As incoherent and wildly over-the-top as this movie can be, I certainly loved it. Crazy Oliver Stone is great Oliver Stone, and here he's delivered an energetic, sometimes bafflingly edited (but in a good way) indictment of these times. Where Wall Street was a warning, Money Never Sleeps is a harsh reflection, and some wry observations about short-sightedness almost come with a shrug of "I told you so". Most of the monologues make their point in the first couple of sentences, then go on babbling nonsensically about some strange metaphor writers Allan Loeb and Stephen Schiff have shoe-horned in. Sylvia Miles reprises her role as a realtor. Just go with it. Have fun. Rodrigo Prieto's cinematography rocks, Craig Armstrong's score is pretty good, and the acting's great! Michael Douglas, Shia LaBeouf, Susan Sarandon, Frank Langella, Carey Mulligan, Josh Brolin: all great, all solid, all believable. Eli Wallach is a madman, but it's awesome and I dig it. It won't be for everybody, but the people who it is for will adore it.
THE AMERICAN
Beautifully shot, subtly directed, mesmerizingly acted. Director Anton Corbijn, cinematographer Martin Ruhe and star George Clooney take all the feeling of loneliness and visualize it. I don't mean just Clooney staring pensively while sitting alone, but the way in which everything is framed, the lingering on a butterfly, the hypnotic entrance of a prostitute, the solitary drives through serene vistas. It's all very beautiful, and (thank the Lord) not without purpose. I'm sure eventually I'll stop being impressed with the subtle ways Clooney humanizes his characters, but that day hasn't come yet. Violante Placido also impresses as the kind-hearted hooker (aren't they always?)...and her looks don't hurt either. What few action sequences there are are genuinely thrilling and cut together clearly! There was a time in the middle where I thought, "This is beautiful, but am I going to care after tonight?" Fortunately, the ending paid off, and I do.
DEAR JOHN
Channing Tatum does a fine job, charismatic and realistic. I like the chemistry between him and Amanda Seyfried. Terry Stacey's cinematography is nice. Otherwise? The film almost plays as a parody of such movies, it's so ridiculous. We get cancer, autism, class distinctions, 9/11, a beachside brawl, a Mysterious Past, coin collecting, a misleading opening monologue, a final scene that does not fit with anything. It's just too much. And not like a Tyler Perry movie, where its camp value is worth its weight in gold, but in a boring, "guess they missed the mark" way. Shame.
NANNY MCPHEE RETURNS
I thought it was just delightful. Never saw the first one, but this movie had me laughing and crying continuously. You can wait for the DVD, but I do recommend picking it up. My all-time favorite actress, Maggie Smith, has a seemingly trivial role that becomes important as the film progresses, and her last scene absolutely broke my heart. And hey, Maggie Gyllenhaal's English accent is quite convincing! Emma Thompson, of course, is perfection, and Rhys Ifans almost carries off with the film. Great fun!
Nashville is my favorite movie, bar none. But sometimes there's a difference between your favorite movie and what you consider to be the best movie. Ask me what I consider to be the best movie ever made, and I'll tell you Gone with the Wind. Ask me to name the second best movie ever made, and I'll say Network.
Written by Paddy Chayefsky and directed by Sidney Lumet, Network is a dark satire on the television industry. It's one of the classics, famous for the lines "I'm mad as hell and I'm not gonna take it anymore" and "It's a big, fat, big-titted hit!" With each year, it becomes more and more relevant. Take the absurd idea of a reality show based around the actions of political terrorists. The idea does not seem so silly now: even A&E is mostly reality programming now, and there is an increasing number of shows focusing on outcasts, addicts and prisoners. The news has become a farce; what can you say when the most reliable reporting comes from Comedy Central, when the "anchors" of today are loud-mouthed puppets of one political party or another, when Nancy Grace has her own show?
Network is about the end of an era and the beginning of another. "Mad prophet" Howard Beale is a sick man, an anchor of the old school whose ratings are failing, a man who goes off the deep end and rants on air about truths best left ignored. Naturally, instead of anyone taking heed, his madness becomes an entertainment, making his show Number One in the country. But Beale is just one member of an ensemble that includes an old-school news president, a cold-hearted entertainment producer, an urban terrorist organization, and businessmen threatening to take over the studio.
