COMING SOON

"Howl" is the biopic on Allen Ginsberg and his poem that featured the taboo subjects, at the time, of drug use and homosexuality. This poetry caused Mr.Ginsberg in 1957 to face charges of obscenity. The film recently played at the Los Angeles Outfest Film Festival, which unfortunately I missed, as well as the festivals in San Francisco, Berlin and Sundance. James Franco plays Ginsberg and the film features David Strathairm, Jeff Daniels, Treat Williams, Mary-Louise Parker and "Mad Men" 's Jon Hamm.

"Howl" is due in U.S. theaters on September 24, 2010.

COMING SOON

I have been a big fan of the controversial filmmaker, Todd Solondz since his first film, "Welcome to the Dollhouse" (1995) and I have seen all of his work since then. I just love his strange and quirky sense of humor and how he's not afraid to tackle unpleasant subjects in his films. I think Mr. Solondz is the only person who could find levity in pedophilia.

His latest is called "Life During Wartime" which is supposed to be a part sequel and part variation of his great film ,"Happiness" (1998). It has new actors playing some of the characters from the original film. It looks really good and has an excellent cast which include Ally Sheedy, Paul "Pee Wee" Reubens and the always fascinating Charlotte Rampling. The film has already been seen in several prominent film festivals including the Telluride, Toronto, New York and Venice (where it won Best Screenplay) since last year.

"Life During Wartime"is due in U.S. theaters on July 23, 2010.

I AM LOVE (LO SONO L'AMORE) (2010)

Written by Luca Guadagnino & Barbara Alberti


Directed by Luca Guadagnino


Where & When: Arclight Cinemas, Hollywood, CA. June 20, 2010 7:55PM



"I Am Love", from filmmaker, Luca Guadagnino, is a story of a woman swept up in an all consuming passion and the danger that comes from following it blindly. It begins on a rare snowy day in Milan with the Recchi family gathering together to celebrate the birthday of Edoardo Tangredi, Sr. (Gabriele Ferzetti), the wealthy family's patriarch. The ailing yet still quite formidable man announces he is retiring and will leave behind his successful textile plant company not only to his son, Tangredi Recchi (Pippo Delbono) but to his grandson, Edoardo Jr. (Flavio Parenti).

Tilda Swinton appears as Emma, a Russian who had left behind her mysterious past life there for a new start in Italy. She married Tangredi and they have three children: Edoardo, Jr, Gianluca (Mattia Zaccaro) and Elizabetta (Alba Rohrwacher). Later that evening, Antonio (Edoardo Gabbriellini), a good friend of Eduardo Jr., has brought over a beautiful cake he created for the celebration. Very impressed with his skill as a baker and strangely intrigued by this young man, Emma invites him to stay for the party but politely declines the offer.

Following the suggestion of her son, Emma and his grandmother (Marisa Berenson) take his fiancé, Ida (Maria Paiato) to have lunch at the fine restaurant where Antonio is the chef. Antonio's food stirs something in Emma, a deep craving that she has suppressed for quite a while. After lunch, she has a strong desire to get closer to Antonio, seeking him out to thank him for the delicious meal. She discovers his plan to open his own restaurant with the help of Eduardo in San Remo where he lives.

Elizabetta, who had been dating a boy, has come out to her mother as a lesbian. She is going to college to become an artist in Nice and invites her mother to come to meet her new love interest. After saying that she is going to visit her daughter, Emma actually goes off to San Remo. Emma conveniently runs into Antonio in town and invites her to see his home. It doesn't take long before the two are swept up in torrid love affair.

During a business trip in London, Edoardo Jr. struggles with his role in the company and the future of the business. He also grows suspicious as he notices something unusual happening with his friend, Antonio as he creates a distance between them. Emma is soon torn between remaining in her comfortable, privileged life with her intimidating family or follow the opportunity for a fresh start with a younger man of simple means.

Swinton gives another amazing performance and so mesmerizing to watch. She is a handsome woman and I just love that androgynous quality of her face that just make her even more fascinating. This is a conventional story told very unconventionally. "I Am Love" is fragmented, so it doesn't tell or show you directly what is happening all of the time, so you have to be paying close attention to understand what is going on. 

Although I did find "I Am Love" engaging, I can't say I actually liked it. During most of the film, it just made me think I was watching a very expensive student film with top notch actors involved. Guadagnino felt the need to throw in way too many unnecessary cinematic tricks like blurry images, many quick cuts, extreme close-ups and slow motion shots that didn't add anything and just made the film feel directionless and unpolished. His decision to loudly blast the musical score at the audience during apparently important scenes was really obnoxious. A woman sitting next to me during the film actually covered her ears.

The director seemed to be struggling with wanting to create a Hollywood-styled melodrama and making an esoteric art film but has only succeeded in making neither particularly well. There are certainly some beautifully crafted moments to be found in this film yet not nearly enough to recommend anyone sitting through "I Am Love".

SEX AND THE CITY 2 (2010)

Written & Directed by Michael Patrick King




Where & When: Arclight Cinemas, Hollywood, CA. June 7, 2010 7:05 PM


The latest film based on the HBO television program, "Sex and the City" has been bashed by critics and although it is far from a box office flop, it's numbers are down compared to the first film. While some of the criticism is definitely warranted, I do think the film does have some fun moments but not nearly enough as it should.

The film starts up two years after the last film ended and Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker) and Big (Chris Noth) have settled into married life. However, not all is idyllic as she thought it would be. Carrie is unhappy that Big doesn't want to go out and hit the streets with her. He just wants to sit at home, eat take-out and watch the boob tube with her. How horrible.

