Year in Review: Music Videos a.k.a. Short Movie Musicals

I couldn't be happier that the music video has regained its cultural capital in the age of YouTube. There's something about the form that is just magical. Or maybe it's just that it's been the most reliable fix for movie-musical lovers during the past 30 years. You can pretend these 3 to 5 minute show stoppers are but one scene in a larger movie musical, can't you? At least that's what I do with my favorite videos.

So herewith, several favorites in no particular order. If you're wondering what music videos have to do with The Film Experience remember that they're short films and that this year's most celebrated director David Fincher (The Social Network) started that mammoth career by making mammoth music videos for Madonna (among others).

Please to enjoy. And let me know your favorite(s) in the comments.

8 FAV MUSIC VIDEOS OF '10
Why only 8? I ran out of steam. You don't have time to watch 10 anyway.

Brandon Flowers "Crossfire"

In which Charlize Theron kicks much ninja ass. I love the self-effacing helplessness of your rock star hero who just can't stop getting into predicaments from which his hot girl (Charlize) must rescue him. Movie stars slumming in music videos is one of the best things in the world though this video does bring up my constant worry about Charlize: Why is she so awesome without making any movies worth caring about?

Janelle Monáe (feat. Big Boi) "Tightrope"

Those feet. The way they slide, spin, shuffle, dance. It's quite a feat.

Cosmo Jarvis "Gay Pirate".

I heart this so hard. That "Yo Ho" chorus is to die. Plus, it's lit and choreographed cleverly for one take (joy) and it's easily enjoyable both on the surface -- gay pirates!  -- and moreso if you want to dig deeper (think don't ask don't tell) which is the best kind of artistic trick.

But there's more: Jake Gyllenhaal, Gaga, and more one-take madness coming...

Read more »

Yes, No, Maybe So: "Source Code"

With Love and Other Drugs about to open we feel absolutely bombarded with Gyllenhaaliciousness. Which is fine by us... Especially when it comes with Hathawayish sparkle.

But such is the nature of healthy physiques careers that before you even have a chance to see Movie A, you're already asked to think about Movie B and sometimes even movie C (given that roughly 89.4% of film writing on the web seems to be devoted to pre-production rather than actual cinema.

In 2011, Jake is ditching Anne for Michelle Monaghan (on a train) and Vera Farmiga (in a control booth) inside Duncan Jones (Moon) sci-fi thriller Source Code. Let's give it the yes, no, maybe so treatment.



Yes. Well, Jones has our attention post Moon (2009) and the cast is full of fine actors.

No. "I want to save her." "You can't it doesn't work that way." "Look for suspicious passengers"... a lot of what we see her suggests a very high concept -- Groundhog Day meets Every Action Movie With a Countdown Clock -- without much by way of its own identity. While it's true that 2:24 minutes of screen time isn't much, they don't show us anything here that seems like it unquestionably will rise above action, sudden romance, or time travel "make the most of the time you have!" clichés.

Maybe So.  It seems a touch perverse to shove highly watchable actors like Jeffrey "Belize" Wright and "Crazy-Eyes" Farmiga into work clothes and onto television monitors to become human exposition machines. Are they wasted here? This is always a danger with action movies that use awards-calibre actors for color. I get that filmmakers bank on strong performers to elevate the overall quality of a movie, trusting them to grant humanity and intrigue where none may exist in the script, but it still can feel like a waste. On the other hand, it can work magic (see: the Bourne franchise) so we can always hope.

And what's with the canted angles of all the monitors within the Source Code? They have the technology to build a time travel machine that continually transports you into another human being's body right before they die but they didn't have the budget for a level?

What's your verdict: yes, no or maybe so?

Jeffrey Wright Jake Gyllenhaal

Part 2: Jake Gyllenhaal on "Zodiac", "Donnie Darko" and "Brokeback"

If you missed my Tribeca Film article about Jake Gyllenhaal's New Yorker festival interview, open it up and dig in. But here on home turf, why not share quotes I couldn't fit into that overview? I know some of you probably suffer as do I with "too much Jake is not enough" so here's some cinematic memories to temporarily satiate your Gyllenhaalism.

Talking about Donnie Darko, Zodiac and Brokeback Mountain -- by most estimations the high points of his career -- made him extra reflective. If this past weekend's event was any indication he understands as well as anyone that these are the key titles. If Love and Other Drugs is the breakout success most seem to be expecting, it'll replace Zodiac in his key trio; He's not the star of that film anyway since that film's movie star is unquestionably David Fincher. Fincher isn't onscreen but that hardly matters when you can see his smudgy auteur fingerprints on every painstaking frame.

