CD a proper chance yet since it's sort of a ambient, concept album. It makes me want to move my stereo into my bedroom cause I imagine it would be great to fall asleep to.
John Lennon - Rock 'N' Roll I can't stand the production of the album, but it's still cool to hear "Come Together" in "You Can't Catch Me."
Gorillaz - G-Sides This was finally in the used section after wanting to buy it forever. Mostly for "12d3" which I could just loop forever.
Bob Dylan - Highway 61 Revisited All these remastered Dylan CD's are cheap right now so I've been picking one up every visit since I've never listened to Dylan and I'm slowly filling the gaps in my musical education. What's up with "Ballad Of A Thin Man?" Someone explain this song to me.
Sufjan Stevens - Seven Swans This guy sure does love the Jebus. It would turn me off except his music is so darn catchy. This one's more quiet-banjo-picking then the others.
They Might Be Giants - No! The cleanest sound of any TMBG albums I have, which is good cause I can slip a few tracks into mix CDs without breaking he flow. "Where Do They Make Balloons?" "The House At The Top Of The Tree" "I Am Not Your Broom" and "Sleepwalkers" are my favorites.
George Harrison - All Things Must Pass I have this on vinyl but my record player is in my bedroom and I don't really listen to it enough. Great to finally have "My Sweet Lord" and "I Dig Love" on my iPod and at work.

Labels: amoebaeats, critiqua, listy

Since this is the season for lists I thought I'd sloppily sum up the year behind and the year ahead. Actually, these are more piles then lists since there's no particular order.

My Favorite Movies of 2005:
-Brokeback Mountain
-Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of The WereRabbit
-Mirror Mask
-King Kong
-Shopgirl
-Off The Map
-Yes
-The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy
-Batman Begins
-The Brothers Grimm
-The Squid And The Whale
-Harry Potter And The Goblet of Fire
-Sin City ("The Hard Goodbye" segment)

My Favorite Albums of 2005:
-Fiona Apple: Extraordinary Machine
-Beck: Guero
-Fruit Bats: Spelled In Bones
-Sufjan Stevens: Illionois
-Maude Maggart: Sings Irving Berlin
-Emiliana Torrini: Fisherman's Woman
-Sigur Rós: Takk
-Feist: Let It Die
-Gorillaz: Demon Days
-The Polyphonic Spree: Thumbsucker
-The White Stripes: Get Behind Me Satan

Non-New Bands I Discovered and/or Started Buying A Lot Of in 2005:
-The Shins
-Iron & Wine
-Cat Power
-Air
-Tom Waits
-The Zombies
-They Might Be Giants (yeah...I was mostly absent from the 90's musically)
-Yo La Tengo (see above)
-The Flaming Lips (ditto)
-The Beach Boys
-Solo Beatles stuff (how the fuck did I go 25 years without owning Ram or Plastic Ono Band?)

Concerts (and one play) I Had Fun At in 2005:
-The Polyphonic Spree with Jon Brion opening
-Beck (twice!) with Cat Power opening the first time and La Tigre the second time
-Sondre Lerche
-Nellie McKay (three times!)
-Tenacious D & Friends (Fiona Apple, David Cross, Sarah Silverman and some other dudes)
-Ryan Adams (actually I've bitched and moaned about this concert a lot, he's a real asshole...but in retrospect it was a fun show to mock for months afterwards)
-Theater of the New Ear: Anomolisa & Hope Leaves The Theater by Charlie Kaufman and Carter Burwell
-Dave Matthews Band (barely, I think my love for the band is finally wearing off, but it was the second row seat that got me)

Stuff That Bugged Me in 2005:
-Sin City (the other segments)
-Charlie And The Chocolate Factory
-Corpse Bride
-Fantastic Four
-Elizabethtown
-Crash (why is everyone praising this awful movie?)
-War Of The Worlds
-Munich
-Dave Matthews Band: Stand Up (it gets harder and harder to like a band that's hasn't had a good album since '98)
-Ben Folds: Songs For Silverman
-Rilo Kiley's Sunset Junction concert

Movies I'm Looking Forward To in 2006:
-Superman Returns
-A Scanner Darkly
-The Fountain
-Tideland
-The Inside Man
-The Wendell Baker Story
-Idiocracy
-Art School Confidential
-Lady In The Water
-Caótica Ana
-The OH In Ohio
-For Your Consideration
-The Film Is Not Yet Rated
-Sicko

Music I'm Looking Forward To in 2006:
-Radiohead's got a new album this year AND might be scoring "A Scanner Darkly" !!
-Sondre Lerche is releasing TWO new albums
-Nellie McKay left Sony which delayed her album "Pretty Little Head" (original release date: Jan 3rd) but hopefully it will be out in a few months
-Suzanna Choffel's "Shudders & Rings"
-Polyphonic Spree's "The Fragile Army"
-Cat Power's "The Greatest" (and she'll be in LA February 22nd)

Stuff That Scares Me in 2006
-Cars (I love Pixar...and the new trailer is better...but I just don't know)
-X-Men 3 (the trailer looks like kids playing make-believe in the backyard and the Beast make up looks LAUGHABLE...and Brett Ratner)

I can't think of anything else...what did I miss?

