Three Good Ones

I loved The Lucky Ones. Maybe it was the characters. Maybe it was the dialogue. Maybe it's the huge girl crush I have on Rachel McAdams (who was amazing in this role). At any rate, it was all working. The Lucky Ones is a film I've been waiting to see for months. And even with my high expectations, I was not let down. Many people may not have even heard of this film. It's currently in a semi-limited release, but I really encourage people to seek it out. It tells the story of three army vets on leave (well, two on leave, one going home for good) who meet and end up driving across the country together after an airport mishap. It's unfair to lump this film in with all of the other disappointing war movies that have been released in the last year or so. This film isn't about the war. It's about the people. The three characters really could have been anyone. And on that level I think everyone can see a bit of themselves in each character. I know I could. Tim Robbins' subtle sorrow, Michael Pena's comic cynicism and McAdams' unwavering optimism come together and create an environment that I thoroughly enjoyed being in. The Lucky Ones is one of my favorite films of the year.

Note to Hollywood studio bosses: we like adult films with adult actors about adult things. Nights in Rodanthe was surprisingly quite enjoyable. Given the September release date I was a little apprehensive about Rodanthe, but it turns out I didn't really need to be. Diane Lane and Richard Gere reunite and find each other at a North Carolina inn, Lane running it for a friend, and Gere visiting the husband of a previous patient. Like previous films in this blog, Rodanthe is something that could have turned into complete mush if not for the writer and director. And Lane and Gere, of course. Oddly enough I felt as though the film lost a little bit of momentum and charm after the characters took their relationship to the next level; and the whole part when they actually do take that next step seemed kind of silly and over the top. But those are only a few minor complaints in an otherwise high quality drama. One more note: watching Diane Lane dance and do shots is way more fun than watching Seth Rogen smoke pot.

Shia is on fiah! Continuing his global box office domination Shia LaBeouf has again treated us to an unexpectedly solid thriller. He's 22. Eagle Eye is a sharp and smart thriller in the spirit of Enemy of the State (a great film). LaBeouf and Michelle Monaghan star as normal joes whose lives are turned upside down when they are unwittingly "activated" and thrown into a world of cyber and domestic terrorism. There's quite a bit of action here to keep you pinned to your seat - the airport baggage chase sequence was particularly fun. LaBeouf and Monaghan are great and work really well together. Like I said before, solid thriller.

TV Premiere Week

My life got a little fuller this week with the beginning of the new fall TV season. Over the past four or five years I've been careful not to get too wrapped up in new television series...you know, so I'm actually able to leave the house or go outside on a weeknight. Successfully only 30 Rock and The Office have nestled their way into my viewing schedule and they both air on Thursdays anyway. I've historically been indoors and at home Thursday nights ever since I can remember. Moving on. Tuesday was the premiere of Law & Order: SVU and it was awesome as usual. Solid acting. Solid story. Basically everything I've come to expect from SVU. Thursday brought me the premieres of both The Office and ER. I can't believe how much I missed my shows! It's like not seeing your friends for three months! The Office was great. It was really funny, it tied up some loose ends from the May finale and, the best part - Jim and Pam. *Sigh.* Lastly was ER. Yes I still watch ER. I started watching ER when I was 12. It's not something I can just turn off and walk away from. It's called loyalty people. The premiere of ER saw the death of one of the main characters and it was deeply moving and emotional. Very good episode. I was very pleased with all of the premieres. It's given me very high hopes for the season to come. Now I'm just waiting until October 30th and the premiere of 30 Rock.

The First Exclusively TV Post

Sunday night was the 60th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards. Let's start at the beginning and just go down the line. First off, at least this year's ceremony was not "in the round" like last year. That was awful. I'm glad someone came to their senses. Unfortunately, someone else wandered away from their common sense and decided it'd be a good idea to have the reality host nominees host the Emmys. I hate reality television. I don't think Outstanding Reality Competition should be a category and I really don't think Outstanding Reality Show Host should be a category. If you want an Emmy for hosting a TV show go to the Daytime Emmys. This is primetime baby! We honor ACTING here. And Jeff Probst can't even put on a tie? Really? The first winner of the evening was Jeremy Piven, picking up his third consecutive Emmy for his performance in Entourage. Thank God he dissed the opening of the show. It was dreadfully unfunny. I will say that the Emmys are less exciting for me now that I watch very few of the nominated shows. But still, it's nice to see everyone out and about.

