The Loss of a Teadrop Diamond

Lately I have been really hard to please in the movie department. I just watched Tennessee Williams' The Loss of a Teardrop Diamond - a screenplay only found after he died. People, there's a reason Tennessee kept this a secret - it's really no good. Although, since I have not read the screenplay myself, I don't know if I should pin the blame on him (technically he's blameless, as he chose not to reveal this particular work), or on the director who to me grossly misinterpreted the characters to the extent that it felt amateurish and green - two things Tennessee Williams is not.

It feels like an unfinished story. It's like he started it and finished some of the characters, but hadn't gotten around to fine tuning and perfecting all of them. The whole story is so full of holes, gaps, craters, character flaws and what-have-you that it was impossible for me to really get behind.

In fact, it kind of made me mad because I really wanted to like it. It stars two of my favorite actors, Bryce Dallas Howard and Chris Evans - be still my heart. It's well cast in my opinion, the costumes, hair and makeup are excellent, not to mention that it's set in the roaring 20's - very attractive. It promises but does not deliver.

While Chris Evans is a super hot hunk of burning Southern love in the story (although, he didn't take off his shirt the whole movie long - I don't get that), and is able to portray what he was given to work with to the best of his ability, his is the worst written character. It's contradictory, lacking depth and reason, there are no explanations, just strange. Unlike his character, Bryce Dallas Howard's is very well rounded, excentric, endearing, passionate and well written. The contrast is severe and gives the viewer the feeling that they don't connect - square peg, round whole. There are two other significant characters in the film, one of which stands out to me particularly, and that is the role played by Ellen Burstyn - the dying aunt of a friend. Spactacular and award winning.

That being said, the movie is very attractive because of the glamor, colors, actors, etc. If you can put up with a "hero" who to me is a terrible person with no redeeming qualities but his looks, no background story that would explain his lack of character, coldness and lack of empathy and understanding, or anything that would help endear him, then you will enjoy it immensely. The hair, makeup and spectacular wardrobe were the only redeeming factors for me.

I know I may be alone in this sentiment and that there must be a plethora of glowing reviews out there, but this is what I think. You should probably watch it and decide for yourself.

Movie Review: Black Swan

After being presented with a wave of mediocre to downright ridiculous offerings such as: Eat Pray Love, I Hate Valentine's Day, The Backup Plan and several Nicholas Cage contributions - just to name a few - the movie Black Swan literally blew me away.

It is an emotional thriller and psychodrama of the most intense kind. One review said it was "Fantastically deranged at all times............ a glittering, crackling, outrageously pickable scab of a film". The film grips you from the very first scene with its hideously close photography and never lets you go.

It takes you on a journey through the twisted and fragile ill mind of a young girl who is picked for the role of a lifetime - the Queen Swan in the ballet Swan Lake. Faced with the monumental task of playing the Black Swan - the dark side of role - and being such as vulnerable, naive little ninny who lets her overbearing and controlling mother dictate every aspect of her life, the task seems almost too much for her. As she breaks down emotional and mental barriers in her life, she begins making progress during rehearsals but at the cost of her sanity.

Her relationship with her mother is twisted and wrong and it seems to only get worse as she does better - and worse (in her mind). That whole business with her mother is confusing and leaves a lasting impression, unfortunately. Her stupid bedroom filled with cute stuffies is in itself bordering on child abuse - since Nina the ballerina is in her 20's. You can tell from the way her mother treats her that she not only hangs all her hopes and unaccomplished dreams on her little girl, but also works double duty to try to infantilise her in a severly creapy way.

The dancing, while vital to the story and an interpretation of everything you see, is unbelievably beautiful but almost secondary to the storyline. When you finally get to see her dance the White and Black Swan it's amazing. A take your breath away, give you goosebumps, awestruck moment in the film.

A good movie, to be sure, and worth every penny. It gave me a whole new respect for Natalie Portman as an actor and a person. The kind of commitment it takes to play the role the way she did is beyond my scope of understanding. I hope she wins the Oscar. In my opinion, she's the only one in the running. Watching Natalie Portman transform and morph into what is essentially a "creature" is terrifying and downright scary - which is fascinating and thrilling.

