Category Archives: Movies

But, seriously…

I spent my Friday afternoon at the movies. Today’s feature:

The Place Beyond the Pines

The-place-beyond-the-pinesHere’s a still from the movie.

Ryan Gosling and Eva Mendes look kinda depressed, don’t they?

I was pretty low after the film was over, and I only had to watch it — I can only imagine how they must have felt living that story.

It’s a downer, no lie.  And it’s violent.  Plus, Ryan Gosling is only in the first third of the movie — I cry foul!  Thank goodness Bradley Cooper was there to pick up the slack.

That’s the positive hing tabout the movie.  Wonderful actors, moving performances.  But grim.  The previews were dark and violent, too.

If you go, be sure to get candy for moral support.

Fake Hollywood couples who make me happy

Adam Sandler is a man of extremes.

When his movies are good (The Wedding Singer, 50 First Dates), they are very, very good.  And when they are bad (Little Nicky, Jack and Jill, That’s My Boy)…

They’re horrible.

wedding singerMe thinks Sandler has been looking at his filmography and noticed a common thread running through his very best films — Drew Barrymore. Could that be why he’s starring in and co-producing a new film with her?

The Hollywood Reporter says yes!

In the rumored film, the two portray single parents who had a bad first date, but soon after are trapped together at a vacation resort with their kids.  Hilarity ensues.

I loved The Wedding Singer.  It’s my very favorite Adam Sandler film.  And I just re-watched 50 First Dates last weekend and laughed myself silly when Drew Barrymore — to protect Sandler — beats the crap out of Rob Schneider with a baseball bat.

Good times.

Both films made big bucks at the box office, so I know I’m not the only one who loves this duo.  Let’s get excited!!

The rest of the story

I was in the mood for basketball this morning, but the UK-Florida game wasn’t slated to start on CBS until noon ET.

Then I discovered Prayer for a Perfect Season.

prayer for a perfect seasonThe notes said the HBO documentary follows the St. Patrick’s High School basketball team in their quest for the 2010-2011 national championship.  St. Patrick’s is located in nearby Elizabeth, New Jersey, so I gave it a look.

Imagine my surprise when the star of the St. Patrick’s Celtics team was none other than –

Michael Kidd-Gilchrist

I should say Michael Gilchrist, because he went by that moniker as a high school senior. It wasn’t until he began his collegiate career at the University of Kentucky that he added the ‘Kidd’ in memory of his uncle, who died during the filming.

michael kidd-gilchristOn the day he signed his UK national letter of intent, in fact.

The documentary cameras capture Gilchrist, his St. Pat’s teammates and their families in moments both high and low.

And while I may have watched Michael Kidd-Gilchrist in his NCAA Championship season at Kentucky last year, I feel like I know him a lot better today.

And appreciate him even more.

Less is so much more

I don’t have that many walls in my New York City apartment, but I am willing to make room for these beauties.

minimalist posters

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This set of minimalist posters — a tribute to the films of Pixar — was created by Wonchan Lee, an Australian designer.

I love the color palette, and the way Lee was able to reference each film with simple yet brilliant icons.

Can you imagine his take on this year’s nine Oscar-nominated films? Or the TV series nominated for Emmy awards? I mean, what would a poster for Downton Abbey look like from Lee’s point of view?

I’d buy that poster. I’d buy these posters.

I need some more walls.

Acting normal

Jennifer Lawrence and Anne Hathaway — you’re Oscar winners!

jennifer and anneNo wonder you’re smiling.

But whereas the world loves Jennifer, most folks find Anne just…so annoying.

What gives?

Both are talented actresses.  Both gave Oscar-worthy performances this year — Jennifer in Silver Linings Playbook and Anne in Les Miserables. And both are attractive and smart.

But of the two, only Jennifer appears comfortable enough to stop acting…to be herself on the awards show stage.  So her speeches — and even her trip up the Oscar stairs — appear to be authentic expressions of emotion.

Not badly acted attempts at sincerity.

So stop it, Anne…or we’re taking all the shiny trophies back.

Popcorn, please

image

Hope a bunch of new Oscar contenders come out at the box office…

Cause there be movie passes in the house!!

The five dollar bet

Friends ask if I’ve seen the movie Lincoln. I haven’t.

It feels like homework.

But on this President’s Day holiday, I will celebrate the greatest president in our nation’s history by going to see Spielberg’s Oscar-nominated film.

lincoln movie

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A big thank you to AMC Theatres for having a $5 movie special in honor of the holiday.

(That might have tipped the scales a bit in the movie’s favor.)

I am starting to see a pattern here

I sat down at the computer this morning — filled with ambition — determined to avoid yesterday’s movie meltdown.

And what article immediately distracted me from all meaningful employment?

the other placeThe Other Place is a Broadway play starring Laurie Metcalf of Roseanne and The Big Bang Theory.  She plays a researcher struggling with an unnamed neurological disease whose ability to know what’s real and what’s not slowly begin to fade.

Daniel Stern has played her husband in the show but had to leave due to a family emergency. Bill Pullman (1600 Penn, While You Were Sleeping) stepped in February 5th with only a week to learn the role and rehearse.

I did not know this.

I have seen Pullman on stage in The Goat, or Who is Sylvia?, but that was years ago.  And while The Other Place has been on my list, his addition to the cast has jettisoned it to the must-see category.  As in, I spent my morning looking at seating charts and buying a ticket.

Bill Pullman, you’ve done it again.

Lost my train of thought

If my Saturday was a train, it would be derailed.

And what was the object blocking the tracks?

while you were sleepingWhile You Were Sleeping (1995)

This classic romantic comedy (which I have seen way too many times to count) aired on HBO mid-morning — right about the time on a Saturday that you make that fateful decision:

Productive or potato?

But when I heard the first strains of the movie soundtrack, I knew I was beat.  I love watching Sandra Bullock and Bill Pullman together on screen…even if it is for the hundredth time.

So there I sat for the next two hours.  And then I had to walk the dog and eat lunch and watch the painful UK-UT game and suddenly — it’s late afternoon.

Oh well.  Tomorrow I won’t turn on the premium channels so early here at the ‘station.’

Silent no more

Like everyone, I was surprised by the news of the Pope’s resignation.

But how did I miss the documentary Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God?

mea-maxima-culpa-silence-in-the-house-of-god-470-75It was released in November of last year. But yesterday’s headlines from Rome brought director Alex Gibney’s film back to the forefront. It’s available on HBO OnDemand, so I’ve already watched it.

What a revelation.

Gibney examines pedophilia in the Catholic Church, beginning with the first known clerical sexual abuse at a deaf school in Milwaukee in the late 1950′s, and traces it all the way to the Vatican.

Of particular interest, the documentary documents the role Benedict played in the sex-abuse scandals — both as a bishop in Germany and as Cardinal Ratzinger, where he headed the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which handles such cases.

Under his leadership, the church shielded priests accused of child molestation and hid their behavior from the authorities, obstructing criminal prosecution.

It’s not an easy film to watch, but the bravery of these deaf students — now grown men — is inspiring.

Their voices have finally been heard.