celluloidnotes

PICK OF THE WEEK

Milk
dir. Gus Van Sant
Starring: Sean Penn

It’s about time a film was made that focused on the legend of Harvey Milk (there is a great documentary on the subject already though), the man who, in 1977, became the first openly gay man to be elected to public office in America. His legacy and assassination are the focus of this film, which is getting raves everywhere.

Australia
dir. Baz Luhrmann
Starring: Hugh Jackman, Nicole Kidman

General Rule: Baz Luhrmann = beautiful cinematography + weak, melodramatic plots. Australia likely will be no exception to the rule.

Four Christmases
dir. Seth Gordon
Starring: Vince Vaughn, Reese Witherspoon

Christ, the bad Christmas movies have already begun. Though, surprisingly, this one doesn’t star either Matthew Broderick or Tim Allen. I have at least one thing to be thankful for on Thursday, second being that we don’t live in a dictatorship and that I will not have to watch this.

Transporter 3
dir. Oliver Megaton
Starring: Jason Statham, Robert Knepper

I feel as though the director, Oliver Megaton, is really a name that Bart Simpson used while calling Moe one night. He was born to direct a high octane thriller. Unfortunately, I’m not sure that there is any life left in this series. But maybe I’m wrong, some people seem to still be in love with this, I’m a bad judge, it doesn’t do much for me.

Familiar Strangers
dir. Zackary Adler
Starring: Shawn Hatosy, DJ Qualls

Quirky indie-family drama, sounds pretty familiar. But this is a film that I recommend you give a chance. There is much more than meets the eye, and they have done a great job of casting this one. Almost as highly recommended as Milk.

Fix
dir. Tao Ruspoli
Starring: Shawn Andrews, Olivia Wilde, Tao Ruspoli

This sounds interesting. The film is shot in the first person by the actors in the film. It gained some notoriety on the festival circuit and is getting a limited release this week.

Last Week’s Top 10:
1. Twilight
2. Quantum of Solace
3. Bolt
4. Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa
5. Role Models
6. Changeling
7. High School Musical 3: Senior Year
8. The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas
9. Zack and Miri Make a Porno
10. The Secret Life of Bees

There is a new issue of InDigest Magazine online right now. Great literary magazine with a wide variety of material in each issue (I posted a call for submissions for them a little while back, you might recall). This issue has some new fiction from Jimmy Chen, as well as new poetry from both Eric Gudas and Nathan Hoks. There is a gallery of paintings, that includes a few prominent monkeys from artist Gina Germ. And, as always they’ve got a bunch of columns, a particularly funny one from Jess Grover on Alex Lemon’s Hallelujah Blackout as well as their Bedside Stacks and The Ulysses Sage columns.

Highly recommended reading.

Also, remember to check back this week for the first installment of The Cinematic Fakebook.

Somewhat similar to the legendary Fakebook series for jazz musicians, I’m going to introduce a new series here on celluloidnotes called The Cinematic Fakebook. This is by no means a claim that I have seen every film I’m about to post about, nor does it mean that I like every director who will have a page here. What The Cinematic Fakebook is, is a way to discover films you like, and a good resource to fake your way through a conversation with a cinephile.

It’s quite simple. At least once every week, along with the “What to See This Weekend” series and the scattered review, I will introduce a new director. Give a general overview of what makes them an auteur, maybe some details about their life, maybe something that ties some films together, maybe a bit about the crew they relentlessly work with to keep the same stylization flowing throughout their body of work. Then the post will include a trailer for every film the director has made (that I can track down) so you can a slight idea of what the films in their body of work are like.

This is going to be a resource for that guy going on a first date with a girl he met at the bar the weekend before. They’ve decided to go to a film and he knows that she loves Kurosawa, and he thinks he might have said that too, but he’s not sure whether Kurosawa was a revolutionary, or a studio director, does he rip off Spielberg, or was it the other way around? This is for cheating. If you consider yourself an aficionado of the films of Godard, well the Godard page probably won’t offer you a whole lot, but the page on Gordon Parks might offer a little extra verbal spittle for the next time you’re at the cafe.

So, look for it, it’s on it’s way, starting next week, The Cinematic Fakebook will be here. Get ready to cheat.

Pick of the Week:
Special
Dir. Hal Haberman Jeremy Passmore
Starring: Michael Rapaport

Michael Rapaport plays a young man who has an adverse reaction to the anti-depressants he has been prescribed and starts to believe that he is a superhero. But no one is really sure what is going on. This looks to be a funny, engaging film that is more interested in character study and what superhero mythology says about society. I’m taking this as the pick of the week. Interesting script.