Most Awaited Movies of the Year

I am so impressed with the list of movies coming out this year. I sense it will be a great movie theater year. I love going to the movies and I'm going to make a serious effort to watch all of the movies on my list at the theater. I know there may be some good ones accidentally left off my list, and I'm not sure if I found the list with movie releases for the whole year, or only for half, but here goes anyway.

Season of the Witch
The Green Hornet
The Dilemma
Black Swan
The Eagle
Hall Pass
The Mechanic
Limitless
The Adjustment Bureau
Take Me Home Tonight
Jane Eyre
Red Riding Hood
Paul
Your Highness
Arthur
Water for Elephants
Fast 5
Thor
Priest
Something borrowed
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
The Hangover 2
X-Men: first Class
Green Lantern
Transformers: Dark of the Moon
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows 2
Captain America
Cowboys and Aliens
Monte Carlo
Conan the Barbarian
The Three Musketeers
Footloose
Breaking Dawn

Most of these already have trailers available for viewing, but I'm too lazy to put them all up but I'll leave you with one delicious morsel:

Can't Wait for This One

Man From Earth

This movie is brilliant. I can't review it because it would lose its charm, so I'm just going to say that I highly recommend it. It's different, not commercial, not predictable, not boring. It's a group of people in a room talking - and it never feels stale or long. It's based on a book by Jerome Bixby, renowned science fiction author. Watch it. Totally worth it.

Movie Review: Knowing

It's not that the movie wasn't great, "Nothing to write home about", "I've seen better", or "It's a one-timer". In fact, had it been any of the above I probably wouldn't be wasting precious megabytes writing about it. The movie was in fact a fantastic suckfest. A giant poo on the glorious peaks of Summit Entertainment. A triumphant belly flop into the pool of mediocrity.

Am I being too harsh? I don't think so. The movie is uniquely ridiculous. There is no redeeming element.

The plot is absurd and stupid. Summary: Nicolas Cage - and his weird pervert hair - is a lonely and troubled widower raising a very cute child who the writer felt needed a hearing aid, even though he hears well without it and it's not instrumental in any way to the story. He's a good father, but drinks like he's trying to prove something. Oh, he's also a professor at MIT. His son's elementary school digs up a time capsule from 50 years earlier and one of the sealed envelopes contains a series of numbers which he later discovers are dates to major disasters in the world in the last 50 years, as well as the number of people killed in them, written by one of the kids in the class (50 yrs ago). So far, so good.

There are creepy albino stalkers who look like they fell out of the Matrix and who don't speak but just stare at the children and whisper in a really creepy way. The movie actually calls them the "whisper people". There's eerie music, visions, scurrying about frantically, major catastrophes, etc. The movie has a forced spooky element for a while.

Then, out of nowhere the story takes a seriously wrong turn and develops into new age vomit. It's like it was written by either 1 person with multiple personalities, or several people with 1 personality each. It's loco. There is an end-of-the-world warning, no way to save mankind, unnecessary death of a mother, kids abandoning parents to go on a space ship with the creepy whisper and stare people who turn out to be beings of energy from another planet with energy wings...so they're alien energy angels? The whole scene is messed up. They take rabbits with them, and I imagine - although it's not mentioned - samples of species from the planet. Then the kids take off in a Fortress of Solitude looking space ship with the energy fairies and the world burns up in a solar flare along with Nicolas Cage and everyone else.

Later it shows the 2 kids on the planet they were deposited in by the Fortress of Solitude alien energy angel fairies running towards what looks like the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil - eh? Question: isn't it dangerous to have 2 kids all alone on a bogus planet that looks like coral reefs in pastel colors along with a bunch of sample species? Come lunch time it won't look like some old washed up hippie's tripped out idea of heaven anymore, will it?