Donnie Darko
(<-- Jake with director Richard Kelly on the set.)
He said of his breakout film, that "it remains one of the most important I've been involved in." What does he look for in a role?

It's changed for me and i'm still figuring it out. Initally it's just a response to the story, the story itself is what's most important. Love and Other Drugs, you know, the first moment I read that I was crying at the end and when I read Brokeback Mountain I was crying at the end and when I read Donnie Darko and I was throwing up.

He had made October Sky before starting college. He dropped out at 19 -- he regrets not finishing -- and felt lost. And then came Darko.

It really marks, more than any other movie I've ever done, figuratively a time in my life. And that movie -- before we started shooting,  I had been having a rough time figuring out what was up, what end was up.

Jason Schwartzman was supposed to play that part. They had financing, they were ready to go and he dropped out and I stumbled upon it and out of the director's desperation got the role. It really matched somehow somewhere where I was in my life. I remember it premiered at Sundance and my mother, father and sister came up to me afterwards crying and realizing that I had been saying something to them with that movie -- how lost I was.

How did I do it? I don't know something about talking to that rabbit. It just seemed to comfort me at that time.

He realized how odd that sounded, laughing as he said it. Apocalyptic giant rabbits don't generally read all warm and fuzzy like security blankets, do they? When asked about the film's cult status he explained that how an audience responds is not something you can control -- he made it because of how much he related to Donnie.

When you think of cult films a lot of time's there's a bit of a wink. I don't think that was our intention at all.  It's a deeply serious movie to me... Whether you're experimenting with drugs or not there's a moment where you go 'Whats real? What's not?'

There was no thought of result. Any time I've ever done anything with the thought of a result its been a bad thing.

Hmmm. Could he mean Prince of Persia? (I kid, I kid. You can't win them all)

Brokeback Mountain (<--- Jake with director Ang Lee)
I was personally glad that when it came time to discuss his one bonafide classic, he didn't take the bait of reiterating discomfort about making out with Heath Ledger. (People are always trying to get actors to say how much they hate man-on-man scenes. It's so tired journalists. Stop it!) Instead he spoke about love scenes generally.

When you're in a movie and you're in a love scene -- it comes up in any love scene whether it's with a man or a woman -- it's inevitably uncomfortable, awkward and everybody is in on it. No matter how intimate it is, everyone is in on it. There's this weird sense of being watched. If you've ever made out with anyone and know you're being watched, you can't help but watch yourself. That takes the sexiness out of the whole thing anyway but we're performers so you can make it work. Occassionally I've been into it but I won't talk about with whom.

At this point he made a little 'oh what the hell...' kind of joke like he was going to tell us with whom he... but then he retreated. Damnit!

When he tried to talk about the reunion scene, he had difficulty.

It was about more than just kissing. The scene in Brokeback Mountain where Heath and I see each other after a very long time. This has been hard for me to explain for years. We had very little to do with that scene being as powerful as it is. It was powerful when you read it in the screenplay. It was powerful in the short story on the page. What we do when we had that moment together is filled with -- it's filled with moments that people have had that have nothing to do with us. We just basically went up and slammed our mouths together. You know what I mean? We were the instruments for something that was much bigger than  both of us.

Do you know what he means? He did ask.

David Denby, the critic interviewing him, reiterated that the film still "plays beautifully" now years later, calling it "flawless." They showed the famous 'quit you' scene and Jake told a funny story about how early on in the movie rehearsals the crew made fun of him trying to act "old" -- most of the crew was in their 40s, the age Jake was playing, and he was holding his back like it was hurting and moving slowly and such and the crew was like "We're not 80, we're 40!". But then he got serious... the movie is clearly special to him, and brought back memories.

We rehearsed it before we shot the movie and it was still winter and there was snow everywhere. There was Ang and the location scouts. We drove out and Ang played us the music he was going to have in the movie. I had my dog with us. He was jumping around in the snow. It was no different when we shot. It was already right there.

Denby asked him if he had any regrets about his performance.

I think I do have regrets about it, about things, as every actor does. When i see Heath's work in that movie it's just transcendent and amazing and as a fellow actor to me I just always admire him. I hoped that I could be as good as. So I watch it and I always see that.

Zodiac
(<--- Jake with David Fincher at Cannes)
The subject of playing different ages in films shot out of sequence came up again when it came time to discuss David Fincher's second serial killer picture.

