Category Archives: Movies

Coming Soon to a Theatre Near You

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I’ve had this thing to share with you that I haven’t been able to share and it’s been killing me.

Last year around this time, I was unemployed. In all honesty, I was very fortunate to only be out of work for about three months before joining Cerner in March of 2009. I didn’t get a big severance package when the company I worked for laid me off, so that unemployment came in handy for the few meager months. Those few months were actually pretty fun. I got to hang out with Alli and Dreyfuss a lot. Saw a lot of movies.

During that time, I got more and more active in the Social Media Club of Kansas City. It was through the SMCKC, Twitter and this blog that I got into touch with Justin Gardner, the social media guru at AMC. Justin got me into a preview of the then-new Fork & Screen concept at the Olathe AMC and last February (in fact, almost a year ago exactly), I got to attend AMC’s Best Picture Showcase.

Now if you’ve followed this blog or you follow me on Twitter or Tumblr or Facebook or if you know me in real life, you know that I’ve got a crazy passion for movies. I love the experience of going to the theatre. I love blockbusters, independent films, dramas, comedies, romances…pretty much everything but horror flicks.

For the past ten years, I’ve worked for a software company, a (now-defunct) financial services company, and a healthcare company. The next ten years (and hopefully many more after that) will be spent working for an entertainment company.

The Outside of the Olathe AMC

Yep. I’m leaving Cerner to go to work at AMC as their Community Manager.

That’s right. Me. AMC. Movies. Internet. AWESOMENESS.

It’s not every day that your dream job falls in your lap.

Working at Cerner for the past year has been a great experience. I’ve worked with an amazing team on some important projects. I have made some terrific friends along the way. The Marketing organization is full of talented individuals who have elevated me and made going to work enjoyable. I’m proud of what I accomplished over the past 11 months. I leave feeling good about what I’ve contributed and knowing that the projects I have worked on are in good hands.

But it’s show time.

Quick Thoughts on the Oscar Nominations

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  • I need to see The Hurt Locker. I’ve got the Redbox DVD, but haven’t had time to watch it yet.
  • Is UP the first picture to be nominated for Best Picture and Best Animated Picture? I’m assuming so, but not sure.
  • No big surprises for the acting nominations except perhaps
  • Really want to see An Education, especially since Nick Hornby (one of my favorite authors) wrote the screenplay

There are lots of opinions on what’s good and what’s not, but here are the certainties (at least in my mind):

  • The acting awards will go to Bridges, Bullock, Waltz, Mo’Nique
  • Up in the Air will win Best Adapted Screenplay
  • Inglorious Basterds will win Best Original Screenplay
  • Avatar will win all the technical awards

All the rest of the major awards are kind of a crap shoot. Momentum seems to be favoring The Hurt Locker right now, but Avatar or even Tarantino’s Basterds could come out of nowhere to win. It’s anyone’s guess right now.

What do you think?

Some quick Golden Globes thoughts

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Like many people, I watched the Golden Globes last night. Awards season is a favorite for Alli and me and we picked up some Original Pizza, some Throwback soda and settled in for a night of glamour, movies and TV…all from the comfort of sweats on the couch.

First things first: Ricky Gervais was really disappointing. For as much smack as he talked prior to the show about how he was going to be brutal to the stars, all he really did was self-promote (not unheard of) and get in maybe one good dig at Mel Gibson. The rest of his jokes were just really MEH.

Some other thoughts:

  • I really felt that Jane Lynch got robbed for supporting actress in a TV series. I’ve never understood why they lumped all the supporting actors and actresses into one all-encompassing category, including comedies, dramas and mini-series. She should have won. Don’t get me wrong, I adore Big Love, but Sevigny didn’t deserve it. Sue Sylvester is the heart and soul of Glee.
  • Speaking of Glee, I’m so glad that it won. I love that show.
  • I still have very little desire to see Grey Gardens.
  • Toni Collette won a shocker for TV actress in a comedy. I won’t say she’s not deserving…I was just really surprised.
  • Alec Baldwin is the new Tony Shalhoub.
  • I think that Julianna Margulies winning Best Actress in a Drama series was a shock to everyone except Julianna Margulies.
  • T-Bone Burnett does not look like he should. He should at least have a beard.
  • I really like how the Oscars splits the screenplays into adapted and original. Like Just Cara said, when you are blessed with great source material, it’s hard to mess it up. Unless, of course, if you’re Rob Marshall.
  • I love Robert Downey, Jr., but I was really hoping for Joseph Gordon-Levitt to pull out the Best Actor Comedy win. He was awesome in (500) Days of Summer, one of my favorites of the last year.
  • The room was amazingly cold toward James Cameron during both of his acceptance speeches. And I was thinking, it’s gotta suck to be a filmmaker during the year that James Cameron comes out with a movie. It’s once every 10 years, but still. It’s gotta suck.

Overall, it was a decent show…not a ton of huge surprises. Would have liked to see Gervais push it a little more. It will be interesting to see Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin host the Oscars. I doubt they will go after any of the actors in attendance, but you never know.

Another thing to note, if you’re a Twitter user and you watch the Twitter stream during shows like this, I highly recommend following Doug Benson. He hosts a podcast called “I Love Movies” and is totally hilarious.

Nine

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Alli has been wanting to see Nine ever since she heard of it and it seemed like a can’t miss film: a musical based on a Fellini movie that was directed by the guy who directed Chicago and starred Daniel Day-Lewis and like, a bajillion other Oscar winners. Oh, and it was also put out by perennial Oscar hoarder, Harvey Weinstein.

It really had the pedigree to be something special.

Yeah…not so much.

It wasn’t that it was bad…it had moments of brilliance, particularly the choreographed numbers with the Black Eyed Peas’ Fergie “Be Italian” and Kate Hudson’s “Cinema Italiano”. And Daniel Day-Lewis…well, that guy is just phenomenal. Even faced with sub-par writing and a flimsy plot, he really delivers as Guido “The Maestro” Contini, the famed Italian film director with writer’s block. He brings life to a completely unlikable character who is tortured because of the 7 women of his past and present: his wife (Marion Cotillard), his mistress (Penelope Cruz), his muse (Nicole Kidman), his makeup artist (Dame Judi Dench), an American journalist (Hudson), a prostitute from his childhood (Fergie), and his enigmatic, canonized mother (Sophia Loren).

Honestly, if this movie is about anything, it can be found in the 3-minute “Cinema Italiano” number with Kate Hudson, in which she actually sings that style is more important than substance and that’s why Contini’s movies are so great.

It seems like Rob Marshall took this nugget a little too close to heart because while the film is absolutely gorgeous (one of my favorite scenes was the opening one where we meet Guido for the first time in his sound stage…that shot is amazing), but it completely falls apart because it can’t deliver on any semblance of a story.

Without Daniel Day-Lewis and Marion Cotillard, this movie would be a complete travesty, but they manage to save it in their unique ways. Cotillard is so charming as Conini’s tortured wife who knows that he’s a scoundrel, but sticks with him “for the film”. I didn’t particularly like her in Public Enemies and was really bummed when she beat out Ellen Page’s Juno for Best Actress in the 2008 Oscars, but she is really likable in this movie, despite its many flaws.

Like I said, Nine has some moments and is buoyed by two very good performances, but it can’t overcome the terrible script and just didn’t deliver as the Oscar bait that Harvey Weinstein wanted us to believe that it was.

Up in the Air

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On New Year’s Eve, Alli and I headed out with my folks for a double-feature at ye ole Olathe AMC.

This is such a fun time for movies. So many great flicks come out at the end of the year so they can be eligible for Oscar season and the two that we saw were early front runners: Up in the Air and Nine.

Up in the Air

I’ve heard nothing but good things about Up in the Air. It seems destined for Oscar gold and potentially the elusive Best Actor statue for Clooney. It certainly solidified to me that Jason Reitman is no one-trick pony. His last 3 films (Up in the Air, Juno, Thank You for Smoking) have really been stellar from a directorial standpoint. He’s got a unique voice and I’m looking forward to more from him as he continues to grow as a director.