Let's talk winners:
Drama Series: Mad Men
Comedy Series: 30 Rock (YES!)
Lead Actor Drama: Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad
Lead Actress Drama: Glenn Close, Damages
Lead Actor Comedy: Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock (YES!)
Lead Actress Comedy: Tina Fey, 30 Rock (YES!)
Supporting Actor Drama: Zeljko Ivanek, Damages
Supporting Actress Drama: Dianne Wiest, In Treatment
Supporting Actor Comedy: Jeremy Piven, Entourage
Supporting Actress Comedy: Jean Smart, Samantha Who?

Other notable highlights:
Ricky Gervais was hysterical. His bit was really good. Josh Groban did an admiral job singing popular TV theme songs (although the idea of it was kinda hookey). Steve Martin's presentation to Tommy Smothers was also a comedic highlight. Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart. Don Rickles and Kathy Griffin. Need I say more? On a different note, boo to ABC for completely cutting off and going to commercial during the acceptance speech of Kirk Ellis (I think it was him, winning writer of John Adams) because he stated he found it to be wonderful that 200 years ago our leaders were able to intellectually articulate their thoughts with complete sentences. How dare he favor intelligent leaders! The nerve! I'm tired of ABC cutting people off. Sally Field last year anyone? Ugh...Happier notes...Tom Hanks calling Sally Field mama when she presented him with the best mini-series award for John Adams was very clever. Tina Fey won for best writing for a comedy series! Yea! Laura Linney won for best actress in a TV mini-series or movie! Yea! Cynthia Nixon won for best guest actress on a drama series for her guest spot on SVU! I wanted Cynthia to win this award for a year. The episode she won for was the season premiere of SVU last September and she was absolutely fantastic! Mary Tyler Moore and Betty White together was really special.

All in all, not a terrible broadcast. I'm a little disappointed that The Office was shut out, but very thrilled that 30 Rock pretty much swept all the comedy categories! Ya burnt!

Back On Track

Well I'm not a week late this time. September and January are traditionally the months when Hollywood unloads their crappy movies. September is the lull between big summer movies and the Oscar season. While January is after all the big Oscar bait movies and before the spring fluff. However, in the past few years, the tide has been turning, as evidenced by the two movies I saw this weekend: Ghost Town and Lakeview Terrace (yes, Lakeview Terrace).

I adored Ghost Town. It's so rare today that a big studio comedy centers around adults and adult themes. There were no teenagers. No slackers in their mid-twenties. And no one getting high or drunk. It was just sweet and very charming. Ricky Gervais stars as Bertram Pincus, a New York dentist who is very much not a people person, to put it mildly. During a routine colonoscopy Bertram dies for seven minutes ("a bit less") and when he awakes he realizes he sees dead people. Chased through the streets of New York, Bertram is finally cornered by the deceased Frank (Greg Kinnear) who offers him a deal: help me and I'll make sure none of these other dead people bother you. Frank and Bertram then team up in an attempt to halt Frank's widow (Tea Leoni) from remarrying. Gervais is great in his first Hollywood leading man role. He's an unlikely romantic leading man, but with his humor and sarcasm and vulnerability he totally pulls it off. Kinnear and Leoni are great too. Leoni I found to be particularly funny. Oh and Kristen Wiig too. Stealing scenes just like she does on SNL. On a different note, Ghost Town was beautifully shot. All of the exterior shots were awesome. It's not hard to make New York in the fall look pretty, but it's really special here. I'm convinced some CGI was added.

Judging by the previews Lakeview Terrace looked pretty bad. I chose to see it for two reasons. One, curiosity. And two, Patrick Wilson. I very much enjoy Patrick Wilson and I really have no idea why. My preconceived notions of Lakeview Terrace improved once I learned that it was directed by Neil LaBute. He's no slacker. And I think in the hands of a less experienced and less talented director, this movie could have really turned into something below mediocre. The bottom line here is that Able Turner (Sam Jackson) is an asshole. No, really. And quite possibly the worst neighbor ever. Rather than just becoming a run of the mill movie about neighborhood violence and hatred, I think the movie is saved by its characters. The writer and director went to great lengths to fully develop the characters. Instead of just watching random people lash out at each other, the film becomes almost a character study in how different people deal with different situations. It's really rooted in the reality of its characters. This isn't a great film, but it really wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.

A Week Late!

The weekend of September 12th I again was out of town. I was forced to catch up on the new releases during the week. Out of the four major releases for that weekend I chose to see two - Burn After Reading and Righteous Kill. I considered The Women, but opted for De Niro and Pacino instead.

