Author: Shanna

Chick Flick from the Past: ‘Brief Encounter’ (1945)

Brief Encounter

Director: David Lean

Writer: Based on the play “Still Life† by Noel Coward

Cast: Celia Johnson, Trevor Howard, Stanley Holloway, and Joyce Carey.

Run time: 86 minutes (black and white)

Rating: None

Awards: Nominated for 3 Oscars, won Grand Prize at the 1946 Cannes Film Festival

DVD features: Audio commentary from film historian Bruce Eder, original trailer (which I found quite amusing).

Plot: Laura Jesson (Celia Johnson) is a lonely housewife who makes weekly trips to town every Thursday. During these trips Laura shops and usually catches a matinee at the local theater before taking the train home. One particular Thursday, Laura is standing by the train tracks and an express train speeds by causing dirt to fly into her eye. Laura walks into the train station’s cafà © to ask for some water to help clean her eye. Dr. Alec Harvey (Trevor Howard) hears of Laura’s distress and offers to help thus marks the beginning of an ill-fated love affair. Continue reading Chick Flick from the Past: ‘Brief Encounter’ (1945)

Sept. ’08 Chick Flicks

A wide-range of chick flicks are coming to a theater near you this September. Films range from fun romantic comedies to 18th century royalty downfalls. Of course all release dates are subject to change.

Everybody Wants to be Italian:

-Limited release: Sept. 5th, 2008

-Rating: R for sexual references

-Director: Jason Todd Ipson

-Writer: Jason Todd Ipson

-Cast: Jay Jablonski, Cerina Vincent, John Kapelos, John Enos, and Richard Libertini

-Summary: Is a romantic comedy based in Boston. Jake (Jay Jablonski) has been in love with the same woman for 10 years, but she is married with children. To help Jake, his friends set him up on a blind-date with an Italian beauty. All the mayhem begins when Jake is convinced that such a woman would never date outside her ethnic community so he fakes being Italian.

Continue reading Sept. ’08 Chick Flicks

Family tragedy stops production of ‘Terminator: Salvation’

Tragedy has struck the family of Helena Bonham Carter known for her eccentric roles in such films as Fight Club, Big Fish, and Sweeny Todd. Several of her family members were vacationing in South Africa when their bus crashed killing four and injuring two others per People magazine. The youngest fatality was the 14-year-old son of Carter’s cousin Fiona Bonham Carter. The boy’s maternal grandmother, step-grandfather, and aunt also died.

According to WEEN.com, Carter left the Albuquerque, New Mexico set of Terminator: Salvation to be with her family in the UK. For now it is not clear when filming will recommence.

‘Mamma Mia!’ Sing-Along on Labor Day Weekend

Mamma Mia

Break out your bell-bottoms and platform shoes! Universal Pictures has announced that starting on August 29th (Labor Day weekend) a sing-along version of the hit musical ‘Mamma Mia!’Â  will be playing in select theaters nationwide. According to The Hollywood Reporter the special showings will include printed subtitles during each ABBA song. Per IMDb.com, the film has currently grossed $323 million worldwide making it one of the highest grossing musicals of all time and it is showing no signs of slowing down. Contact your local theaters for show times.

Review: ‘Breaking and Entering’ on DVD

Breaking and Entering

The majority of popular films are based in fantasy. Filmgoers like to escape from reality and their own personal problems while enjoying a movie. Breaking and Entering (2007) is the complete opposite experience which explains why it did not receive the attention it deserved. This final film directed by the late Anthony Minghella feels so real that it is painful.

Breaking and Entering is centered on the personal and professional life of Will (Jude Law). He has been living with his girlfriend of 10 years Liv (Robin Wright Penn) and her 13 year old autistic daughter. The couple is deeply in love, but is struggling with raising a handicapped daughter, the time constraints of Will’s job, and Liv’s chronic depression.

Will is a Landscape Architect who recently moved his business to the crime infested area of King’s Cross, London. Soon after the business opens it is robbed twice. Taking matters into his own hands, Will stakes out the office and soon discovers a young man Miro (Rafi Gavron) trying to break in. Will follows the robber to a run down apartment complex and witnesses an exchange between Miro and his mother Amira (Juliette Binoche).

The next day Will goes back to the apartment to gain information about the burglary, but finds himself fascinated by Amira. Will learns that Amira is a refugee from Bosnian who fled to London to start a new life after the death of her husband. They quickly develop a physical relationship and Will becomes torn between his love for Amira and turning her son in for his crimes.