I think if you think too much about it on the day you're screwed. With that movie, you'd be surprised what a change of a shirt can do and a little bit of makeup. In terms of age -- when I first read Brokeback Mountain and Zodiac I thought "this role should be played by a 40 year old." And then I was cast. There's bravery in casting someone younger and sometimes it's totally wrong but in these two movies for some reason it worked better. I think people suspend disbelief very easily. If I were to play, as I was joking, "OLDER." It just never works out very well unless you're Marion Cotillard.

Thought you La Vie En Rose fans would like that quote.

Denby showed two clips from Zodiac, a scene with Mark Ruffalo and a scene when Graysmith (Gyllenhaal) visually but not quite verbally confronts the man he believes is the killer (played by John Carroll Lynch) in a hardware store; they stare at each other in accusation, curiousity and then mutual recognition. Gyllenhaal related that they did hundreds of takes, and did those hundreds of takes, twice.

We shot that twice. David didn't like the first store we shot in. That was again multiple takes. The funny part of that is John Carol Lynch played by dad in  Bubble Boy so that look is filled with so much more than just 'hunter and hunted.' I was desperate for you show a scene of me and him crying in a car and me in a bubble.

Discussing a crucial late scene with Mark Ruffalo in a diner, Gyllenhaal got contemplative about understanding what directors want and ideas he had about acting from a young age.

That was the third time we shot the scene. We shot each of our takes close to 50 times. So... 150th take? Now I see what David wanted. I watch it and I'm like 'Now I know.' I didn't know what he wanted.

What I've been learning -- this is what happens when you start when you're 15 years old -- no one is going to hold your hand and when you're 15 you need that. As I've gotten older and worked more and more I've realized how much I have to be prepared and there for the director so they think 'Jake's got my back I don't need to worry about him.' I  think I had a misunderstanding for a long time -- because I grew up in a family off filmmakers -- that we're all supposed to collaborate. The truth is an actor is supposed to show up and do their job and know their job to a 't' 120% and be ready to go. Discover on the day but be ready to go. When I watch that I see myself learning.

Fincher is a taskmaster but you have to appreciate the young movie star's honesty about his long learning curve. It all sorta makes you wonder how many times Rooney and Jesse had to shoot that five minute break-up scene that kicks off The Social Network, doesn't it?

That's all! I hope you enjoyed all of this Gyllenhaalia.
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Part 1: Jake Gyllenhaal at "The New Yorker Festival"

I'll share a few more interesting movie-specific quotes I couldn't find room for in this article tomorrow here at the blog. But for now a piece I wrote for Tribeca Film.

He’d be unrecognizable but for those enormous blue eyes. In fact, when Jake Gyllenhaal walked out on stage at the SVA Theater in Chelsea on Saturday night, a full bushy beard covering what seemed like all of his face, film critic David Denby didn’t even introduce him by name. “I don’t know who this guy is,” Denby joked. “He looked a little lost, so we invited him in.”

But who needs a big introduction when they’ve been headlining movies big and small for a full decade? 

Read the rest @ Tribeca Film

...for thoughts on Jake's acting process, his relationship with Maggie Gyllenhaal and a famous actor he would love to emulate.
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What Were We Talking About?

When Sam Mendes and Maggie Gyllenhaal had lunch recently in NYC, what do you suppose they were talking about? I hope Maggie was saying "sorry about being such a one-dimensional cartoon in Away We Go -- but you weren't helping, mister man!"

What were they talking about? What were we talking about? What are we still talking about? (That actress list fo' sure and also the August: Osage County casting)  Here's some recent comments on older posts that I wanted to call your attention to. Yes, I read everything! Thank you to everyone who comments. It makes the work of writing of the blog more like fun.

silencio actually loves Perfume Story of a Murderer more than Se7en  in the serial killer genre. I don't hear that often. Truth (I haven't seen it. Shhhh). But it's funny that silencio should mention it since I have been thinking about Ben Whishaw all week. I'm fond but his part made-a me crazy in Julie Taymor's Tempest (for a few reasons... not really his fault. More on that later). How come I haven't seen Perfume?

Robby notices how many Oscar nominees are dropping off lately. Trust when I wrote that "still with us!" list in July I REALLY did not intend it as a morbid countdown. I just wanted to honor people while they were still with us. But yes it's already really out of date. Rough month of RIPs.


Kevin thinks the death of P.T. Anderson's The Master ought to free him up to do a musical. Wouldn't that be great?



Jordan ranks David Fincher's films and is fond of the Modern Maestro series as a whole. I didn't mean to scare y'all with saying that it's wrapping up soon. Robert is staying with us. I love the column too but it's time to switch it up after a short break.



james t rediscovered the huge voice / brilliance of Ellen Greene in Little Shop of Horrors and pointed me to this Patrick ♥ Wilson / Carrie Underwood version (what the he--uh?) I included an Ellen Greene version too (from the Tonight Show) because I can never get enough of her as Audrey and I'd never seen this clip... apparently Siskel & Ebert talked her up on the Tonight Show too back in the day.