Burn After Reading was so odd. But what else would you expect from a Coen brothers movie? It's so difficult to review something like this because it's just so weird and different - it doesn't follow the usual rules. The performances are the big draw here and they pretty much deliver. Brad Pitt seemed to be the bright spot and his character provided most of the laughs in the movie. Another bright spot was J.K. Simmons (fresh off his great performance in Juno) who provided a few great laughs himself. As an avid movie goer it's a rare treat to see so many serious actors take on such quirky characters. I wish they'd do more stuff like this. Just to see someone like George Clooney actually make vivid facial expressions is so much fun. I'd love to see all of them - Pitt, Clooney, Tilda Swinton, etc do more comedic roles.


I don't really know how I feel about Righteous Kill. I didn't hate it, but I wasn't all the way won over by it either. First off, any time De Niro and Pacino share the screen is amazing. Just to watch them interact and play off of each other is really fun. Funnily enough I think the opening credits set my expectations too high. There was a lot of energy and great editing going on during the credits. But I'm not sure the rest of the story lived up to the credits' hype. It's weird, I can't describe what I didn't like about the film, but it just didn't totally do it for me.

On a side note, I think this may be the first weekend in Hollywood history when two different films opening on the same day each used the term "cluster f***." I was treated to this zesty noun in both Burn and Kill.

Saturday September 13 marked the beginning of my fall TV viewing with the season premiere of Saturday Night Live. As I noted earlier, I was out of town and unfortunately I missed the premiere. I know. But thankfully, like everyone else, I've watched the opening sketch featuring Tina Fey as Sarah Palin and Amy Poehler as Hilary Clinton. Two words: Hilarious. Brilliant.

Slow Week and The First Special Occasion Post

It was a pretty slow week at the box office this weekend as nothing of importance was released. Yeah, that's right, Bangkok Dangerous does not meet the criteria to warrant any kind of positive recognition. Nick Cage should know better. Does he want his Oscar taken away like Cuba and Halle? Anyway, without any flashy Hollywood blockbuster to distract me this weekend, I took a jot over to the theater that plays the good movies. I was eager to see Frozen River, a film that's been picking up film festival prizes just about everywhere, including the Grand Jury Prize at this year's Sundance. To be poetic, Frozen River is about survival. Melissa Leo plays a woman who stumbles into the business of human smuggling after her husband runs out on her and their two children and takes all of their savings with him. I liked quite a few things about this film. First, I liked that the issue of human smuggling and border jumping didn't take place in the Southwest. Instead, the bulk of the story takes place between New York and Canada on Native American Reservations. This definitely puts a new perspective on this issue. Second, the performances were really good too. I wouldn't call all of the characters likeable, but you could relate to them on a human level. Oscar buzz seems to be starting already for Melissa Leo and I think that's pretty warranted. I wouldn't mind her getting nominated, but I'm not sure if it's winning material. But overall I think it's a good film and I enjoyed watching it.

Well I posted my review for Frozen River yesterday and only realized this morning that I completely forgot to include my first "special occasion" post that I mentioned in my very first blog entry. The first post regarding theatre! This weekend I was fortunate enough to catch a performance of A Chorus Line. I had never seen this show before and I'm thrilled I finally got to see it. I really enjoyed the simplicity of this show, but that's not to say it's boring. The singing and dancing was great and I was very surprised at how risque it was at times. I had thought (I have no idea why) that it was a very G-Rated musical, but it's not. And that's not a bad thing. It was pretty cheeky and clever at times too. I had a good time!

Hamlet and the Traitor

The first film this week has been described by critics as this year's Napoleon Dynamite. That seems like a fair comparison, although I think I enjoyed Hamlet 2 a bit more. However, just like Napoleon Dynamite, Hamlet 2 seems to be the most fun when you're quoting and talking about it with friends. Hamlet 2 had several smaller parts that I enjoyed more than the film as a whole. I really liked Catherine Keener's dialogue. She was just so sarcastic. I loved that Elisabeth Shue played herself as a nurse and wore her nurse outfit in every scene (except for the last), even if the scene was no where near a hospital. A nice touch was also the presence of David Arquette. That made for some good laughs simply because it was so absurd that he was there (he was some nice eye candy though). And I enjoyed how inappropriate the film was at times, plus some of the songs in the play are just plain catchy. But as a whole, this one kinda fell right down the middle for me.


Traitor I liked a lot more as a whole. This is that rare film that comes around once or twice a year that's just a really smart and entertaining adult film. No gratuitous explosions or pervasive strong language, just good solid acting and a great story. Don Cheadle was great as always and I really enjoyed Guy Pearce's performance here too.