Christmas in November

THE BOX



The Box is such an odd little movie. I mean, it's a Richard Kelly film, so head-scratching is inevitable. This is, after all, the guy whose previous films are giant bunny flick Donnie Darko and clusterfuck Southland Tales. The Box fits snugly in between, for while it at least has a story (take that, Southland Tales), it is not as consistently brilliant as Kelly's debut.

Another Virginia-set period piece, The Box revolved around a middle-class couple played by James Marsden and Cameron Diaz, and the Mysterious Arlington Steward (Frank Langella) who makes them a curious offer: they will receive one million dollars for pushing a button on a hollow box...but someone they do not know will die. And that's the first ten minutes of the film. The rest is the unraveling of the mystery. What is the Box? Who is this Mysterious Arlington Steward with half a face? What's it all about, Alfie?

Kelly's film is an uneven one. While I could not help snickering at some lines at the beginning, I was breathless by film's end. It's a brilliant finale, preceded by both genuinely chilling moments and head-shakingly cheesy ones. Marsden and Langella are consistently great, but Diaz teeter-totters between exquisite and just OK. I don't think Kelly's script is any big help, of course, as the role of Norma Lewis is too saintly for the film's premise to work. The cinematography by Steven B. Poster is oddly bright, and at times looks a little soft. It gives the whole movie a weird, dreamy effect that is appropriately uncomfortable.

I wish they had done more with the setting. Christmas 1976 looks awesome, but there's no real reason for it. Christmas matters not, except to give us a creepy Santa; at least give me some holiday-themed dialogue like William Hootkins in Hardware. The 1970s aspect is cool, but man do they beat you ober the head with it. Many scenes begin with a popular 1970s something on TV, someone switches it off, begin dialogue. This happens multiple times. Johnny Carson! The crying Indian! Alice's Restaurant! It's the SEVENTIES! But...why the seventies? Because of the references to the Mars Viking project? I don't understand its relevance to the plot, really -- though this may be due to the typical density of Kelly's stories.

The best part of the film? The score by Win Butler, Regine Chassagne and Owen Pallett, members of the Canadian band Arcade Fire. Eerie, beautiful, period-perfect. The violins, the piano, it's all very atmospheric. That's a guarantee in a Richard Kelly movie: the music will always be phenomenal.

At the end of the day, I know I would buy and re-watch this movie over and over. It's great fun, it's outrageous, and sometimes it's a damn masterpiece. It ain't perfect, but it's got spirit!


A CHRISTMAS CAROL



This is how all weekends should start: with a 3D spectacular that's determined to be a MAJOR FREEKING EPIC!!! God Bless Robert Zemeckis and team for not pulling any punches in what is sure to become a holiday tradition! Yes, yes, we all know the story by now. Scrooge and the ghosts and Cratchit and Tiny Tim and all that. And certainly, nothing will ever equal the 1951 version starring Alaistir Sim , easily the most atmospheric and darkly funny of all the films. But damn if this one doesn't come close.

This movie gets it. The gallows humor, the horror aspect, the spiritual LIFT that is achieved by journey's end. The Ghosts are horrifying, even the one of Christmas Present, to an extent. The figures of Ignorance and Want -- shit, I don't want no part of them. And it's truly the first version of this timeless tale that I felt that fear of either. The Ghost of Christmas Yet-to-Come is cleverly interpreted, though it must be said that a "harrowing" chase scene in his segment is awkward, a curious misstep for this production.

Alan Silvestri's score is made up of boisterous renditions of holiday hymns such as "Good King Wenceslas" and "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing". Andrea Bocelli sings an original song with a huge chorus of children over the closing credits. The effects are eye-popping and grand. A truly miraculous production, it demands hyperbole and multiple exclamation points!!!

Yet it also has its intimate moments. The Cratchit home during the Christmas Yet to Come sequence is heart-wrenching, and the breakup scene between young Ebenezer and his fiancee is almost uncomfortably quiet. Jim Carrey and Robin Wright Penn really sell this scene, of course. Indeed, Carrey does a wonderful job in a number of roles, including Scrooge through the years and the Three Ghosts. His eyes are not "dead", as is the regular complaint with mo-cap movies, but full of the bitterness or jocularity required. Zemeckis's pet etchnology is improving every year. Only Colin Firth's character, nephew Fred, was beset with emotionless eyes, but everyone else was surprisingly full of life.