And finally, I was pleased to see that in the Tangled post, there were quite a few people popping in to express their love for the music of Hunchback of Notre Dame. I'm glad I wasn't alone in thinking that Judge Frollo's songs really are special in that movie.

My point is this: Thanks for visiting The Film Experience every day! It was our biggest September over and I suddenly feel very enthused about the rapidly approaching awards season.

Consider this an open comment thread!
What's on your movie-lovin' mind?
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Love... (The Poster)

Gaze upon the great poster for Love and Other Drugs. It's a casually lovely earth-tone -- what with the brown backdrop and lots of flesh -- which is not a palette movie posters regularly embrace. We like it lots. But there are three totally unnecessary or faulty things about this poster...

1. Duh, the pillows.
   
2. the text "& OTHER DRUGS" is superfluous. We only want to LOVE.
3. There's a typo to your far right, bottom hand corner. It reads "NOV. 24" but I'm pretty sure they meant to say "NOW"

As in that's when we want.
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Fall Films: Harry Potter, Anne Hathaway and More

A movie tagline from Warner Bros...


Do you promise? Because I am so ready for that particular franchise to wrap up. I didn't say nice things about the Deathly Hallows in my FALL FILM PREVIEW over at Towleroad because the corporate greed has left a bad taste in my mouth. Movie tickets are like $13ish now in NYC but 3D is like $18ish so instead of people paying $13 to see the Potter finale they're going to have to pay $36. No way does that book need 5 hours to tell itself. That's like when TV series end their seasons with those bloated 2 hour finales and it's totally obvious that they're only used to dreaming up 1 hour of drama. Prepare for FILLER at high prices.

"Movies are as addictive as dope, but they are far less injurious to health and they ought not to be as expensive."
-Quentin Crisp

Anyway, that's just a small part of the article so go read it.

Which film are you most looking forward to in the next three months? I'm getting more excited about David Fincher's The Social Network which I understand would be a classy answer to the question. I like nearly all of his movies and l-o-v-e a few of them. I haven't read the rave reviews that have been making the rounds (I don't like to read reviews before watching movies) but I did think it was absurdly hilarious that Blurb Whore Peter Travers is suddenly acting like he's a tough-to-please Slant critic or something.

If it's the first film he's given 4 stars to this year, how does he explain all those 'Hallelujah i've seen the face of god in this masterpiece' type of quotes that are plastered all over 2010 movie posters just like they are every year?

This friend-of-a-friend style -"review" for Love and Other Drugs seems much less suspicious...


I don't necessarily think LaOD is going to be a great movie but it's probably the one I'm most looking forward to (prior to December that is. Black Swan is the ultimate "want now"!). That's entirely due to my twin devotion to Jack & Lureen Twist. I was watching The Devil Wears Prada again the other night (post forthcoming) and just stunned myself with how much I love looking at Anne Hathaway's face. I could watch her closeups in slo-mo for hours.

A loyal Film Experience reader who wishes to remain anonymous also saw a recent screening of LaOD and sent a few thoughts:

The movie is well above average in the world of romantic comedy, and rest assured, that's what it is. As you could clearly note from the trailer, it has all of the usual romcom trappings and succeeds primarily due to the strength of Jake & Anne's chemistry - which is ENORMOUS and immensely satisfying. I must admit, and then dodge anything you might throw my way, that I'm not a big fan of Rachel Getting Married, or Anne's performance in it. So, given that, I'd have to say that this is her best performance. It's really a perfect role for her, as it's mostly comedic (which is where she excels) with tinges of drama.

Jake pulls off the smarmy-but-charming almost George Clooney-esque character incredibly well, and his character's transformation as he becomes more involved with Anne is not necessarily written as well as it could have been, but he's great. And he ultimately sells one of the rather cliché romcom moments far better than anyone had any right to. It's really all about the two of them, so the supporting cast's screen time is quite limited, although Oliver Platt steals every scene he's in.

P.S. Jake & Anne spend like half the movie completely naked. This movie is sexxxxxxy

I ignored the heresy about not loving Anne in RGM. Wha...? We briefly talked Oscar. He thinks Anne is a real possibility but only if the movie itself gets good reviews but even though he loved it, he doubts that a movie that is essentially a romantic comedy will get much play.

