Category: 2000-2010

Movie Review: “Beyond the Sea”

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Yes, Kevin Spacey (who plays Bobby Darin) sings ALL the songs in this movie.  (He’s a VERY good singer!)  He also wears several hairpieces (just as Darin did) and had his nose made bigger and broader (via clever makeup).  Spacey also directed, co-wrote, and produced this picture; he spent 5 years on the entire process.  Bobby Darin (real name: Walden Robert Cassuto) was one of Spacey’s fave singers growing up. 

Darin was a sickly boy from a working-class Bronx family who had a love for music and performing.  (There is an adorable child actor who plays the young Bobby!)  His mother Polly (Brenda Blethyn), a former performer herself, knew that he would someday be “bigger than Sinatra.”    It’s an unusual biography- not the typical format.

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Above is a pic of Mary (tall and gorgeous Brit/Italian Greta Scacchi) with her daughter, Sandra Dee (young/up-and-coming Brit Kate Bosworth).  Sandy was an actress, and teen idol, who Bobby fell for while shooting a film in Italy.  They had a long, though sometimes dramatic, marriage. 

Darin’s brother-in-law (the great Brit character actor Bob Hoskins) and older sister also journey with the young man from “rags to riches.”  John Goodman plays the music producer who motivates and manages Darin’s career.

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Here are the REAL Bobby and Sandy; they worked to overcome their “teen dream” public personas and be taken as serious performers. 

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There are several song and dance numbers in Beyond the Sea, reminding you of ’40s musicals.   These will put a smile on your face!  Spacey, always an interesting actor to watch (Seven, A Time to Kill, American Beauty, etc.), seems to relate very well to his character.  Like Darin, he loves performing live and connecting with an audience.  Also, Spacey enjoys acting, and always looks like he’s thinking about his character. 

Below are the songs (available on iTunes) I especially liked from the movie soundtrack:

As Long As I’m Singing

Beyond the Sea

Dream Lover

That’s All

Movie Review: Masterpiece Theater’s “Wuthering Heights”

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This young lady (Emily Bronte) wrote one of the most scandalous books of her time!  (Some consider it a pretty outrageous book in our time, too.)  She was the daughter of a clergyman, rarely left home, never married, and died at age 30.

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Here is a portrait of Emily painted by her older brother, Bramwell.  Many literary experts think that Bramwell was the inspiration for the charater of Heathcliff.  Bramwell was much more a person of the world than his sisters (Charlotte, Emily and Anne); he was said to have a hot temper, drink heavily, and gamble.

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Emily’s Heathcliff, unlike Charlotte’s Mr. Rochester (Jane Eyre), is not merely a brooding romantic hero who can be turned around by a good woman.  Healthcliff is an anti-hero- more like a force of nature than a man.  When Cathy lies ill and pregnant in this latest ITV adaptation, she begs Nelly (the ever-loyal housekeeper) to throw open the windows.  She wants to feel the wind upon her- feel close to Heathcliff.

This adaptation is not very close to the book, but it has several strong points.  The music suits the mood of the story very well.  The use of unknown actors works well, as we have no preconceived notions of what we’ll see.  As characters changed over time, and the actors’ portrayals became more believable.

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Heathcliff, in deed, stands unredeemed.  -Charlotte Bronte

Tom Hardy, though not conventionally handsome, makes an excellent Heathcliff.  This Healthcliff is “very changeable” (like Mr. Rochester), but filled to the brim w/ rage.  Hardy is somehow able to make the audience feel some empathy with him at crucial times in the story.  I especially enjoyed these scenes: Heathcliff coming to tea after Cathy and Edgar Linton’s marriage, confronting her on the moors after she’s been w/ Edgar, and holding/comforting the nearly-dead Cathy at the crag.

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Tom Hardy does a lot of acting with his eyes and facial expressions, as Healthcliff is a mysterious man.  But he’s also able to say the dialogue with conviction.  The low/deep voice he uses makes you lean forward and pay attention.  He created good chemistry with Cathy (Charlotte Riley), but I felt he was a much stronger actor.  He’s older and has had much more experience.  (While I watched him, I thought of Gene Hackman, another actor who is very masculine, intense, and able to stay in the moment.)

Burn Gorman, an actor you may’ve seen in Bleak House, did a terrific job as the depressed, unstable, and alcoholic Hindley.  The young lady who played little Catherine (Cathy’s daughter) did very well also; she was full of her mother’s curiosity and energy.  Edgar was handsome, likeable, but weak (as in the book).