Miranda (Cynthia Nixon) hates how she is treated at her job, Charlotte (Kristin Davis) is not nearly as happy as she thought she would be raising children despite even having a nanny to help her out and Samantha (Kim Cattrall) is very unhappy about aging and plans on putting a stop to it by using expensive hormones and vitamins to trick her body in to thinking it's younger. These ladies are unsatisfied with their pampered lives but what should they do? After attending the over-the-top wedding of Stanford (Willie Garson) and Anthony (Mario Cantone), Samantha gets an offer by an Arab business man to discuss doing P.R. for him and he invites her and the girls to stay at a luxury hotel in Abu Dhabi. This little trip should be the answer to all of their problems.

While there, they experience the obvious culture clash and behave like typical ugly Americans except for Miranda who at least made some attempt to do some research before arriving. Carrie and Miranda go shopping in a bazaar, when she runs into Aidan (John Corbett), her former boyfriend. They agree to meet for dinner later, sparks fly and soon they briefly rekindle a little intimacy. Carrie freaks out that she kissed Aidan and wants to tell Big what happened but Samantha advises her to at least sleep on it before she does anything. I'm sure you can guess what she decides to do and that decision could put her marriage in jeopardy.

Although I did like some of this film, I think it had more to do with the nostalgic revisiting of these characters that I love and less about the movie that was made using them. The film started off okay with the wedding but as soon as they landed in Abu Dhabi, my mind started to wander for a while until Aidan showed up. I thought something really juicy would happen but they just didn't go there. I think this was the problem with the film as a whole, not enough juice. They didn't work deeply enough with the characters to have them do anything particularly interesting. Everything was just focused on the surface, like mainly on their clothes and shoes.

I think the surprise success of the first film made Mr. King feel that this sequel needed to be even bigger and better, which caused it to collapse under the weight of all that excess. So, having Liza Minnelli performing at a gay wedding ceremony as well as other assorted, pointless cameo appearances that included Miley Cyrus and Penelope Cruz, then having the girls riding camels in the middle of the desert in high heels while later singing a very painful rendition of "I Am Woman" in a bar in Abu Dhabi, and giving Samantha ridiculous golden, spiked shoulder pads to wear didn't help make the film any better. All it did was highlight how far they have lost sight of what made the television show so great.

So the real question is: "Should I waste any time and see this film?" I would say that if you were a fan of the television show, the movie is watchable but very disappointing. If not, well, to be honest, you weren't going to like the movie anyway.

COMING SOON

I just saw this trailer today for the forthcoming film, "I Am Love" and I was completely mesmerized. I'm not sure what it's about but the film looks sexy, intense, thrilling, and it stars one of my favorite actresses, Academy Award winner, Tilda Swinton, so I don't need to know much more to know I will be checking out this movie. I just hope that this trailer is not the best thing about this film.

"I Am Love" is due in U.S. theaters on June 18, 2010.

COMING SOON

It is now May which means it is the beginning of the launch of the summer movies. One of the movies I'm looking forward in seeing is "Sex and the City 2". The television show was one of my favorites and the feature film was a big hit in 2008 so of course, there had to be a sequel. This one looks like it's going to deal with life after marriage for Carrie and Big but that doesn't mean she not going to find time to hang out with the girls. There will be plenty of fabulous clothes, exotic locations, the return of Aidan and an appearance by Liza Minnelli. It looks like a lot of fun.

"Sex and the City 2" is due in U.S. theaters on May 27, 2010.

CHLOE (2010)

Written by Erin Cressida Wilson



Directed by Atom Egoyan



Where & When: AMC Century City 15, Century City, CA. April 2, 2010 5:05PM



"Chloe" is another foreign-language film that has been remade for American audiences and once again it has been translated very, very poorly. This film, based on the 2004 French film, "Nathalie", follows the same basic plot but loses all of the style and subtlety of the original.

Catherine (Julianne Moore) and David (Liam Neeson), a couple who live in Toronto, Canada and have been married for many years. She is an OB-GYN and he is a college professor and they have a teenage son, Michael (Max Thieriot). They live in a beautiful home and their lives appears to be perfect. David is turning 50 and Catherine decides to throw him a surprise birthday party. David teaches at a college out of town so he needs to fly back home. All of the guests are waiting for David's arrival when he calls Catherine and tells her he missed his flight and won't home until late.

David is home in the morning and apologizes for missing the party. David's cell phone goes off and Catherine decides to check it. She sees a text that says, "Thanks for great evening" and attached is a photo of David with an attractive girl. Catherine is now suspicious and thinks her husband may have missed his flight intentionally to carry on with an affair.

Catherine has seen a young woman that lives near her office and later discovers that she is a prostitute. She runs into her at restaurant and decides to hire her to do a job. Blond, buxom and beautiful, Chloe (Amanda Seyfried) seems like the perfect choice to try and seduce Catherine's husband to see what he will do and to test his fidelity. She gives Chloe instructions on where she could meet her husband and to report back to her all of the details.

After she meets with David, Chloe tells Catherine that nothing much happened but he did say that he was very attracted to her. Disturbed by this news, Catherine wants Chloe to meet with her husband again to see if he will act on this desire.

This time when Chloe reports in, she informs Catherine that they had a sexual encounter. Catherine is upset but wants her to tell her about it. Chloe proceeds to go into the event in detail that is in bizarrely tame language for what is supposed to be an erotic thriller.