The film was a critical and commercial hit. Looking at it now, its success during awards season was inevitable. The film garnered ten nominations, including Editing (Alan Heim, losing to Rocky), Cinematography (Owen Roizman, losing to Bound for Glory), Supporting Actor (Ned Beatty, losing to Jason Robards in All the President's Men), Actor (William Holden, losing to Peter Finch), Director (Sidney Lumet, losing to John G. Avildsen for Rocky) and Picture (losing to Rocky).
What it did win, though, it fucking earned: Peter Finch beat out co-star Holden for Best Actor, the first actor to win posthumously; he had died two months earlier. Faye Dunaway won her first and only Oscar for Best Actress, beating out Talia Shire, Liv Ullmann, Marie-Christine Barrault, and the great Sissy Spacek in Carrie. Beatrice Straight won for Best Supporting Actress the shortest performance to do so, at five minutes and forty second. This three-category acting victory was the last time such an event occurred, and ties A Streetcar Named Desire for most acting wins for a motion picture. Finally, Paddy Chayefsky won his Oscar for Best Original Screenplay, making it Number Three for America's greatest dramatist.
The idea of a remake is certainly intimidating, but it is not a completely foreign concept. George Clooney planned a live, made-for-TV movie after the release of Good Night, and Good Luck. Well, he talked about wanting to do one, at least, but it never seemed to get past the "now there's an idea" stage. The point is, the idea has come up before, and I think if one respects the original source material, it could be some pretty prescient stuff. Then again, the original already is, so why broke what ain't fixed?
It doesn't matter. Sometimes, it's just fun to fantasize.
THE GREAT AHMED KHAN Who is He: The leader of the Ecumenical Liberation Army, an urban terrorist organization who film their acts of anarchism. They soon become the subject of a reality series called "The Mao Tse-Tung Hour".
Originally played by: Arthur Burghardt ("Transformers", "G.I. Joe")
My Choice: Alexander Siddig (Kingdom of Heaven, The Nativity Story) The role of Khan is a silent one. He must clearly be the man in charge, and act with his eyes. Siddig's eyes have expressed love and deceit, sincerity and sardonic...ity. He's not so well-known that he would be distracting, either.
LAUREEN HOBBS Who is She: A radical who acts as the vessel between Diana and Ahmed Khan. Despite proclaiming herself to be a "bad-ass commie nigger", she is not above making business deals with UBS.
Originally played by: Marlene Warfield (The Great White Hope, Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life is Calling)
My Choice: Academy Award/Golden Globe/SAG Award Nominee for Best Supporting Actress and SAG Award Nominee for Best Ensemble (Doubt), Indie Spirit Nominee for Best Supporting Female (Antwone Fisher) Viola Davis (Disturbia, State of Play) Oh, I just love her. I want an actress who I know could do it, has a commanding presence, but whose presence would not take anyone out of the movie. Viola Davis has done three films since her Oscar nomination, but unless you're "in the know", no one is distracted by her brief roles.
LOUISE SCHUMACHER Who is She: Max's wife of twenty-five years. Her big scene comes when she learns of his affair with Diana.
Originally played by: Academy Award Winner for Best Supporting Actress (Network) Beatrice Straight (Poltergeist, Two of a Kind)
My Choice: Joanna Gleason (Crimes and Misdemeanors, Boogie Nights) This Tony-winning actress is one of "those". You swear you remember her from something, but you just can't quite place it. But she's wonderful in everything I have seen her in. She looks like your everyday kind of woman, and she could sell that monologue.
ARTHUR JENSEN Who is He: The CEO of Communications Corporation of America, the company that happens to own UBS. When Beale denounces CCA's merger with a Saudi Arabian conglomerate on air, Jensen stops Beale with a wrath worthy of God.