Labels: critiqua, listy

Ok, so I saw it a second time tonight. We were going to see "Weather Man" but missed our show.

I think I liked it more the second time. Maybe it had something to do with going back and skimming through the script or just thinking about the book, but a lot of details came out the second time that I sort of missed or glossed over. Mostly in Steve Martin's performance. I was thinking cold asshole the first time, but I was completely wrong. He's very fragile in this movie, a really broken man. Some of his reaction shots are really heartbreaking.

Things that I wasn't sure about the first time really grew on me the second time, the score being the main one. I'm pretty sure now it's not meant to be ironic, but perhaps the epic nature is supposed to reflect how such a simple love story is so epic in the life of Mirabelle. The narration also grew on me. It made more sense the second time to have Steve Martin narrate instead of Claire Danes or a 3rd party.

One thing that didn't grow on me was her friends. That scene was worse the second time around. Not only because her friends were so empty, but because the scene made Mirabelle come off a little too naive. The other thing that I felt sort of subtracted from Mirabelle was the radio interview explaining the types of post-sex-cuddling. In the book that's her inner thoughts, that's her fetish, not something she hears on the radio. I have no idea how they would have conveyed it, more Martin narration might have been awkward, maybe the radio was the only way. It's just too bad cause it's such an important visual reference in the movie (Mirabelle and Jeremy laying in bed not touching, Mirabelle and Ray laying in bed with Ray's hand on her back and finally Mirabelle and Jeremy spooning).

Her friends and Bridget Wilson's character sort of date the movie, they feel like devices that were all over movies in the '90s (which I guess makes sense considering when the book was written). I liked Bridget's character though, absurdly over the top but it still works somehow.

I still wanted her can't-get-out-of-bed days to be longer and heavier. Maybe it's because I want to cry during that scene, but they don't quite push it hard enough to give me a chance.

On the other side the scenes with her parents really is amazing. So simple and so beautiful. Jason was just as funny the second time. They're first sex scene is so horribly, perfectly real. The performances in general really shined with the repeat viewing.

Speaking of repetition I think I'm just repeating everything I said the first time. So I'll stop now. Go see the movie.

Labels: critiqua

(beware of spoilers)

So Shopgirl probably meant more to me then most. It was my first big job after a year or so of mostly unemployment. Nothing major, just an office assistant, but it was a real movie with real money and a great boss. One of my friends from CSF was an office PA and when the other office PA got called up for jury duty he recommended me. Things got busy and the production went into nights so they kept me on even after jury duty got back. They even set me up with my next job at "After The Sunset."

I did a lot of driving on the movie, sometimes six hours a day just doing drop offs and pick ups. I got to see where Bridget Wilson-Sampras and Jason Schwartzman lived, but neither were home. Claire Danes came into the office once for a fitting. She had lunch with the costume department on the other side of the cubical from where I sit. Because I'm stupid and shy I didn't leave my desk, so I didn't see her. I did talk to Steve Martin on the phone for all of three seconds though, he said "Hi, this is Steve Martin for Marcus (the producer)," and I said, "For Marcus? One moment."

I hadn't read the book when I started. I'm not much of a book person...and I hate that about myself. I wanted to read the script, but I wouldn't let myself until I'd read the book. My boss let me borrow her copy and I ended up reading it almost entirely while driving in traffic. Maybe not the safest way to read a book, but it was tiny and fit in my hand and the traffic was so slow I might as well have been parked. Only a couple near misses.

I might have cried a few times while reading. I can't remember now. I remember it most perfectly captured my life in Los Angeles. I am Mirabelle Buttersworth, minus the anti-depressants (which maybe I need, I've never looked into it). I hadn't seen anything tackle the subject of loneliness in Los Angeles before. I know there's loneliness everywhere but this city seems like it's designed for it. Don Cheadle gives a nice little speech about it in the otherwise awful movie "Crash." The book nailed everything for me: the constant battle between crippling shyness and suffocating isolation, the friends who are only a notch above acquaintances, drifting away from your art, the dependence on routine and habit to stay afloat. It occasionally slipped into pretentiousness but there were enough real moments to forgive it.

I read the script while Rick and I drove to San Francisco to see "A Mighty Wind" live. It definitely didn't make me cry. It sort of frustrated me actually. A lot of real moments were cut or exchanged for "quirky-cute" movie moments, but all of the pretension was still there. It read really generic for me, flat. Her family and friends had been mostly cut and what was left had none of the weight of the book. The script did have a narrator though, a female one. Earlier drafts had a male narrator and at one point dual narrators, male and female. Either way the narrator was underused. Martin's most elegant prose was in the narration of the book, not the dialogue, so the trimming of the narrator hurt. There were also a few gimmicks I wasn't fond of. For instance the script opened with an elaborate shot that would start way up in the sky and then come down to the street in front of Saks and then walk through the store before a crane takes it up three floors to meet Mirabelle. It felt overly flashy.

