Monsters Vs. Aliens – or, sometimes you need to watch silly movies.

I’m getting married in ten days (if you weren’t already aware) and life at present is a great big blur of craziness.

There isn’t a lot of time to just sit back and relax and watch a movie.

Sometimes, however, a movie smacks you in the face and says “Sit down.”

Which is what happened last night with “Monsters Vs. Aliens.”

After a long day of work and my Human Development class (which is the single most frustrating class I’ve ever taken, but that’s a whole different blog post/bag of worms) I got home and crashed on the couch for a few minutes. During these few minutes, I began channel surfing, and stopped when I saw a movie that seemed like something I recognized. Sure enough, it was “Monsters Vs. Aliens,” which I remembered having an interest in seeing when it was in theatres, but never followed through with actually seeing.

After watching about one minute, I was hooked.

And wound up watching the entire movie.

And I found it completely charming.

It’s a beautifully done movie about a battle for earth between the evil aliens and the misunderstood monsters.

The voice cast is phenomenal – Reese Witherspoon, Seth Rogen, Kiefer Sutherland, Will Arnett, Rainn Wilson, Stephen Colbert, Jeffrey Tambor, and Amy Poehler (who shows up as the voice of a computer system with understated snarkiness.) Even the bit parts are voiced by big stars – Renee Zellwegger and John Krasinki do the voices of a couple who maybe have two minutes of screen time.

Stephen Colbert plays the President of the United States. Seriously.

It was silly and touching and I truly, truly enjoyed it.

That’s all I have to say about that.

Because it’s funny.

Randomly, “Run, Fatboy, Run” was on HBO this evening and played in the background while I did homework.  I wasn’t even half-watching it, and then all of a sudden I remembered that the movie posesses one of my favorite fight scenes in a movie… ever.

May I present – for your entertainment – Simon Pegg and Dylan Moran.

Enjoy!

Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?

Have you ever seen “Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?”

Have you?!!

Somehow, despite my love for camp and old Hollywood, I’d never seen this movie until I sat down tonight to get a mental break from a very long day. 

Plot? Two sisters, both aged stars, live together in a big house. One (Blanche, played by Joan Crawford) is trapped in a wheelchair after being hit by a car driven by her jealous and less-talented younger sister Jane (Bette Davis) who pretty much tortures Blanche to the point of insanity.  Baby Jane was a child star and is obsessed with being famous once again, while poor Blanche just wants to get the hell out of the house.

My goodness. 

Bette Davis and Joan Crawford are both on top of their respective games in this film, playing polar opposite sisters.  While Crawford emotes dramatically from the confines of her wheelchair, Davis storms around the house, alternately stomping like a hippo and fluttering like a little girl.  

It’s a little Hitchcock, a little Grey Gardens, a little Single White Female, and a whole lot of fun.

Perhaps most importantly, between Crawford and Davis not a frame of film is left unchewed. 

It’s all incredibly twisted and the stuff of camp classics.

I can’t believe I’d never seen this before tonight.

See it. As soon as you can.

For real.

Its Oscar night…

..and little miss Anna Kendrick is up for a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her performance in ‘Up in the air.”

Anna who?

If you’re like me, you’ll best remember her as Fritzi from the movie “Camp.”

I’ll drink to that.

“Every Little Step” (2008)

]Though I may be on theatrical retirement, the history of the Broadway musical will always be fascinating to me. And when it comes to the history of Broadway, there aren’t many shows as revered and held tightly to as “A Chorus Line.” This musical, about dancers auditioning for a Broadway musical, personalized the naneless dancers in the chorus while proving once and for all the genius of the late, great, Michael Bennett and making a legend out of the hyper-talented Donna Murphy.

In 2008, a little documentary was released called “Every Little Step.” This documentary, by filmmakers Adam Del Deo and James D. Stern, followed the process of casting the new Broadway revival of this theatrical masterwork – which had not been revived since it’s original production.

I’d been meaning to see this movie since it’s release, but never managed to. Finally, today, I got to see it – and I’m sad I didn’t see it earlier.

First of all, as a fan of Broadway musicals, it’s neat to see performers I know of in the actual audition process.  Many familiar names are present and working hard at these auditions: Charlotte D’Amboise, Natasca Diaz, Rachelle Rak, Nikki Snelson (of “Legally Blonde”) , Tony Yazbeck, Deidre Goodwin, and the whole audition is presided over by Broadway legend Baayork Lee (the original “Connie,” who did the musical re-staging for the revival.) I also noticed Rick Faugno, who I saw starring in “Jersey Boys” in Las Vegas, among the auditioners who don’t get cast.

Some of the performers seem to show up and get the role – like Mara Davi, who blows the room away with the high notes in “At the Ballet.” In other battles, like theatre veteran Nikki Snelson vs. newcomer Jessica Lee Goldyn (who go head to head for the role of Val) it comes down to the wire.

