14 posts tagged “summer movies”
I finally got to see the film Adam, which features a standout performance by Hugh Dancy. In the romantic comedy, Dancy stars as the title character, a lonely man who lives with Asperger's Syndrome. His life becomes complicated (for the better!) when he meets Beth (played by the lovely Rose Byrne -- LOVE HER!).
You can't even really call this movie a "romantic comedy" because the term has become a generic, almost insulting description, and Adam doesn't deserve it. This movie felt very real and grounded. Going into it, I didn't know much about Asperger's Syndrome, but I feel like this film brought to light the disease with humor and class.
However, while I was watching the film, I realized that Aspberger's Syndrome is the perfect disease to put at the center of a romance. In the film, Adam says that one of the symptoms is that he can't know what others are feeling, including Beth. How many times have men and women in relationships wished that their significant other knew what they themselves were thinking and feeling? It's really an astute observation about men and women from writer and director Max Mayer. It made me think twice about some of the men I know.
Also, I left the theatre feeling similar to when I left (500) Days of Summer. The film was more than about a romance, and that's when you know you've seen something special. What a great summer for love in independent film.
Five years ago, Jude Law risked overexposure by appearing in six films in one year (Alfie, The Aviator, Closer, I Heart Huckabees, Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events, and Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow). Chris Rock even made a joke at the Academy Awards about Jude Law being in EVERYTHING (which for some reason irked Sean Penn).
Gerard Butler appears to be the new Jude Law. When I went to see District 9 last week, I saw two previews with him in it. To me, he looks like a poor man's Russell Crowe, so I get excited when I see a preview for his movie until I realize it's not Russell Crowe.
Law Abiding Citizen looks like it might be decent. But basically, I just wish the cast consisted of Russell Crowe and Denzel Washington.
Gamer, on the other hand, looks pretty awful. Didn't we already kinda do this in 2007 with Stone Cold Steve Austin in The Condemned? Plus, I think we can officially retire Marilyn Manson's "Sweet Dreams" from ever again being used in a film with a dark theme. It's like playing Aretha Franklin's "Respect" in a chick flick.
I would just like to add that I haven't seen Butler in anything I've enjoyed yet. I didn't even like his performance in The Phantom of the Opera. I'm wondering what the allure is. Is there something about him I just don't get yet?
I finally gave in to all of the hype and went to see District 9 last week. I enjoyed the documentary-style story (even if the technique was pretty uneven throughout the film). And based on the ending, I definitely smell a District 10 brewing in the future.
However of all interesting issues this sci-fi film took aim at (immigration, discrimination, weapons of mass destruction), one of the most interesting ones was that of gay rights (if you haven't seen the film yet and don't want any spoilers, stop reading now).
During one heartbreaking scene in the movie, the alien known as Christopher Johnson watches his "friend" get killed by one of the government thugs. When his son asks him, "What happened to your friend?" Christopher says, "He's gone now." And you can sense that this other alien character was someone special to Christopher.
In another scene, Christopher is in one of the EMU testing labs and finds his dead friend as a slab on a table. He is frozen with devastation while he looks over the body.
I know I am reading into this BIG TIME, but I sensed that this film was making a statement about homosexuality. Both Christopher and his "friend" appear to be manly individuals; they also don't seem to conform to what the other aliens or "prawns" are doing in District 9. And I don't know how these aliens reproduce, but perhaps Christopher's son was a result of the relationship with his dead friend.
When I asked my gay best friend (my "Will") about whether he thought this too while he was watching the film, he said I was crazy. Yet, I'm surprised that more reviews of the film or even message boards haven't lit up with this theory. Thankfully, the power of interpretation allows me to believe that Christopher Johnson and his son live happily ever after without government intervention in that great other planet in the sky.
I was one of the very very few people to actually see (or want to see) Post Grad this weekend. I wasn't expecting The Graduate, but at the very least I expected something along the lines of Accepted (a harmless college flick). It turns out that the story I thought would mirror my life was so awful it made me feel better about my own!
I was hoping for a film that would depict post-college life in a way that was comedic, touching, and "real" (even a Recession reference would have been nice!). Instead, it was fluff you'd watch if you were sick in bed at home watching a cheap Lifetime flick.
One, I hated the lead character. She doesn't even have a real name ("Ryden Malby" looks like something that comes up in my spellcheck). She's cocky, torturous to her best friend who's in love with her, and never cracks a book even though she claims that she LOVES to read (at least Rory Gilmore carried a book with her wherever she went).
While I was impressed with the cast, I couldn't help but wonder what any of them were doing in this film. Jane Lynch just appeared in Julie & Julia. Why would she be in this?? And Michael Keaton is too comedically talented for this movie (in fact the entire cast except for Alexis Bledel is too funny for this movie).
I won't reveal too much, but Ryden has an epiphany where she realizes she's in love with her best guy friend after seeing a mother feed a son an eskimo pie (I'm not joking). There's also an unnecessary boxcar race scene (what is this? "Full House"??).