There were many things different from Bronte’s book, most notably Healthcliff shooting himself.  Also, no one mentions that Healthcilff might be Mr. Earnshaw’s son by a Liverpool whore.  There is no way to be certain that he and Cathy “hooked up” at the crag (as plainly shown/said in Part I).  Could it have happened?  As my mom said- yes, but people didn’t state these things explicitly then.   Heathcliff doesn’t physically abuse wife Isabella, though he says hurtful things and neglects her.

What didn’t work was the scene where Cathy confesses to Nelly her feelings for both Edgar and Heathcliff.  The actress didn’t put too much emphasis on these important lines.  Before he rode off, Healthcliff was supposed to hear part of her speech (Edgar wants to marry her, it would degrade her to marry a “servant”, and so on.)  But in this film, Healthcliff goes off while she starts talking about Edgar.  Too bad- missed opportunity for the director!

Ultimately, Heathcliff and Cathy’s love was obsessive and destructive.  Cathy was torn between Heathcliff (passion/uncertainty) and Edgar (wealth/respectability).  Because of his tortured past, Heathcliff was “more full of hate than love,” as Cathy says.  He wanted revenge so badly that he nearly destroyed the younger generation.  When he came back a rich gentleman, Healthcliff was unable to rid himself of his emotional baggage.  He was his own worst enemy!

Movie Review: Masterpiece Theater’s “Tess of the D’Urbervilles”

Emma1 Comment

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Remember Oxford edition books from college?

 

When Thomas Hardy’s novel Tess of the D’Urbervilles was first published, readers debated whether or not the main protagonist, Tess Durbeyfield, was a “pure” woman.  Her purity was of great debate among friends at dinner parties (Laura Linney said before the film began on Masterpiece Theater).  Tess is a young, simple, and honest woman who endures several tragedies, but has a bit of happiness, too.  Though many evils befall her, she takes life into her own hands in the end.   

 

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Tess (Gemma Arterton), a beautiful young girl in her teens, has a simple life in the countryside of Southern England.    Her father consoles himself with drink, and is often jobless.  Tess, who is hard-working and good in school, hopes to someday become a teacher.  Her mother has a big brood to raise, and feels that Tess should swallow her pride for the sake of the family.  So, Tess goes to work for her distant relations, the D’Urbervilles, on a big estate several miles from home. 

 

Her wealthy, older, crafty cousin Alec D’Urberville (Hans Matheson) is instantly struck by her beauty and simple ways.  Tess is given the job of “poultry manager” and her own little house to live in on the estate.  Her cousin gives her a lot of attention, gifts (such as a new dress), and promises to do something for her poor family.   Tess is unprotected and in danger, the viewer quickly learns.  Alec’s mother, a blind sickly old lady close to death, can’t protect Tess from her son’s advances.  She lets him run everything, even though she knows about his dissipated ways (drinking, gambling, and running after women). 

 

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When they see the pair together in Alec’s carriage, Tess’ sister Liza Lu asks “Is that the man who will make Tess a lady?”  In Thomas Hardy’s mind, Tess is already a “lady.”   She has a lot of pride and (natural) honor- something that a man like Alec can never understand.  A girl, the former poultry manager, ran off before Tess arrived!  The other servants gossip and laugh about Tess.   The young housemaids are jealous because they no longer have their master’s attention.   

  

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Alec “takes her by force” in the woods late one night.  She is bewildered, ashamed, and has no one to talk to about her situation.  (No one told her that such things could happen!)  Tess quickly returns to her family, has a baby boy, and deals with that baby’s death (as well as the disdain of her community). 

 

She appeals to the local pastor to allow her dead son, who she named Sorrow, to be buried “on consecrated ground.”   He refuses (of course) because the baby was born out of wedlock.  Tess is angry and hurt, feeling that the church is not doing the right thing.  She decides to seek out a new job.  You wonder if she’ll ever get a break!

  

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Tess begins work as a dairy maid on a family-like farm peopled with a kind group of individuals.  She becomes friends with the other milkmaids, and catches the eye of a young gentleman, Angel Clare (Eddie Redmayne), who’s trianing to be a farmer alongside the others.  Slowly, Tess and Angel become good friends.  He is taken aback by her goodness.  Angel is a decent guy who loves working the land, though he is the son of a parson (and thus middle-class).  He doesn’t care for money or status, but highly values honesty. 

 

All the girls on the farm are in love with Angel, but he (noticeably) prefers Tess.  She is afraid to let herself be happy, but eventually admits that she’s deeply in love.  However, she feels she is “ruined” and “will never marry” someone so good like Angel.  What will happen next? 

 

Gemma Aterton does a terrific job showing the many sides to a “simple” girl; she is not only a victim, she has a lot of toughness.   How else would Tess have survived her life?  Hans Matheson, dark and a bit dangerous in appearance, makes Alec a complex, interesting villain.  He’s not always easy to figure out.  Eddie Redmayne goes through a wide range of emotions, and truly fits into his role of idealistic young man.  When Angel becomes disappointed in life, he does an even better job.   