Catherine finds herself jealous but also somewhat sexually aroused. She still wants Chloe to continue seeing her husband and informing her about their trysts but soon, Catherine discovers that not everything is at all what they appear to be. Catherine gets herself wrapped up in Chloe's desires and things spiral out of control and places her family in danger.

I knew that the American remake of an interesting but very French film was going to get the Hollywood treatment but I had hoped that with a talented director like Mr. Egoyan that it wouldn't get too dumbed down but I was very wrong. "Chloe" is a film that plays like one of those soft-core porn movies shown on late night cable except with better actors and a lot less sex. This version follows the original film fairly closely in the beginning but by the end, out of nowhere, it veers into "Fatal Attraction" territory. This should be a psycholgical, sexual thriller but instead we have an overcooked, soap operatic, cheesy drama. It's a complete mess and it doesn't make any sense.

All of the actors are fine and do their best to try and elevate the material but that really should have been done to this script before they showed up to work.

Do yourself a favor and skip "Chloe" and go rent the original, "Nathalie".

VALENTINE'S DAY (2010)

Written by Katherine Fugate



Directed by Garry Marshall



Where & When: Arclight Cinemas, Hollywood, CA. February 20, 2010 5:05PM



You will be razzle-dazzled by all of the Hollywood star wattage this film has to offer and to be honest, it is quite an impressive cast but they are all wasted in this lazy and lackluster romantic comedy. Mr. Marshall is very fortunate that he was able to use either his friendship or professional relationships with these actors to get them all on board because if any of them had read the script first, they would have all ran the other way.

This film is made up of several different story lines that are tied together by one (or more) of the characters having some sort of relationship with another character in each story.

It is Valentine's day and we first meet Reed (Ashton Kutcher) who proposes to his girlfriend, Morley (Jessica Alba) one beautiful Los Angeles morning and she accepts. Reed tells his co-worker at a florist shop (George Lopez) and his good friend, Julia, (Jennifer Garner) a school teacher who are less than excited by the news but are happy for him.

Julia has found love with a doctor (Patrick Dempsey) but he is unable to spend the day with her because he has to go off on a business trip in San Francisco. It's okay because she normally spends the day with her friend, Kara, (Jessica Biel) a sports publicist who has her annual "I Hate Valentine's Day" party. Reed talks her into flying up north to surprise the doctor but he later just happens to meet the doctor at the shop. He finds out that the doctor is sending flowers to Julia as well as the wife he is supposed to be separated from. Reed now has to stop her from going.
Kara represents Sean Jackson, (Eric Dane) a football player who is contemplating retiring so he can try and have a normal life. His agent, Paula (Queen Latifah) has a new receptionist, Liz (Anne Hathaway) who just started dating Jason, (Topher Grace) who just happens to work in the mail room in the office. Jason doesn't know this but Liz moonlights as a phone sex worker and she takes calls at all hours of the day including while on the job.
Television sports reporter, Kelvin Moore (Jamie Foxx) has been sent out by his producer (Kathy Bates) to do a story on Valentine's day. He's not at all interested but he doesn't have a choice in the matter. While going around interviewing people including two young teenagers in love, (Taylor Swift and Taylor Lautner) he hears that Sean Jackson is going to make an announcement at a press conference. Kelvin knows this could be a big story for him so he goes to Kara's office to see if he can get some info from her. When he gets there, he finds her wallowing in self-pity and chocolates because of her lack of a man on Valentine's day. Despite this, sparks fly between these two but they have to get back to work.
Edgar (Hector Elizondo) and Estelle (Shirley MacLaine) have been been married for many years but she has kept a secret from him that threatens their future together. The couple are watching their grandson while his mother is away. His baby sitter (Emma Roberts) is planning to have sex with her boyfriend because they are each going away to college at different schools and they want to do something to remember each other by.
Finally on an airplane, Kate, (Julia Roberts) a captain in the U.S. Army is on a one day leave and she is sitting next to Holden, (Bradley Cooper) both on their way to L.A. In a not completely surprising little twist, they each tie together two of the other story lines.
What I liked the most about this film is that the cast was multi-ethnic and multi-cultural, exactly the way Los Angeles really is. You don't see it too often in films and it was really refreshing to see.
This film is so busy trying to cram all of these story lines in to a two hour film that everything is overly simplified, littered with cheap and unimaginative laughs and way too many implausible plot coincidences which doesn't help to make a good romantic comedy.
All of the actors do they best they can with what little they have to work with. Ms Swift's character was particularly irritating to me but she did do a good job at portraying a modern teenage girl; They talk a mile a minute but aren't actually saying anything.
"Valentine's Day" is corny and very predictable but it did have a few sweet moments but certainly not enough to keep this interesting. The film is exactly like how Los Angeles has been described by many people I know (who don't live here, of course): shiny and beautiful on the outside but shallow and empty on the inside.

COMING SOON

"Nathalie" is a 2004 French film starring Fanny Ardant, Gerard Depardieu and Emmanuelle Beart. I saw this film on cable television last year only due to channel surfing and discovered it. It is directed by Anne Fontaine, who made last year's "Coco Before Chanel". It's a psychological thriller and I really liked this film.

Here is the trailer of the original film:



This film has now been remade, renamed as "Chloe" and set in Canada by Atom Egoyan, the director of "The Sweet Hereafter" (1997) and will star Liam Neeson, Amanda Seyfried and the amazing Julianne Moore. I really not crazy about foreign language films being remade in to English language because something always manages to get lost in translation, normally everything that made the original film good but "Chloe" looks like it could possibly be interesting.

