Is it just me or is there anyone else out there who is as appalled as I am about the new GAP commercial featuring Audrey Hepburn in a old clip from "Funny Face," dancing to AC/DC's 'Back in Black?"
Who thought this was a good idea? I guess the beer commercials with John Wayne and James Cagney didn't enough of an out cry of "this is wrong!" Someone decided to do it again. Now I have never had a problem with GAP commercials before now and I don't even shop at the GAP anymore. So all I can do is bitch and moan and change the channel.
Thursday, September 28, 2006
Tuesday, September 19, 2006
Film Diary Update
LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE A
- This was the funniest and smartest movie I’ve seen this year. I do love dark comedies. They make me glad that my problems are not as bad as I thought, and they sure aren’t this funny. Wonderful performances and I have to admit I had yet to be won over by Steve Carell, but I guess I could be persuaded now. I don’t like “The Office”, it reminds me to much of my own work, and I have yet to see “The 40 year old Virgin.” What can I say it was just one of those things that we missed. Sometimes we avoid seeing the ‘popular’ movie, just because it’s ‘popular. Yes, we can be the biggest film snobs. This was a film that I will gladly see again.
OMKARA A-
- Yet again here is another excellent example of how wonderfully adaptable Shakespeare can be. I understand that this director also did Macbeth a few years ago, I would like to see that. Omkara is set among those involved in political warfare in the interior of Uttar Pradesh, Omkara “Omi” is a general or ‘strong arm’ for the local political faction taking control of the province. I like the violent and rural setting, too often I have seen Othello set at court. I like this better. I get the feeling that this is very similar to what life in India is really like, that it is this corrupt and dangerous. This is one of the best films I have seen this year. I have only one complaint with this film and that is the use of an everyday devise in this case modern technology, a cell phone is used to expose Dolly’s supposed infelditiy. Oh, all of a sudden this guy convientally looses his cell phone? I don’t think so. For me, in Othello the most anticipated part is when Iago reveals to Othello Desdemona’s supposed betrayal. I felt that the use of a cell phone was contrived and the writer found he was without a plausible way to move this along, it would have worked had he set it up before hand that Kesu was known to loose his phone often, then I would have believed that Langda took advantage of the of this flaw and some dumb luck opportunity.
THE ILLUSIONIST A-
- I liked this film for the performances and the mystery and the romance, but mostly for the magic. Ed Norton was excellent and Paul Giamatti was also, of course he almost stole the film from Ed Norton but then so did Rufus Sewell, I loved it when he was enraged, his accent would get thicker. This was a film that looked intriguing, I felt that we had stepped into an old photograph from the late 19th century. I loved the feel of being in an old world setting, that era seemed so simple and refined, yet full of wonderment. I like the illusionist says “…nothing is what is seems.” I will like to see how this film compares to “The Prestige.” I can’t wait.
THE PROTECTOR C
- I was very disappointed with this film, I had heard good things about, but I have since learned that about eight minutes was cut from the original and reedited. Believe me it shows. I loved Tony Ja’s first film, his martial arts ability blew me away, he did stuff I’ve never seen before, it was just amazing. This film lacked that quality and uniqueness. This was a bad martial arts action film all the way around. I could on and on but I really don’t want to relive it.
HOLLYWOODLAND B-
- I found this not to be much of a film mainly because of the script. The film itself is fine, I found the acting to be sincere and eye opening, everyone did very well, and I love the costumes, they were more than vintage, I can’t remember when period hair was done better for this era. The actors and costume and makeup people are to be commended, but, as for the meat of the film, the story, that left something to be desired, but this was a difficult story to tell and I think that it could have been done better. I found to the flaws to be in the Adrian Brody character, I did not believe that this bum of a detective and father could or would find the answers or the notoriety he was looking for. And that is the problem, how to present an unsolved mystery? You either solve it or supply more mystery. This still leaves the feeling of un-satisfaction and sadness. Although maybe that is what the director wants us to feel, I felt almost as bad as the kids did when Superman died, oops, I mean George Reeves.
