Starring: Robin Wright-Penn, Cary Elwes, Mandy Patinkin, Wallace Shawn, Andre the Giant and Chris Sarandon
THE PLOT
Based on the novel by William Goldman, it chronicles the love story between Princess Buttercup (Robing Wright-Penn) and her "farm boy", Wesley (Cary Elwes). Set in a fantasy world that is narrated by Grandpa (Peter Falk), who is trying to distract his sick grandson by reading him The Princess Bride, Buttercup and Wesley must overcome "three poor circus freaks", a vile prince, a six-fingered man and the R.O.U.S. (Rodents of Unusual Size).
WHY I LOVE IT
I didn't even have to stop and think about what film couple would make the cut. I could have chosen something more dramatic or obvious, but none of them compared to this ultimate fantasy couple. This is one of those films from my childhood that gets better with age. I was only 6-years-old when my parents first introduced me to this comic fantasy and I've seen it so many times since that I could probably recite it word for word.
Despite its tone, the love story between Buttercup and Wesley is something I think we all yearn to experience ourselves at some point in our lives, even the most cynical of us.
Their love is flawless, unconditional and, sadly, complete fantasy. However, despite its satirical tones and laugh-out-loud moments, neither Goldman's book nor Reiner's film can disguise the fact that, in both mediums, they've created one of the most ridiculously perfect relationships in literature and film.
The movie is excellent for so many different reasons, yet, despite being nearly overshadowed by larger-than-life secondary characters (like Andre the Giant as Fezzik or the wonderful Mandy Patinkin as one of my favourite film heroes, Inigo Montoya), Robin Wright-Penn and Cary Elwes always manage to turn the audience's attention back to their central love story.
As Mark Knopfler sings in the closing credits, it's a "Storybook Love."
JOYEUX NOEL (2005) Written and Directed By: Christian Carion
Starring: Guillaume Canet, Diane Kruger, Daniel Bruhl, Benno Furmann and Gary Lewis
I purchased this film on a whim last year and only just got around to watching it. Originally, I planned to watch it during its limited theatrical release but it passed me by.
For those of you who know me, you are aware that I'm an absolute sap for Christmas and the winter holidays, in general. I literally melt into a puddle of sentimental goop around Christmas. I figured this film, combined with the fact that it's based on an actual historical event, seemed tailor-made for my tastes.
The film chronicles the Christmas Eve and Christmas Day ceasefire between the Germans, French and Scottish on the Western Front during the early days of the First World War in 1914, when soldiers still thought they would be home by the following year at the latest. It came to be known as The Christmas Truce and is still celebrated today as an example of human decency and kindness, in the face of violence and death. These three groups of men, from three different countries and speaking three different languages, overcame all barriers and spent the holidays together in their trenches, sharing meals and stories about their homes and families. They become fast friends, causing a scandal within their higher ranks who were far away from the fighting. When word gets out that the three nations have stopped shooting at one another, against orders, all the men involved are punished by their respective nations.
Carion and his casting directors made some wonderful choices in the acting department. There's nothing better, when watching a film, than coming across an actor you've never seen before and are pleasantly surprised by how great they are. I'd never seen Guillaume Canet in anything before but this wonderful French actor is pretty much the centrepiece of the film as French commander, Audebert (pictured above). He's a young man in charge of a vast troop and his kindness towards his men, his nervousness in agreeing to the truce and his blossoming friendship with the timid and awkward Ponchel (Dany Boon) holds the film together. You almost wish the cast wasn't such a huge ensemble because his character deserves his own film.
The rest of the cast is just as stellar. As the lone female in the film, Diane Kruger (who I always find to be a much stronger actress when speaking in her native German), plays Dutch opera singer, Anna Sorensen, who is brought to the troops on Christmas Eve to sing to them with her boyfriend, German soprano Nikolaus Sprink (played by Benno Furmann, also great in his role). Rounding out the cast is Gary Lewis as Scottish piper, Palmer (most will recognize him as the father from Billy Elliot), who is such an excellent actor and is really fantastic in the scene where he plays the bagpipes to accompany the German soprano, Sprink. Without any dialogue, he conveys all the emotions of a man exhausted with war and seeking a moment of peace and relief. Daniel Bruhl (another great actor that most will recognize from Inglourious Basterds but was also excellent in the German films Love in Thoughts, Goodbye Lenin! and The Edukators) plays German commander, Horstmayer, a Jewish man who admits Christmas means next to nothing to him but, after some initial reluctance, readily embraces the truce.