"Chloe" is due in the U.S. theaters on March 26, 2010.

NINE (2009)

Written by Michael Tolkin and Anthony Minghella



Directed by Rob Marshall



Where & When: Fairfax Cinemas, Los Angeles, CA. January 16, 2010 7:40PM


I'm sure that on paper, "Nine" sounded like a "can't miss" project with a winning recipe: you take the successful Broadway musical which was based on the classic Fellini film, "8 1/2", sprinkle in the award winning director of the 2002 Academy award winning musical film, "Chicago" and mix thoroughly with several Oscar winning actors and you will come up with something that everyone will enjoy. Unfortunately, "Nine" has arrived very flat and not very tasty.

Guido Contini, (Daniel Day-Lewis) a famous Italian film director who has committed to making his next film, "Italia" that will star film sensation and his muse, Claudia Jenssen (Nicole Kidman) although he is actually unable to write it. He is struggling with writer's block as his crew is building sets and creating costumes for an unknown project. Guido confides to his friend and costume designer, Lilli La Fleur (Judi Dench) that he is stuck and stressed out but she doesn't have much sympathy.

Memories from Guido's past haunts him that include his Mamma (Sophia Loren) and Saraghina, (Fergie) a prostitute who aroused his curiosity as a boy.

Guido takes off to a hotel along the Amalfi Coast. He's gone there to rest and help try to clear his head. Guido calls his wife, Luisa, (Marion Cotillard) a former actress, to let her know where he is and what's going on. She offers to come out but he tells her that he will be fine. The real reason is because he sent for his married mistress, Carla (Penelope Cruz) to come and keep him company. He is at least smart enough not to have her stay with him at his hotel much to Carla's disappointment.

Soon, Guido's producer and the heads of his film crew come to the hotel to work on the film but unbeknown to Guido, they also call Luisa to come and try to help. She discovers that Guido has not been alone and is fed up with his behaviour. He meets a flirty, American Vogue journalist (Kate Hudson) at the hotel bar. He is tempted by her charms but decides to go back to his wife to try and repair the damage.

They all soon return to Rome to begin to piece together the movie. Claudia Jenssen arrives to begin work on the film but is annoyed to still not have a script. Realizing this film is a lost cause, Claudia walks away from the project just as Guido's wife walks away from their marriage.

First, let me start with what I liked about this film because it will be brief. I really loved Judi Dench's musical number, "Folies Bergere" and I think it was the best performance in this film. This was mainly because she was the only one who seemed to be having any fun.

I also liked both of Ms Cotillard's numbers, " My Husband Makes Movies" and "Take It All" and Ms Cruz's "A Call From The Vatican" and Ms Hudson's original film song, "Cinema Italiano" were adequate. Although Fergie is the only true singer and gives a good musical performance, the staging of her number, "Be Italian" with all that sand is cheap looking and just really bad.

The major problem of the film, in a way is surprising but not really, is the casting of Daniel Day-Lewis as Guido. He is a great actor but he can't sing well, he can barely move his hips and he's about as Italian as I am. Three big strikes against him being convincing in a movie musical about Italians. I know Mr. Day-Lewis was up for the challenge but this was way beyond his abilities.

As for the ladies, well, nobody really embarrasses themselves but I think that is because most of them don't have anything to do. Beyond their musical numbers, Ms Kidman and Ms Hudson are on screen for just minutes and Fergie doesn't say one word. I am also happy to report that nobody is in the painful "Pierce Bronson" style of singing although Ms Loren is precariously close.

I think that Mr. Marshall didn't have a clear vision on how to put "Nine" together so this would work as a proper film musical and trying to simply repeat what he created for "Chicago" on this film was a fatal error. Most of the songs are not memorable enough and loading the film with untrained movie stars to sing them just makes it more obvious. In fact, it sort of seems that the stars were used to distract from the shortcomings of this musical and to make up for the lack of direction that this film has.

The screenplay doesn't help much either. In between the songs, nobody has nothing really interesting to say and none of the female characters are fully developed. For a film that is clearly supposed to be a big, sexy and colorful spectacle, it's too serious, dull and lifeless. "Nine" is a big disappointment and this film would have definitely would have been on the list of my least favorite films of 2009.

THE LOVELY BONES (2009)

Written by Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh & Philippa Boyens


Directed by Peter Jackson



Where & When: Arclight Cinemas, Hollywood, CA. January 11, 2010 2:15PM



"The Lovely Bones" is the story of Susie Salmon, a fourteen year old girl who is raped and murdered on December 6, 1973. Now, I know from this disturbing description that this doesn't sound like something many people would want to rush out to see in a theater or like a fun way to spend over two hours of their lives watching. And it's not. Yet this is not necessarily because of this horrific narrative. The problem lies in the way this tragic drama has been presented. Peter Jackson, the famed director of the "Lord of The Rings" trilogy, has tried to use the colorful, creative fantasy world of those films in his filmed version of the best selling novel by Alice Sebold and has come up short. Very short.

After her death, Susie (Saoirse Ronan) has not gone to heaven but in a place called, the in-between where it's her comforting version of a perfect world. She watches as her family grieves for her and narrates the aftermath of this story. Jack (Mark Wahlberg) becomes obsessed with trying to find his daughter's murderer and in the process neglects the rest of his family which includes their other daughter, Lindsey (Rose McIver). His wife, Abigail (Rachel Weisz), while also in deep pain, is trying to find a way to cope with this unbelievable loss but her husband's volatile behavior is hardly helping this situation. Jack calls Abigail's mother, Lynn (Susan Sarandon), a wild, hard drinking kind of gal, to come and help the distraught family.

