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SXSW – Days 1-3

SXSW Film started on Friday (3/8) and goes through next Saturday (3/16).  This is the 20th anniversary of the film portion of the conference/festival.  In addition to the film there is intereactive (which has been the fastest growing) and music.  Music starts tomorrow and this year’s acts include Green Day, Stevie Nicks, LL Cool J, David Grohl, John Fogerty, Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings, Vampire Weekend and about 2000 others.  Rumors for unannounced shows include Justin Timberlake and Prince.  Here is the complete list of films for the festival and some of my (Bill C’s) film hilights of the first three days.

Mud – 4.5 out of 5

This films reminded me a little of Stand By Me.  Two young teens are convinced to help an outlaw on the run.  Matthew McConaughy is great as the outlaw.  The two kids are great too.  The film also has Sam Sheppard, Reese Witherspoon, Joe Don Baker in small roles.  This is a good coming of age movies by Jeff Nichols,  the up and coming director of 2011’s Take Shelter.  Both Nichols and McCconaughy were there for a Q+A after the film.  Definitely see this when you can!

Linsanity – 4 out of 5

An excellent documentary about Jeremy Lin.  This includes home footage and follows Lin’s growth as a basketball player from when he was a kid through leading his High School team to a state championship, his days at Harvard through the height of Linsanity. Even people who are not hoops fans will enjoy this movie as it touches on faith, perseverance, racial issues and just the feel good fairy tale ending of a guy whose career was on the brink of ending going on to tremendous success.  Lin comes off as just a good guy who succeeds through hard work and perseverance.  As with many good documentaries part of the success of this film depends on the filmmakers being in the right place at the right time.  They actually had contacted Jeremy Lin about making this documentary when he was still at Harvard and started filming well before Linsanity hit.

Drinking Buddies – 4 out of 5

I liked this movie a lot. It was written/directed by Joe Swanberg who let his actors improvise and got  great results.  It’s a romantic comedy that does not rely on the usual formulaic ending.  It stars Olivia Wilde, Jack Johnson, Anna Kendricks and Ron Livingston. The improvisation gave this a very realistic feel and the actors/actresses had great chemistry.  Olivia Wilde was excellent.  All were at the screening for a very entertaining Q+A.

The Bounceback – 3.5 out of 5

This was another very good romantic comedy that did not have the usual romantic comedy ending. This film was made in Austin and was shot on locations all over town (including several scenes in the Alamo Drafthouse).  This one is more for people in their twenties and is a little raunchier that Drinking Buddies.

Prince Avalanche – 3 out of 5

This is a movie filmed in just a couple of weeks by David Gordon Green starring Paul Rudd and Emile Hirsch as two members of a road crew isolated and working together to reopen roads after a devastating fire.  This was shot in Bastrop after last years wild fires and captures some of the destruction that took place and the rebirth occurring in the park.  This is not a typical Rudd comedy and instead focuses on the interactions of two very different people who are constantly together and ultimately helping each other deal with their problems.  It was pretty good.

The Incredible Burt Wonderstone – 2.5 out of 5

I had high expectations for this opening night comedy but was disappointed.  It had some very funny moments and the packed crowd at the Paramount (1200 people) loved it but I found it very uneven.  I thought Jim Carrey was miscast (although he was the hilight of the Q+A afterwards).  I also thought the romance with Steve Carell and Olivia Wilde was not needed and dumb (I liked Wilde so much more in Drinking Buddies).  As I said the audience loved it and if you’re a Carrell fan you should consider seeing this as it did have some very funny moments (my favorite being the reveal of their last trick)

 

Les Miserables

Bill C’s Review – 2.5 out of 5

This is another one of those movies where my opinion is totally irrelevant on whether or not you should see this.  If you’ve a) seen this on Broadway and liked it, b) if you’ve never seen a musical you didn’t like, c) enjoy lots of closeups of Hugh Jackman or Anne Hathaway (even though she’s most likely crying), or d) like movies that have a lot of crying or that easily make you cry (even though I didn’t), then you should go see this. Otherwise you might want to skip this one. The other reason why my opinion should probably be ignored is that I am not a good judge of singing talent (remember. . . I’m the guy who likes to listen to Craig Finn of the Hold Steady).

