Kathleen: A Hero On Screen and Off (plus a new movie recommendation)

I fell in love with Paul Newman when I was about twelve years old. I remember my mother telling me that he was the same age as she was--both born in 1925--and thinking that couldn't be. He was such a heartthrob! I seldom missed one of his movies, and he starred in several that became classis. He was the consummate hero in movies like Hombre (playing an Apache no less, but that's another story), the ultimate anti-hero in Cool Hand Luke, the delicious bad boy many times over, and a real thug in Hud, a character he played as a thug and was surprised when people still saw him as a hero. He was charming and handsome and women loved him no matter what.

He was gorgeous even as the years passed, and his 50 year marriage to Joanne Woodward is amazing by any standard. He enjoyed a long life, left us a wonderful body of work, and will always be the star who first made my pre-pubescent heart go pitty pat. Grey hair looked good on him. He made aging seem like the way to go.

Best of all, he did wonderful work off the silver screen. There is so much in today's news about greed these days. You look at the number of zeroes insome of the "compensation packages" paid to a single person, and you wonder, when is enough enough?

Paul Newman started a company because friends told him he should bottle his salad dressing. But he didn't need more money, so he gave all the profits to charity. His brand was successful beyond his expectations, and his foundation will continue to do good work beyond his death.

Paul Newman was a hero in the true sense--a man we can all look up to. In interviews his humility shone through, especially in later years. Robert Redford's statement--that Newman enriched his life and the life of the whole country--is a wonderful testimony. He will be dearly missed and lovingly remembered by people who knew him personally and countless more who wish they had.

What's your favorite Paul Newman movie?

(Note: I'm posting this now and coming back in a couple of hours to add a bit about the movie I saw last week: Appaloosa.)




Appaloosa came out last Friday, and I was there on day one with my Indian cowboy. (Today's our anniversary, by the way. Number 38!) No Western slips below our radar these days. They're all too rare. We had different expectations, and it was interesting to compare notes after the lights went up. We both really like Viggo Mortensen, for slightly different reasons. What turns us both on is his acting and the fact that he's a real horseman. We both love Renee Zellweger. I love Ed Harris. Clyde really liked him in this movie. And Jeremy Irons makes a killer villain. So two thumbs up on performances in this one. The setting is beautiful--can't go wrong with New Mexico--real Western feel, delicious atmosphere.

Best of all, the script is worthy of cast, setting and genre. It's based on a Robert B. Parker novel, and I have a feeling the author is pleased. While the story features elements we've all seen before in Westerns--gunmen hired to save a town from the powerful, greedy rancher, cowardly town folk, the "lady" and the whore--the script turns the obvious on its ear and drives the plot through its twists on the shoulder of evolving characters and fascinating relationships. The two men are business partners and close friends. Enter the woman, and here's where Clyde and I responded differently to character. I won't go into detail because that would be a spoiler. And that's what makes this so different. It wouldn't be a crime to spoil the plot. It's the unfolding of character and the development of relationships that make the film.

What a delight for a writer! What's really interesting is how differently Clyde and I responded to the story's resolution. It was a good ending in my opinion, but, again, turning the HEA on its ear. It might disappoint some people, even though...well, that's all I can say. I'll say this, it's a great one for a date, and it's not a chick flick. I loved the way it worked on several levels and still satisfied as a Western.

So let's talk...

Debra - MONDAY MORNING REVIEW & RAMBLING

Here's the review. BOURNE ULTIMATUM - not so much.

Matt Damon, Julia Stiles, plus other actors you've seen before but might not be able to put a name to a face.

To issue an ultimatum you'd have to write it down or even speak some words. Bourne's never been really big with the dialogue. This movie is following the pattern--awkward silences with meaningful looks. Not that you actually KNOW the meaning but you get that it's supposed to speak volumes. You know, if I wanted to work that hard to piece a story together, I'd rather have a book. The movie seems to be mean-spiritedly sparse. Heaven forbid they take more than a millisecond to wallow in the moment, any moment.

There really isn't a hard-to-follow plot, but you really keep hoping you've missed something and that all those looks mean...something deep.