The police investor, Len Fenerman (Michael Imperioli) completely understands Jack desperately wanting to help solve this case but strongly advises him to allow the police to do this job. Unable to stand being in the house any longer, Abigail runs off to California, starting a new life as a migrant worker.

Susie's murderer, George Harvey (Stanley Tucci) lives across the street from the Salmon family. He is cool and calm as the police question him, asking if he saw anything out of the ordinary. Mr. Harvey builds doll houses and while the Detective admires his work, he realizes he left out Susie's charm bracelet on a piece of doll furniture but quickly manages to hide it before it could be discovered.

Jack becomes highly suspicious of George, perhaps with Susie's assistance, and convinced that he has murdered his little girl. He decides to handle him on his own. One night, Jack follows George, armed with a baseball bat, into a cornfield. When he was about to strike to get a confession, Jack stumbles across a young couple instead. Startled and thinking he is trying to attack them, the boy disarms the bat from Jack and beats him with it as George silently watches. Jack is hospitalized while Lindsey decides to help her father investigate and tries to get some evidence against Mr. Harvey.

While "The Lovely Bones" is beautifully rendered and remains fairly faithful to the novel, my concern with trying to make a film on this subject still leaves me troubled. The book was beautifully written, told from Susie's point of view yet when you try to translate what happens visually, a lot of power of the novel is lost and much more difficult to digest.

"The Lovely Bones" shifts in tone from a distressing murder and the aftermath to a brightly colorful, fantasy afterlife and it just doesn't work as a whole. The film works best at the beginning until we get to the murder, where it slowly continues to drift in uncertain directions. I know this would be challenge for any film maker to make but I don't know if Jackson was necessarily the best choice to try and tackle this material. He was unable to stir compelling dramatic elements that is certainly needed for this story to work at all as a film.

Tucci, completely unrecognizable here, is very frightening and gives the best performance in the film as Mr. Harvey. Ronan, who earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress in the period drama, "Atonement" when she was thirteen, is a very talented young lady and quite sure she has a big future ahead in films. Weisz is absolutely wasted, given nothing meaningful to do beyond displaying variations in sobbing and grief.

I really don't know if "The Lovely Bones" is something that is actually filmable or should have even been attempted. Yet in the end of this cinematic version, there was no emotional payoff and left no deep impression. I would highly recommend reading the book instead for a far more satisfying journey.

A SINGLE MAN (2009)

Written by Tom Ford & David Scearce

Directed by Tom Ford

Where & When: Pasadena Playhouse 7, Pasadena, CA. December 24, 2009 8:30PM

"A Single Man", a stylish, masterful work by first-time filmmaker, Tom Ford,  takes place in one day, November 30, 1962. George Falconer (Colin Firth), a British college professor living in Los Angeles, has woken up from another bad dream about his deceased, young lover, Jim (Matthew Goode). He has decided that this would be the right time to end his life so he will no longer feel the excruciating pain he's been suffering since the loss.

George goes through the motions like this was any other day but he's carefully making arrangements before he takes his life. He goes to the university to teach his class but feels inspired to simply just speak on what's actually on his mind. He gives an impassioned speech to his class which seemed to go over their heads. It does leave an impression on one of his students, Kenny (Nicholas Hoult). Intrigued by his teacher, Kenny would love to spend some time to get to know him better. Flattered but declining his offer, George proceeds to head to his office to clean out his desk.

George methodically continues his errands; going to the bank to empty his safety deposit box that includes a nude photo of Jim, then goes to gun shop to purchase bullets. Once home, he neatly arranges all of his financial paper work, keys and the clothes he should be buried in. Now, George seems ready to proceed with the task at hand.

After several attempts to commit the act, he cannot seem to actually go through with it. George walks over goes to his neighbor's house where a beautiful woman named Charley (Julianne Moore) answers the door. She is another British expatriate who had a brief romantic encounter with him many years ago and now just very good friends. Bruised by life and a little lonely, Charley's goal for this evening is to simply smoke, drink heavily and have a good time with her neighbor. 

George manages to eventually escape from Charley's desperate grasp and decides to head to a local bar. This just happens to be the place he had met Jim years ago. By the time George places his order, Kenny, his student walks into the bar. They spend the evening talking and taking a moonlit swim together before finally going back to George's home for a nightcap. Although very attracted to the young man, will it be enough to keep him from going through with his plan?

I had never given much thought about Mr. Firth before as an actor. I had seen him in quite of few films over the years and I thought he was fine but he never really left much of an impression on me. Perhaps it was the parts he has played or that he is just not one of those actors who feels the need to showboat but this film has certainly given him an opportunity to shine. He gives an absolutely amazing portrayal of a gay man who is stifled by a society that doesn't want to know that he exists and feels he has lost the only reason to keep on living. He just crushed me during the moment that George is informed that his lover has died and he is not invited to the funeral. The look of heartbreak and pain on his face just devastated me. Despite her English accent being slightly wobbly at times, Ms. Moore has never failed to electrify every moment she is on the screen and she once again gives another astonishing performance.