Originally played by: Academy Award Nominee for Bets Supporting Actor (Network), Golden Globe Nominee for Best Supporting Actor (Hear My Song) Ned Beatty (Nashville, Silver Streak)
My Choice: Michael Cerveris (The Mexican, "Fringe") This role is a one-scene spectacular with a monologue delivered as a sermon. I needed someone with a voice equal to that of a revivalist minister's. Is it any wonder that I chose Cerveris, he who won a Tony for playing John Wilkes Booth in Assassins and was nominated for the revival of Sweeney Todd?
NELSON CHANEY Who is He: God, believe me, I don't remember his exact job. I know he tries to fight the exploitation of Howard Beale, works with Max on the news team, and is only briefly seen before he is booted out of UBS and the film. But his is an important role, one of the first who appear conscious-driven.
Originally played by: Wesley Addy (Tora! Tora! Tora!, The Verdict)
My Choice: Golden Globe Nominee for Best Supporting Actor (Ghost World), Indie Spirit Award Winner for Best Supporting Male (Reservoir Dogs, Ghost World) Steve Buscemi (Fargo, Monster House) A bigger character, a bigger name. While mostly known for his more skeezy roles, Buscemi's a versatile guy. When considering him for Chaney, I thought about The Messenger and Monster House. They're the types of roles he does not usually get, but pack a whallop in their brevity. Hopefully, Buscemi can create a more memorable Chaney than Addy. Seriously, what does he do?
FRANK HACKETT Who is He: The head of UBS, an opportunistic, excitable bastard whose worries are ratings. He appears soulless, firing members of the old guard while approving the exploitative ideas of the new.
Originally played by: Academy Award/Golden Globe Winner for Best Actor [in a Drama] (Tender Mercies), BAFTA Award/Golden Globe Winner for Best Supporting Actor (Apocalypse Now), Indie Spirit Winner for Best Male Lead and Best Director (The Apostle), SAG Award Winner for Best Supporting Actor (A Civil Action) Robert Duvall (True Grit, Crazy Heart)
My Choice: Academy Award/BAFTA Award/Golden Globe/SAG Award Winner for Best Actor [in a Musical/Comedy] (Ray), Indie Spirit Nominee for Best Male Lead (Redemption: The Stan Tookie Williams Story) Jamie Foxx (Collateral, Dreamgirls) I know his post-Oscar career has not been stellar, but I liked Jamie Foxx for a while. He kind of sleep-walked through his similar role in Dreamgirls, but Hackett is not a role you can just roll through. I have no doubt that he could bring the greedy passion required for the character.
DIANA CHRISTENSEN Who is She: The cold head producer of UBS's entertainment programming. She is the one who sees the potential for a series based around Beale's ravings, and she is the one who comes up with "The Mao Tse-Tung Hour". Diana also begins an affair with news president Max Schumacher, while also coercing Hackett into putting news under the entertainment section, leaving her in charge of most network programming.
Originally played by: Academy Award/Golden Globe Winner for Best Actress [in a Drama] (Network), BAFTA Award Nominee for Best Actress (Chinatown, Network) Faye Dunaway (Bonnie and Clyde, Man of Faith)
My Choice: Academy Award/BAFTA Award/SAG Award Winner for Best Supporting Actress (The Aviator), BAFTA Award/Golden Globe Winner for Best Actress [in a Drama] (Elizabeth), Golden Globe/Indie Spirit/Hollmann Award Winner for Best Supporting Actress/Female (I'm Not There), Indie Spirit Winner for Best Ensemble (I'm Not There), SAG Award Winner for Best Ensemble (The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King) Cate Blanchett (Notes on a Scandal, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button) Because of everyone else in her generation, only she can bring both the hot and cold, the passion, the sturm und drang, the ruthlessness of someone like Diana. And she's not afraid to make a character believably unsympathetic.
MAX SCHUMACHER Who is He: The president of the news division at UBS. Schumacher is of the old guard, a friend of Howard Beale's. He begins an affair with Diana, falling in love with her. At the same time, however, he is morally opposed to UBS's exploitative use of Howard Beale's insanity as a ratings booster. Really the lead of the story.