I'm thinking that before I set aside good dish washing and floor scrubbing time to watch anything written by Ryne Douglas Pearson (yep, I researched the writer so I could be advised for next time and to warn all of you - you're welcome), I'm going to make sure there are no urgent diapers that need to be changed, or garbage to be taken out, roads to asphalt in 40°C heat - and I suggest you do the same. While we're at it, let's throw in the director as well, Alex Proyas. What was he thinking?

This brings me to the most important question of all: How does one go about getting a massive flop like Knowing made into a movie, convince a director, studio, and top actors to sign on, and most of all, investors to put in money? $50 million, to be exact. Either this is a case like "The Producers" where they needed a flop for tax purposes, or someone sold their soul to the Satan (you know what I think). This is not the work of intelligent or enlightened minds. This is the work of really weird people who drink "special" tea and eat "special" mushrooms, followed by "special" acid trips -- or just your regular garden variety crazies.

Bottom line: DON'T.

Inception

I finally got to see Inception last night - Wow! That's all I can say. It's wild, out there, and totally fantastic. Loved it.

North & South - a must-see

I just recently watched North and South - a BBC miniseries based on the novel by Elizabeth Gaskell. It is amazing. I was expecting to like it, but I love, love, love it!

It's the story of a young woman from the quiet and picturesque South who goes with her family to live in the industrious North. There she meets interesting characters and is faced with a reality she had no idea existed when she befriends a humble working class family who work in the cotton mills of the town she now lives in, Milton. She makes snap judgments about an important business man (and love of my life!), owner of one of the largest mills there, as she constantly sees him in unflattering and out-of-context situations. She is a bit harsh and unforgiving - and a bit stuck up - at first (such a whore). At the same time, her actions are often misinterpreted as she has no idea of what is socially acceptable there and seems to make many mistakes of her own in her interactions with the humble residents of Milton.

The characters are beautifully cast, the story is wonderfully compelling, a must-see for anyone who loves romance, drama, amazing production and acting. The male character played by Richard Armitage - be still my heart - is so charming and powerful. He's a "brooding" type of hero and will melt even the most cold-hearted spinster (you know who you are). If you get a chance look it up and give it a go. It's so worth it!

Some of my favorite moments are when Mr. Thornton says to Margaret as she's leaving: "Turn back. Turn back and look at me". And then there's another moment where he says: "Are you coming home with me?" - OMG - mi corazón.

Here's the trailer:

As You Like It

The other day I was at the book store and there was a fantastic array of Penguin classics. It's always exciting to see rows and rows of books, any one of which would make for hours of entertainment and good times. For the first time in a long time I saw not one but several Shakespear plays there. As I looked through them looking for ones I wanted to re-read I saw a title that has inexplicably escaped me all these many years - As You Like It.

(It's really embarrassing for me to admit this, so I hope you'll appreciate what a huge deal it is that I'm blogging about it. The only reason I am is because I feel it is quite blogworthy and something I shouldn't keep to myself.)

I picked it up and read the back and it sounded like so much fun I added it to my pile. The story is about 2 girls (cousins) who end up living in a forest after an evil duke (and father of one them) takes over and exiles the cousin (the other girl and daughter of his rival). They disguise themselves and one of them dresses as a boy - confusion and poetry ensue, good times, yada yada.

I found out later that the great Kenneth Branagh adapted the play to film starring Alfred Molina, Bryce Dallas Howard, Kevin Kline, and of course all the usual suspects who end up in all Shakespeare/Branagh films. The film is fun and diverting and a perfect bit of entertainment for a rainy Saturday afternoon. I love finding little unedpected treasures like this, don't you?

¡Mi Corazón!

Friday night I was finally able to go to the cinema to watch The Young Victoria. I know it doesn't sound like much, but if you only knew what I had to go through to get the girls together for this my opening line would carry much more weight.

The whole outing was super fun. In the end there were 4 of us (the only ones worthy of this movie and Prince Albert, so it worked out well). After dinner, cappuccinos and wandering around the mall it was time for the movie to begin. I had read reviews and knew I was going to like it - but love it? Yes, dear readers, I loved it! Quel masterpiece!