Tweet Review of Up in the Air

The movie itself was interesting and heartfelt, but I think that my expectations may have failed me again. I went in expecting the best movie of the year and what I got was quite good, but I felt like it didn’t deliver in certain places. However, one place it certainly delivered was in the female performances. George Clooney is darn near overshadowed by Anna Kendrick (Twi-hards will know her as Jessica), who portrays Natalie Keener with an earnestness that I could completely relate to and I felt rang so true for the current generation of workers who have grandiose, unrealistic visions of how technology can completely change everything about how we live our lives. Now, coming from me, that may sound a little weird, but it’s a good life lesson that she receives.

Vera Farmiga (The Departed) is also quite charming as Clooney’s love interest, Alex, but I didn’t find her nearly as interesting as Kendrick’s Natalie.

OK, so let’s talk about George Clooney. He’s terrific. But I just felt like he was playing George Clooney, who I like…I just didn’t think it was that much of a stretch.

Writing this review has made me kind of want to see the movie again…to see if I missed something. I’m not sure that I did, but I want to make sure. I just didn’t see what all the fuss was about.

Top 5 Movies of 2009

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So I’ve been thinking about this post for the past week. I’ve been doing my best to hold off on writing this until I saw a couple more movies, particularly Up in the Air, which I saw today as part of a double-feature with my parents (the other movie was NINE). I’ve yet to see The Hurt Locker or Where the Wild Things Are, and frankly, the only other movie that felt really came close was State of Play. Here are the movies that I enjoyed the most this year:

Up

Pixar is easily one of the best studios on the planet. The worst movie that they’ve ever made (in my opinion) was Cars, and even that was considered a success by many. But this year, they really outdid themselves with this amazingly charming and heartfelt story of Carl Fredericksen, a boy named Russell and a dog named Dug: Up.

Avatar

One of the most visually stunning films of the last decade. I want to see it like three more times. Such a huge accomplishment for James Cameron. Fascinating on so many levels.

The Hangover

Call it overrated or crude. I don’t agree, nor do I care. I thought that Zach Galifianakis’ performance as Alan in The Hangover was one of the most entertaining of the year. Galifianakis and The Office‘s Ed Helms totally steal the majority of the scenes in this debauchery-filled romp through Las Vegas. I haven’t laughed this hard in a very long time.

Away We Go and (500) Days of Summer

Independent movies have really come into their own over the past few years. Juno and other films have set the bar extremely high, but there were two independents that came out this year that I really loved: Away We Go, starring John “Big Tuna” Krasinski and Maya Rudolph, (which I reviewed already) and (500) Days of Summer, starring Joseph-Gordon Levitt and Zooey Deschanel (which I also reviewed). Away We Go is just a lovely movie with some amazing chemistry between Krasinski and Rudolph. And (500) Days of Summer really did some amazing work redefining the romantic comedy genre. Both movies had great performances and completely phenomenal soundtracks (which always is helpful).

Star Trek

There was a lot of speculation as to whether J.J. Abrams (Alias, LOST, Cloverfield) could pull off a reboot of one of Hollywood’s most storied franchises. He did so and he did it amazingly. Essentially, he took the traditional Star Trek story with a new cast of characters and made it into an exciting action movie that just happened to be set in space. Star Trek was everything that you could ask for a summer blockbuster to be: it was exciting and funny and (most importantly for the summer blockbuster) it set the stage for many more sequels.

So my list is probably a lot different than most, but this is what I thought was great in 2009. I’m looking forward to 2010 (especially Iron Man 2).

What did you love in 2009? What are you looking forward to seeing in 2010?

Sherlock Holmes

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Expectations can really mess up your experience.

Everything about the new Sherlock Holmes movie was appealing to me: Robert Downey, Jr. as Holmes, Jude Law (who can even make a mustache look cool) as Watson, Rachel McAdams as Holmes’ love-interest/nemesis Irene Adler and Guy Ritchie at the helm directing. All seemed to lead to what would be a thoroughly enjoyable movie experience.