Besides Firth and the chase scene, the only real problem with the film is a strange shoving-aside of Tiny Tim. When Scrooge pleads for Tiny Tim's life, all I could think was, "Why? What was he seen about this kid that makes him so sympathetic?" It's one of the most important aspects of the story, and it hardly seems relevant here. Bizarre.

I wish I had the money for the soundtrack. It's what Christmas should be. Read more!

Oh, Hi, Christmas, You're Early!

Dear God,

I heard that Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin will be co-hosting the Oscars. Now, I know you and I have had our disagreements in the past, but I just want to apologize. If this kind of team-up is happening, then you must be real! You must exist! Thank you!

Love,
Walter Read more!

Disappointment/Delight

As October waned, I made the effort to see some 2009 releases when not working on other people's films. And I did it! But first, some news:

Because of my actual Film School activities and some last minute rigmarole concerning ticketing, I was unable to attend the Ian McKellen thing. That will teach me to brag prematurely. The absolute worse part? I overheard this conversation at Borders two days later:

MAN: I saw Ian McKellen speak the other day at the theatre school.
WOMAN: Who?
MAN: You know, the guy from Harry Potter?
WOMAN: Oh, yeah...
MAN: Yeah, he was interesting. He sure could talk, though. After two hours, I was like, "Come on, already."

You, sir, did not deserve to see Ian McKellen, and not just because you think he's Michael Gambon. You got tired of watching him speak. You can take whatever Armistead Maupin book you picked out and shove it up your ass, for while you may be able to read, you are certainly illiterate in the realm of theatre and all that is holy. Shithead.

And now the reviews:

17 AGAIN

So, Matthew Perry's life is going down the tubes, and Brian Doyle Murray magics him into his younger self, who happens to be Zac Efron. Now he gets to help his kids...in HIGH SCHOOL. I remember laughing out loud and finding it perfectly charming. Yet I cannot really remember the movie itself. Zefron and Perry do a surprisingly good job of playing different ages of the same man, so that was neat. Zefron got Perry's mannerisms down to a T. And I liked the romance between Zefron and Leslie Mann -- that they sold it as uncreepily as they did says a lot about their abilities as actors. Other than that, and an odd date scene between Lt. Dangle and Jan Levinson-Gould...meh.


SAW VI

Holy crap, is this really the first movie I saw in theaters since Jennifer's Body? A good way to end October, surely. It's probably the smartest in the series since Saw II (which I love), and even gets to be relevant by taking on the Vice President of a Health Insurance Company! The challenges in this game are actually pretty suspenseful, and I cared a LOT about what happened to the characters this time around. It was nice to finally care again. The editing was also a lot less ADD this time around. Great fun, if you're into it. But if you don't like Saw to begin with, you won't see this anyway. That's OK, but you'll be missing some great entertainment.


A SERIOUS MAN



Some movies get better and better upon reflection. This is one of those. True, I only just saw it Sunday night, but even now, I'm thinking it's probably one of the best movies of the year. It's basic plot: Larry Gopnik (Michael Stuhlbarg) goes through a week of crises in a mostly Jewish community in 1967 Minnesota. You would think a movie that basically tells you God doesn't care and religion won't help would be a downer. Ok, it is in a way, but it is uproariously funny at the same time. The Coen Brothers may have won their Oscar in 2007, but this film is their true masterpiece. Stuhlbarg's performance should be generating more discussion, but for me, it was all about Fred Melamed as Sy Ableman, a pompous intellectual whose eloquent phraseology is hilarious in its pretentiousness. A gem of a comedy -- but DARK.


WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE

Despite the pacing issues -- the middle portion is QUITE padded -- I really enjoyed Where the Wild Things Are. I wasn't ready to be hurled into the darker, more complicated second half of the film, but I liked that it took me there. There's some real genius in the expansion of Maurice Sendak's universe, as written by Spike Jonze (also director) and Dave Eggers (who co-wrote the disappointing Away We Go earlier this year). Some deep, disturbing shit goes down in this movie, and it hits hard. Catherine Keener's teeny tiny role as the mom is great (as always), but let us not forget the Wild Things. Although they are not in the costumes, James Gandolfini, Catherine O'Hara, Chris Cooper, etc., bring a lot to their table in their performances. And of course, Max Records, playing Max (appropriately enough), is just as talented as he is adorable. Can't wait for this kid to get more work.