On to the final movie. I don't know what kept the movie (which finished shooting in 2003) from being released until 2005. Usually that points to major problems, but I don't think that's the case exactly. I think they wanted a Oscar season release and for some reason they missed the 2004 season. So instead they decided to sit on it another year till this Oscar season. Who knows if it will pay off for them.

The movie captures the melancholy mood of the book. It misses a few other things, but the mood is right. The elaborate opening shot is only partly there in the final version. Instead there's a montage of beautiful panoramic city-scapes that leads to a few awkward Saks crane/steadycam shots(perhaps left over from the original idea) and into a great sequence of the makeup counter shot in extreme close up (or CG), so the lipstick looks like skyscrapers. It's a shame they didn't just go straight from the city-scape to the makeup-scape.

The movie starts slow and quiet, which I like. Mirabelle's lonely life is laid out right away. The narrator device did survive to the final film. But instead of the female narrator of the script we have Steve Martin. I might have preferred a narrator who wasn't also one of the main characters, since the narrator that Steve is playing is in no way associated with his character Ray. Or if perhaps Claire had done the narrating. After all, it's her story more then Steve's.

Jason Schwartzman's Jeremy shows up early and wow, he just takes over. The movie is at it's peak when he's on screen. Jimmy Fallon was going to play Jeremy originally...I'm curious, but I can't imagine him doing a better job, Jason nailed it.

A lot of people are going to compare Steve Martin to Bill Murray for obvious reasons. It's sort of too bad cause Martin does a good job with a few really honest moments, but it's no "Lost In Translation" or "Rushmore." Ray Porter is a cold character who does some pretty shitty things. But at the same time, he's a loser. It's in those loser moments that the character really works. He's just a numbers nerd who has very particular tastes and childishly wants specific, calculated things that Mirabelle possesses. It's too bad they left out the narration that explained his attraction to her. He sees a glimpse of her creamy skin through the buttons of her blouse and gets lost in his head trying to figure out if it was skin or silk underwear. The movie cut most of the fetish angle of the book, but kept some in the way they shot the physical interaction and sex scenes. Loved the lingering shots of his hand on her back.

Claire Danes probably has the best shot at an Oscar out of the three because her role is the strongest. She just is Mirabelle. That's all there is to it. I was waiting for the scene where she goes off her meds cause those were the most emotional for me in the book. I've never had meds, but I've had those days (weeks, months, years). There's the big snap at work, which was a nice shot, but the can't-get-out-of-bed montage didn't quite hit for me. I wanted it to be longer, to sit on her in bed and really drive home that she physically can't get up. The rest of the movie she juggles the emotions really well. There's a lot of crying and almost-crying but the best scenes are when she forces out glimpses of assertiveness, amusement or seduction through Mirabelle's cocoon of awkwardness.

Mirabelle's friends in the movie probably could have been cut entirely. They only have one scene and neither of them really register. Mirabelle's parents on the other hand are a perfect example of character efficiency. Sam Bottoms and Francis Conroy do an amazing job. With almost no dialogue their scenes enter some bizarre level of transcendence.

There were a few things I missed from the book (and script). Mirabelle going to art galleries with her friends and having enough wine to become what she thinks is the center of attention but in actuality she's merely risen to the level of normal human interaction. The other scene is when she joins the conversation with Ray's friends in New York, breaking free of her role as a young trophy girl on Ray's arm and earning respect.

I never saw "Hilary & Jackie" so I didn't know what to expect from Anand Tucker. There's some interesting choices in the movie. A lot of pretty panorama shots. Some really great locations (wooo Silverlake!), the exterior of Mirabelle's apartment was perfect with it's funky up and down steps and disconnected balconies. An odd choice of music. There's a really heavy score that sounds very old, right out of classic Hollywood, almost ironic. A few oldies songs also popped up in the soundtrack curiously too. It all sort of works for the most part though. A lot of location/panorama cutaways in the editing, a lot of hopping around in general. There were a few scenes I wish they hadn't cut out of so quickly. I already sort of mentioned the narration. It's not as good as it could of been. When Ray and Mirabelle have their first date, the narration was awkward. If the movie had had more narration it wouldn't have been so noticeable, but since it was used sparingly it made the scene stick out.

More special effects in the movie then I expected. And the slow downs...oh man the slow downs. I work in post production now so these tricks are really transparent to me, but there's a lot of shots they slowed down after the fact for this movie...and it doesn't look too hot. Trailing, blurring, strobing, ick, ick, ick. I know I shouldn't bad mouth a popular effect that keeps me employed but too many films are relying on fake slow motion when the technology just isn't there yet. Either give it a few more years or put some damn forethought into it and shoot the scenes in real slow motion.

I wasn't expecting a credit so I got a little giddy when I saw my name on screen. Made me wish I hadn't seen the movie alone cause I really wanted to elbow someone and say "hey that's me!" Instead I just smiled like an idiot for a good fifteen minutes after I left the theater.

This turned out longer then I'd anticipated. Sorry about that. I sometimes wish I was a movie critic.

Labels: critiqua