"A Single Man" is based on the semi-autobiographical novel by Christopher Isherwood with Tom Ford, best known as a top fashion designer for Gucci before launching his own line, co-writing the screenplay in addition to directing. I'm still quite amazed at what he has accomplished with his very first film. Mr. Ford may have spent most of his career designing clothing but it's quite apparent that he spent quite a bit of time preparing and studying cinema to be able to craft this work of art. You can see the influence of some of the great European film makers and their work during the 60's, most notably the Italian masters like Federico Fellini and Micheangelo Antonioni throughout "A Single Man". I am also impressed by the great work of cinematographer, Eduard Grau. His brilliant compositions, close-ups and use of light, color and black and white film help create the many moods throughout the film. It's really no surprise that the art direction and the costumes are impeccable. I cannot praise "A Single Man" enough. I highly recommend that you see this wonderfully beautiful film.

BROKEN EMBRACES (LOS ABRAZOS ROTOS) (2009)

Written & Directed by Pedro Almodovar



Where & When: Arclight Cinemas, Hollywood, CA, December 11, 2009 7:35PM



Harry Caine is a blind writer currently living in Madrid but he is also Mateo Blanco who, years ago, was a major film director in Spain. We discover how this happened in the latest film by Pedro Almodovar, "Broken Embraces" which mixes film noir, high drama, outrageous humor and classic Hollywood to create another one of his beautifully unique cinematic visions.

We meet Harry (Lluis Homar) who has just finished seducing a beautiful young lady, when his long time agent and friend, Judit (Blanca Portillo) comes in to the apartment to check on him. After the girl departs, Judit's son, Diego (Tamar Novas) arrives. Diego assists Harry in writing his movie scripts. While working, Harry hears from the television that wealthy businessman, Ernesto Martel (Jose Luis Gomez) has died. The name brings back memories to Harry and we are taken back to 1992. Lena Rivas, (Penelope Cruz) is Mr. Martel's secretary. Her father is dying of cancer and she cannot afford the care he needs. She calls a madam that sets up jobs for her as a prostitute when she is in desperate need of cash.

When the client calls Lena to set up an appointment, she realises it is her boss, Mr. Martel. She quickly hangs up on him. The madam informs Lena that he was well aware of her part-time activities and insisted she call him if Lena arranged for any work. Lena decides to use this to her advantage to help her family and becomes Mr. Martel's mistress.

We are back in the present and a strange young man who calls himself, Ray X (Ruben Ochandiano) pays Harry a visit. Ray X is a film maker and wants Harry to write a scandalous screenplay for him based on Ernesto Martel to film. Harry turns him down but he recognizes his voice. Harry has Diego go through some old photos and discovers that Ray X is actually Ernesto Martel, Jr. We also see a photo of Lena.

This takes us back to 1994, when Harry is Mateo and he is in the process of making his new film, "Chicas y Maletas" which just happens to be very similar to Mr. Almodovar's classic film. Mateo is searching for a leading lady and Lena, who has always wanted to be an actress, auditions. She takes the nerdy and flamboyant Ernesto Jr. with her to film her audition. Mateo is captivated by Lena and hires her immediately.

Ernesto Sr. is obsessed with Lena and doesn't want to share her with anyone. He is against the idea of her making the film but Lena insists. He wants to make her happy, so he decides to become a producer on the film. This way he can be close and keep a eye of Lena. He also has his son follow her around and videotape everything she does. Mr. Martel watches the footage later with the help of a lip reader (Lena Duenas) to inform him of every word that is spoken to Lena.

Despite Mr. Martel's erratic behavior, this doesn't stop Mateo and Lena from beginning an intense and passionate affair. They manage to distract Ernesto Jr. long enough so they can have brief moments together but soon Mr. Martel catches the love birds. Lena tells Mr. Martel that she is leaving him and he retaliates by pushing her down the stairs. He rushes her to the hospital and begs her for forgiveness.

Lena still wants to leave Mr. Martel but he threatens to pull the plug on the movie if she does. She decides to stay until the film is complete. Once the film is done, Lena and Mateo run off to the Canary Islands to start a new life. Everything is perfect in a perfect, new location until they discover an advertisement announcing the movie premiere of "Chicas y Maletas" They know this is just a way for Mr. Martel to get them to come back to Madrid. They resist until they read that the film has received many bad reviews. Mateo is furious that Mr. Martel has destroyed all of his hard work, so they reluctantly decide to go back to see if they can salvage the film.

On the way back, they are involved in a terrible car accident that has very tragic results which leads to the end of Mateo Blanco and the beginning of Harry Caine. There are more secrets that are revealed before we reach the dramatic conclusion of this film and Mateo Blanco's film.

There is a lot going on in this film (perhaps a little too much) and it also feels a little long, but Mr. Almodvar has the confidence and the talent to make it all work. He is in control the entire way and he makes sure it all pays off in the end.

The director has created another great part for Ms Cruz to showcase her amazing gifts. By having her play an actress, this gives her an opportunity to show all that she is capable of, which doesn't always happen in the films she makes in Hollywood. The film has plenty of great performances, especially from Mr. Homar and from Mr. Almodovar's cast of reliable supporting players including the welcome reappearance of Rossy de Palma although it was way too brief.

I have to admit that "Broken Embraces" may not one of my favorite films by Mr. Almodovar but it is still a very good film and you should find the time to see this.

VALENTINE'S DAY

I know this is way too early to be even thinking about this holiday especially since we haven't even celebrated Christmas yet but I saw this trailer and this looks interesting.