This film’s best attribute is the wonderful performances given by the lead actors. Jude Law is brilliant in his portrayal of Will. He gives just enough emotion for the audience to feel his struggles, but still upholds the take charge business and family man exterior. Juliette Binoche is one of my favorite actresses and sorely under rated. She gave everything she had in portraying the grieving, lonely single mother. Her performance just tore at my heart. Robin Wright Penn’s performance was great, but the least captivating. She was just missing that certain something and her Norwegian accent was distracting.

The screenplay was definitely character driven. The whole concept of having the characters move the story along instead of the other way around was refreshing. The thoughtful portrayal of insecurities the characters felt was truthful and real. The only problem I had was the ending, which I do not want to give it away, but it was disappointing.

Breaking and Entering was a thought inspiring Independent film that should have received more recognition. The film touches on concepts that everyone can relate to such as war, lies, lust, crime, love, and forgiveness with heart wrenching realism.

Rated R for sexuality and language

DVD includes commentary with Writer/Director, behind the scenes making of, deleted scenes with commentary, and theatrical trailer.

[rating:4/5]

Review: ‘Broken English’ on DVD

Broken Englishwould be a waste of time if it was not for the ideal casting of Parker Posey as Nora Wilder. The film is a New York based romantic dramedy written and directed by Zoà « Cassavetes the daughter of actress Gena Rowlands.

Nora Wider (Posey) is a thirty something lonely woman who smokes and drinks excessively. She works at an upscale New York hotel. Nora specializes in babying celebrity clients. One of these clients is Nick Gable (Justin Theroux) who takes an immediate liking to Nora. Against her better judgment Nora agrees to go out with Nick and ends up in his bed. Several weeks later while watching an entertainment news story Nora finds out that Nick has a girlfriend. Nora is crushed.

Nora’s best friend Audrey (Drea de Matteo) has been happily married for five years to Mark (Tim Guinee). Nora attends their anniversary party where she is bombarded with questions about her miserable personal life from her mother Vivien (Rowlands). Vivien takes it upon herself to set Nora up on a date with the son of one of her friends. Of course, the man has issues and ends up leaving Nora half way through their first date.

Nora, depressed and alone again, runs into Julien (Melvil Poupaud) a visiting Frenchmen. Julien intensely pursues Nora even though she tells him several times to get lost. Eventually, Nora caves in and the couple spends the weekend together.

When things are finally going her way, Julien drops a bomb saying he must go back to France. Julien invites Nora to come along with him, but she is fearful of leaving her unhappy life. Time goes by and Nora realizes that Julien is the only one who can make her happy so she jumps on an airplane with her best friend, but will she be able to find him in such a large city as Paris?

As Nora, Parker Posey reminds me of a cheerleader for a lack luster team. She shined above everyone so much that the remainder of the cast seemed dull. Melvil Poupaud’s strong, silent, intense type works well as a stand alone character, but it was difficult to accept him falling head over heels in love with Nora at first sight. He is too perfect for the imperfect Nora.

Zoà « Cassavetes’s screenplay is full of clichà ©s. There is nothing different or special. The film has the essence of The Virgin Suicides,directed by Sofia Coppola who happens to be one of Cassavetes close friends, but it’s lacking the magic and feeling that Coppola brings to filmmaking.

If you love Parker Posey, like I do, then defiantly see this film. If you want to see a good entertaining romantic comedy with a neurotic leading lady I would suggest sticking with Bridget Jones’s Diary.

Rated PG-13

No DVD special features.

[rating:2.5/5]

DVD Review: ‘Bella’

*Bella is a gentle introspective film by Mexican born director Alejandro Gomez Monteverde. It stars Mexican heartthrob Eduardo Verastegui and newcomer Tammy Blanchard. The film was the surprise winner of the 2006 People’s Choice award at the Toronto Film Festival. Bella skillfully details both sides of a highly emotional issue in such a leisurely way that I barely noticed it until the end.

Jose (Verastegui) is a soccer star on his way to a press conference to announce his new big contract. Suddenly, a young child runs out in front of his car. He runs her over and kills her. Jose spends the next several years in jail.