This film is by no means perfect. The pacing is a little off. For a war film with a focus on peace, love and understanding between three nations at war, its slow to start. I suspect it was a struggle for the writers and director to balance such a large cast and the struggle to find a main voice. Most films benefit from the focus on one or two main protagonists, however, that would have been impossible to do in a film/historical event that has so many different sides. Initially, the main character appears to be Anna, which is odd considering the film is based on an actual historical truce. The fact that it doesn't begin with an emphasis on that point gets the film off on the wrong foot. However, after the "Silent Night" scene that bonds all three troops, the film evens out and hits its stride, focusing on the men and their shared excitement of being able to put down there guns and be young men again, if only for a little while. I still wish more emphasis had been placed on the men and less time spent with the opera singers. However, the powerful message that war is senseless and that even our enemies are just like us, is still relevant to this day. Moments like the real Christmas Truce deserve to be captured on film, if only to remind us of that fact.
FINAL GRADE: B+
On a final note, here's the scene where German soprano, Sprink, sings "Silent Night" when he is joined by Scottish bagpiper, Palmer.
TOY STORY 3
Directed By: Lee Unkrich
Voices By: Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Joan Cusack, Ned Beatty and Michael Keaton
"Let's go out on a high note!" ~Buzz~
While summer sequels currently struggle at the box office, Pixar continues to show other Hollywood studios how making a sequel better than the last should be done.
Although it's been eleven years (!) since the last adventures of Woody and Buzz Lightyear, the characters are still fresh and fun. It's saying a lot when an animated film can have more believable characters than a live-action film featuring actual human beings. Pixar characters, be they bugs or fish or little robots, are richly complex personalities. The writing team continues to outdo themselves feature after feature, making each new Pixar film better than the last. Toy Story 3 is not only the best film of the summer (so far) but also one of top films of 2010. Like its two predecessors, Toy Story 3 is an instant classic that will be passed down to generation after generation.
The toys have reached a point in their lives when they are faced with a reality they must all face: a child reaching adulthood and abandoning them. Andy is now moving out of his house and into a college dorm, while his mother forces him to choose which items in his room are to be donated or sent into the attic. Andy plans to take Woody (Tom Hanks) with him to college, however, the other toys (Tim Allen as Buzz, Joan Cusack as Jessie, etc.) are stuffed into a garbage bag to be sent into the attic for storage. Due to a misunderstanding, the toys are all sent to Sunnyside Daycare Centre (which is, by no means, a utopia) where they meet Lotso' Hugs (Ned Beatty) and Ken (Michael Keaton). Shenanigans ensue as the toys try to escape the clutches of violent toddlers and return to the comfort of Andy's home, attic be damned.
The plot is more intense than the prior two films, to the point where even adults will be on the edge of their seats. It's a darker, bleaker Toy Story that still manages to have an emotionally satisfying conclusion. It's one of those rare franchises where you actually hope they continue making more sequels of the same quality as Pixar's golden standard. Any other animation studio, such as Disney or the Dreamworks branch, has a lot of catching up to do before they can even touch Pixar's level of creativity and great storytelling.
The voice-work is all perfect, as old favourites return (Rex, Slinky, Hamm, etc.) and new favourites (specifically the wonderful and hilarious Michael Keaton, who plays the sexually ambiguous Ken) join the group. Unlike a lot of recent animated films that hire famous actors as a quick cash grab, the actors lending their voices to Toy Story 3 are all also famous, granted, but also incredibly talented; creating great characters that both adults and children can enjoy. Their voice-work are actual performances.
It's the best film of the summer and, arguably, 2010 so far. Thanks to this sequel, the Toy Story trilogy can boast what so few other franchises can: a perfect threesome of sequels. It's hilarious (of that rare type where audience laughter drowns out the next few lines of dialogue), affecting and intensely dramatic at times.
STARRING: Kyle MacLachlan, Isabella Rossellini, Laura Dern and Dennis Hopper
"I'm seeing something that was always hidden.
I'm in the middle of a mystery and it's all secret."
~Jeffrey Beaumont~
Weird has taken on small town America. College student Jeffrey Beaumont (Kyle MacLachlan) returns to his quiet little hometown of Lumberton to visit his family when his father falls ill. On his way home from a hospital visit, Jeffrey finds a severed human ear in an open field. When the police seem incapable of figuring out the mystery, Jeffrey takes matters into his own hands with the help of the lead detective's daughter, Sandy Williams (Laura Dern). What Jeffrey and Sandy uncover involves beautiful nightclub singer, Dorothy Vallens (Isabella Rossellini), and sadistic psychopath, Frank Booth (Dennis Hopper).