The camera work drove me nuts. They decided it would fun to use the jiggly hand-held camera to give us an up close and intimate feeling anytime someone dared attempt dialogue. I tried to push as far back in my seat as I could to see if distance would make the darned movie easier to watch. Again...not so much.

Brush up on your speed reading because if you expect to get the clues and the "meaning" from the documents they flash you, you'd better be able to read at jiggly-quick speed.

I swear you don't learn a darned thing, don't resolve a darned thing. Okay. His real name is David Webb and he was in some super secret assassin training program. ::blink:: ::blink:: Well, that was certainly worth my $ 7. There is one other tiny detail that he learns that I won't giveaway, just in case you don't see it coming a mile away.

Plot summary: Amnesiac is willing to kill anyone he has to in order to claim his real identity and discover what the assassin training program did to him.

Um...how is that different from the first two movies?

Anyone who's watched the previous movies will have assumed that Julia Stiles' miniscule role of logistics person in the 2nd Bourne meant we'd see more of her in this, the third installment. Well, you really only saw her a miniscule bit more. And by the way, I thought she was rockin' the first hair style you see her with in this movie.

Here's the entire "romance/relationship" part of the movie. Pay attention. I don't want you to miss it. Here it is, the dialogue we've all been waiting for her to say to the amnesiac when he wonders aloud why she's helping him, putting her career on the line and knowing that the CIA is coming after him with a wicked nasty enthusiasm. She says...DRUM ROLL PLEASE!! "You weren't like the others. It was hard for me. With you." ::pregnant pause:: then, "You really don't remember do you?"

And??? And??? ...nothing. Geez!! Why bother ?? Why introduce elements that go nowhere?

Maybe I'm being too harsh. Maybe the brilliant thing about this move is that you get to make up your own movie as you go along. Nothing more is explained so feel free to make up your own backstory for the characters. (No, I have not read the books and shouldn't have to if I'm watching a movie.)

There are zero surprises. Lots of action by stunt men and doubles. Typical ending. (Oh my gosh!!! Is he dead or not???????)

Oops, that was a spoiler. (Yeah, like you didn't see that coming? Please. They showed us clip after clip after clip of him been near drowned/tortured in training by being held underwater and you think there is any mystery when he's shot and falls from a tallish building into NY harbor?)

I didn't hate the movie (surprised, huh?), but I left the theater wishing I'd gone to see something else which would have given me a story with a beginning, middle and an end. Or a movie with a character arc. Or even a movie where the main character has actual conversations.

I like action adventure as a genre. I do. Promise. Loved THE RUNDOWN with the Rock. RIDDICK with Vin Diesel. CONAIR with Nicholas Cage. DIE HARD with Bruce Willis. THE ROCK with Sean Connery and Nicholas Cage. CASINO ROYALE with Daniel Craig.

But Bourne was not a thinking woman's BOND and had none of the wink-at-camera, over-the-top fun of a Bond. Or maybe I'm really just cranky because the camera is constantly jiggling and you're trying to figure out why the heck that document they're jiggling on screen is important and what the heck it SAYS.

I didn't consider the plot more sophisticated than a Bond plot. Less complicated? Sure. But not more sophisticated. It's still pretty broad strokes. "Stylish" but broad.

So, what's your pleasure? Bourne or Bond?

How hard do you like to work while watching a movie?

Do you like the immediacy and intimacy of the jiggly camera?

Debra - MONDAY MORNING REVIEW

KNOCKED UP

Katherine Hiegl, Seth Rogan

Directed by Judd Apatow (The 40 Year-Old Virgin)

Running time: just over 2 hours

First, if you've never seen The 40 Year-Old Virgin, rent it. And just so you'll know, the chest waxing scenes were filmed live.

Second, if you didn't like The 40 Year-Old Virgin, don't bother with this one. It's from the same stable and a few of the faces will be familiar.

Plot: Hot television chick, having just gotten her big on-air break, celebrates with too many drinks and ends up pregnant by pot-smoking slacker one-night-stand.