Bolt
Dir. Byron Howard Chris Williams
Starring: John Travolta, Miley Cyrus, Susie Essman

Another kids movie that looks like it is sure to bore everyone over the age of 5.

Twilight
Dir. Catherine Hardwicke
Starring: Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Billy Burke

Based on the best-selling novel, this is a film that attempts to turn the vampire narrative on it’s side. A loner falls for a mysterious young man who turns out to be a vampire, and he tries to not bite her while everyone else is trying to and then zzzzz….

Last Week’s Top 10:
1. Quantum of Solace
2. Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa
3. Role Models
4. High School Musical 3: Senior Year
5. The Changeling
6. Zack and Miri Make a Porno
7. Soul Men
8. The Secret Life of Bees
9. Sax V
10. The Haunting of Molly Hartley

Darren Lynn Bousman, a pivotal director for Twisted Pictures and the early propagation of the Saw series, has helmed another, somewhat, innovative blood bath for Twisted and Lions Gate. Repo! The Genetic Opera is film that twists genres like a strand of DNA, melding horror, with a family drama, with a tragedy, with a rock opera, with…well I won’t insult your intelligence. But this film might.

Many people are going to love this, and it’s sure to become a midnight movie staple, but it is also a rather confused film that will have a tough time engaging most of it’s audience. Anyone who is familiar with, and seeks out, films by Bousman, will certainly be entertained, and might even enjoy themselves. But I’m not recommending this to anyone else.

Read a full review of Repo! The Genetic Opera here

PICK OF THE WEEK:
Quantum of Solace
dir. Marc Forster
Starring: Daniel Craig, Olga Kurylenko, Mathieu Amalric

So, this generally isn’t my thing, but how can argue with the first bond in this new series? It was intelligent, reinventing the Bond tradition, reinventing the genre, reinventing Bond himself with a brilliant casting move. This is easily the pick of the week and will easily be the number one film of the week next time round.

Slumdog Millionaire
dir. Danny Boyle, Loveleen Tandan
Starring: Dev Patel, Freida Pinto

An young Indian man becomes a contestant on India’s version of Who Wants to be A Millionaire? in Danny Boyle’s newest endeavor. The young man from the slums of India is about to have the biggest day of his life. The reports coming back from the London Film Fest were all positive on this one, and it’s been a little while since Danny Boyle really disappointed me.

Christmas Tale
dir. Arnaud Desplechin
Starring: Catherine Deneuve, Jean-Paul Roussillon, Mathieu Amalric

And the Christmas films begin. Word is that this is going to be a hit, but it’s hard to take any Christmas film serious at the beginning of November, or at all for that matter.

THIS WEEK’S TOP TEN
1. Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa
2. Role Models
3. High School Musical 3: Senior Year
4. Changeling
5. Zack and Miri Make a Porno
6. Soul Men
7. Saw V
8. The Haunting of Molly Hartley
9. The Secret Life of Bees
10. Eagle Eye

Hollywood, over the past five-ten years, has been habitually stealing south-eastern Asian films and remaking them as American studio pictures to disastrous results. There are more examples of this than are really worth enumerating. Nonetheless, the results of remaking a good film like Ju-On into the Hollywood horror-fluff the Grudge is just an example of the thin stylistic remakes. While The Departed (Infernal Affairs) may be an exception to this, by and large the films lack the slick style and beatific color saturation that mark these films. Moreover, the intricate thematic weaves of these films, that truly remark upon society, are completely lost when the films are translated into a film thats sole purpose is to make money in the box office.

This is all leading to a recent announcement by Variety that Steven Spielberg and Dreamworks are trying to obtain the rights to remake Park Chan-Wook’s brilliant 2003 film Oldboy. Oldboy is a film that at a surface level seems to be a revenge story, but underneath the very abrasive violence is a statement on a cultural mindset, a culture that has seen war in ways that America has not seen since the Civil War. Oldboy is a part of trilogy of films that are a meditation on violence in culture and the revenge plot, Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance and Lady Vengeance are also included in this trilogy.

