Slumdog Millionaire -Danny Boyle's energetic (or exhausting depending on your P.O.V.) time hopping story of an orphan on Who Wants to be a Millionaire is winning over audiences and will probably win over Oscar ballot holders, too. The finale provides the magical key: Even if you're not totally sold you'll feel an exuberant emotional release when it wraps. I can't say I'm a big fan but the appeal isn't hard to understand. Expect to see it nominated for Adapted Screenplay and Editing at least, possibly more including Best Picture & Director if Fox Searchlight strategizes well [Oscar predictions.] My review will be up later today. I'm running late.Bolt -Disney unleashes (hardy har har) a sneak preview of this Truman Show type animated feature about a dog who thinks he's super-powered. He's just on TV is all. John Travolta does voice duty... because, you know, he needs more money. From the looks of the promotional material, Disney thinks that aggressive balled hamster "Rhino" (voiced by Mark Walton) steals the show
Quantum of Solace -Daniel Craig returns as 007. That's probably all anybody needs to know before buying a ticket. And that, class, is how you can get away with naming a movie Quantum of Solace!
This Week's Must See
A Christmas Tale (France)
I don't presume that all of you take my film advice but if you're feeling adventurous (and you live in NY, West Hollywood or Pasadena) the tippity-top of the new openers is easily Arnaud Desplechin's multi-tasking tale of a fractious French family with a haunted past, reunited during the holidays.
Three of France's very best thespians star: Mathieu Almaric (Diving Bell & Butterfly), Emmanuelle Devos (Read My Lips) and the legendary Catherine Deneuve, all reliably riveting. That's just scratching the surface of the big and engaging cast who intriguingly sketch dozens of cross family relationship dynamics. Just try and keep up with Desplechin's rapidly shifting storytelling, hard to categorize tone and tangential (?) cinematic flourishes. Highly recommended for moviegoers who like to really engage with a movie rather than passively wait to be entertained... not that there's anything wrong with that. But the smartest moviegoing diet has balance. It's not quite Kings and Queen (Desplechin's previous picture -on my 2005 top ten list) but it's still really something.
Slight Expansions ?
Jean Claude Van Damme's meta-vehicle JCVD, Swedish teen vampires in the acclaimed Let the Right One In and Sally Hawkins' indefatigable cheer in Mike Leigh's Happy-Go-Lucky might be a little easier to spot this week, depending on where you live
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17 comments:
I'm actually looking forward to Slumdog Millionaire more than Australia (sorry, sorry!). Please tell me you enjoyed it!
"Bolt" actually doesn't open this weekend, it's just a sneak preview.
And "Slumdog" isn't a true story.
:)
I saw the trailer for A Christmas Tale the other day and was shocked to realize that I really kind of want to see it. I say shocked because it looks like it might be a French Rachel Getting Married and I HATED RGM so very much you'd think I might swear off "familial conflict over an event of gathering" movies for awhile. Maybe the fact that this Wacky designed-by-Pottery-Barn family is French allows me some distance from immediately hating on their bourgeois bullshit, which was the main source of my trouble with RGM? I dunno. Catherine Deneuve goes a very long way towards making anything palatable though.
"Quantum of Solace" has already premiered in Brazil since last week and I have seen the picture. It's a great action movie, but the screenplay is not good. I liked "Casino Royale" more.
Have a nice weekend!
rob --omg. oops. I coulda sworn it said "based on a true story" -corrected.
JA -you hated RGM? for shame. your movieblogging buddies (JOE & ME) both love it. how can we convert you?
YOU CANNOT. I'll stick with hating RGM and loving Synecdoche, and you can play the opposite game and I won't harass you about not liking Synecdoche. (Even though you're terribly mistaken.) ;-)
Really, really, really want to see Slumdog but it's not in CT yet. Same with A Christmas Tale. Also curious about JCVD though I will Netlfix that one.
Bring on Quantum...can't wait!
I, of course, second your Christmas Tale recommendation. I can't decide whether I prefer Kings and Queen or not (maybe I do a little, purely because I saw it first) but they're both safe on my list of all-time favourites. Also, while I worship at the altar of Emmannuelle Devos (she has this strange power over me, my pulse goes out of control soon as she turns up on screen) and certainly adore Deneuve and Amalric, I think my favourite performance in the film was by an actress who's always left me cold in the past: Chiara Mastroianni. After this and her voice work in Persepolis, I've become a big fan.
Also just because you can name your movie Quantum of Solace doesn't mean you should. Of course, I'll still be there opening night, but I'd be a lot more excited if it didn't come from the visionary behind Finding Neverland.
I'm hoping to check out "A Christmas Tale" myself this weekend; it looks like "Rachel Getting Married" merged with "The Family Stone" and I'm not sure if that'll make for a comfortable combo...
I wanna see A Christmas Tale so badly, but I think I can wait till it expands. It's IFC, and knowing their track record of getting their films to WNY, it should be here by/in December. Which will rock.
I'm finally seeing Happy-Go-Lucky this weekend, and I'm totally seeing Rachel Getting Married tonight, actually! And of course there's Quantum of Solace. Ugh, this weekend is gonna be so awesome.
How often is one blessed enough to see TWO Mathieu Amalric performances open in the same week?
(Even if one of them has him playing one of the least fun Bond villains ever. I blame the writers.)
I love Amalric, you may have guessed. And "A Christmas Tale" grows richer amd more interesting the longer I think about it. I can see it becoming a holiday staple for me.
I'm just gonna go ahead and throw this out there about SLUMDOG getting an editing nom...no no no no no. The only reason it would be nominated is because it has really obvious editing and really obvious parallel editing, but it is probably the most over edited movie of the year. Some of the trivia scenes are done really well, but the others where it flashes back to prove what a great moment they created is mildly insulting to any half-way awake audience member. I like the movie, but that over-editing is one of the factors that brought it down a notch in my book.
Also, I was also pretty sure Slumdog is based on a true story...but maybe its just a novel. I know there is a source work somewhere...
Just saw Happy Go Lucky .. It was OK .. Sally Hawkins was good in the role.. although both my wife and I felt she made us nervous. If it gets any noms, it should be for Eddie Marans (?) the driving instructor.
http://nyunews.com/arts/film/a_christmas_as_bitter_as_liquor-tinged_eggnog
A review I wrote of the film. Having seen Kings and Queen, I knew I was in for something really, good but Kings and Queen good? Desplechin delivers.
It's not a shameless plug but a genuine assessment for how I felt about the film.
And typically none of these films are out here yet. Most of the movies already claiming Oscar buzz aren't out here yet. *sigh*
Quantum of Solace was disappointing, alas. Here's my review: http://blog.jamesbondfanbook.com/2008/11/14/review-quantum-of-solace/
Wheee. I have tickets for A Christmas Tale this Thursday. Its the closing film in my local French film fest.
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