Ack, but that Karen O score! Distracting, cacophonous, irritating! Yes, yes, it is appropriately "wild", but it was not my cuppa, thank you very much. Such a shame; "Maps" is my second favorite song of all of ever.

[Pic from AwardsDaily] Read more!

Please Be Jealous

I think one of the things I like most about the Film School is the endless opportunities it provides me to name-drop when talking with my parents. Sometimes it's teachers, sometimes it's speakers, all times it's amazing.

This past year alone has offered me opportunities to meet Oscar-nominated cinematographer Barry Makrowitz, (500) Days of Summer director Marc Webb, Oscar-winning writer-director Alexander Payne, and Lori Singer, star of the movie Footloose, the stage version of which I performed in twice (once as John Lithgow, the other as Kevin Bacon).

My professors include television director Chip Chalmers ("Melrose Place", "Star Trek: The Next Generation"), editor Steven Marks ("The X-Files", "Deadwood"), cinematographer Rexford Metz (he did the underwater scenes in Jaws), and writer-director-editor-producer Victor Nunez (Ulee's Gold, Ruby in Paradise, Spoken Word).

And now we get to meet Sir Ian McKellen on Tuesday. Can this major rock any more? The only problem I have is trying to resist the temptation to go all fanboy on some of these people. But hey, if I resisted going nuts on Lori Singer, I can deal with Gandalf.

Also, finished shooting my movie this past weekend. Pics to come. Read more!

Goodbye, Dear, and Amen

Bond Fans the world over: Mourn.



Joseph Wiseman, whose portrayal of Dr. Julius No in the first James Bond movie will always be known as one of the Ten Great Performances in the series' history, has passed away at the age of 91. Wiseman's brand of villain was smooth, intelligent, classy; his feathers were never ruffled, and I am always taken aback when he so casually dismisses Bond as "a stupid policeman whose luck has run out". It is one of many Bond Performances that I felt to be worthy of an Oscar nomination (maybe over Terence Stamp in Billy Budd?). He will be sorely missed. Read more!

For Your Consideration: It Starts Now

Warner Bros' Awards site has added Where the Wild Things Are and Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince to its contenders. Young Max Records, the twelve-year-old star, is being pushed for Lead Actor, which is a relief -- Ivana Baquero, the lead of 2006's excellent Pan's Labyrinth, was given a supporting campaign, as was Keisha Castle-Hughes for Whale Rider (the Oscar voters smartened up).

Meanwhile, Miramax Films has its little group set up as well. No "For Your Consideration" sections yet, just screening dates, but it looks like they're pushing the possible De Niro comeback Everybody's Fine, the Clive Owen drama The Boys Are Back, and the Michelle Pfeiffer vehicle Cheri.

Universal's awards site has full FYC listings for Bruno (Heavens, no!) and Funny People. The latter's screenplay is available, as is the script for Michael Mann's beautiful Public Enemies. It's Complicated, which won't hit theaters until Christmas, is also up there, but alas -- not even cast pics are up!

How long until the other studios jump on the bandwagon? Read more!

Say Whaaaat?

With Warner Bros' Oscar site updated for the 2009 race, three things come to mind concerning The Informant!, the only film they have listed as of now.

1) The song that closes out the movie, "Trust Me," is an honest-to-goodness Original Song. That's pretty neat. It's got that classy Rat Pack vibe that I like, though I would have gone with Tom Jones as vocalist rather than Steve Tyrell. Anyhow, add this to the list of contenders.

2) Matt Damon may be getting the only acting campaign of the film, and that's unfair. Scott Bakula, at the very least, deserves a shot at Supporting Actor, his being one of the better performances of the first nine months of 2009! His work is just as strong as Damon's, I feel. Maybe when they see what the other studios offer up, they'll reconsider.

3) Their Ensemble only consists of four people: Damon, Bakula, Joel McHale and Melanie Lynskey? I am always confused by this "Ensemble" category. Million Dollar Baby only submitted the three leads -- Eastwood, Swank, Freeman -- as their ensemble, yet Margo Martindale, Jay Baruchel, Anthony Mackie, and Brian F. O'Byrne all had substantial roles in the film. Tess Harper was included in the Ensemble for No Country for Old Men, but poor Beth Grant and Kathy Lamkin, who made more lasting impressions, were left out in the cold. Is there a limit to how many can be listed? It seems unfair that only a handful of actors be eligible. Read more!