Memorial Day with Woody Allen, Terry Gilliam, and Nicolas Winding Refn....oh my!

Alright, so I took a longer break than I thought. I'm sure it won't be my last. I want to talk film today. I've been watching quite a few of them lately. I'm in Scottsdale now, so I have to wait to see The Tree of Life till Friday. First up is Woody Allen's new magical realist film, Midnight in Paris [Blu-ray], which I thought I was going to utterly despise. It's his first film filmed in the City of Lights since Everyone Says I Love You, except this time there's no NYC....at all (thankfully) and it's more like The Purple Rose of Cairo than that warbling "musical." It seems to have reminded me just how much time has really passed between the two (pretty depressing to think about. I'm sure it won't be the last time that happens). I'm very thankful to report that the only musical sequence in this new film is provided by a Cole Porter impersonator. I cannot express how thankful I was that he decided to focus on the times and celebrities of Paris' past than dwell on any current problems.

I didn't care for any of the Tea Party references (isn't that what the Atlas Shrugged Part I film was for?) or anything to do with Rachel MacAdams' character,

but I will probably end up watching this film on Blu-Ray multiple times b/c of all of the celebrity impersonators. Kathy Bates and Corey Stoll deserve (perhaps Golden Globe) awards for what they do. Alison Pill as Zelda Fitzgerald continues to show how great she really is, despite having to appear in so many youth-oriented films.

I will also go so far as to say that it has Adrian Brody's best performance since Pianist (blu-ray) (Blu-ray), despite that he only appears in one scene.

There were these two actors who portrayed Man Ray and Luis Bunuel whom I thought were so spot on I thought I was watching the real people. The actor who played Man Ray is named Tom Cordier and his only other film credit is in this amazing film I saw at a festival a few years ago called 8th Wonderland Movie Poster (11 x 17 Inches - 28cm x 44cm) (2008) German Style A -(Matthew Géczy)(Robert William Bradford)(Alain Azerot)(Eloïssa Florez)(Ahlima Mhamdi)(Michael Hofland). Strangely, that film still isn't on Blu-Ray or even DVD, but it should be. Better than any Hollywood thriller lately. I hope the popularity of Midnight in Paris might help to inspire the distribution companies to take a chance on it (not likely). The actor who played Bunuel is Adrien de Van and he has a more robust list of credits. I just thought he was spot-on.

Of course, one of the selling points of the film is that Carla Bruni is playing a tour guide. I was disappointed  that she didn't do more. However, it must be said she was the most physically attractive thing in the entire film. She has a true sexual energy that no political career can diminish.

Definitely sexier than Condoleezza Rice playing the piano on 30 Rock: Season 5.

Overall, it is light, funny, and slightly indulgent. If it weren't for the actors involved and the exterior shots of Paris, it would be completely forgettable. Can't wait for Woody's next travelogue, Bop Decameron! See ya next year!

In some rare stage news, I just read this wonderful review of Terry Gilliam's staging of The Damnation of Faust.


http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/archives/stage_review_terry_gilliams_opera_the_damnation_of_faust_is_a_return_to_for/



Read it, it's good! Of course, I haven't seen it since it's playing in London. Maybe a DVD release could happen...or maybe even some youtube clips.


In light of the recent Cannes Film Festival, I couldn't help but notice that the director of two of my favorite recent films, Bronson [Blu-ray] and Valhalla Rising (2009) (Blu-ray), Nicolas Winding Refn (yet another subject of Lars von Trier's recent interviews, considering his father edited Breaking the Waves and Antichrist:: The Criterion Collection [Blu-ray]), won Best Director for the Ryan Gosling's Steve McQueen-audition vehicle/adaptation of James Sallis' novel, Drive. This prompted me to revisit his entire canon. I have been watching the Pusher Trilogy  and Fear X. 

I have to say I was a bit surprised with these four. I found the Pusher films to be compelling stylish, yet pretty realistic. I particularly liked Pusher II: With Blood on My Hands, but they were all very good, if occasionally slow. I streamed Pusher III - I'm the Angel of Death on Netflix Watch Instantly where I was surprised to find out that its license expires on June 1st. So stream it while ya can. it's a good one (and they don't have that any good ones licensed). It was a little slow, but it worked as a fitting dramatic conclusion. Being a dealer has never so unappealing as it does here.


Fear X was a different story. There is glacial pacing and there is just boring. The film is very stylish and well acted (how I miss Deborah Kara Unger...please come back in something that isn't a Silent Hill (Widescreen Edition) sequel!) However, just b/c you think are The Shining (Two-Disc Special Edition), doesn't just make it so.  I did learn that Refn's production company went bankrupt b/c of it (which might be why Pusher suddenly became a trilogy directly after). Perhaps that is something of value. I think I might watch it again. 


I might be in LA this weekend, so I hope I can watch The Tree of Life in the Cinerama Bowl. Stay tuned!


Here's that amazing trailer to keep us all tided over till then:

American Idol & Oprah Finals

                    WHO FUCKING CARES? 