My friend said that I am heartless for not liking movies like this one (he's an avid chick flick kinda guy), but I'd like to think that I just have taste.
My (500) Days of Summer madness has gone from little obsession to checking my door 500 times to see if it's still locked.
I went to IKEA with friends and decided to reenact scenes from the movie (as well as fake scenarios I gave my friends and myself; example, "we're getting married and you're 'in the closet' -- go!").
Here's, "Darling, I don't know how to tell you this, but there's a Chinese family in our bathroom."
"Our water's out!"
The sad thing is that I've always done these type of things when I go to IKEA. Now, it's okay to do it because of Summer.
I went to see Funny People tonight and made a startling revelation.
Judd Apatow is the new M. Night Shyamalan.
Think of it this way, both directors had breakout films (The 40 Year Old Virgin and The Sixth Sense) followed by even bigger follow-up films (Knocked Up and Unbreakable, Signs) and then suffered missteps after (Funny People and The Happening).
As I was watching Funny People, I felt like I was watching Lady in the Water. It felt like something that was the director's close, personal project that in reality no one cares about. Yet, the only difference between the two films is that Funny People held so much promise. I actually enjoyed the story for the most part and was interested in the world of standup comedy. The film was just too bloated and inconsistent, with characters I had a hard time caring about. Meanwhile, Lady in the Water was a big fat rock at the bottom of the lake from beginning to finish.
Last week I went to the movies for a full-blown double feature day. After a stressful week, I just wanted a break where I could get lost in someone else's story (my idea of a perfect vacation for the mind).
My double feature consisted of The Hurt Locker and (500) Days of Summer. While I enjoyed both movies (and see why Locker is getting Oscar talk already), I really fell hard for Summer. For me, no other movie compares at the moment.
I find myself listening to the songs from the movie in an effort to remember my favorite moments (Regina Spektor's "Us" and Simon and Garfunkel's "Bookends" come to mind). I find myself shopping for clothes and wondering what Summer would wear. I have an urgent desire to rewatch The Graduate, write angry greeting cards, and listen to the Pixies' "Here Comes Your Man" on constant rotation. And the film has inspired me to wait for someone like Tom Hansen to come along in my life (if you don't want him Summer, I'll take him!).
How could she not love someone who has a dream sequence like this one?
Critics have been calling this movie Generation Y's Annie Hall and rightly so. As a Woody Allen fan, I think this movie has New York melancholy written all over it (even though I was surprised to learn halfway through the film that it takes place in Los Angeles). Not only has this film proven to me that Hollywood still makes good films, but also that Hollywood still makes good romantic comedies. There's a reason why you don't see commercials saying, "It's official. Everyone is in love with The Ugly Truth."
When I first saw the trailer for the new film The Goods, I thought, "What's the title? The Goods or Live Hard, Sell Hard." My second thought was, "I think this film was already made with Kurt Russell in 1980."
The only difference now is that they've replaced Russell with a very unlikeable hero. How can you root for a mercury fiend who may or may not still be in a feud with long-time friend Lloyd Dobler (aka John Cusack)?
With Judd Apatow's Funny People coming in at number one at the Box Office over the weekend, I can't help but wonder how Katherine Heigl is feeling right now, with the director she slammed just two years before besting her latest movie at the box office (especially when Funny People is viewed as a disappointment earnings-wise). I realize a lot has been written about her (including a Newsweek piece entitled, "Why is Katherine Heigl so annoying?"), but you have to wonder why the actress has garnered so much attention for her loud mouth.
When she first started spouting off drivel to the media, I found it somewhat refreshing. She was telling the ugly truth (pun intended). Yes, the writing on "Grey's Anatomy" hasn't been that great in recent years. Yes, Judd Apatow truly doesn't know how to write a decent female role. Yet, I think what irks everyone is that she hasn't made any changes in her career to suggest that she's actually going to do anything about these problems. It's like a global warming activist wearing a bouffant hairdo with tons of hairspray.
She stayed on "Grey's Anatomy" and agreed to do the lame "Denny's back from the dead/Brain tumor" storyline. Then, instead of venturing into more challenging roles (for example, a great supporting role with a big ensemble cast like Rachel McAdams' in The Family Stone), she's done two cookie-cutter romantic comedies. Really, the only difference between 27 Dresses and The Ugly Truth is about 26 dresses.
I'm just wondering whether Ms. Heigl is reevaluating her career right now (especially with The Ugly Truth coming in fourth last weekend at the B.O.). If I were her, I would try to get a role that would give me some respect from the public. And from the looks of it, a movie with Ashton Kutcher just isn't going to do it.
I'm surprised to find myself saying this, but I'm really excited about Diablo Cody's next film. I always thought Juno was just a fluke, but her second film looks like it's slated to be a cult classic in the vein of Heathers and Teeth. Also, I just recently finished Cody's memoir Candy Girl: A Year in the Life of an Unlikely Stripper and I really enjoyed it (although the pop culture references, even for me, were wearing thin by the end of the book).
I think this trailer looks pretty classic (and if you're really into it, check out the red band trailer which is even better).