 

This is a very effective film because it has these elements: a  very committed cast of characters (who are not well-known), fitting music and lighting (to set a mood Hardy could approve of), and appropriate costumes, scenery, and sets.   The film elaborates on the themes: innocence, honesty, shame, questioning of established religion, unconditional love, betrayal, and (eventual) forgiveness.  It’s true to Hardy- it’s dark, moody, and (sometimes) unexpected.  You will be quickly drawn into this film!  

 

 

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Gemma Aterton is one of the newest Bond girls, believe it or not!  She can be seen in Quantum of Solace (opposite Daniel Craig).  

 

 

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Hans Matheson can be seen in The Mists of Avalon (where he plays another villain) and the BBC version of Dr. Zhivago (opposite Keira Knightly). 

 

 

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Eddie Redmayne, an actor fans of Brit films  may be familiar with, has been in Elizabeth: The Golden Age (with Cate Blanchett and Clive Owen), Elizabeth I (with Helen Mirren, Jeremy Irons, and Hugh Dancy), and  The Other Boleyn Girl (with Scarlett Johanssen, Natalie Portman, an Eric Bana).  Not bad for a guy who’s just 26!  

 

Links you may like: 

 

A photo of Thomas Hardy’s house, Max Gate:

http://www.victorianweb.org/photos/hardy/11.jpg

 

More about this film:

www.bbc.co.uk/tess

 

More about actress Gemma Aterton:

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2605345/

 

A web site dedicated to actor Hans Matheson:

http://www.hansmatheson.org/

 

A web site dedicated to actor Eddie Redmayne:

http://eddie-redmayne.net/

 

1998 UK version (starring Justine Waddell)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0126100/

 

The famed 1979 version- Tess (starring Nastassja Kinski); directed by Roman Polanski

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080009/

Movie Review: “Gone Baby Gone”

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Sorry to you Mystic River fans, but this film (also set in Boston) is much, much better!  I watched Gone Baby Gone last week, and was on the edge of my seat (for most of the time).  Ben Affleck is the director/co-writer of the screenplay, and his little brother, Casey Affleck is the (unassuming) star.  Morgan Freeman and Ed Harris just melt into their roles, as usual.  Rising young star Michelle Monaghan, though dressed quite drably, looks sweet and has a strong/quiet presence.  She and Casey looked like the real couple next door (if you happen to live in the working-class, Irish Catholic suburb of Dorchester).  The casting is superb; all the main characters are individual entities.  Each of them gets a moment to shine in their role.  

 

 

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As the film opens, 31 y.o. Patrick Kenzie (Affeck) can’t seem to tear his attention from the news coverage of a local missing girl  (5 year-old Amanda McCready).  He feels like “someone from the neighborhood” can contribute to the police investigation.  He and Angie Gennaro (Monaghan) live together and work as private detectives.  Then suddenly, the aunt and uncle of the girl show up at his door looking for help. 

 

 

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The detectives tell the couple that they have little experience with this type of case, but the family wants them; they’re not cops and know the ‘hood. Patrick, though hesistant at first, thinks he can “supplement” the official investigation, as he tells Capt. Jack Doyle (Freeman).  Doyle (who lost his own daughter in a kidnapping) thinks that Patrick is too young, not to mention inexperienced, to get himself into something like this.  In no time, baby-faced Patrick and the reluctant Angie are neck deep into some serious stuff!  They meet up with drug dealers, addicts, and pedophiles.  There is also a mysterious Cajun cop named Remy Bressant (Harris) to deal with. They’re in way over their heads, but committed to finding Amanda. 

 

 

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 When Patrick and Angie solve the case, life gets even more difficult!  They are faced with a moral problem that may change their lives.   Who do you agree with- Patrick or Angie?  (It’s not so easy!)   This is a very thought-provoking film- it stays with you.  Check it out ASAP!

 

 

 

      

Holiday Movie Reviews

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Ironman

 

            I didn’t know Gwyneth Paltrow was in this film!  I was surprised by that.  Though this is a superhero movie, it’s a smart and funny one.  Robert Downey Jr. is older (and more buff) than you’ve seen him in the past.  RDJ plays Tony Stark, a weapons inventor/millionaire/playboy, who creates an iron suit to escape from a group of terrorists in Afghanistan.  This experience changes him, and he decides to upgrade the suit (in secret).  