It's a beautiful, romantic story that leaves nothing to be desired. The acting is superb, the costume and set design alone make it worth watching and Prince Albert is a dream. Emily Blunt is everything we hope Victoria was. I believe she did history proud.

After the movie we were all walking on cloud nine. Just so you have an idea of the "cinema romance" high we were on, our conversation went something like this:

Flor: When I get home, I'm going to slap HRH across the face and before he knows what hit him or why I'll say, "Why can't you be more like Prince Albert? What's wrong with you?"

Greti: I'm going to make James watch this movie 10 thousand times to train him how to be like Prince Albert.

Tati: (Still weeping desperately 15 minutes after the movie is over) Prince Albert is now my reason for living. I want Prince Albert!

Angie: (very much the killjoy) I wonder if Prince Albert jumping in front of the bullet is historically accurate?
Tati and Flor in unison: IT'S ACCURATE!!

BTW, it is accurate - although they don't know if Prince Albert was injured by the assassination attempt or not. See this link for more info - in case you're curious.

Must See!!

This is on my list to see this week. I cannot miss it. Mr. Wickham is in it and everything (be still my heart!).

I Can't Wait

Doesn't it look super fun?

Holiday Movies

Every year I make a list of Christmas movies I'm going to watch during the holiday season. My fave Christmas movies include: White Christmas, The Grinch, Love Actually, It's a Wonderful Life, Christmas in Connecticut, The Family Stone, Jingle All the Way, etc...you get the idea.

It's a Wonderful Life is such a good movie, possibly my favorite Christmas movie. I always watch in black and white, though. I didn't know they had a colorized HD version. I know there are a lot of purists who will say it's so much better in the original black and white, but once you see the remastered version, it makes a huge difference on the comfort of your eyes. It's so much more restful. Maybe it's because I wear glasses, but black and white is always a bit fuzzy, and after 2 hours my eyes are wiped out.

Here's the very ending of the movie, a terrific bit that is sure to thaw even the coldest of Scrooge hearts:

Movie Review: A Streetcar Named Desire

Yesterday I started watching the 3rd season of "50 movies to watch before you die" on TCM. The season has started out superbly with "A Streetcar Named Desire". This is the movie that gave Brando a name - and what a name. He is amazing. When he's on screen, it's all you see. He plays a gruff, common and quase-violent man who married a lovely girl who was raised in the South in a plantation. She's educated, beautiful - the works. She is very much in love with him and they're doing fine although they don't live a glamorous life or even a half glamorous one. She's preggers and even though he has a terrible temper, in my opinion, his love for her, and hers for him, is the most important thing.


In walks Blanche played by Vivien Leigh using the same accent she acquired in "Gone with the Wind", who during the entire movie tries to tear them apart. She plays a disturbed and ridiculous woman who because of something that happened in her past has spiralled and eventually gone full on nuts - or more like Loco Chic, because God forbid she should look silly. Vivien Leigh moves like an ex-ballerina, kind of theatrical-like, and I'm not sure yet if I really love it, I'm totally on the fence on this one. Most of the time you don't know if you should pitty her or slap her, she's so ridiculous, hypocritial and judgemental - I just wanted to slap her and shut her the frick up! I know this may sound terrible, and contradictory as well, since I really liked the movie, but, I found her performance at times unbelievable and overly theatrical, like she was concerned about looking and being pretty. There's one specific moment that comes to mind where she's telling the story of what happened to her and it just seemed scripted, like she was acting, and trying desperately to charm. A truly good performance should make you forget it's a performance. I know she is a theatrical actress, and her character was as well, so maybe she was going for theatrically annoying...I don't know, if she was, she nailed it and I take everything back I just said. She's still really annoying.


I think this is definitely one for the books as the story/screenplay is very well written and beautifully performed. It's an intense character drama so I recommend watching it preferably with someone so that different things in it can be discussed - at least I like to do that with some movies - but whatever happens, this is a movie that must be seen, so if you haven't yet, now's a good time.