Not to put down the talent of all of the contestants involved, but this show is the biggest tool in the television shed. The producers always get their way with getting the contestants they want in the finals. Sometimes, the right person doesn't win, but everyone in the Top Ten ends up with recording contracts so they will all succeed or fail on their own merit (or lack thereof) either way. The voting system is a joke and grossly rigged. The original songs written for the "winner" are horrible. The most interesting singers are presented as walking jokes more or less and thrown off for not being accessible, mainstream, and therefore "American" enough. And what, exactly, does "Scotty the body" really imply?

In the end, all that really matters is how much Steven Tyler and Jennifer Lopez's waning careers are boosted as a result of telling kids how good they are paid to think they are. Jennifer acts like she's going to win an Oscar for being a judge on this weekly trainwreck and Steven is probably putting this toward some type of community service plan since so he can keep getting away with being a total drug addict. When will this country be over this myriad of over dramified yearly singing shows where almost no one who wins becomes very successful and anyone with actual taste becomes marginalized? I guess the only nice thing I can say is that some mildly interesting talent is actually discovered along the way.

.....now what time is The Voice on?

As for Oprah's belated departure, I'm not watching it, but its very presence demands comment.  





                 Couldn't have said it better myself 
                 (Hey I'm doing the best with the 
                 material that's provided to me).

RIP "United States of Tara" 2009-2011

Since this blog will also focus on television developments, I felt it was necessary to divert away from my thoughts on this years Cannes Film Festival winners (not that I've seen any of them yet anyway) to a news topic that caught my eye (but not surprise) this afternoon. While Edie Falco's rather overrated dramedy Nurse Jackie has been renewed for Season 4, Toni Collete's frequently underwhelming "comedy," The United States of Tara, has been (thankfully) cancelled and will not return for another season. Though I've read from reviewers who have seen the show's upcoming season finale really functions better as a series finale than a season finale, this development still came as kind of a surprise to me. This is an Emmy and Golden Globe winning cable series, after all. I didn't think the ratings were that bad. Showtime does have a reputation for not staying with deserving original series that aren't called Dexter.

Having been a viewer since season one, I can tell you the only thing aspect of the show that kept me watching was the performance of Miss Toni Collette. It's like she took her character from The Night Listener and made her into a likable, inoffensively suburban, audience friendly spectacle. It's a show full of easy answers, no real suspense, sitcom cliches not very well disguised as dramatic development. Even its creator, Oscar-winning writer/skank, Diablo Cody, publicly stated she hated the first season. I'm right with her. My first reaction upon watching the 1st season was, "anything this dreadfully unaware of how unfunny it actually is has to come from Steven Spielberg." The characters and all of their problems are nauseating, to say the least. The casting of the resentful gay son, Marshall, has sent me up the wall since day. Rosemarie DeWitt's cloying Charmaine character didn't do much for me. Her silly internet porn star turned flight attendant daughter didn't help matters much either. The male characters were always underwritten as unreliable buffoons. I didn't see any reason why the show had to practically send up its own campiness while seemingly biting the hand that feeds it. The entire first season basically built up to what amounted to little more than an acting showcase for Toni Collette's inevitable Emmy nomination/win.

As hackneyed as I found the whole charade, I couldn't take my eyes off Tara and her alters. Miss Colette's transitions will be the only reason why this show will be remembered and replayed when Toni Collette is remembered as the talent Goddess she is. I have seen any great multiple personality shows, but none where the performer was this seamless in her understanding of every nuance of her alter personas.  The only problem I had with her subsequent performances in Seasons 2 & 3 is that the writers seem to think that creating more of these multiple characters will make the show more dramatically convincing. It has only really seemed to make Miss Collette's performance even more difficult to appreciate b/c she now comes off as little more than an acting smorgasbord than an actual character. I personally loved the "Alice" character the best (I have a thing for 50s housewife characters, I admit it), although I also enjoyed the cutely obnoxious "T" one as well (The "Buck" and "Chicken" ones kind of gave me the creeps and the New York psychiatrist one annoyed me, even though they were flawlessly portrayed).

The beefing up of the supporting characters as the series went on didn't help like it could have. I still cannot figure out what the purpose of Viola Davis' character was last season and why she was given such a large role in a character who really should have only been a cameo, but I have been amused by Eddie Izzard's caustic professor character. I must admit, this third season has been my favorite of the three seasons. So, while it will be sad knowing that Toni's monumental performance is coming to an end (just in time to catch her in the Fright Night remake, weirdly enough), at least the show itself is going out on a high note and won't overstretch its one joke premise, even though it kind of should have several times by now. Instead of continuing to lament its inept presence, let's just check out this clip and images of Toni's personas just so we can appreciate her amazing performance before it's too late, the likes of which I doubt we'll see on any type of television again.

Did you enjoy this show? What are your thoughts of the cancellation? Will you miss it? Was Showtime stupid to let it go this early in its run? Have you only just heard of it for the first time? Let your comments be heard!