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| Marj |
 Posted: Fri Apr 17, 2009 5:19 pm |
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Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 10497
Location: Manhattan
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It's not as bad as had I expected. Some wonderful photography but I certainly could have done without Nicole Kidman.
It's a kind of old fashioned epic, Wade. Depending on whether you like those kinds of movies will determine how much you like this one. For me it was all about the photography. And as long as it is, I'm really glad I saw at home. But I give credit to Baz Lurhman. He knows how to move a story along.
I wouldn't have given it any credit had I been unlucky enough to see it in a theater, though I did miss seeing it on a big screen. That's OK. I still think I fared better seeing at home. |
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| gromit |
| Posted: Fri Apr 17, 2009 8:37 pm |
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Joined: 31 Aug 2004
Posts: 9008
Location: Shanghai
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Next to selected subway stations in Shanghai there are street sellers with carts of books. The limited selection of English books seem about equally divided between books which have been made into recent films and business books by pre-Crash CEO's and business gurus.
I just finished reading The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd. It's got a Huck Finn storyline, updated from near the end of slavery to 1965, near the end of Jim Crow. A 14 year old girl runs away from home (and her unpleasant father) along with her unsophisticated negro governess, who is wanted by the authorities for a racial incident. The story is told informally by the young girl in a voice of teenage exaggeration that at times is reminiscent of Holden Caulfield. I guess if you are going to borrow, might as well take from genuine American classics.
Right after finishing the book I watched the film. The Secret Life of Bees seems to have gotten no buzz and I don't recall it being mentioned anywhere. I'm not sure if it just got pigeonholed as a black film in our oddly segregated movie industry. The film stars Dakota Fanning, Queen Latifah, Alicia Keys and Jennifer Hudson -- fairly well-known talent. There was also an odd moment when we hear a somber guitar tune while we watch one character play the cello. I'm not sure what that was about, but the musical direction was botched, imo.
And due to this musical cast, the film makes a wrong turn. The diegetic music in the film -- mostly from the radio -- includes a good deal of fine period songs, including a nice sequence set to Irma Thomas' Breakaway. But there are a number of times where the film uses contemporary R&B on the soundtrack which breaks the feel of the era and was too much of a sop to modern taste. I attribute this to having Alicia Keys and the other singing stars in the cast. During the credits, I noticed at least one Keys song and one India Arie tune, and I remember one more, which broke the spell of the era.
And the film itself swings from faithfully reproducing the era -- notably a very nice use of LBJ explaining the need for the Voting Rights Act as seen on an old console TV -- and having a very contemporary feel with regards to race relations (a big part of what the book is about, along with growing up) and how people present themselves. I get rather wary of stories with revisionist race relations. I thought the book tried to walk this line carefully, while the film is too simple in its depictions. The whites are dangerous, angry and undeveloped. The blacks are warm, wise and sincere.
I did notice that two or three things which bothered me in the book had been changed and improved in the film. But the film also made an odd change in how the father tracks down his runaway daughter, which worked better in the book. And the question the girl asks her Father at the end was improved upon in the film as well.
I liked the book and the film is pretty decent. At times it sticks to the book too much and rushes through. The Jennifer Hudson character, the fugitive black, is cleaned up a good deal from the book, whereas her country manners in the book help provide an edge of class division and oppression to the racial divide. But I think the film tries to be too uplifting and presents too modern a gloss on race relations and human behavior, which too obviously removes the story from 1965 and makes it seem like a 2008 version of such a time. The book doesn't always manage to avoid this pitfall, but the film is far too guilty of such revisionism. |
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| lshap |
| Posted: Fri Apr 17, 2009 9:29 pm |
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Site Admin
Joined: 12 May 2004
Posts: 4246
Location: Montreal
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Australia suffered from a Gone With The Wind personality disorder.
As Marj said, it looked pretty, but tried way, way too hard. |
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| lshap |
| Posted: Fri Apr 17, 2009 9:32 pm |
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Site Admin
Joined: 12 May 2004
Posts: 4246
Location: Montreal
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Movies? Haven't seen one in weeks, mostly 'cause nothing's exciting. State Of Play intrigues; anyone seen it? Harrison Ford in Crossing Over - any comments?
