(500) Days of Summer which has received much critical acclaim since it's release at Sundance earlier this year, finally got release in St. Louis this weekend. Kurt and I went and saw and were much amused by this film that is not a love story, but a story about love. In this day and age where most movies are sterilized and idealized stories about 2 people falling madly in love against all reason, it's a nice change to see a movie which shows all the ups and downs and foibles of a real relationship that doesn't end well.
Before seeing the movie and afterward I thought of other indie movies of the past ten years that also have different views of love and life.
1) Garden State (2004)
Zach Braff's directorial debut which is mostly just a collection of stories and urban legends he heard growing up; but there is also the love story of two people adrift in the world. It's a contrived romance and very predictable, but it's still heart-warming and the various stories are entertaining, if nothing else.
2) Juno (2007)
Second movie from Jason Reitman and is quite charming. A story of pregnant teenager who falls in love with the father of her child through the course of the pregnancy. Some have said that it tries to be too Indie and is contrived; I find it witty and endearing as she discovers that life does not always work the way you expect it to.
3) Brick (2005)
The first from Rian Johnson and one I love to be able to include in a list because it's such a good movie. One could argue that it's not a movie about love, but at it's heart it is. Brendan loves Em and wants to know what happened to her and why; through the unfolding we find out that Em is not love with Brendan but in love with.... well, I won't ruin the surprise. But it's the relationships of who is involved with whom that is a major part of this noir detective story.
But for now, "Just because she's likes the same bizzaro crap you do doesn't mean she's your soul mate." ((500) Days of Summer)
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Monday, July 6, 2009
Movie Trio: Before they were in this Summer's Blockbusters
I am a movie geek in that I can never seem to watch just one movie and I love to make connections between movies that don't seem to be otherwise connected. Starting in college, I liked pairing movies for "double feature" nights. Sometimes the pairings make sense, like Grosse Pointe Blank and The Big Hit (misunderstood & torn hit-men). Sometimes they're connected marginally, Fifth Element and Hannibal (Gary Oldman roles). Now that I've graduated (twice) and have a large and ever-growing movie collection, the movie pairings are starting to become trios. The themes can be anything and the only limitation is it has to be movies in the collection (though that's not too limiting with nearly 600 titles in our collection). So I feel like sharing these trios with others other than myself (though I know not many read this blog, so it won't be shared with many, but that's more than one).
With all the big block-buster movies this summer that are failures (not failure in their box-office takes, but as movies themselves) it makes me long for other summers and other movies, ones maybe not as marred by egos. So I have compiled a list of movies (not necessarily summer movies) that have actors from this summer before they were the heroes and in the spotlight.
1) Constantine (2005) - Shia LaBeouf as the comic-relief sidekick.
Between the failures of this summer's Transformers 2 and last summer's Indiana Jones 4, I am tired of seeing Shia cast as a hero only for him to be not-so-heroic. I long for when he was just a sidekick, because he works well as a sidekick. A hero has to carry a movie or the movie fails; a sidekick just has to follow the hero providing support where necessary, even if dying is considered part of that necessity. They can have witty dialogue and verbally point out plot-points that aren't always apparent to the audience; they appear on-screen just long enough to do their job and then disappear into the background. They do not have to carry the movie itself. So I longed for Shia in roles such as Chas from Constantine. This is the first movie I had seen him in, and he works in this role; he's a smart-mouth Jewish kid following around and supporting an emotional-less Keanu Reeves. This is how I like to remember Shia. Not as hair-obsessed Mutt or as image-obsessed Sam; but as the kid who really wants to emulate his hero and will follow him 'til the end. And luckily the whole movie itself ages well; it gets better with subsequent viewings as more details are noticed that aren't always caught in a first or fifth viewing.
Confession: There is a stinger after the credits; I had never seen it before re-watching the movie a couple weeks ago, and it actually adds a little bit to the movie.
2) The Chronicles of Riddick (2004) - Karl Urban as a warrior villain.
This summer's Star Trek is one of those few wins from this summer of bad movies. It's not great Oscar-worthiness, but it is a fun and enjoyable ensemble movie. Unlike many other good ensemble movies, though, it is a mostly unknown group of young actors and actresses pulled in to try to capture and portray characters that have been seen in TV and movies over the last 40+ years. And capture them they do. Anton Yelchin (who is Russian) is cute as Chekov; Simon Pegg does an interesting and hilarious variation on Scottie; and I think Zachery Quinto has that very essence that makes Spock, Spock. But more than anyone else, Karl Urban captures Bones perfectly. Even before he's said a line (let alone the line "All I've got left is my Bones"), once he appears on screen, you know that it is Bones. Looking up Urban to see what he had played in before, I discovered that he has done many action roles. The role I find most striking as a contrast to Bones is Vaako the villain in The Chronicles of Riddick; Vaako wasn't the high Lord Marshall ruling the vast empire, but was his most trusted lieutenant charged with hunting down Riddick. It is interesting to see Urban be able to have full command of two very different roles. Unfortunately this is not a movie that ages as well as Constantine; though, I somehow enjoy it every time we see it. It is one of my guilty pleasures.
Note: Kurt has pointed out that Urban played Eomer in the Lord of the Rings movies well before The Chronicles of Riddick, but I like the contrast that Vaako makes to Bones better.