Fast-forward to bustling New York City. Jose is the head chef at his brother’s restaurant. Jose’s brother, Manny (Manny Perez) is a hard task master expecting his employees to be as perfect as himself. Nina (Blanchard), a waitress at Manny’s restaurant, is late for work again. In front of all of the employees, Manny fires Nina without allowing her to explain her reason for being delayed.

Feeling sorry for Nina, Jose chases after her leaving his brother without a head chef for the lunch time rush. When Jose catches up to Nina, she explains she was tardy because of morning sickness. Throughout their day together Jose tries to convince Nina to keep the baby. He takes Nina to his parent’s home showing her that a loving close family is possible. Then they go to the beach where Nina shares her painful childhood involving the death of her father. Jose seems desperate to save the life of the unborn child to atone for the life that he took.

Throughout the majority of the film Verastegui has a full unkempt beard and long hair. He looks dirty. Someone on the street even mistakes him for a homeless person. I know the beard represented his depression and haunted past, but it was too much. I would not eat a meal made by anyone with such poor hygiene. Besides the facial hair, Verastegui’s performance was spot on and captivating. Tammy Blanchard as Nina was delightful to watch. She had noticeable chemistry with Verastegui. I could feel and see her struggle over her decision. I’m looking forward to seeing more from her in the future.

This was a risky and heavy topic to tackle for first time director Monteverde. This film flowed so smoothly and seamlessly that the profound message was almost lost. The movie is only an hour and a half long, but it felt slow and long. It definitely could have used some testosterone. I hope Monteverde has learned that he does not have to walk on egg shells to appease everyone when focusing on a taboo issue.  Ã‚  

Overall, the film was thought provoking and touching, but not for everyone.

Rated: PG-13Â  

DVD features include a making of documentary and interviews with the cast and director.

[rating:3/5]

*Review first appeared at www.moviefilmreview.com

Review: ‘Death at a Funeral’ on DVD

Shanna:

Death at a Funeral is one of my all time favorite comedies. I was laughing so hard it made me cry. This dark adult comedy should be on everyone’s must rent list.

Directed by Frank Oz, Death at a Funeral tells the story of a dysfunctional family gathering to mourn the death of one of their own. There are too many interwoven sub storylines to justly depict, but here is a summary: Daniel (Matthew McFadyen) is arranging the funeral proceedings for his father while at the same time trying to write the eulogy. Daniel’s wife Jane (Keeley Hawes) is constantly on Daniel’s case about starting a life of their own outside of his parent’s home. Daniel’s missing in action older brother Robert (Rupert Graves) shows up from America as a successful Novelist. Daniel is therefore plagued by everyone throughout the movie bluntly asking why his more eloquent brother Robert had not prepared the eulogy, adding to Daniel’s snowballing stress. Then there is Daniel’s cousin Martha (Daisy Donovan), who is secretly engaged to Simon (Alan Tudyk). Martha chooses this inappropriate gathering to announce her engagement before her disapproving father. Poor Simon, nervous about meeting his future father-n-law, takes what he thinks is anti-anxiety medication, but is actually an ecstasy like designer hallucinogenic. Simon winds up exposing himself in outrageous, unbearable, yet entertaining behavior, culminating with a nude suicide attempt off the roof. Meanwhile, a mysterious dwarf, Peter (Peter Dinklage), appears at the funeral. Peter tries to blackmail Daniel and Robert into giving him a large amount of money or he will make several embarrassing photos of their father public.

The acting in this film is ideal. Alan Tudyk stands out as the drugged up Simon. He had me rolling on the floor with laughter. I have no idea how these actors kept a straight face. This film can be compared to Four Weddings and a Funeral, but with much more wit and laugh out loud fun so if you need a good chuckle please check out this brilliant dramedy.

Special DVD features include a gag reel during the credits and commentaries from Frank Oz, Dean Craig (Writer), Alan Tudyk, and Andy Nyman (Actor).

Rated R for nudity, drug references, and language.