First things first, a sidebar: you must take all of this with a grain of salt…I was seated in the third row of the large AMC theater, which provided a challenge as it was. I do not recommend seeing this movie if the only seats you can find are third row.

Based on the trailers, the plot of the movie isn’t too difficult to sort out. Bad guy uses supposed black magic to take over the world, Holmes and Watson try to thwart him while being occasionally sidetracked by suspect women (McAdams) and lawman of questionable competency.

Honestly, the plot had nothing to do with my feeling let down by the movie. As I twittered, my biggest issues were the following:

  1. I felt like Rachel McAdams was a throwaway character. Her sole purpose in the movie? To fulfill a Hollywood quota that a rising star actress be on the bill. McAdams was wasted talent, in my opinion. Her scenes lacked much depth at all. She’s a good (arguably great) actress and I just felt like her role could have been portrayed by just about anyone (like Mary, Watson’s betrothed).
  2. Mark Strong (Lord Blackwood) was just not sinister enough. I guess I never really bought the black magic thing just because Strong (aka Andy Garcia’s doppelganger) never gave me a really sinister performance that made me think he was capable of such nefarious acts. I just thought he was boring.
  3. All along, I just felt like they were setting up a sequel. Now, don’t get me wrong…this is not something I am opposed to. I hope that with a better writer and a significantly better bad guy, the same cast and director could come up with something a little more complete. What’s this?

These are small quibbles and that’s the bugger about expectations. I found little things to pick on rather than just enjoying the experience (although it was a bit tough from the 3rd row). Unlike Avatar, where I went in with somewhat lower expectations, my high level of anticipation for this flick really worked against me.

OK, now for the good…

  • Any scene that involved Holmes and Watson together. This movie was a bromance in a lot of ways and the Holmes/Watson chemistry was perfectly portrayed by Robert Downey, Jr. (who is probably one of my favorite living actors) and Jude Law.
  • The set design. I’m not ready to give Guy Ritchie his props just yet, but this is by far, his most striking film to date. The look of old school London is somewhat reminiscent of Tim Burton’s Sweeney Todd, but with a little less macabre.
  • The action scenes. I think we can all agree that this is a place where Guy Ritchie should excel and he does here. The movie tends to drag in a couple places, but it is balanced by a few instances of really good action. Not great…but good.
  • Robert Downey, Jr. I know that I’ve expressed my appreciation for this guy, but he’s terrific. Without him carrying the movie, it wouldn’t be nearly as successful. He’s such an engaging actor and he portrays the role of Holmes as it was intended by the director.

So the question I always ask myself is: who would I recommend this movie to? It’s certainly not for kids, although teenagers could easily handle it. Meesha claimed that long-time fans of the books will like it (yes, it’s true, he exists…I actually met him) and I think that people looking for something action-packed an fun will like it. I’m not sure it’s the first movie I would recommend this holiday season (AHEM), but for those of you who don’t have a lot of interest in blue people, I think Sherlock Holmes is probably right up your alley.

Also, I’m probably doing you a favor by bringing your expectations for this movie down a bit. So, you’re welcome.

Avatar is awesome

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As usual, the big guns come out in Hollywood around the holidays. Alli and I headed out with Jake and Kelly to see James “I’m the King of the World” Cameron’s 15-years-in-the-making, sci-fi-fantasy-action-spiritual-romance-drama genre-bending movie, Avatar.

avatar

I haven’t been this enamored by a movie in as long as I can remember. Several hours later and I can’t stop thinking about it, talking about it, and wanting to see it again.

At the risk of over-stating and over-promising, I’m still gonna say it: Avatar is one of the most innovative, original films to be made in the last 20 years.

James Cameron has spent the last 15 years writing and conceptualizing this EPIC film, a story that at its most basic is a love story wrapped in a war movie set in space. But that ignores the spiritual and philosophical dimension that makes this movie so unique.