- This was the funniest and smartest movie I’ve seen this year. I do love dark comedies. They make me glad that my problems are not as bad as I thought, and they sure aren’t this funny. Wonderful performances and I have to admit I had yet to be won over by Steve Carell, but I guess I could be persuaded now. I don’t like “The Office”, it reminds me to much of my own work, and I have yet to see “The 40 year old Virgin.” What can I say it was just one of those things that we missed. Sometimes we avoid seeing the ‘popular’ movie, just because it’s ‘popular. Yes, we can be the biggest film snobs. This was a film that I will gladly see again.
OMKARA A-
- Yet again here is another excellent example of how wonderfully adaptable Shakespeare can be. I understand that this director also did Macbeth a few years ago, I would like to see that. Omkara is set among those involved in political warfare in the interior of Uttar Pradesh, Omkara “Omi” is a general or ‘strong arm’ for the local political faction taking control of the province. I like the violent and rural setting, too often I have seen Othello set at court. I like this better. I get the feeling that this is very similar to what life in India is really like, that it is this corrupt and dangerous. This is one of the best films I have seen this year. I have only one complaint with this film and that is the use of an everyday devise in this case modern technology, a cell phone is used to expose Dolly’s supposed infelditiy. Oh, all of a sudden this guy convientally looses his cell phone? I don’t think so. For me, in Othello the most anticipated part is when Iago reveals to Othello Desdemona’s supposed betrayal. I felt that the use of a cell phone was contrived and the writer found he was without a plausible way to move this along, it would have worked had he set it up before hand that Kesu was known to loose his phone often, then I would have believed that Langda took advantage of the of this flaw and some dumb luck opportunity.
THE ILLUSIONIST A-
- I liked this film for the performances and the mystery and the romance, but mostly for the magic. Ed Norton was excellent and Paul Giamatti was also, of course he almost stole the film from Ed Norton but then so did Rufus Sewell, I loved it when he was enraged, his accent would get thicker. This was a film that looked intriguing, I felt that we had stepped into an old photograph from the late 19th century. I loved the feel of being in an old world setting, that era seemed so simple and refined, yet full of wonderment. I like the illusionist says “…nothing is what is seems.” I will like to see how this film compares to “The Prestige.” I can’t wait.
THE PROTECTOR C
- I was very disappointed with this film, I had heard good things about, but I have since learned that about eight minutes was cut from the original and reedited. Believe me it shows. I loved Tony Ja’s first film, his martial arts ability blew me away, he did stuff I’ve never seen before, it was just amazing. This film lacked that quality and uniqueness. This was a bad martial arts action film all the way around. I could on and on but I really don’t want to relive it.
HOLLYWOODLAND B-
- I found this not to be much of a film mainly because of the script. The film itself is fine, I found the acting to be sincere and eye opening, everyone did very well, and I love the costumes, they were more than vintage, I can’t remember when period hair was done better for this era. The actors and costume and makeup people are to be commended, but, as for the meat of the film, the story, that left something to be desired, but this was a difficult story to tell and I think that it could have been done better. I found to the flaws to be in the Adrian Brody character, I did not believe that this bum of a detective and father could or would find the answers or the notoriety he was looking for. And that is the problem, how to present an unsolved mystery? You either solve it or supply more mystery. This still leaves the feeling of un-satisfaction and sadness. Although maybe that is what the director wants us to feel, I felt almost as bad as the kids did when Superman died, oops, I mean George Reeves.
Friday, September 15, 2006
Oscar Update
The Toronto Film Festival raps up tomorrow and more reviews and news will be coming that will influence my Oscar charts. I've already made some changes because of what has come out of Toronto so far. I can't wait for something else to open, it's silm pickens out there or rather down here.
I do have good news to share. I will have a new movie theatre to go to that will be even closer to my house than any of the others. The Alamo Drafthouse should open around Christmas time. Yes, that' s right the first Drafthouse outside of the central Texas. Although I would hope that they would show more of the type of films that show up in the Austin Drafthouses, but the reality is that we will be lucky if they have the lastest art house fair available. Hope the food is better than the last time we went to the Alamo Lake Creek in Austin back in March.
I do have good news to share. I will have a new movie theatre to go to that will be even closer to my house than any of the others. The Alamo Drafthouse should open around Christmas time. Yes, that' s right the first Drafthouse outside of the central Texas. Although I would hope that they would show more of the type of films that show up in the Austin Drafthouses, but the reality is that we will be lucky if they have the lastest art house fair available. Hope the food is better than the last time we went to the Alamo Lake Creek in Austin back in March.