Like controversial art films A Clockwork Orange and Straw Dogs, to name a couple, Blue Velvet is something that has to be treated as an experience. It's one of those strange classics that will always be picked apart in university film classes, which can arguably ruin its absurdity and ominous undertones. It's a bizarrely beautiful American avant-garde classic that deserves its status as David Lynch's masterpiece.
Lynch is a master of suspense and the surreal. He creates sinister plots, odd characters and an atmosphere that can only be described as uniquely Lynchian. The film opens to the strains of Bobby Vinton's "Blue Velvet" and the images of the idealized little town of Lumberton, full of blooming flowers, immaculate houses and friendly neighbours. Despite its outward appearance, the viewer immediately senses a dark undertone of lurking danger and death. Murder, rape, kidnapping, voyeurism, sexual awakening and one very sadistic man run rampant in the underworld of Lumberton and feature prominently in the film. That unsettling discomfort grips the viewer from start to finish. This dark mystery as the ability to intrigue as much as it can repulse.
The film is full of unforgettable, vibrantly coloured imagery, from the dark blue velvet curtain that flutters slowly during the opening credits to the limited view of Dorothy's apartment as a hidden Jeffrey watches her through the slats of her closet to the smoky atmosphere of the nightclub where Dorothy performs.
The sight of seeing a vulnerable Dorothy reaching beneath her couch for a photo of her son or Dean Stockwell's show-stopping scene where he lip-synchs to Roy Orbison's "In Dreams" (image above) are all oddly beautiful and something out of a nightmare, at the same time. Like Stanley Kubrick before him, Lynch has the gift of providing an audience with emotional atmosphere, simply through the use of objects. shadows or songs.
The casting is first-rate, specifically the four main leads. As Jeffrey, Kyle MacLachlan is all charming, college-boy cool. He portrays Jeffrey as a naive young man who is lured in by the dark nature of the mystery that surrounds him; someone who wants to break away from the manicured lawns and preppy classmates that he's grown accustomed to. Laura Dern's Sandy Williams is a soft-spoken, albeit strong-willed, young women who is less inclined to fall into the dark allure of the mystery. Her strength of character is what pulls Jeffrey back from completely losing himself to the mystery. Isabella Rossellini is not as strong an actress as her late mother, Ingrid Bergman, however, she is just as beautiful and captivating. As nightclub singer, femme fatale Dorothy Vallens, Rossellini plays her character with an open, honest vulnerability. Her deterioration is sad to witness and, more than any other character in the film, you want to see her have a positive outcome. Finally, the late Dennis Hopper, in his second-most iconic role after Easy Rider, is outrageously over-the-top. His Frank Booth is a sadistic, cackling, profanity-laced villain who instills discomfort and fear in every frame he shares with other characters. This sadistic monster is one of American cinema's most famous villains and, in the hands of anyone other than Hopper, would likely have not been so horrifyingly memorable and perverse.
Lynch's films tend to be walking contradictions, with a dark and nasty attitude combined with moments of humour and genuine tenderness. Never is that ability to contradict more on display than it is in Blue Velvet. Lynch and his films transcend genre; they cannot be classified and very rarely can they be properly explained. His films are a genre all their own. You can debate the film with friends until you are blue in the face, however, everyone will walk away with a different interpretation of it. What is Blue Velvet about? A twisted throwback to old-school detective films? A tale of sexual awakening? The age-old story of good vs. evil?
Lynch's ability to constantly push the boundaries of the status quo is nothing short of admirable and is exactly what that art of filmmaking should be at all times.
THE JANE AUSTEN EFFECT: A boy and a girl, perfect for one another (naturally), initially dislike one another because they have incorrect information about each other that affects their overall opinions. The audience knows that it's only a matter of time before the two will realize they are perfect for one another and fall in love once the air has been cleared and miscommunications are revealed in a flurry of relieved laughter.
THE PLOT IDEA:
I tend to avoid romantic comedies at all costs. When I say "romantic comedy", I'm not referring to films of the genre that attempt to be unique and actually have something to say about relationships. For example, two superior romantic comedy films are Lost in Translation and, more recently, (500) Days of Summer.
The ones I'm referring to (the ones I will always avoid like a plague) feature the likes of Kate Hudson, Julia Roberts, Katherine Heigl, et al.