(4.5 out of 5)

Zac:

Frank Oz’s newest film is a British ensemble that is full of laughs and was one of the funniest films of 2007.
The films entire run time takes place over the course of one funeral for the father of a pair of brothers, Daniel and Robert, when a collision of drugs, hidden agenda, and infidelity all culminate on the absolute wrong day to do so. The cast is huge and filled with a wide array of personalities and problems among the family and friends that are attending.
The issues that pop up at this funeral are many here is a small sampling, scandalous love affair, hallucinogenic drugs, nudity, geriatric bathroom issues, kidnapping, black mail, and this list could go on. I hate to spoil any more as the outrageousness and surprise of it all is half of the fun, so I will have to be brief on the plot.
The cast is enormous with a few familiar faces but the stand outs are brilliant among a great cast. First mention should be to Peter Vaughan as Uncle Alfie who is just great as the crotchety wheel chair bound old man. He is hilarious and sells the role perfectly. Peter Dinklage also deserves props for his excellent role as the mysterious attendee of the funeral that raises a lot of questions for everyone involved. Andy Nyman is also excellent as Howard a cousin of the family who has to deal with Alfie and a few of the other “messes” that come along.
The cake most really go to Alan Tudyk though, who plays the accidentally drugged fiancà © of a cousin to the deceased that is trying to win over his future father in law. He is just absolutely amazing and must be seen to believe, and I will not dare to spoil anything he does.
Oz’s pacing and direction is wonderful, capturing the insanity of the day in a way that it feels like it isn’t such a farce even though it is incredibly ridiculous. And Dean Craig’s script is smart, unpredictable, and full of wit. The film is a perfect of example of how you should make a comedy, quick pace, variety of laughs, and doesn’t over stay its welcome.
My review is brief, but that is only because I wish not to spoil. I can not recommend this enough, even if you’re turn a nose to British humor. Rush out to rent this wonderful film that should have been on my best of 07 list and may have even cracked the top 10 had I seen in time.

(4.5 out of 5)

[rating:4.5/5]

Review: ‘Fool’s Gold’ on DVD

Fools Gold is a romantic comedy with breathtaking tropical scenery, but with little else to offer. Matthew McConaughey reunites with his How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days costar Kate Hudson as a soon to be divorced couple at each other’s throats. Benjamin Finnegan (McConaughey) is an immature treasure hunter looking for the lost dowry of the Queen of Spain, which supposedly sunk off of Key West during a hurricane. When Ben finds his first clue, he accidentally sinks his boat, which he co-owns with his wife Tess (Hudson). Tess was going to sell the boat and use the money to attend graduate school. Using Tess’s connections with a local millionaire Nigel Honeycutt (Donald Southerland), the couple set out on their treacherous hunt for the Queen’s dowry. Added to the mayhem, Ben is being pursued by the local gangster for unpaid debts.

It was remarkable how Kate Hudson channeled her mother’s persona (Goldie Hawn) in this film, but Kate’s comedic abilities could not save this movie. The storyline was an unstructured mess. McConaughey’s acting was mediocre, he had lackluster chemistry with Hudson, and the only thing he had to offer was a hot body. Fools Gold is a poorly acted and written version of Romancing the Stone.

The DVD includes a behind-the-scenes featurette and a gag reel.

Rated PG-13 for action violence, some sexual material, and language.

[rating: 2/5]

Review: ‘Over Her Dead Body’ on DVD

When I rented Over Her Dead Body I was reluctant to watch it. I let it sit by my DVD player until I finally gave in on this boring Sunday afternoon. The film is a typical Romantic Comedy with a few high points.

Kate (Eva Longoria Parker) is a high-strung bride who meets her early demise via an ice sculpture on her wedding day. Henry (Paul Rudd) depressed over his fiancà ©s death is taken by his sister Chloe (Lindsay Sloane) to see Ashley (Lake Bell) a local psychic. Henry is a Veterinarian and “a man of science,† skeptical of Ashley’s abilities until she reveals personal details of Henry’s relationship with Kate. As Ashley and Henry become close, out of the blue the jealous ghost of Kate starts to haunt Ashley. What ensues is a supernatural cat-fight. Dan (Jason Biggs) tags along as Ashley’s gay best friend for added comic relief.

One of the few high points in this film is Paul Rudd. He is funny even when he is trying not to be. His sarcastic deadpan humor is spot on. Another is a scene in which two veterinarian technicians are trying to lift an overweight dog onto the examining table. They drop the dog several times and even end up on the ground themselves.

Throughout the whole film I was thinking why would a local laid back Veterinarian be engaged to a neurotic prissy woman like Kate. Their relationship was not believable. This is the first time I’ve seen Lake Bell. She is beautiful and sweet, but forgettable just like this film.

This DVD does not include anything special. The only special feature is a few trailers.
Director/Writer: Jeff Lowell
Rated PG-13 for sexual content and language.
Box Office Gross: $7.6 Million (USA)