Of course, there are a lot of factors involved in winning Oscar favor and the court of public opinion can be very persuasive for voters. I haven't seen the movie yet so I'm speaking generically about Oscar races. When movies are big hits, they often transcend feelings about their genre. And couldn't this be a big hit?

• Which fall film are you dying to see?
• Are you aching for a rom-com that isn't terrible? (There's been a famine)
• Do you mind parting with $36 to see the conclusion of Harry Potter?
• And I guess we should start discussing it. Do you see a bright Oscar future for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (either part)?
  

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Yes, No, Maybe So: Love and Other Drugs

The buzzy romantic dramedy set in the Viagra sales world known as Love and Other Drugs has a full trailer now. Let's give it our trademark 'Yes No Maybe So' treatment. You do the same in the comments. Because, well, it's fun. It's a healthy way to manage expectations -- You vs. the Hype! -- forcing yourself to see the potential good, bad and inbetweens of a future film experience.



Yes. It's no secret that I'm exceptionally fond of both of both Jake Gyllenhaal and Anne Hathaway, two of the best 20something actors on the planet.That designation won't last much longer as Anne turns 28 and Jake 30 as the year wraps up. But the thirtysomething years are often the peak ones for movie stars so if Jake & Anne raise their respective games here and really deliver as leads, we could be looking at amazing decades ahead for both of them, rather than a deflation of the early promise. At any rate, it'll be fun to see them reunited post Brokeback Mountain. I'm of the opinion that Hollywood would be smart to offer moviegoers more frequent screen pairings of actors that have already proven their chemistry. It's a through line that can make movies extra magical and it's just bewildering that Hollywood doesn't see it since as a business they love repeating past successes in just about every other way.


No. Well, there is the potential problem of this being a story we've seen a bazillion times (minus the viagra bit): cocksure young successful man who isn't the settling down type finally meets a girl who turns his world upszzzzzzzz. Sorry, I fell asleep thinking of 2,302 other movies whose names have escaped me. If these movies aren't made with great flair, they're virtually undistinguishable from each other at core.

Maybe So. This is what I find most surprising. I've never really liked an Edward Zwick picture before but I want to see this. It always seems like he's trying to win an Oscar rather than make a movie... but perhaps it's the earnest Baity historical subject matter he tends to favor that gives this impression. Maybe this more contemporary story will loosen up his direction and he will finally get that Best Picture nomination he's been chasing since the 80s. He's won the Oscar as a producer (Shakespeare in Love) but none of his own directorial efforts have been nominated. Even the ones Oscar really liked like Blood Diamond and Glory.

I'm a yes. I want to see Anne & Jake sparkling in synch. And you?
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Linkville

Serious Film Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory = Se7en. lol.
The Playlist Edgar Wright (Scott Pilgrim) names his favorite musicals.
Low Resolution Nekked James McAvoy and the failings of the internet.

ooh, thanks E.T. LOVE AND OTHER DRUGS sneak!

i09 wonders how TV can repeat the success of Smallville. But I have to ask: why does it have to be a teen angst show? There's a million different ways of doing superheroes. Unfortunately people are only trying two of those ways. You can get away with generic at the movies while the genre is at its peak, but peaks don't last forever and if everything keeps feeling "samey" eventually people will get bored.
Geekscape 10 strangest tv and film adaptations ever.
Extra Criticum takes issue with "The New Yorker"'s take on The Kids Are All Right.

Finally, CHUD collects some photoshopped tomfoolery about Inception and calls it a "meme". Oh internets you confuse me. A meme used to just be a thing everyone was passing around like surveys or questionnaires or themes like blog-a-thons without the date specificity. Now apparently it's about lolcat style photo-captioning? I can't keep up internets. But some of them are funny so read the post. And this is really the last time I'm going to mention this movie (until precursor season at least) because I'm so bored with it now. Fast fade... just not enough left to the imagination so how can the imagination stay engaged?

Sing A Song Of Joe

JA from MNPP here, with a choice quote from one of the stars of this weekend's big box office winner Inception (did you read Nat's review? I agree with him) a lithe and lovely talented little fellow by the name of Joseph Gordon-Levitt, giving a vague nod towards what might be prancing on to next:

"I'd absolutely love to do more song-and-dance numbers... I don't want to spoil it, but there's something in the works, man, and I can't wait."

Nat keeps track of what musicals are turning cinematic far better than I do, but anything JGL's stuffing himself into gives me a mean case of the curiosities. The link offering up this quote suggests perhaps he'll play opposite Russell Crowe in the remake of A Star is Born, but I can't help it, my mind drifts off towards the rumored Damn Yankees movie... Jake Gyllenhaal as the slugger and JGL as the devil? Please? But I'm hardly the expert, so....