I don't usually like to have a prejudice against a certain genre of film, however, I usually feel I'm justified in wanting to see something other than frivolous fluff which solely focuses on women who just want to get married and compete with one another and men who are far too good to be true. Those films tend to feature the aforementioned actresses (and I use that term very loosely).
How is a Jane Austen ending (complete with a wedding or an engagement) any different from a film like Bride Wars, where Kate Hudson and Anne Hathaway will stop at nothing to have a bigger and better wedding than the other, sanity and feminism be damned? As it turns out, there are significant differences.
Austen wrote biting social commentary with a touch of realism, and she dressed it up as romance. She covers the everyday banalities the women of her time experienced. Her novels are pivotal to anyone studying that particular era of British history, where women stayed home waiting to be courted and men came in and out of their lives in between stops to British colonies around the globe.
Austen's heroines are always aware of how ridiculous everything is around them and they tend to shy away from falling into the same traps other women do, regarding men and their station in society. This being late-eighteenth century literature, their reward (for lack of a better word) is a man who actually embraces the quirky, stubborn and spirited person that they are, no questions asked.
These are not light and airy women, these Austen heroines. They revolt against conformity and, despite the conventional endings involving big and extravagant weddings, the reader (or viewer) never forgets that the heroine, whether it be an Elizabeth Bennet or an Emma Woodhouse, retained her identity during a time where it was easier for a woman to hide behind a curtain or her husband's shadow.
WHY I LOVE IT:
Because, deep down, I do love a good romance. I love high drama and misunderstood feelings; a soap opera atmosphere dressed up in sexy historical costumes and English accents. I love that Austen's women are unique, even from one another. They are always complex, educated and headstrong women and, unlike some of the degrading romantic comedies that are thrown at women these days, they don't have to sacrifice their identity.
I love a good love story as much as the next woman, I just prefer to see my women paired up with a man who is their male counterpart and doesn't treat them as a commodity or sex object. Call me crazy, but I love my mushy Austen endings for all their drama and tears. It's satisfying knowing those heroines wound up with great guys without losing themselves in the process.
TOP: Sense and Sensibility (1995, Alan Rickman & Kate Winslet)
MIDDLE: Emma (1996, Gwyneth Paltrow & Jeremy Northam)
BOTTOM: Pride & Prejudice (1995, Colin Firth & Jennifer Ehle)
THE LAST PICTURE SHOW (1971) DIRECTED BY: Peter Bogdanovich STARRING: Timothy Bottoms, Jeff Bridges, Cybill Shepherd, Cloris Leachman, Ben Johnson and Ellen Burstyn
"I guess if it wasn't for Sam, I'd have missed it, whatever it is. I'd have been one of them amity types that thinks that playin' bridge is about the best thing that life has to offer." ~Lois Farrow (Ellen Burstyn)~
There are few towns in the world that are smaller than Anarene, Texas. Set in 1952, a time of gender inequality and sexual repression, The Last Picture Show revolves around the growing pains of high school football captain, Sonny Crawford (Timothy Bottoms). Sonny is attracted to Jacy Farrow (Cybill Shepherd, in her film debut), the girlfriend of his best friend, Duane Jackson (Jeff Bridges). Though unsuccessful in most of his relationships, Sonny strikes up a spontaneous affair with the lonely wife of his football coach, Ruth Popper (Cloris Leachman). This slice-of-life film is based on the novel by Pulitzer Prize winning author, Larry McMurty, and it traces Sonny's tumultuous relationships with all of these different characters during a few short months in the town of Anarene.
As a fan of Larry McMurtry (his Lonesome Dove being one of the greatest novels ever written), I'd been curious about this film for a few years now, however, I never got the chance to see it until recently. McMurtry, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Bogdanovich, has the ability to create wonderfully flawed human beings who lead regular, if not outright boring, lives. The things that happen to his characters are situations that could happen to anyone. McMurtry does not shy away from the prospect of his audience disliking some, if not all, of his characters at some point in the course of his novels. It's part of what makes his storytelling so compelling. The Last Picture Show is no different.
The decision to film it in black and white only serves to amplify the bleak and melancholy atmosphere that hangs over the action onscreen. The Last Picture Show is a frank look at sexuality in a small town where everyone knows each other's business.