Film Diary Update
Here are the next two films after "Snakes." I still have five more reviews to get to in the next couple of days.
THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA - B-
- I am so glad that I got over my girlhood obsession with fashion. I would not want to be apart of that world at all. I think this was a great opportunity for Anne Hathaway to work with Meryl Streep, but I’m not sure she walks way better for it. Meryl wipes her off the screen in almost every scene. I sometimes wonder if they were even in the same movie. Meryl plays it so cold and cruel yet without being bitchy, she is truly the boss form hell. This is something that we have no seen on the screen for some time and never from Ms. Streep, this was a wonderful performance. Emily Blunt is the other standout here, we actually feel bad for her and yet we somehow sympathize as well, I think we have all been placed in that position at work at least once. She was bright and funny and she had a presence on screen that shined. I love Stanley Tucci, but I believe that anyone could have played this part as well. I don’t that the film was a funny as I had believed to be before I saw it and so I was disappointed, but I loved watching Ms. Streep and I do like Anne Hathaway, she is very appealing and I could identify with her completely. Overall the film was a minor disappointment on the humor side, yet I was satisfied. The test was for my husband who did not want to see this film, so he walked in expecting to hate it; he was surprised at how much he enjoyed it.
A SCANNER DARKLY - B+
- I would love to see this again, and I think had I not been so tired the night I saw this, I would probably still want to see this again, because a second and maybe third viewing is necessary. From what I understand Philip K. Dick is an acquired taste, and the only time a film adaptation has worked was with “Blade Runner,” I have to admit that I have never read his books, but I have heard that with this book Philip K. Dick goes deeper in conspiracy theory with this than with anything else before it. He weaves a tight loop in his plot that seems to go back on itself that it was easy to get lost. I think that is what happened to most people who saw this film and didn’t like it, because they didn’t get it. At first because I was so tired and I just wanted to get out of the house, I didn’t want to see this film, yet I was dazzled by the animation, the movement of shadow and light and the complexity of composition I kept wondering, ‘how did they do that?’ After I got over my distraction with the visual, I found myself asking questions about what was going on and I found I was intrigued and confused. By the time the film ended I was sadden that I had missed so much before I caught on and I wish to see this again someday.
THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA - B-
- I am so glad that I got over my girlhood obsession with fashion. I would not want to be apart of that world at all. I think this was a great opportunity for Anne Hathaway to work with Meryl Streep, but I’m not sure she walks way better for it. Meryl wipes her off the screen in almost every scene. I sometimes wonder if they were even in the same movie. Meryl plays it so cold and cruel yet without being bitchy, she is truly the boss form hell. This is something that we have no seen on the screen for some time and never from Ms. Streep, this was a wonderful performance. Emily Blunt is the other standout here, we actually feel bad for her and yet we somehow sympathize as well, I think we have all been placed in that position at work at least once. She was bright and funny and she had a presence on screen that shined. I love Stanley Tucci, but I believe that anyone could have played this part as well. I don’t that the film was a funny as I had believed to be before I saw it and so I was disappointed, but I loved watching Ms. Streep and I do like Anne Hathaway, she is very appealing and I could identify with her completely. Overall the film was a minor disappointment on the humor side, yet I was satisfied. The test was for my husband who did not want to see this film, so he walked in expecting to hate it; he was surprised at how much he enjoyed it.
A SCANNER DARKLY - B+
- I would love to see this again, and I think had I not been so tired the night I saw this, I would probably still want to see this again, because a second and maybe third viewing is necessary. From what I understand Philip K. Dick is an acquired taste, and the only time a film adaptation has worked was with “Blade Runner,” I have to admit that I have never read his books, but I have heard that with this book Philip K. Dick goes deeper in conspiracy theory with this than with anything else before it. He weaves a tight loop in his plot that seems to go back on itself that it was easy to get lost. I think that is what happened to most people who saw this film and didn’t like it, because they didn’t get it. At first because I was so tired and I just wanted to get out of the house, I didn’t want to see this film, yet I was dazzled by the animation, the movement of shadow and light and the complexity of composition I kept wondering, ‘how did they do that?’ After I got over my distraction with the visual, I found myself asking questions about what was going on and I found I was intrigued and confused. By the time the film ended I was sadden that I had missed so much before I caught on and I wish to see this again someday.
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