What musical would you cast Joe in?
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25th Anniversary: Cinema's First Viagra Joke

I was recently debating how best to cover older cinema (it's so haphazard) and decided prematurely on a 25|50|75 approach. Hence all these 1985 posts. Now, I'm thinking that's too limited since how many posts in 2010 can you really take which obsess over 1985, 1960 and 1935? I must rethink. Nevertheless in researching the summer months a few weeks, I jotted down today's date as the 25th anniversary of Cocoon (1985).

At the risk of attracting a year's worth of both spam and funny looks in one single post, I felt compelled to commemorate the cinema's first Viagra joke. Literally the only memory I had of Cocoon in 2010 was that a group of old men got boners when they swam with magical aliens.

Don Ameche: You got a boner, too?
Wilford Brimley: Blue Steel. Cat couldn't scratch it.
Hume Cronyn: I thought I was the only one.

I should tell you upfront that I remembered this scene wrong. But my point is that I remembered it. For 25 years. I was horrified that old men were talking about boners back then. I wasn't as mature as I am now whilst typing about boner jokes. No kid today will ever remember a 2010 old man boner joke in 2035. Thanks to viagra those jokes are now a dime a dozen which is undoubtedly cheaper than Viagra.

Come to think of it The Golden Girls were right around this time period, too, weren't they? Why were old people so horny in the 80s? And why were aliens always friendly? Different times.


Why anybody would need magical alien water for uh... upkeep... when Steve Guttenberg has his shirt off for the entire movie is a mystery that can never be solved.

Another mystery that can never be solved: Guttenberg's alien girlfriend prefers to have sex with him without touching him.

"If this is foreplay I'm a dead man"

Yet another 1985 mystery that can never be solved: Don Ameche's Supporting Actor Oscar.

Was there any decade weirder than the 80s?

In just a few months we're getting a true story biographical dramedy about the invention of Viagra called Love and Other Drugs (2010). [tangent: I wonder why we haven't seen any stills or a teaser yet?] Jake Gyllenhaal and Anne Hathaway are the stars which is totally appropriate because they're essentially cinematic blue pills themselves. Or so I...uh... hear. You should watch them one hour before engaging in... uh... never mind.

Where am I going with this?

Unnhh, well.

Okay, there's this Meryl Streep movie waiting in my mailbox that I wanted to write about and I've lost my mailbox key. You got this post instead and I really can't apologize enough.
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"I Heard of It" The Pull of The Familiar

Year after year I continue to be stunned by the near omnipotence of familiarity when it comes to ticket purchasing. With so much media noise about "what's good" in the form of blogs, reviews, articles, and whatnot, it's still nearly always marketing dollars and pre-established "names" that determine what people spend their money on. Even when people didn't like one movie in a franchise, they'll go again. I've previously referred to this as The Blockbuster Loop.

Actual conversation overheard in an elevator last weekend:

Movieless Woman: What's that?
Bootleg Loving Woman: [Holding a bootleg DVD of Prince of Persia] It's good.
Movieless: [Pointing at Jake Gyllenhaal] Who's that?
Bootleg: The Prince! It's good.
Movieless: You watched it already?
Bootleg: No, we watching it tonight. It's good.
Movieless: How do you know?
Bootleg: [exasperated] I heard of it.
Movieless: [pause] I wanna see that Robin Hood.

The conversation continued briefly after this. "Movieless" had not heard of Prince of Persia (or Jakey apparently). So "Bootleg" turned to me (!), the complete stranger eavesdropping, for backup. "It's good, right???"

Reader, I just smiled and shrugged my shoulders, feigning ignorance. That's what's called a leading question and I don't think she was looking for critical discourse.

What struck me most about the conversation was the equation of "heard of" = "good." Even Movieless, deprived all of these years of Jake Gyllenhaal, confirmed this. Hadn't heard of equalled skeptical. She wanted to see Robin Hood; "Heard of" = "Good". Everyone has heard of Robin Hood. Therefore Good. That's how it works. Honestly, have you ever met anyone who loves that movie? How did it do so well? It wasn't word of mouth. It was the 'I heard of it' [sic] factor.