 

Jeff Bridges (looking good, even with a shaved head and graying goatee) is his partner/nemesis.  Tony’s true friends are Navy weapons inspector (Terence Howard) and Gwyneth, his loyal PA/potential love interest.  RDJ is a naturalistic actor, so he brings gravity to his character (like Christian Bale did with Batman).  He gets some serious moments and some REALLY funny lines, too.  Not to mention- RDJ has great eyes!               

           

 

 

Slumdog Millionaire

 

I saw this (new) film w/ the fam this past weekend in the Indy suburbs.  (My mom knew many folks who’d seen it already at the local uni.)  It was only playing at 3 theaters in the Indy area, so the place was packed!  I was a little surprised, but many people are visiting during the holidays.  And this particular theater (inside a new high-end mall) is very nice.  The previews were interesting; I learned re: Two Lovers, an upcoming drama/romance starring Gwyneth Paltrow and Joaquin Phoenix.  It was shot in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn and Manhattan.  Here is more info from IMDB:

 

Two Lovers is a romantic drama set in New York City. It tells the story of Leonard (Joaquin Phoenix), an attractive but depressed young man who moves back in with his parents following a recent heartbreak. An aspiring photographer, Leonard works part-time at his father’s dry-cleaners. His concerned parents try to set him up with Sandra (Vinessa Shaw), the sweet and caring daughter of a close family friend. A big family dinner serves as their introduction and Leonard arranges to see her again. Then late one night Leonard looks out his bedroom window and notices a ravishing young woman he’s never seen before. Michelle (Gwyneth Paltrow) recently moved into an apartment in his family’s building – an apartment paid for by the wealthy married man she’s seeing.

 

            Unlike Bolly flicks, or even most indie films, Slumdog gives a wider view of modern India (particularly Mumbai).  There are many heavy moments, but some light ones as well.  You see slums, poverty, violence, and all the things that Bollywood NEVER shows.  (This film is a collaboration btwn folks from the UK as well as India.)  It’ll remind you of the world of Charles Dickens, b/c orphans are: begging on the streets, scavenging for food, and dealing with (very shady) elements of society. The child and teen actors in Slumdog are cute and very easy to relate to, BUT they are not actor-y or cutesy in ANY way.  

 

The central character, Selim Malik, is played by 3 actors, including Brit desi (Dev Patel).  One of Bollywood’s biggest names (Anil Kapoor) is the smarmy host of the game show 18 y.o. Selim is on- an Indian version of Who Wants to be a Millionaire?  Respected indie film actor (Irfan Khan) is the no-nonsense police inspector who interrogates young Selim.  The show’s host and the cops think that Selim, a wide-eyed tea boy for a call center, is cheating on the show.  They take him away after the 1st night of competition.  How can someone like him (called a “slumdog”) have SO much general knowledge?  But the events of his (very difficult/painful) young life have been leading to his big moment.  Selim doesn’t care for the money (20 million rupees = $4 million); he wants to be on TV to reconnect with his one friend/true love, Latika.  Check it out for yourself- it’s an unpredictable, action-packed film!  

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3:10 to Yuma (1957)

           

            Even though this is a classic Western film, it comes off as VERY contemporary!  At the center of the story are two different men: Dan (Van Heflin) is a serious, quiet rancher, husband, and father; Ben Wade (Glenn Ford) is a cool, smooth-talking career criminal.  Dan needs the money ($200), so he joins up with the men who will escort Ben to another town, then eventually to Yuma (where he’ll be jailed).  Earlier, Ben and his gang robbed a stagecoach and killed its driver.  As they wait for the train, Ben tries various tricks to unsettle Dan.  The characters are slowly developed, and there is NOT a lot of dialogue at times.  The acting is mostly done with the eyes and slight facial expressions.  Check this film out ASAP!  (I can’t wait to see the newer version of this with Christian Bale and Russell Crow.)               

 

 

 

You Can’t Take It With You (1938)

 

            This is a quirky comedy film (dir by Frank Capra) re: 2 VERY different families in NYC.  James Stewart (a young man from a wealthy banking dynasty) and Jean Arthur (his secretary) are the romantic pair; these actors also teamed up later for Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.  There is a scene in a courtroom that’ll remind you of the ending of It’s a Wonderful Life.  Jimmy Stewart has some GREAT reactions to the (very wacky) events surrounding “his girl’s” family and friends.  On the down side, this film is a little too long.  The characters seem nutty (at first), but they all have good hearts.     

 

 

 

His Girl Friday (1940)

 

            It’s one of the earliest romantic comedies.  The stars are wily newspaper editor (Cary Grant) and his stressed-out reporter/ex-wife (Rosalind Russell).  He wants her to report on/write about a BIG story; she wants to get married and “have a normal life.”  The dialogue is fast and snappy!  If you haven’t seen this slapstick film, check it out sometime.