In the interest of full disclosure I’m going to have to say that this trilogy is a striking piece of work that I think represents modern cinema in way that few films can, and I fear that a Spielberg remake with Dreamworks and Universal Pictures, and their intent of casting Will Smith in the role of Oh Dae Su is a travesty. Spielberg, while there is no argument about his talents, is not the kind of director, nor is Will Smith the kind of actor, who can handle a film like this. The cultural resonance will be lost, the film will likely be heavily watered down, and the violence that is so integral to the plot will be lost. Now, many people have cried foul on Oldboy for having gratuitous violence, but what they don’t understand, and what I fear a major American studio won’t understand, is that without the graphic level of violence in this film, the commentary is lost. More often than not the director merely alludes to the violence, without showing what is happening directly, he pulls away from the actual action to reveal a small part of the scene that is only loosely tied to the violence, which generally works to great effect. Nonetheless, this violence is the centerpiece of the commentary that is at the heart of Oldboy, and this remake could be a terrible mistake, and one that is already frustrating me even though they have not yet acquired the rights.

Oldboy Trailer:

Despite this being a site that focuses on film, I thought it would be appropriate today to remind everyone that it’s time to get out and vote. I know there are reminders cluttering the internet, and probably your inbox today. But it can’t hurt to have one more reminder out in the world. You don’t need to be told that it’s important again, and I won’t tell you who to vote for, just go out and vote. Most polls across the nation are already open, so don’t wait, go do it now.

If you aren’t sure exactly where you’re polling location is, what it’s hours are, or are otherwise unsure about how exactly the voting process works you can go to Vote For Change.com. I know I said I wouldn’t tell you who to vote for, and yes that is an Obama site, but it’s not making you vote for Obama, and it is actually one of the better resources available for getting information on polling locations and the specifics of voting. Even if you aren’t registered most states allow same day registration, you can check that site for information on whether or not same day registration is available where you live. That’s it. Now, go out and vote.

PICK OF THE WEEK:
The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas
dir. Mark Herman
Stars: Asa Butterfield, David Thewlis, Rupert Friend

If you need any cue to let you know that Oscar season films are upon us this is it. The early buzz on this film seems pretty positive, sure to be a tear jerker. But then again almost all WWII films are both Oscar contenders and tear jerkers. Hopefully this will be a film that can rival Roman Polanski’s brilliant The Pianist because WWII films are often a little formulaic so that they can be: a. Oscar contenders b. tear jerkers.

Soul Men
dir. Malcolm D. Lee
Stars: Samuel L. Jackson, Bernie Mac, Issac Hayes

Two legends of soul music, who have not spoken in twenty years decide to reunite after the passing of their former band leader. With a plot like this and both Bernie Mac and Isaac Hayes passing away shortly after shooting wrapped the pressure is on both MGM and Dimension to get this film seen without appearing as though the studios are marketing this in bad taste. The verdict is still out on this.

Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa
dir. Eric Darnell Tom McGrath
Stars: Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, David Schwimmer, etc. etc.

This will certainly bring in tops at the box office this week. The highly anticipated, and highly publicized sequel to one of the biggest kids films in years is going to be a smash. If it will actually be any good remains to be seen. It’s a ridiculous question, but since we’re at the front end of Oscar season at the theaters, does this have any chance against WALL-E? Probably not.

Repo! The Genetic Opera
dir. Darren Lynn Bousman
Stars: Paul Sorvino, Anthony Head, Alexa Vega, Sarah Brightman, Paris Hilton

This horror rock opera from Saw director Bousman is going to get split reactions across the board. Some are going to hail this as the new cult classic horror film that Rocky Horror fans have been waiting for, while others are going to find that this is a big snooze fest worthy of Alien vs. Predator stature.

Role Models
dir. David Wain
Stars: Paul Rudd, Seann William Scott, Elizabeth Banks

Judd Apatow staples take on a film worthy of their talents. A couple of energy drink salesman take on a big brother program and learn to love their new kids (and, surely, zaniness ensures). The buzz on this film is not nearly as positive as you would expect (if you expected anything at all)…and then again Paul Rudd is pretty much great in everything he is in.

House
dir. Robby Henson
Stars: Reynaldo Rosales, Heidi Dippold, Michael Madsen

And the late fall slew of crappy horror films continues. Maybe we’re wrong over here, correct that, hopefully we’re wrong, I, personally, would love a great horror film to come out, but this doesn’t sound like it will be the one.

Last Week’s Top Ten:
1. High School Musical 3
2. Zack and Miri Make a Porno
3. Saw V
4. Changeling
5. The Haunting of Mary Hartley
6. Beverly Hills Chihuahua
7. The Secret Life of Bees
8. Max Payne
9. Eagle Eye
10. Pride & Glory