Originally played by: Academy Award Winner for Best Actor (Stalag 17), BAFTA Award Nominee for Best Actor (Network) and Best Foreign Actor (Picnic) William Holden (Sabrina, Love is a Many-Splendored Thing)
My Choice: Academy Award/BAFTA Award/Golden Globe/SAG Award Nominee for Best Actor (Frost/Nixon), Indie Spirit Nominee for Best Male Lead (Starting Out in the Evening), SAG Award Nominee for Best Ensemble (Good Night, and Good Luck, Frost/Nixon) Frank Langella (The Twelve Chairs, The Box) He really doesn't seem like he's over 70. Langella has a great voice, so one would expect him for Howard, but no. He is at his best, I feel, when he is stoic and calmer, the way Max Schumacher is. And if Diana's going to have an affair with an older man, it's going to be someone sexy. Like Frank Langella.
HOWARD BEALE Who is He: The mad prophet of the airwaves. Given his two weeks notice due to declining ratings, Beale starts going on mad rants about the manipulations of television, the corruption of corporations, the bastardizing of the American dream. His breakdown is the catalyst for the film's events, yet it is also not completely mad: all that he says is devastatingly true, but all the people hear is entertainment.
Originally played by: Academy Award/BAFTA Award/Golden Globe Winner for Best Actor [in a Drama] (Network), BAFTA Award Winner for Best Actor (Sunday Bloody Sunday) and Best British Actor (A Town Like Alice, The Trials of Oscar Wilde, No Love for Johnnie) Peter Finch (Far from the Madding Crowd, The Nun's Story)
My Choice: Academy Award/Golden Globe Winner and BAFTA Award Nominee for Best Supporting Actor (Adaptation.), Indie Spirit Nominee for Best Male Lead (Lone Star), SAG Award Winner for Best Ensemble (American Beauty) Chris Cooper (Seabiscuit, Where the Wild Things Are) While known for his quieter roles in films like Capote, October Sky and Married Life, Cooper proved in Adaptation that he brings a lot more to the table. His voice certainly helps with the air of divinity surrounding his speeches. He's younger than Langella, but not so much so that their friendship is unbelievable. The role would eb different for him, but he has the power to pull it off.
THE NARRATOR What is It: A dry, sardonic voice that takes note of the events with statistics and impassivity.
Originally played by: Lee Richardson (Prizzi's Honor, The Exorcist III)
My Choice:
Bob Schieffer Schieffer was a year-long replacement for Dan Rather on The CBS Evening News. His real claim-to-fame, however, is as the host of Face the Nation on CBS. The original team wanted Walter Cronkite to play Howard Beale; Cronkite turned it down. But the idea of using an authoritative voice, a news anchor, as one of the players in this drama is intriguing. And what better role for a news reporter than the narrator? I rarely watched Dan Rather, but I always tried to catch Schieffer, for I loved his voice, the Southern richness of it. Truth be told, though, if Walter Cronkite were still alive, this would be his role.
I tried my best. Was it good enough? Can you think of more suitable actors? Or is the whole idea just bullshit? Sound off in the comments!
The Box is such an odd little movie. I mean, it's a Richard Kelly film, so head-scratching is inevitable. This is, after all, the guy whose previous films are giant bunny flick Donnie Darko and clusterfuck Southland Tales. The Box fits snugly in between, for while it at least has a story (take that, Southland Tales), it is not as consistently brilliant as Kelly's debut.
Another Virginia-set period piece, The Box revolved around a middle-class couple played by James Marsden and Cameron Diaz, and the Mysterious Arlington Steward (Frank Langella) who makes them a curious offer: they will receive one million dollars for pushing a button on a hollow box...but someone they do not know will die. And that's the first ten minutes of the film. The rest is the unraveling of the mystery. What is the Box? Who is this Mysterious Arlington Steward with half a face? What's it all about, Alfie?