(Goldyn wins the role, and deserves it. Nikki Snelson would later go on to tour as Cassie in the show, and bring down the house. It’s all about the day, you know? Then, Goldyn went on to be the final Broadway Cassie in the revival. Small world, huh?)

(Snelson)

(Goldyn)

But more than all that.. it’s a tribute to Broadway. 

Broadway Gypsies are the backbone of the Broadway musical. Dancers who work in the chorus are a rare breed, a small world, and lead a life most of us can’t imagine. This documentary reveres them and puts names to faces, and it’s nice to see. You get to see the amazing kinds of auditions performers of this caliber can do, as best exemplified by Jason Tam, who wins the role of Paul after a powerful rendition of Paul’s big monologue which has the casting panel in tears.

I loved this movie. I wish it’d gone on longer.

(If you’re like me, you’ll be interested to know that it’s now streaming on Netflix. Just an FYI.)

Brittany, Interrupted.

The speculation around the cause of Brittany Murphy’s untimely death yesterday has already begun.  Anorexia, drugs, shady activity by her husband, whatever. “Natural causes” is the coroners initial ruling, but when someone so vibrant dies at the age of 32, people toss around their theories.

Let’s pause and remember that this gal was talented.

I first noticed Ms. Murphy when she appeared in Clueless, but the performance that most resonated with me was her work as Daisy in Girl, Interrupted.  Daisy and her chicken-picking stunned me.  It was a risky, fearless portrayal of a young woman with a serious problem.

A short clip:

It’s always sad when promising young talent flames out too quickly (Heath Ledger, anyone?) Though her career had stalled a bit, despite her weight loss and reinvention as a romantic lead, she had 5 projects in post or pre-production according to IMDB.  Murphy was a bubbly and effervescent screen presence, and who knows what she would have done next.

Brittany Murphy and the Pussycat Dolls – “Oh, so quiet.”

 

The Princess and the Frog (advance screening)

Thanks to the magic of Eric’s friend Michael (one of our groomsmen in the forthcoming wedding, actually) I was fortunate enough to attend an advance screening of the brand new Disney feature, The Princess and the Frog, this past weekend. The movie doesn’t open until December 11th, but Michael, Eric, Brett, and myself headed down to the AMC River East on Saturday morning to see the movie.

And it’s grand.

Straight up.

Visually stunning, musically thrilling, and emotionally resonant, The Princess and the Frog is a welcome return to form for Disney.   Though I appreciate fully the wonder of the Pixar features, there’s something elegant about hand-drawn animation that can’t ever be replaced, and Princess/Frog serves as a reminder that this art form, though more time-consuming, is still worth it. 

I won’t spoil anything in this blog, except to say that I laughed and I cried.  I also felt my foot tapping to Randy Newman’s great new songs – and by nature I’m not a Randy Newman fan.  The voice actors cast in this movie are splendid, particularly Anika Noni Rose as Tiana, and Jennifer Cody as Charlotte (perhaps my new favorite Disney character?) There are also appearances from John Goodman, Oprah, and Terrence Howard, as well as numerous little Disney in-jokes that are worth a chuckle.

I would absolutely pay to see this movie again.

And it’ll most likely wind up on my DVD rack upon it’s release.

It’s that good.

Precious

Precious is not a happy movie.

Precious will very likely make you cry.

Precious might even wreck you.

Not that the trailers and all the buzz said any differently. I didn’t expect, going in, for the movie to be a laugh-a-minute Busby Berkley musical.  I knew what I was signing up for – the tale of a young girl’s hard life in 1987 Harlem. I knew that it was going to be impressive, and dark, and that it was probably going to hurt to watch at times.

I just didn’t expect it to be such a fantastic movie.

There are movies that are made to show the viewer things about the world that they’re not as familiar with – I felt the same way about ‘The Hurt Locker’ a few months ago. It’s about abuse, and incest, and learning to overcome more obstacles than most of us can ever dream of.  Movies paint pictures, and not every picture can be pretty.  But the cast and crew of Precious have made a stunning movie.  It’s painful at times to watch (and that’s the point), but worth every second.

(And just go put the Oscar statue in Mo’nique’s hand right now, please.)

See it.

I’ll never forget it.

 

“Bride Wars,” or.. women are all wedding obsessed shrews, dontcha know?

Last night, I stumbled upon “Bride Wars” on TV.

Having seen the trailer, I (like many) was under the impression it would be a charming comedy about two friends battling over their weddings which (whoops!) were both scheduled for the same day.  I assumed there would be chuckles, and hugs, and all would be sparkly well in the end and our two brides would wind up happy and stylish. The end.

So, I’m not sure what the heck happened, but this movie was … crap.  Seriously.

Fortunately, across town, Bob had also gotten sucked into watching it, and we text-heckled the movie in real time.