"Valentine's Day" is the latest film from Garry Marshall and it features an incredible all-star cast that includes Julia Roberts, Bradley Cooper, Anne Hathaway, Jamie Foxx, Shirley MacLaine, Queen Latifah and Taylor Lautner (I listed my favorite actors from the large cast). This follows this year's hit, all-star, romantic comedy that was released around Valentine's day, "He's Just Not That into You". I guess they are hoping lightning strikes twice. We'll see.

"Valentine's Day" is due to be released in the U.S. on February 12, 2010.

NEW YORK I LOVE YOU (2009)

Written by Hall Powell, Israel Horovitz, Shuji Iwai, Hu Hong & Yao Meng, Joshua Marston, Xan Cassavettes & Stephen Winter, Jeff Nathanson, Anthony Minghella, Natalie Portman, Faith Akin, Yvan Attal, Olivier Lecot and Suketu Mehta



Directed by Faith Akin, Yvan Attal, Allen Hughes, Shunji Iwai, Wen Jiang, Joshua Marston, Mira Nair, Brett Ratner, Shekhar Kapur and Natalie Portman

Where & When: Fairfax Cinemas, Los Angeles, CA. November 12, 2009, 7:25PM


I had said in a previous post that I was very interested in seeing "New York, I love You", so Dean and I went to go to go see it today. To say I was disappointed is an understatement. This film is really bad. Shockingly bad, considering all of the apparent talent behind the cameras.

This film is a collection of ten short film by ten directors that are tied together to create what is supposed to be a loving tribute to the big apple. None of these films are really any good but some are certainly worse than others. I don't know whether to list the films that were barely tolerable or the ones that are truly horrific. So I'll mention a couple of both.

The one short which I thought was the most interesting was Shekhar Kapur's segment that stars the wonderful Julie Christie as an aging performer who returns to a hotel she used to stay at many years ago. Jacob, a crippled bellhop (Shia LaBeouf) helps her to her room and caters to every need but is he real or is he just part of her imagination. It doesn't sound like much and it really isn't but I could have just liked it simply because of Ms Christie's appearance in it.

Joshua Marston's film stars Cloris Leachman and Eli Wallach as a bickering couple who are trying to get out of the city to go to Coney Island for what turns out to be for an important date. It's kinda sweet but insignificant.

The worst short in the film was directed by Yvan Attal and stars Ethan Hawke as a smug writer who tries to woo a woman (Maggie Q) he passes on the street. He is trying to convince her to go out with him by describing how he would make love to her. He thinks he's being clever but it just comes across as psychotic and creepy.

Another annoying film is Brett Ratner's short which features Anton Yelchin as Kane, a nice young man who is talked in to taking Mr. Riccoli's (James Caan) pretty daughter (Olivia Thrilby) to her prom. She is not at all what he expected and the evening doesn't go as planned but at least Kane does get lucky at the end of the night. The twist at the end was suppose to be surprising and funny but it just felt silly and pointless.

Scarlett Johansson was supposed to have made her directorial debut in this project but it was cut apparently for "time". I certainly question that reason for it's exclusion considering the films that were actually used in this mess. Overall, this project just felt lazy and unimaginative and wasted the time of many talented actors. The only good thing I can say about "New York, I love You" is that it made me miss New York City. I need to pay a visit very soon so it will help make me forget the awful memory of this film .

COMING SOON

This is the trailer for "A Single Man", the forthcoming film by former Gucci fashion designer and current film maker, Tom Ford and it's absolutely stunning. I can't wait to see this. No dialogue, just beautiful images in this first look, which really isn't surprising coming from Mr. Ford. The film features Colin Firth, Matthew Goode, Ginnifer Goodwin (best known from HBO's, "Big Love") and one of my favorite screen goddesses, Julianne Moore.

"A Single Man" is due in U.S. theaters on December 11, 2009.

COMING SOON

"New York, I Love You" is a sequel, of sorts, to the 2006 film "Paris, Je t'aime". This was a love letter to this French city which was a series of short films by world renown film directors featuring an all-star cast. Some of the films were stronger than others but overall a good film. If you didn't see it, please go out and rent it.



"New York, I Love You" follows the same premise as this previous film. New York is one of favorite cities. In fact, when I was planing on leaving Michigan, I knew I was going to move to either New York or Los Angeles. My friend, Robin was going to move to LA to go to USC, so I decided to tag along. I just love the energy of the city. I always have such a great time and I find New York so inspiring. I have been there many times and I still always discover something new.

"New York, I Love You" is due in U.S. theaters on October 16, 2009.

COMING SOON

Here is the trailer for "Broken Embraces (Los Abrazos Rotos)",  the upcoming film by one of my all time favorite film makers, Pedro Almodovar and starring last year's Oscar winner for Best Supporting Actress and star of Almodovar's last film, "Volver". Penelope Cruz. I'm not exactly sure what it's going to be about but, no matter. The film looks beautiful and I'm very sure I will be thoroughly entertained.

I will always remember going to a movie theater in Toronto at the impressionable age of 24 and being completely blown away by his film, "Law Of Desire" (1987). I just loved the film's style, it's use of color and the unabashed sexuality. It was just so different from the conventional Hollywood films that I was used to seeing. I also think it was one of the first foreign-language films with sub-titles I had seen. I certainly didn't have access to seeing them in Michigan at that time. I have seen and loved (or liked very much) every one of his films since then.

"Broken Embraces" should be released in the US on December 11, 2009.