Top Ten of 2010 Thus Far

1. Alice in Wonderland [heard of it x all living things + Johnny Depp]
2. Iron Man 2 [heard of it x everyone who was conscious during Summer 2008]
3. How to Train Your Dragon
   
4. Shrek Forever After [heard of it x past nine years]
5. Clash of the Titans [remake + 3D fad + hey, it's jakesully]
6. Shutter Island [heard of x Leonardo DiCaprio + hit book]
   
7. Valentine's Day [heard of x at least a few of the cast members]
   
8. Date Night [heard of x two mega small screen stars]
   
9. The Book of Eli [heard of x Denzel Washington]
10. Robin Hood [heard of it x all living things + Russell Crowe]

Just about the only arguable exception here is How To Train Your Dragon but even that is based on a hit children's book. Incidentally, of the top ten of the year so far it's the film that has had the slowest profit decline from week to week. It's now just 2 million away from becoming Dreamworks biggest animated feature outside of the Shrek franchise. So the "heard of it" factor is really about what it's about in a better world which is your classic garden variety Word of Mouth.

Some established brands, sequels, adaptations. B.O. rank for 2010 thus far

Once you fall a little further in the box office race, the familiarity begins to fade... a little, with more titles that aren't completely reliant on instant familiarity. But it's still an important factor. Consider the success of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. (While it's only earned $7 million here in the States, that's a huge fortune in the current climate for subtitled features where films are lucky to hit the million dollar mark. That's three times what Let The Right One In earned in its US run and that film seemed like a Word of Mouth sensation. It would have easily hit 8 figures a decade ago when audiences were so much more willing to see foreign films). The Girl... is of course based on an international best seller. It's hard to go a day on the subway without seeing someone reading it. Heard of it!

If I were a young filmmaker with a truly original voice, I'd be sorely tempted to "reinterpret" some famous story or adapt a minor success book. Perhaps pre-established familiarity with an original spin is the best way to maintain your creativity and get noticed?

The Longest Link

Uh... I got a little carried away. Enjoy the ones you will

JACKintheblog 'Is it just me or does Jake Gyllenhaal look...'
Everything I Know responds to EW's list of "greatest characters" with a few theatrical suggestions. EW only allowed for two stage characters. EW sucks at list-making. They're always pandering to the OMGRIGHTNOW
CHUD Austin Texas' great theater The Alamo Drafthouse could be coming to your city. I've only been to Austin once and I only peeked at the exterior but I would go there so often...
The Pixar Blog "Groovin' With Ken" an interview clip that's not in Toy Story 3
The Telegraph Tim Robey on Mark Ruffalo, The Unpretentious Leading Man
Dark Eye Socket What the 00's meant to TFE contributor Craig. It's never too late for a list!
Dear Old Hollywood looks at Bette Davis early homes in California
Anomalous Material is hosting a "greatest comedy of all time" tournament. Let them know what makes you laugh the hardest
Movies Kick Ass "A woman's right to shoes" on Dorothy & her ruby slippers. This is part of...
Encore's Movie Musicals Blog-a-Thon which I didn't know about in time. Ah well.


Sex?
i cite has a thorough piece up about what critics missed in their savage takedowns of Sex and the City 2. Great read, though I wish I had enjoyed the movie this much! For me it's a miss
The Film Doctor 'don't leave me hangin' here'... a discussion about the movie that I appreciate because it's not OTT histrionic / hateful. There's very few discussions of that movie that aren't. And speaking of...
The Telegraph Tim Robey discusses "Sex and the City and the Art of the Pan" citing hilarious takedowns of this film and other hated films.
Huffington Post dating lesssons from the fab four
Tim Seidell equates Sex & the City to Star Wars. Seriously, he does. Original trilogy and 'prequel trilogy' and all
Sling Blog 5 pop culture hits besides SatC that were savaged by audiences that they weren't remotely intended to be enjoyed by

Finally...
Nicks Flick Picks has reached the final 10 in his Best Actress Project. Incredibly he will soon have seen every Best Actress nominee. Latest writeups: Bergman's Anastasia and Irene Dunne in Love Affair. He's got two of my all time favorite nominees coming up in his final 8 screenings: Natalie Wood in Splendor in the Grass (1961) and Judy Garland in A Star is Born (1954). I'm prepared for the worst. Though Nick and I are great friends we disagree surprisingly often on the subject of Actress so I have no expectations as to how he'll respond.

P.S. Don't even ask how close I am to having seen all 408 performances. So much left to see. At least that means multiple pleasures await.

Revised Experience: Kissing Jake Gyllenhaal

I saw Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time on Friday. Two days later I remember virtually nothing save Jake's sandy contours and... uh...uh... well, he pretty!

"don't push your luck"

I do remember two other things: first, the noticeable video gaming levels (helpfully divided into location chapters onscreen) and second, Gemma Arterton's impossibly puffed up lips. While no one will ever challenge Angelina Jolie for authentic inflated labial beauty, Gemma's get a ton of screentime and when the very caucasion couple actually lip-locked in the middle of a mystical Arabian sandstorm, there was scattered giggling in the theater.