The plot (what there was of one) centers on two friends – Emma (Anne Hathaway) and Liv (Kate Hudson.)  Emma is a nebbish teacher and Liv is a ballsy lawyer. Both of them have longterm boyfriends. When Emma’s fiancee proposes unexpectedly, Liv pushes her fiancee to propose to her, which he was apparently going to do that very night (a Hollywood miracle!) The girls plan to be each others maids of honor, but their weddings are GASP! Booked on the same day at the Plaza, which is the only venue either of them will consider getting married at. Of course, a battle begins.  Liv sabotages Emma’s spray-tan, Emma sabotages Liv’s hair appointment. Blah blah blah, they realize they’re both sad to have lost their best friend, have a giant fight, and …tada! It ends with a wedding.

First, let me say that I forgive Anne Hathaway for taking part in the movie. She’s one of the most endearing screen stars out there, and so much more talented than her whiny, hare-brained role in this movie showcased. Also, her strip club number was just.. embarassing to watch. No offense, Annie, who has proven she can in fact sing and dance, but whoever choreographed that thing… geez.

Second, let me say that watching Kate Hudson onscreen is like choosing to listen to fingernails on a blackboard. I know she’s Goldie Hawn’s daughter, but she’s missing all her mother’s charm. And why does her pushy loudmouth character sleep in cats eye eyeliner? ….And, I don’t think anyone is naive enough to buy that she was ever a fat girl. Hearing her lament that she gained five pounds and can’t fit in her Vera Wang wedding dress while she’s standing there in her underwear with her washboard abs showcased was ridiculous.

(Meanwhile, as a former fat girl… Let me say that any girl who used to be fat and has managed to get herself into the shape Kate Hudson is in is NOT going to eat fifteen cookie buckets and .. a stick of butter?… when her wedding is 3 months away. Think about it. You know she counts calories like a mofo.)

Third, I certainly hope Candace Bergen and Kristen Johnson were paid highly for participating. Since they were wasted in stupid roles. (Bergen, as the weddding planner to beat all wedding planners, narrates the movie.. for some reason..?)

This movie’s central premise seems to be that all women care about is their weddings. It’s the most important thing in their lives, and they will stab their best friends in the back to make their day perfect. Because all women are shrews, and haha! all men are hapless and are pushovers. (Or are making comments about how men should “control their wives.” In which case, you’re supposed to know that he’s a bad guy – even though, honestly, by that point in the movie I wanted her to shut the hell up, too!)

Maybe if the only way you’ll be happy with your wedding is if it’s at The Plaza, you should re-think your plans.

I’m sad to say I watched the whole movie, hoping for something… worthwhile.

And there was nothing.

It was terrible.

However, “Made of Honor” was still worse…

Buy the ticket, take the ride: Hunter S. Thompson on film

Buy the Ticket, Take The Ride: Hunter S. Thompson on film (2006)

I’m late to the Hunter S. Thompson party, I guess.

My entire knowledge of this highly-regarded man comes from having read his astonishing book about the Hell’s Angels while in college for a class in American Radical Thought, and from my awareness that there is a movie called “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas” where Johnny Depp plays Thompson. I’ve never seen said movie, or read any of his other stuff.

Apparently, I’m missing out.

While assembling chairs and a bench for our new dining room table on Sunday night, we decided to hit up Netflix streaming video (It’s changed our life, I tell you) for a documentary.  After scrolling past a bunch of other interesting looking films we weren’t interested at that second in, we came to “Buy the Ticket, Take the Ride.”

It was fascinating.

Thompson’s vivid life is told by his friends, colleagues, and people who knew of him.  Everyone from childhood friends to both his wives, to Johnny Depp and Bill Murray (both of whom have played Thompson onscreen) show up for the party to recall fond memories and to tell a tale of a man who fought the concept of establishment, then became trapped by the character he inadvertently created along the way.

(The documentary is narrated by Nick Nolte. It also features, as one of it’s interview subjects, Gary Busey. Gary Busey’s appearance makes Nick Nolte look like the sanest man on earth. The filmmakers were genius to include ALL of Buseys interview set-up, which is jaw-dropping in it’s weirdness.)

I found the documentary fascinating, and it’s made me want to read more of Thompson’s writings, as I recall being astonished by “Hell’s Angels.”  Eric’s got some of his works, and I’ve added them to my reading list.

The story of this man of a million parties ends on a sad note, as Thompson shot himself in February of 2005.

He left a telling note, which was published in Rolling Stone.

“No More Games. No More Bombs. No More Walking. No More Fun. No More Swimming. 67. That is 17 years past 50. 17 more than I needed or wanted. Boring. I am always bitchy. No Fun — for anybody. 67. You are getting Greedy. Act your old age. Relax — This won’t hurt.”

Harry Dean Stanton closes the doc by singing “Danny Boy,” and it’s quite touching.

If you’re interested in writers and counterculture heroes, the movie is engrossing.  Check it out.