Other than that, I count the days until Star Trek. Yes, I'm serious. To hell with you, too... |
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| billyweeds |
| Posted: Fri Apr 17, 2009 9:39 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 20618
Location: New York City
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| Saw State of Play and the prospect was more intriguing than the product. It's slackly paced and only intermittently exciting. The one excellent thing about it is Crowe's performance, one of his best IMO. He carries the movie as far as it will go. The rest of the cast is professional but not much more than that. |
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| carrobin |
| Posted: Fri Apr 17, 2009 9:50 pm |
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Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 7795
Location: NYC
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| I saw a trailer for "State of Play" last time I was at the movies, and it looked interesting--but I wondered if anyone would remember such a dull title. I'm glad they're giving it some publicity, because otherwise I'd be wondering "whatever happened with that Russell Crowe movie about journalists..." |
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| Earl |
| Posted: Fri Apr 17, 2009 10:07 pm |
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Joined: 09 Jun 2004
Posts: 2621
Location: Houston
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I have a problem with the way State of Play is being advertised. The ads for it reveal something I wish they wouldn't. They say [SPOILER] "...with a twist at the end you'll never see coming!" [END SPOILER]
Great. Just great. Now I have to sit there during the movie [RESTART SPOILER] trying to figure out what/where/who the twist is going to be [END SPOILER] instead of just [RESTART SPOILER] relaxing and letting the movie take my imagination whever the movie makers wanted to take it. [END SPOILER FOR THE LAST TIME IN THIS POST, I PROMISE]
I blame the PR people. |
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| Joe Vitus |
| Posted: Fri Apr 17, 2009 10:14 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 14498
Location: Houston
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| Not reading the whited out parts for fear of spoilers, I got quite a kick out of your post. |
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| Nancy |
| Posted: Sat Apr 18, 2009 1:11 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 4607
Location: Norman, OK
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Joe Vitus wrote: Not reading the whited out parts for fear of spoilers, I got quite a kick out of your post.
Me too. |
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| billyweeds |
| Posted: Sat Apr 18, 2009 5:31 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
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Location: New York City
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I should have mentioned that State of Play features a musical score by Alex Heffes that is (besides Crowe's performance) the only other exceptional thing about the movie. Checking his credits, I see that Heffes also wrote the score to The Last King of Scotland among other indie obscurities. Don't remember the score to TLKOS, but State of Play has a most attractive and harmonically inventive main theme. I want to hear more from Heffes.
Checking again, I am reminded that the director of State of Play, Kevin Macdonald, also directed The Last King of Scotland. So he may not have done such a great job with the storytelling--TLKOS had some problems in that area as well--but at least he chose a terrific composer. |
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| Marj |
| Posted: Sat Apr 18, 2009 1:34 pm |
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Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 10497
Location: Manhattan
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Billy-- State of Play was to be my next movie. The subject alone is intriguing. But I can't tell whether you feel ambivalent about it, or disliked it and are pointing out a few points you feel deserve mentioning.
I expected that it would not be a great movie or why would it be released now? But is it worth a few hours in your opinion, or in anyone's that seen it? |
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| billyweeds |
| Posted: Sat Apr 18, 2009 1:49 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
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Location: New York City
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Marj wrote: Billy-- State of Play was to be my next movie. The subject alone is intriguing. But I can't tell whether you feel ambivalent about it, or disliked it and are pointing out a few points you feel deserve mentioning.
I expected that it would not be a great movie or why would it be released now? But is it worth a few hours in your opinion, or in anyone's that seen it?
My feeling is that I would have been fine waiting for DVD. I would actually have been okay missing it, but that wouldn't have happened, not with Crowe and Mirren in the cast. He's really good, but she's sort of phoning it in in a generic "hard-nosed editor" role.
My choice for last night's movie (Dolores won out) was really 17 Again, which sounds dopey but intermittently hilarious. In a better movie, it sounds as though the supporting actors might be award-worthy. I know Melora Hardin from The Office (she's Jan), and she's really funny. As for Thomas Lennon, I don't know him, but he reportedly steals the movie, and his scene with Hardin sounds fall-down-funny.
I get constantly annoyed with critics who dis Matthew Perry. He has a lot of talent, as any episode of Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip proved. |
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| Marj |
| Posted: Sat Apr 18, 2009 2:47 pm |
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Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 10497
Location: Manhattan
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| Thanks Billy. And do I ever agree with about Mathew Perry! |
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| carrobin |
| Posted: Sat Apr 18, 2009 5:04 pm |
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Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 7795
Location: NYC
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I didn't realize "State of Play" is based on a British TV miniseries until it was mentioned in a review. I had to look it up on the BBC site to find out whether I'd seen it or not. I hadn't--but it featured Bill Nighy and John Simm (of "Life on Mars"), so I'd be very interested in seeing it now.
On "Reel Talk" this morning, both critics seemed to be a bit surprised that they really liked "17 Again." |
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| marantzo |
| Posted: Sat Apr 18, 2009 5:53 pm |
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So I'm not alone in my opinion of Matthew Perry's ability. I never understood why he was so universally dismissed after Friends. Any time I saw him I thought he was very good. Now Jenifer Aniston, there is someone from Friends who deserves to be dismissed. 
OK Billy, you can correct my spelling now. |
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