3) Enemy Mine (1985) - Dennis Quaid as the human
As a contrast to the other movies, instead of before they were stars this is when he was a star. The yet to be released G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, which has not been rated well so far in the early test screenings, is a conglomeration of this summer's movies: an ensemble cast and robots (well, robotic suits). Among the ensemble cast which includes the likes of Christopher Eccleston and Joseph Gordon-Levitt leading the bad guys with pretty-boy Channing Tatum leading the good guys; also leading the good guys is Dennis Quaid as General Hawk. I grew up with Quaid as a household name; and in addition to Innerspace, Enemy Mine was a movie that was in the parent's collection. It is interesting now to watch a movie made before nearly all effects were computer-generated; to watch a big sci-fi movie with space battles and space ships that is concerned mostly with the interactions of two individuals who have been raised to hate the other. It is their story, and the movie depends on their performances and the characters themselves above special effects; something that most of these summer block-busters seem to have forgotten.
Interesting note: Channing Tatum is also playing Pretty Boy Floyd in Public Enemies this summer.
How about you? Any movies that you can think of of stars from this summer before they were stars?
But for now, "You're in Love. Have a Beer." (Hellboy II: The Golden Army)
With all the big block-buster movies this summer that are failures (not failure in their box-office takes, but as movies themselves) it makes me long for other summers and other movies, ones maybe not as marred by egos. So I have compiled a list of movies (not necessarily summer movies) that have actors from this summer before they were the heroes and in the spotlight.
1) Constantine (2005) - Shia LaBeouf as the comic-relief sidekick.
Between the failures of this summer's Transformers 2 and last summer's Indiana Jones 4, I am tired of seeing Shia cast as a hero only for him to be not-so-heroic. I long for when he was just a sidekick, because he works well as a sidekick. A hero has to carry a movie or the movie fails; a sidekick just has to follow the hero providing support where necessary, even if dying is considered part of that necessity. They can have witty dialogue and verbally point out plot-points that aren't always apparent to the audience; they appear on-screen just long enough to do their job and then disappear into the background. They do not have to carry the movie itself. So I longed for Shia in roles such as Chas from Constantine. This is the first movie I had seen him in, and he works in this role; he's a smart-mouth Jewish kid following around and supporting an emotional-less Keanu Reeves. This is how I like to remember Shia. Not as hair-obsessed Mutt or as image-obsessed Sam; but as the kid who really wants to emulate his hero and will follow him 'til the end. And luckily the whole movie itself ages well; it gets better with subsequent viewings as more details are noticed that aren't always caught in a first or fifth viewing.
Confession: There is a stinger after the credits; I had never seen it before re-watching the movie a couple weeks ago, and it actually adds a little bit to the movie.
2) The Chronicles of Riddick (2004) - Karl Urban as a warrior villain.
This summer's Star Trek is one of those few wins from this summer of bad movies. It's not great Oscar-worthiness, but it is a fun and enjoyable ensemble movie. Unlike many other good ensemble movies, though, it is a mostly unknown group of young actors and actresses pulled in to try to capture and portray characters that have been seen in TV and movies over the last 40+ years. And capture them they do. Anton Yelchin (who is Russian) is cute as Chekov; Simon Pegg does an interesting and hilarious variation on Scottie; and I think Zachery Quinto has that very essence that makes Spock, Spock. But more than anyone else, Karl Urban captures Bones perfectly. Even before he's said a line (let alone the line "All I've got left is my Bones"), once he appears on screen, you know that it is Bones. Looking up Urban to see what he had played in before, I discovered that he has done many action roles. The role I find most striking as a contrast to Bones is Vaako the villain in The Chronicles of Riddick; Vaako wasn't the high Lord Marshall ruling the vast empire, but was his most trusted lieutenant charged with hunting down Riddick. It is interesting to see Urban be able to have full command of two very different roles. Unfortunately this is not a movie that ages as well as Constantine; though, I somehow enjoy it every time we see it. It is one of my guilty pleasures.
Note: Kurt has pointed out that Urban played Eomer in the Lord of the Rings movies well before The Chronicles of Riddick, but I like the contrast that Vaako makes to Bones better.
3) Enemy Mine (1985) - Dennis Quaid as the human
As a contrast to the other movies, instead of before they were stars this is when he was a star. The yet to be released G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, which has not been rated well so far in the early test screenings, is a conglomeration of this summer's movies: an ensemble cast and robots (well, robotic suits). Among the ensemble cast which includes the likes of Christopher Eccleston and Joseph Gordon-Levitt leading the bad guys with pretty-boy Channing Tatum leading the good guys; also leading the good guys is Dennis Quaid as General Hawk. I grew up with Quaid as a household name; and in addition to Innerspace, Enemy Mine was a movie that was in the parent's collection. It is interesting now to watch a movie made before nearly all effects were computer-generated; to watch a big sci-fi movie with space battles and space ships that is concerned mostly with the interactions of two individuals who have been raised to hate the other. It is their story, and the movie depends on their performances and the characters themselves above special effects; something that most of these summer block-busters seem to have forgotten.
Interesting note: Channing Tatum is also playing Pretty Boy Floyd in Public Enemies this summer.
How about you? Any movies that you can think of of stars from this summer before they were stars?
But for now, "You're in Love. Have a Beer." (Hellboy II: The Golden Army)
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