Kelly's film is an uneven one. While I could not help snickering at some lines at the beginning, I was breathless by film's end. It's a brilliant finale, preceded by both genuinely chilling moments and head-shakingly cheesy ones. Marsden and Langella are consistently great, but Diaz teeter-totters between exquisite and just OK. I don't think Kelly's script is any big help, of course, as the role of Norma Lewis is too saintly for the film's premise to work. The cinematography by Steven B. Poster is oddly bright, and at times looks a little soft. It gives the whole movie a weird, dreamy effect that is appropriately uncomfortable.
I wish they had done more with the setting. Christmas 1976 looks awesome, but there's no real reason for it. Christmas matters not, except to give us a creepy Santa; at least give me some holiday-themed dialogue like William Hootkins in Hardware. The 1970s aspect is cool, but man do they beat you ober the head with it. Many scenes begin with a popular 1970s something on TV, someone switches it off, begin dialogue. This happens multiple times. Johnny Carson! The crying Indian! Alice's Restaurant! It's the SEVENTIES! But...why the seventies? Because of the references to the Mars Viking project? I don't understand its relevance to the plot, really -- though this may be due to the typical density of Kelly's stories.
The best part of the film? The score by Win Butler, Regine Chassagne and Owen Pallett, members of the Canadian band Arcade Fire. Eerie, beautiful, period-perfect. The violins, the piano, it's all very atmospheric. That's a guarantee in a Richard Kelly movie: the music will always be phenomenal.
At the end of the day, I know I would buy and re-watch this movie over and over. It's great fun, it's outrageous, and sometimes it's a damn masterpiece. It ain't perfect, but it's got spirit!
A CHRISTMAS CAROL
This is how all weekends should start: with a 3D spectacular that's determined to be a MAJOR FREEKING EPIC!!! God Bless Robert Zemeckis and team for not pulling any punches in what is sure to become a holiday tradition! Yes, yes, we all know the story by now. Scrooge and the ghosts and Cratchit and Tiny Tim and all that. And certainly, nothing will ever equal the 1951 version starring Alaistir Sim , easily the most atmospheric and darkly funny of all the films. But damn if this one doesn't come close.
This movie gets it. The gallows humor, the horror aspect, the spiritual LIFT that is achieved by journey's end. The Ghosts are horrifying, even the one of Christmas Present, to an extent. The figures of Ignorance and Want -- shit, I don't want no part of them. And it's truly the first version of this timeless tale that I felt that fear of either. The Ghost of Christmas Yet-to-Come is cleverly interpreted, though it must be said that a "harrowing" chase scene in his segment is awkward, a curious misstep for this production.
Alan Silvestri's score is made up of boisterous renditions of holiday hymns such as "Good King Wenceslas" and "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing". Andrea Bocelli sings an original song with a huge chorus of children over the closing credits. The effects are eye-popping and grand. A truly miraculous production, it demands hyperbole and multiple exclamation points!!!
Yet it also has its intimate moments. The Cratchit home during the Christmas Yet to Come sequence is heart-wrenching, and the breakup scene between young Ebenezer and his fiancee is almost uncomfortably quiet. Jim Carrey and Robin Wright Penn really sell this scene, of course. Indeed, Carrey does a wonderful job in a number of roles, including Scrooge through the years and the Three Ghosts. His eyes are not "dead", as is the regular complaint with mo-cap movies, but full of the bitterness or jocularity required. Zemeckis's pet etchnology is improving every year. Only Colin Firth's character, nephew Fred, was beset with emotionless eyes, but everyone else was surprisingly full of life.
Besides Firth and the chase scene, the only real problem with the film is a strange shoving-aside of Tiny Tim. When Scrooge pleads for Tiny Tim's life, all I could think was, "Why? What was he seen about this kid that makes him so sympathetic?" It's one of the most important aspects of the story, and it hardly seems relevant here. Bizarre.
I wish I had the money for the soundtrack. It's what Christmas should be.
Finally, a look at Frost/Nixon, based upon the Tony Award-winning play by Peter Morgan. Ron Howard is usually pretty hit-or-miss with me: usually, it helps if Russell Crowe is featured in some way.
But Frank Langella? And Kevin Fucking Bacon? Fuck. Yes.