COMING SOON

A film of the Broadway musical, "Nine", which is an adaption of Fellini's "8 1/2", has an impressive all-star cast including Nicole Kidman, Judi Dench, Penelope Cruz, Marion Cotillard, Sophia Loren and Daniel Day-Lewis. Although I have never seen the play, or I'm embarrassed to say, the movie on which it is based (It's terrible I know, but I promise I will get around to it), I am very curious about this dazzling looking film and I can't wait to see it.

Last year, I was very, very excited about "Mamma Mia" and was very, very disappointed. Poor pacing, lousy choreography and bad singing ruining perfectly good ABBA songs spoiled the film for me. I hope these actors can carry a tune and I will not have to endure excruciatingly painful non-singing. Did the filmmakers of "Mamma Mia" after hearing Pierce Bronson sing really say to themselves "Oh, wow! That sounds really good"? After seeing the trailer for "Nine", I am optimistic but I said that after seeing the trailer for "Mamma Mia" too. . .

"Nine" is due in U.S. theaters on November 25, 2009.

INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS (2009)

Written & Directed by Quentin Tarantino



Where & When: Arclight Cinema, Hollywood, CA August 24, 2009 8:00PM


I had said in a previous post that I couldn't wait to see "Inglourious Basterds". Well, the wait is over -- and I'm actually not disappointed. The Quentin Tarantino that I have loved since "Pulp Fiction" is back and in great form. His last film"Death Proof" in his half of the film, "Grind House" was just mediocre in my book. It was just too much talk about nothing and repetitive.

Tarantino's latest is a solid redemption with breath taking visuals and brilliant dialogue which is Mr. Tarantino's claim to fame. Now, I had a few problems with the film which I will go in to later but overall, I really enjoyed "Inglourious Basterds".

The film is broken down in to five chapters and we begin in Nazi occupied France where we first are introduced to Col. Hans Landa (Christoph Waltz) who is also known as "The Jew Hunter". He goes to a farm to further investigate the possibility of jews being hidden there. Col. Landa calmly and coolly questions the farmer until he finally gets the answer he is after. It is a great scene and we are off to a great start.

The next chapter we are introduced to Lt. Aldo Raine played by Brad Pitt. He heads a small group of Jewish-American soldiers who call themselves "the Basterds". Their mission is to wipe out as many Nazis as possible and to collect 100 scalps each in the process. We get to witness the scalping in graphically bloody detail. Another member of the team is Sgt. Donny Donowitz (Director Eli Roth) or "The Bear Jew" who is very handy with a baseball bat.

Next we meet Shosanna (Melanie Laurent) who was the only one of her family who managed to escape from Col. Landa at the farm years ago. She now goes by the name "Emmanuelle Mimieux" and runs a movie theater in Paris. A sniper now turned actor, Frederick Zoller (Daniel Bruhl) is attracted to the lovely Shosanna and he is in town for the premiere of his new film, "A Nation's Pride" which is nothing more than Nazi propaganda. These circumstances causes the movie premiere to be held at Shosanna's theater and for her to once again cross the path of Col. Landa. This sets in to motion Shosanna's plan for revenge.

The British have found out that Hitler and his top aides will be attending the movie premiere. They are working with "The Basterds" in coming up a plan to take them down at there. The British send Lt. Hicox (Michael Fassbender) and a couple of Lt. Raine's men to meet with German actress, Bridget von Hammersmark (Diane Kruger) who is a secret spy for the British to provide them with more information. They are disguised as Nazi officers and meet Ms von Hammersmark at an out of the way French tavern. Unfortunately, a group of real Nazi soldiers are having a drunken celebration at the same time. A SS Officer is also at the tavern and notices something odd about these other "officers" and starts to question them. A small detail gives them away and sets off a deadly gun fight leaving the actress wounded but alive.

Finally we come to the movie premiere. Ms von Hammersmark has gotten Lt. Raine, Sgt. Donowitz and a couple of their men into the screening. Because of clues left behind at the tavern, Col. Landa is now aware of the deception of the actress. Col. Landa takes care of her and takes away Lt. Raine and an another solider to a secret location. Col. Landa is willing to make a deal with Lt. Raine to allow them to kill Hitler in exchange for money, a new identity and protection. Lt. Raine calls the powers that be and they approve of the plan.

Nobody realizes that Shosanna's has her own plan to finish off the Nazis. Unbeknown to Sgt. Donowitz, who managed to stay at the screening, he assists Shosanna with making sure the film premiere has an explosive, destructive, and history altering ending. As for Col. Landa, Lt. Raine gives him a visual reminder so that the world will always be aware of his involvement with the Nazi party.

Now the history altering ending is one area I have a problem with. On one hand, I think it is clever idea and pure Tarantino but another part of me feels that it was just a cheat. Mr. Tarantino is just being lazy and created a convenient ending instead of using actual facts to come to a creative conclusion.

Like many of his films, I also found the film to be a little excessive in regards to the blood and the very graphic violence. I shouldn't have been surprised. . . I nearly walked out of "Reservoir Dogs" during the ear cutting sequence and you don't even really see it. It was more of the idea and the sadistic nature that was too much for me. I guess there is never too much of anything for Mr. Tarantino.

Despite these minor asides, I think Mr. Tarantino is a brilliant artist who makes interesting and challenging films by taking familiar genres and twisting and mixing them all up to create something that is purely and uniquely "Tarantino". I predict Oscar nominations for Mr. Tarantino's screenplay, Mr. Waltz's performance and even a long shot possibility for Best Picture.