The performances were all very good. The actors needed to do two things: sing and cry profusely (and do both at the same time!). They all came through with flying colors. I even was surprised by Russell Crowe’s and Sacha Baron Cohen’s singing (who along with Helena Bonham Carter brought needed comic relief). The two main kids in the movie were excellent. Special kudos go to Anne Hathaway and Hugh Jackman. Jackman also seemed to transform physically as the movie went on. I barely recognized him in the first scene where he was an emaciated prisoner (with incredible strength).

For me, there were a few things that detracted from the movie:

– I’m ready for the slings and arrows from all Les Mis fans—I didn’t like the music that much. I have never seen the Broadway musical. But for most Broadway hit musicals that I only saw in the movies or years after they were a hit, I have always recognized and liked some of the music. For a show that opened over thirty years ago, Les Mis should fit in that category. But I didn’t recognize/remember any of it, and I’m not humming any songs today.

– Too many closeups! I’ve never seen so many closeups in a movie, especially of people crying non-stop or from the 1800s with poor dental hygiene! The closeups were made especially annoying by me being in the third row of the theater. If you plan on seeing this movie, sit towards the back!

– My guess is the plot of the book fills in a lot of holes. SPOILER ALERT ON *** The love-at- first-sight of Cosette and Marius while the world is falling apart and Marius’ happy return to the bourgeois life surprised me (to say the least). But the movie was long enough as it was. SPOILER ALERT OFF  ***

This gets a marginally positive review due to the performances, but again, if you are a fan of the show, you should go (actually you probably have already).

IMDB

Rotten Tomatoes

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Parental Guidance

Bill I’s Review – 2.5 out of 5

I expected very little from this predictable comedy, but it exceeded my expectations in several places, including an excellent chemistry by Billy Crystal and Bette Midler and the grandparents trying to bond with their grandkids for a long weekend. The kids are unique and of course clash immediately, then one by one they develop that special relationship that can only come with wacky romps in the rain and mud, and some old fashioned parenting advice.

Guilt Trip

Bill I’s Review – 2 out of 5

It pains me to say this, but Seth Rogan is totally uninteresting and fairly lame in this predictable road trip movie, while Barbra Streisand, as Seth’s doting mom, is sympathetic and mildly interesting. There’s some enjoyable moments, and a nice ending, but this is the type of movie you watch when it’s on TV and there’s nothing else on.

Favorite Holiday Films

Below are some of my favorite holiday movies.  There are a ton of supposedly great holiday movies that I have not seen or saw so long ago that I didn’t really remember them and didn’t include them so please feel free to add comments on additional movies.  Except for It’s a Wonderful Life as my favorite these are not in any particular order.

It’s a Wonderful Life – Just a great movie.

Bad Santa – This is a wickedly funny dark comedy.  Billy Bob Thornton is great as an alcoholic, mean spirited, thieving department store Santa.  Tony Cox is great as his elf, partner in crime.  If you don’t like tons of cursing and meaning from your Santa skip this one.

Home Alone – Non stop laughs (and then heart)

Planes, Trains and Automobiles – I called this entry ‘Holiday’ instead of ‘Christmas’ since this is more Thanksgiving and I wanted to include it.  Steve Martin and John Candy are great in the road movie with great heart.  The scene with them in bed together is a classic.

Mr. Magoo’s Christmas Carol – A favorite from my childhood

Die Hard – This is really a Christmas movie!  I recently saw this at a live ‘Doug Benson Interruption’ at the Alamo where he and others made jokes during a screening

Elf  – Will Ferrell at his best.