The performances are all subtle, understated and add to the unique qualities of its characters. As Sonny, Timothy Bottoms never fails to gain the viewers sympathy, despite his mistakes, as he moves from relationship to relationship as each one breaks down. Little is known about Sonny's past or his family life, yet Bottom manages to portray Sonny as both a confused, listless teenager and a young man slowly coming to terms with what he wants from life. It's easy to understand why he would be drawn to Ruth Popper, a woman who is more than twenty years older, yet just as lonely and longing for companionship. It's not so much sexual chemistry they share, but a mutual sadness and desire for something more than their little town can offer.
As Ruth, the unhappy wife of the town's football coach, Cloris Leachman is the standout in an already stellar cast. The winner of Best Supporting Actress for her performance, Leachman instills Ruth with the range of mixed emotions a woman in her situation would feel. She never goes over the top and gives a beautifully realized performance of a woman looking for a human connection.
Jeff Bridges, Cybill Shepherd and Ellen Burstyn are also at the top of their game, although Ben Johnson, like Leachman, is a standout in a strong cast. The winner of Best Supporting Actor for his performance, Johnson plays Sam the Lion; Anarene's longtime resident and its heart and soul. When he gives his climactic speech to Sonny about the love he lost in his youth, you can't help but realize that he represents (and carries) the melancholy and regret of the entire town.
The films trajectory is interesting as it matures at the same point that Sonny does. The first half is all hormonal teenage angst, before gradually gaining an almost resigned adult air. The film moves past the sexual content leaving its rash teenage notions aside for its more adult consequences.
This bleak coming-of-age film is also a love letter to film, in general. The title refers to the small town's rapidly declining interest in film. Sam the Lion runs the Royal, the only theatre in town. However, with the advent of the television, the people of Anarene scarcely attend the Royal anymore; they have better things they could be watching in the comfort of their own home. With little profits, the theatre cannot survive. The last picture show screened at the Royal is Tom Ford's 1948 classic, Red River, with its climactic scene of hollering cowboys who are leaving town for a cattle run. Like the cowboys in the film, Sonny and Duane are moving on.
Though not a perfect film, The Last Picture Show has characters and an overall effect that lingers. Like many of McMurtry's novels, you find yourself drawn into this strange little world of quirky, isolated people without fully understanding why: you just know that you want to learn more about the people and their story.
30 DAY MOVIE MEME Day 3: A FILM THAT GIVES YOU UNADULTERATED PLEASURE
THE ADVENTURES OF PRISCILLA, QUEEN OF THE DESERT (Australia, 1994)
Written and Directed By: Stephan Elliot
Starring: Hugo Weaving, Terence Stamp and Guy Pearce
THE PLOT
Two drag queens and a transsexual travel across the Australian Outback in order to perform a show at a prestigious resort in a small town. Leaving Sydney behind, Tick/Mitzi (Hugo Weaving), Adam/Felicia (Guy Pearce) and Bernadette (Terence Stamp) decide to travel in a beat-up old lavender-coloured bus they christen Priscilla. Along the way they make new friends, enemies and learn to get along with one another in time to perform their big show.
WHY I LOVE IT
It's campy fun. It's also the only time where I approve of the use of songs by Abba. I'd always been curious about the film but never got around to actually watching it in its entirety. I expected it to be mildly entertaining, at the very least. What I didn't expect was to love every minute of it, from start to finish. It's certainly deserving of its massive cult following.
At times both funny and heartbreaking, all three characters break away from drag queen stereotypes to become real people with ambitions, personal issues and families of their own to take care of. Stephan Elliot's excellent script is made even better by his three lead actors; all of whom turn their characters into genuine people. Hugo Weaving portrays Tick as a sensitive bundle of nerves whose sole focus is the show and the secret he's protecting from the other two. Guy Pearce is campy fun as Adam, a drama queen who loves being noticed but has a softer side when the time calls for it. Terence Stamp gives the strongest performance in a role that seemed to be written for his dry wit (he should have been nominated for Best Supporting Actor that year). Stamp infuses Bernadette with an almost motherly authority, while still having a dark sense of humour and an appetite for performing. Stamp's Bernadette is the heart and soul of the film.
The costumes and make-up are gorgeous, the song and dance numbers excellent and if the cinematography doesn't make you want to catch the next plane out to Australia, than I don't know what will. The film manages to be quintessentially Australian in its portrayal of their culture while allowing audiences from around the world to embrace its themes of equality, perseverance and friendship.
This film goes above and beyond what you'd normally expect from a film about a drag act. It moves past tired stereotypes and develops a coherent script that ha humour, heartbreak and is full of heart.