Kissing Jake Gyllenhaal is almost never a laughing matter (people are more likely to cry from it. Read on) but the movie had given Gemma so many "OMG!!! I'm almost kissing Jake Gyllenhaal" false alarms that it played like those countdown moments in bad thrillers where you see the bomb counter at 10 seconds and a whole minute of screen time later it's suddenly 3-2-1 dramatic. Movie time is infinitely flexible so why shouldn't Gemma and Jake stop to make out while Ben Kingsley is about to lay waste to the entire world. Kingsley is phoning it in anyway. He's not exactly in a rush to complete his dastardly mission.

What follows is the classic TFE post from 2007, touched up a little. Since this was first published Jake's lips have really slowed down. In the past 3 years he's only kissed Reese Witherspoon, Natalie Portman and now Gemma.

Jack Twist hasn't had a great couple of years onscreen. Let's kiss him better.


Fans are so fickle. The internet's collective 2006 boyfriend often gets a cold shoulder now. In 2007 he starred in two underperforming movies (the excellent Zodiac and the political drama Rendition) causing haters to question his bankability. He hasn't been seen much since --onscreen at least -- paparazzi pics aside. Pop culture cheaters went out seeking new objects of lust. Meanwhile, Jake grew a beard despite the rumors that that was entirely redundant.

Yet, through all of this, he remains entirely kissable.

We should all still love him. For what male movie star is as soft, cuddly and gorgeous? You may have only thought about kissing Jake Gyllenhaal while you were sitting in a movie theater (Jena Malone plays your proxy to the right) but you can kiss this movie star anywhere and in many different ways.

Consider the abundant photographic evidence. Jena enthusiastically demonstrates...


She suggests brazenly planting one on him outside your high school or at lame parties. He's shy at first but Jena guarantees he warms up in the bedroom.

Gwyneth Paltrow, who must be a Gyllenhaalic herself (unless my count is wrong she has shared the most screen liplocks with the man himself), concurs:


Lord knows why she starts crying once she gets Jake naked.

...from happiness?

But yeah, he does have that effect on people.

(It's because of Jake that he's like this. He's nothing... he's nowhere)

But, consequences be damned, Gyllenhaal must be kissed: violently, tenderly, with guilt or lust... it hardly matters. It must be done.


Even if you don't feel that way about Jake (what's wrong with you?), it's so easy to love him. Like a son... like a brother. You don't even have to come to him. He'll plant one on you.


I never thought I'd say this but Emmy Rossum and Gemma Arterton may well be the smartest human beings on earth. If the world is ending... by all means grab Mr. Gyllenhaal and make out in the glow of a fire or magical sand column. It's your last chance!!!





*
previously on Kissing: Isabelle Huppert "do not defile it with cliché", When George Met Mary It's a Wonderful Life, Marilyn Monroe "just you... nobody else but you", Volver 47 kisses in the first 15 minutes alone

previous "Gyllenhaalic" classics: Jack Twist Monologue * A History of ... Gyllenhaal * Totally Gratuitous Jake Gyllenhaal *

A New Link State of Mind

Eddie on Film is hosting a John Williams blog-a-thon. That man just doesn't get enough attention you know obviously I'm joking a few pieces are already up. More to come
ONTD hilarious bit on public reaction to celebrity sightings. Starring Jake Gyllenhaal
Towleroad watch Sex & The City 2 in 60 seconds. Teehee
CHUD '50 Cent about to win Oscar' through the weight loss gimmick!
Arts Beat fans ask The Lovely Laura Linney questions. Our very own par3182 gets one in. Yes, that's right. I'm claiming TFE readers / frequent commenters as my own. You are all mine mwahhh haha ha ha


The L Magazine how have I never heard of this Liza Minnelli/Vincent Minnelli movie A Matter of Time (1976)? Is there a leak in my brain where I keep Liza?
Noh Way "How Carrie Got Her Groove Back." I suspect this is the most positive review of Sex & the City 2 that you'll read
The Stranger "Burkas and Birkins" I suspect this is the most negative review of Sex & the City 2 that you will read.
NY Magazine Joan Rivers doesn't hold her tongue

I feel so totally forgotten. The fucking New Yorker did this big piece on the genius of Rickles, who is brilliant but who hasn’t changed a line in fifteen years. Meanwhile, I am totally ‘old hat’ and ignored while in reality I could still wipe the floor with both Kathy [Griffin] and Sarah [Silverman].

...and sure is pushing this new documentary. I smell an Oscar nomination in January. Not for Joan Rivers exactly (she didn't direct it) but still.