We meet Corporal Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) first, on his trip to the planet Pandora, a world occupied by humanoid creatures called the Na’vi. There he meets a native woman named Neytiri (Zoe Saldana) who helps him to learn about the culture and their people’s beliefs and traditions.

Along the way, he’s faced with physical, emotional and moral challenges, not to mention a middle-of-the-night showdown with a pack of rabid doberman-like wild animals.

I don’t want to give away anymore of the plot. I want people to discover it for themselves. The only thing I will say is that the commercials and trailers don’t do this film any kind of justice. The movie is so much more than I ever expected.

When I first started seeing stills and clips from the movie, I had little to no interest in it. I love James Cameron and I think he’s an innovative filmmaker, but from what I could see, it didn’t seem to interest me. Giant smurfs controlled in a Matrix-like way on some crazy other planet? No thanks.

Then it became really hard to ignore. As the first reviews began to flow in, I began to think that my first judgement may have been incorrect. And the more I heard about it, the more my interest was piqued.

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So we went today.

And like I said before, it was one of the best times I’ve had at the movies in my life. I was completely rapt for the full 2 hours and 40 minutes. I didn’t want to move, didn’t want to go to the bathroom, didn’t want to do anything but spend that time with the completely brilliant James Cameron and his perfect film. I leaned forward in my seat almost the whole time because I didn’t want anything else to distract me from what I knew 30 minutes in was the crowning achievement of this man’s illustrious career.

There I go again. People who know me know that I have a tendency to get over-excited and maybe overstate things a little. I promise, I’m not exaggerating on this movie. It really is that good.

This movie manages to make a statement without being preachy. It uses amazing CGI without being cheesy. It has an obvious romantic element without being sentimental. And it has action that is meaningful and exciting without sacrificing it for poor dialogue. When I consider that all of these things can mostly be attributed to Cameron, it’s hard to argue against him to win the Oscar for Best Director.

We will see. He’s certainly set the bar and he’s set it high.

Michael Jackson’s This is It

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There are plenty of reasons not to see Michael Jackson’s This Is It.

michaeljacksonthisisit_wallpaper_1280x1024

I went in with an open mind. Despite his questionable legal history and lifestyle choices, you cannot deny his musical genius and I was interested in seeing the behind-the-scenes look as he prepared for what would be his swan song, a 50-night engagement at the O2 in London, completely sold out.

My dad was lucky enough to see Michael Jackson in Wembley Stadium during the Bad tour. I remember him bringing back the official program, glossy in red and black and white with Jackson in black leather and looking as tough as he could look with that crazy perm.

When I was eight years old, my brother and our close friends Gabe and Shannan put on a breakdancing show with The Jacksons Victory album as our soundtrack. Ridiculous, I know. But we were kids.

The footage that makes up This Is It was intended for Michael’s personal use only; with his passing, it’s the last glimpse we get of a brilliant performer, a quintessential entertainer and a musical talent we are unlikely to see again in our lifetime. We see him rehearsing the iconic songs he became known for over a career that spanned four decades.

Personally, I was always a fan of Michael’s music, but not like with other artists. Michael’s music was just always there, a part of the thread of our culture, and just about everything he did was totally brilliant.

Watching this 50-year-old man sing and dance and prepare to perform a 50-night engagement was fascinating. He was lucid and involved and inspiring to those surrounding him — dancers, backup singers, band, crew. In fact, watching the reactions of those around him as he rehearsed was one of my favorite parts of the movie. Hearing the dancers explain that they had no idea where their careers could go. This was the pinnacle for them. How could it get better?

The thing that really bummed me out was that this tour never happened. It looked EPIC in rehearsals. They also showed many of the extras filmed just for the concert — a new 3-D intro to “Thriller”, an awesome multiplying green screen effect for “They Don’t Really Care About Us” and others. But I left the theater feeling a bit unsatisfied if only that I couldn’t see the finished product. Michael Jackson was a rare combination of accomplished musician and enthralling entertainer.

While this is a nice documentary and great insight into what it was like to collaborate with such a genius, it really just left me wanting more.