This is a comedy, not a romance. You'll get a little romance with the humor but Seth Rogan as hero Ben is far from the mark as hero material. The movie doesn't gradually remake him physically so that his sex appeal sneaks up on you. What you see in the beginning of the movie is pretty much what you get at the end of the movie, except that the character has grown up a bit and gotten a job. (Hey, don't be yelling at me. I don't think a hero has to be gorgeously handsome but this guy feels more like a character actor than a lead. He's got the comic chops but I just didn't buy him as a romantic lead.) While characters stumbling into love can be great fun, I didn't feel the chemistry between these two characters. Comic timing? Yes. Chemistry? Not so much.

Ben is sweet and good-hearted. One of his best scenes comes as he's trying to make all the right supportive statements over the phone but the audience can see that the sincerity his voice is offering isn't mirrored on his face. He had hero potential in that scene.

My husband was with me and he laughed heartily throughout, especially once we got past the character introduction scenes. The rest of the theater did too. Heck, I laughed. A lot. Sometimes for quite a long time.

But...

You knew a "but" was coming. I really wanted both the comedy and the romance to work. Too often they sacrificed the developing romance for comedy. And in the end I didn't believe real love, lasting love existed between these two.

As a comedy, the film worked. The comedy wasn't subtle but judging from the amount of laughter in the theater, people appreciated the broad strokes. There's also a cute cast and crew "baby" scrapbook during the credits. Paul Rudd in his scrubs holding his baby in the delivery room makes you go, "Aw..." And I will say that more than once during the movie I wished Paul Rudd was playing the lead instead of doing a fine job as the brother-in-law support role.

Am I unfairly judging this movie for failing to deliver a satisfying romance when it really is more comedy than romance? Am I just greedy to want both?

Debra - MONDAY MORNING REVIEW Capt'n Jack is Back!

Pirates of the Caribbean III- At World's End


Who can resist the most excellent pirate swagger of Johnny Depp? The intense pirate-in-training Orlando Bloom? The take-no-prisoners Keira Knightly? The incredible special effects?

Apparently not many. Me included. I snagged a Friday matinee so I wouldn't have to see the movie in a packed theater. Even so, there was a nice sized crowd.

AT WORLD'S END should satisfy fans of the franchise. The humor is there. Surprises are there. The visual texture of the film is so engrossing that I had a little trouble keeping up with the story line. I'd miss dialogue because I was intensely interested in something not the center of action. I'd think, "Wait. Go back. I want to look at that for another few seconds!"

Or maybe I was a bit confused in the beginning because I hadn't recently watched Pirates II. I'd recommend a quick trip to the Disney website for a timeline for anyone who can't easily recall the specific character actions in the Pirates II storyline.

As III opens Lord Cutler Beckett is busily wiping the floor with every pirate in sight. He's formed an alliance with The Flying Dutchman and controls Davy Jones' heart which keeps the Dutchman's captain doing his bidding. The only hope the pirates have of stopping Beckett is for the Lord Bretheren Pirate Lords to convene and act together. But they'll need all nine Pirate Lords.

Barbossa (back from the dead), Will and Elizabeth have set off on a quest to rescue Captain Jack--one of the nine--from world's end, where he's languishing in Davy Jones' Locker. There are some fabulously funny scenes with Captain Jack losing his hold on sanity while marooned in the Locker.

Intrigues abound. Will has his own motives for rescuing Jack. Elizabeth has some guilt over Jack's situation. Barbossa has a grand plan. And the Pirate Lords can't agree on anything.

Keith Richards does a turn as Jack's dad. Very satisfying.

They do wrap up the plot, but in a way that doesn't put "finished" to the franchise. The door is wide open for a fourth. And personally, I found the ending a little lacking.

But let's face it. I don't watch Pirates for the storyline. I could care less. It's the characters who make this movie series interesting and they don't disappoint.

Helen - Monday Morning Review

THE OH IN OHIO

Priscilla Chase (Parker Posey) seems to have everything going for her – the perfect job, the perfect house, the perfect husband – except in bed, where sex has always left her a bit short of the finish line. When her husband unexpectedly leaves her to regain his manhood, Priscilla embarks on a wild journey that ultimately leads her to love in the most unlikely place … One woman’s story is about to climax ...