Movies: Blogworthy Productions

I've seen some movies recently that I feel are worth mention - definitely worth blogging about. Over the last couple of months I've been going a bit more regularly to the movie theatre, by more regularly I mean that I've gone maybe once or twice each month for the last 2 months. Movies I've seen include District 9, The Time Traveler's Wife, Inglourious Basterds. The Time Traveler's Wife is not blogworthy. The other two I mentioned are.

District 9 blew me away. The story seems so real and possible. There are alien movies that are so out there you know you're watching fiction - most of them actually. This one felt real. It felt like it could totally happen. Like it happened. The story of a regular, and kind of dorky guy, who because of crazy circumstances is forced into extraordinary situations. He turns into a serious fighter and a quasi-Rambo. He's a hero, even though he doesn't want to be and he doesn't know how to be. There is less action than you would expect, but definitely more than the characters want. Well written, directed, acted and produced. An example of what people can do when they put their minds to it. So many mediocre movies are made every day that it makes it hard for us to believe that there are still people out there who want to make something they can be proud of. This movie was a masterpiece and should be shown to film students as an example of what can be done without excessive 3D and computer manipulation. All you really need is a good story, and good people to make it.


Inglourious Basterds. My sister had told me it was not Tarantino at all and that it was even kind of slow. This comment kind of turned me off and I was totally uninspired to see it. I went anyway and I'm glad I did. It was truly worth the ticket. This may be my favorite Tarantino. It was a fantastic story with a super entertaining cast and very Tarantino production. There are long moments of dialogue that don't feel long because they're so tense. The movie makes you laugh, makes you nervous, and grosses you out. It seriously entertains. I was not expecting to be wowed, so it was a very pleasant surprise. What a great film. If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend you do. There is something to be said about a man who is able to put out a limited number of movies in order to make sure that each one not only represents, but is better than the last. Bravo!


The Painted Veil. I saw this one on TV. The story is beautiful and heartbreaking. The cinematography is breathtaking. It takes you on a journey to a far away land. This is the true sign of a good story/movie, when you feel like you're on a journey with them. For two hours I was in China and traveling with them. This is a good story made by people who felt very strongly about what they were doing, and their passion translates perfectly into the film. You can tell this was personal to them and that makes all the difference. It's a love story that leaves a lot of room for discussion as it touches on sensitive, but honest issues without sugar coating or exaggeration. It ends on a disappointing note, but that doesn't change the way I feel about the movie. If I had to sum up what I feel about the movie I would say that it's an honest, passionate love story that will take you on an exotic journey to the Chinese countryside with all the ups and downs that come with it.

Coming Soon to a Theater Near You

When in Rome. This trailer made me laugh out loud like a crazy person. The movie looks totally cute and full of fun. I can't wait for it to come out. Enjoy!



I'm also looking forward to Couple's Retreat. Let the good times roll! - Funny that Kristen Bell is in both of them, and she was in a recent movie I loved, Forgetting Sarah Marshall. She's doing really well. Good for her. I loved her in Veronica Mars, didn't you?



Law Abiding Citizen. This looks very, very good. Gerard Butler as the bad guy you can't help but love. Rrrr



Fame. I'm a sucker for a good dance/musical, so I am certainly going to be seeing this one on the big screen. Yeah. I see popcorn, laughs, oohs and aahs in my future.



And last, but so not least, The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day. What I want to know is, what in frick is wrong with Hollywood?! They wait 10 friggin' years to put out the sequel?? I mean, how is that lame, boring movies like The New World get made, but then an awesome, vigilante, kick-ass smash like this one takes years to see the light of day. Who is making the decisions and why are we letting them be so ghay? Well, I guess it's true what they say - better late than never. Without further ado, I give you the preview - favorite line in the trailer? "Let's do some gratuitous violence". Nice. Let's you know what it's all about.



This is a late entry, but this name is so wack I didn't think twice - until I saw the trailer! The Men Who Stare at Goats is going to be fantastic!!



Fun!