Trading Places – Hard to believe that Eddie Murphy and Jaime Lee Curtis were making movies 30 years ago!

The Nightmare Before Christmas – Tim Burton at his best

Babes in Toyland – the Laurel and Hardy version.  I remember as a little kid this used to scare the crap out of me when I’d see it on TV.

 

 

Anna Karenina

Bill C’s Review – 2 out of 5

Anna Karenina is the third teaming of director Joe Wright and actress Keira Knightley. I liked Atonement, the one earlier collaboration I saw, and his directing of Hanna. His Anna Karenina was a very stylized adaptation of the Tolstoy novel. It’s the type of thing you’ll either love or hate. In my case (as  I was told by Janis afterward), I laughed or snickered at inappropriate times due to the directorial choices. I guess that means I am in the hate category. Despite this, I am sure that this film will win all sorts of awards for things I am not capable of judging, like cinematography, musical score, costumes, and art direction. If they have an award for hair styling, they might win an award for that, as I could tell how depressed Knightley’s character was supposed to be by how bad her hair looked.

I thought Knightley and Jude Law were good. I was not as impressed with Aaron Taylor-Johnson who played an impassionate Vronsky.

A lot of people will love this movie. I just happen to not be one of them.

IMDB

Rotten Tomatoes

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The Heiress (on Broadway)

Bill I’s Review – 4 out of 5

Not a movie but I wanted to review it here anyway as it’s definitely worth going to see. This Broadway play is a remake, but I was unfamiliar with the story, so unlike with most movies I had seen no previews, read no reviews (it’s still in previews, so not yet reviewed by critics, maybe this is a first!), and only heard Jessica Chastain talk about it recently at a NY Times Talk. She made it sound interesting, and gave her perspective on approaching a challenging role, which is the title character, a 20 something daughter of a rich doctor, living in a luxurious house right off Washington Square Park in NY City in 1850 (apparently stethescopes had just been invented). The good doctor (played fantastically with nuance and sophisticated nastiness by David Stathairn) sees his daughter (Catherine, superbly protrayed by Chastain) as worthless, charmless, plain (shades of Jane Eyre) and unlikely to attract a decent suitor if not for her inheritance. He has raised her waiting hopelessly for her to transform into her supposedly perfect, saintly mother, who died in childbirth. Catherine cannot win his respect and has never succeeded in trying to be the perfect daughter, leading to low self-esteem and feeling unworthy of love. Enter Mr. Right, Morris (a spot-on Dan Stevens from Downton Abbey, but without his English accent), who’s immediately smitten with her, but has no way to qualify as a suitor in the father’s eyes, given his lack of money and prospects. I won’t give away any more plot, but it kept my attention and has a perfect ending. Also worth mentioning is Judith Ivey as Catherine’s doting aunt, who serves to lightern the mood and lends a perfect counterpoint to the her brother, the dour doctor.

After the show I got a chance to meet the wonderful and beautiful Jessica Chastain, who was as nice as anything to the fans. If you’d be interested in reading a more insightful, in depth, review, see here: http://technorati.com/entertainment/article/jessica-chastain-dan-stevens-david-strathairn/

 

Favorite Sitcom Characters

And now for something completely different. Here’s my all-time favorite sitcom characters, respond with yours:

  1. Ralph Kramden (Honeymooners)
  2. Archie Bunker (All in the Family)
  3. Fred Sanford (Sanford & Son)
  4. Barney Fife (Andy of Mayberry)
  5. Ed Norton (Honeymooners)
  6. Lucy Ricardo (The Lucy Show)
  7. Louie DePalma (Taxi)
  8. Cosmo Kramer (Seinfeld)
  9. Hank Kingsley (Larry Sanders Show)
  10. Herman Munster (The Munsters)
  11. Gilligan (Gilligan’s Island)
  12. Maxwell Smart (Get Smart)
  13. George Costanza (Seinfeld)
  14. Edith Bunker (All in the Family)
  15. Cliff Huxtable (Cosby Show)
  16. Homer Simpson (The Simpsons)
  17. Granny Clampett (Beverly Hillbillies)
  18. Jethro Bodine (Beverly Hillbillies)
  19. Latka Gravas (Taxi)
  20. Newman (Seinfeld)
  21. Quinton McHale (McHale’s Navy)
  22. Dick Louden (Newhart)
  23. Eddie Haskell (Leave it to Beaver)
  24. Fonzie (Happy Days)
  25. Beavis (Beavis and Butthead)
  26. Al Bundy (Married with Children)
  27. Jack McFarland (Will and Grace)
  28. Ted Baxter (Mary Tyler Moore)
  29. Rob Petrie (The Dick Van Dyke Show)
  30. Mary Richards (Mary Tyler Moore)
  31. Carla Tortelli (Cheers)
  32. Norm Peterson (Cheers)
  33. Cliff Clavin (Cheers)
  34. Felix Unger (The Odd Couple)
  35. Oscar Madison (The Odd Couple)
  36. Radar O’Reilly (M*A*S*H)

Favorite Actors

Bill I’s Note:

For a change from movie reviews, how about listing your favorite actors? My favorite male actors in no particular sequence:

Philip Seymour Hofman, Gary Oldman, Ciaran Hinds, Bill Nighy, George Clooney, Matt Damon, Jeremy Renner, Liam Neeson, Denzel Washington, Benecio Del Toro, Mark Wahlberg, Ryan Reynolds, Paul Giamotti, Harvey Keitel, Sacha Baron Cohen, Robert Downey Jr., Jonah Hill, Kenneth Branagh

My favorite female actors:

Jessica Chastain, Emily Blunt, Anne Hathaway, Rachel Weisz, Salma Hayek, Penelope Cruz, Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis, Charlize Theron, Rooney Mara, Michelle Williams, Bryce Dallas Howard

I’m sure I left out some, and realize it’s obvious there are terrific actors not on this list such as Meryl Streep and Dustin Hofman, but I was going from who I have seen in the recent year or two and loved.

Please post your favorites in the comments below…

Bill C’s List

I like this idea for a topic and for the most part I like Bill’s list with a few exceptions.  Instead of putting my entire list I’ll just list some additions and any I’d leave out.  I know I’m forgetting some. I also tried to keep to the last couple of years. and these are not in any order

Actors: Matthew McConaughy, Marc Duplass, Seth Rogen, Michael Fassbender, Edward Norton,  Steve Buscemi, Sean Penn, Leonardo DiCaprio, James Franco, Brendan Gleeson, Jeff Bridges,  Josh Brolin.  Mark Wahlberg and Ciraran Hines wouldn’t make my list.

Actresses: Emma Stone, Frances MocDormand, Greta Gerwig, Tilda Swinton, Rachel McAdam, Amy Adams. I don’t think Bryce Dallas Howard would make my list

Bachelorette

Bill I’s Review – 2.5 out of 5

Pleasant film, plenty to smile about but nothing histerical, certainly not better than The Hangover, which some critic claimed. Kirsten Dunst plays the Type A leader of the 4 “B’s” ten years after their high school high point; now they are mostly disappointed, wandering aimlessly except for the character played by Rebel Wilson, a pudgy one they used to pick on (called her pig face), now engaged to Mr. Wonderful, leaving the rest speachless and jealous and half heartedly celebrating with a bachelorette party that goes wrong. Shenanigans result, leading up to the main even the next day. Will she, won’t she, is the suspense, and while the predictable conclusion arrives, it’s enjoyable to see some of the plot lines, most notably for me the unique Lizzy Caplan character, and of course, the wonderful Isla Fisher, who can make any role memorable, even though in this case it’s a dumb blonde type. Kirsten is actually interersting to watch as she plays against type cast, a very unpleasant, unhappy beeatch. The guys are mostly fill-in, foils for the gals.