An Affair to Remember

Last night I happened to catch a movie I had seen before, a while back, that is totally worth blogging about, An Affair to Remember. I'm sure you know it stars Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr. It's that famous movie they talk about in Sleepless in Seatle where they decide to meet at the top of the Empire State Building if they really care about each other and that if they both show up they'll get married. However, on the way to meet him she gets hit by a car and ends up in a wheelchair. The movie is very beautiful and it never gets boring. There are however, some unnecessary scenes where she teaches some children to sing that I thought were weird and didn't match the story at all. But, the kids are cute, so whatever.


As I was sitting there watching the movie I kept remembering that scene in Sleepless in Seatle where Tom Hank's wife and Meg Ryan (or is it Rosie O'Donnel) are retelling the end scene and crying their eyes out saying, "Her little feet...". That was funny. But the last scene of the movie is not. It's like whole world comes to a halt and is suspended in time for that moment when he finally pieces everything together and figures out that she was the one in the wheelchair who had taken the painting he had made of her. I'll tell you what, if you don't cry, at least shed one glistening tear, then you are a cold hearted bitch and you don't deserve the awesomeness of this movie. (You know who you are)


Deborah Kerr is stunning, so I gathered some images I feel do her justice and posted them here. As I was reading the list of movies she's made on IMDB, I couldn't help but feel that I'm a stupid head who hasn't seen anything. I mean, my list is meager. Here are the movies I've seen with her:

An Affair to Remember
Bonjour Tristesse
The King and I (Dancing after dinner!)
Quo Vadis (too narrow on the hips)
King Solomon's Mines
From Here to Eternity (the famous one with her and Burt Lancaster are kissing on the sand and the wave washes up on them. Montgomery Clift is in that movie as well)
Casino Royale (the old one with David Niven)

Coming Soon to a Theater Near You

Here are some movies I'm looking forward to, and after you see the trailers and teasers, so will you:







AWESOME!

Movie Review: War and Peace (2007 miniseries)

This week I watched the 2007 TV miniseries War and Peace with Clemence Poesy (Fleur in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire), Alessio Boni (be still my heart...), and Alexander Beyer. I have to say that this is one version of War and Peace I loved. I tried to read the book when I was in Argentina, in an attic with a flashlight, and frankly it put me to sleep. There's a good chance that reading it now I would be hypnotized. But the problem with the book is that it's slow and long. So very long. (I know, I know - heresy) This is not to say that the story is not good, because it is. Nor am I saying that the characters are uninteresting, because they are. It just kind of drags on for about 1000 more pages than I would have liked.


This is when I turned to the movies. There are two, I believe. One too boring for words, and one that I like a lot with Audrey Hepburn and Henry Fonda. There is only one little, tiny, insignificant to most, but vitally important to me, issue with it - the guys are not exactly eye candy. I know it's superficial - sue me - but I need to be able to get behind the characters and fully accept them as the heroes the writer wants me to believe they are. When the character is not good looking enough for the kind of passion involved, it becomes unbelievable to me. Audrey Hepburn passionately in love for 1000+ pages with this guy?... I don't think so. Now, Clemece Poesy passionately in love with this Italian God... now that I get.


All in all I would say that both book-to-film adaptations bring you into the story and take you on a journey to places unknown. There are beautifully romantic moments, moments of bravery and passion, moments of malice and evil, seduction of the innocents, tyrants, friendships, moral issues, and of course war, that make up this magnificent story. If you haven't read the book, or like me, had a difficult time (okay, I was 16yrs, so maybe I have to give it a shot now in my more advanced age), then this series is for you.


There is this amazing moment when Prince Andrei and Natasha dance the waltz....I love it in those movies of olden days when there's that moment on the dance floor when everyone else fades away, and it's just the two of them twirling and spinning and laughing. There are of course others there with them, but they are irrelevant.



It's a perfect Saturday afternoon movie. I recommend that this activity include tea, popcorn and maybe even a few cucumber and radish sandwiches - but maybe that's just me.

Movie Trailer: New Moon - Oh yeah!!! It's almost here...

Need I say more?.....