I don’t remember seeing or hearing any info about this movie when it first came through theaters, so when I saw it on the shelf at Blockbuster I didn’t know what to expect. I rented it to watch with my daughter when we were both at home having a sick day. About five minutes into it, she turned to me and said, “I can’t believe I’m watching this with you!” That might have been half the fun of it for me, although I did have to keep reminding myself that my daughter’s eighteen.

So Parker Posey’s life ain’t all its cracked up to be. She’s a successful marketing exec who’s just received a promotion, but she can’t hold her yoga poses, if you know what I mean. Oh, all right, I’ll spell it out for you. She’s never (gasp!) had an orgasm.

Somewhere along the way, the movie states that 30 million women suffer from sexual dysfunction. I have no clue if there’s any truth to that statistic, but watching the main character’s attempts to rectify her situation are hilarious. Let’s just say she has a love affair with a certain mechanical object, and, once she gets going, can’t seem to stop herself. I laughed in this movie the way my husband laughed in the movie There’s Something About Mary. It felt great.

Usually, I’m a big dialogue person, and it’s not that the dialogue is bad or anything, it just doesn’t seem as important as the body language and facial expressions. I’ve never seen a movie where so much is not said, yet everything is understood so perfectly. Which gets me to the wonderful acting.

Parker Posey is adorable in her role as Priscilla Chase, the main character, and Paul Rudd is flawless as her not entirely pathetic husband. Danny DeVito (here's a second looker for ya), as always, is a kick. Those three make the movie. The only disappointment is Mischa Barton. Her performance is nothing short of wooden, making her character seem unbelievable. Heather Graham has a couple short scenes. She’s someone I’ve never really cared for, but this movie changed my opinion. Oh, and Liza Minelli has a cameo appearance too. Very funny stuff.

The ending is sweet, leaves a smile on your face, and brings home the point that being able to laugh with someone can make or break a relationship.

Has anyone else seen this movie? Was I just in the mood to laugh, or is it truly funny?

What’s your favorite mother/daughter movie?

Debra - MONDAY MORNING REVIEW

Grindhouse

Creative forces: Robert Rodriguez/Quentin Tarantino

Stars: Freddie Rodriguez, Rose McGowan, Kurt Russel (Plus lots of cameos!)

Haven't we all seen a Saturday double-bill of movies so awful they made you laugh? Been there. Done that. Guilty as charged. Plus I'd seen SIN CITY (also a collaboration of these two director/writers) and wasn't terribly impressed.

That being the case, I had no great desire to see Rodriguez and Tarantino's homage to the exploitation movies of the 70's. At least until I saw an interview with the two directors. Clips of PLANET TERROR suckered me in. The film looked like great fun. Campy enough that it shouldn't give me zombie nightmares, and peopled with characters who already had me rooting for them in just brief seconds of film clips.

Plus the "package" is just wildly creative. The whole experience comes complete with hysterically funny (but seriously executed) preview trailers for non-existent movies. I lost count of the fake movies being hyped but the first one, MACHETE, is brilliant. Every trailer is perfectly cast with working actors you at least recognize even if you can't name them. That's part of what makes the trailers so believable.
The film has defects and scratches just like the 'old days' when the quality of picture relied on the condition of the actual reels being screened. You really do feel as if you've stepped into a time warp.

If any of you read novella anthologies, then you're already probably guessing what I'm about to say next...all stories, visions, voices are not created equally. GRINDHOUSE as a "package" is brilliant but for my money, only one of the movies is brilliant--the first one, PLANET TERROR. This deftly told story works simultaneously as dandy little zombie movie and a campy recreation. Yes, the gore is over the top but the violence is telegraphed well enough and the movie shot dark enough that you can get your eyes closed in time if you don't want to see someone shredded.

Rose McGowan (a "Charmed" one) is appealing as a Go-Go Dancer ("There IS a difference.") who's unexpected reunited with an old flame, who happens to be the one man that might get her butt out of zombie-harm's way. Some plot points are improbable but this wouldn't be an exploitation film if you didn't occasionally have to take a logic leap. After having one leg ripped off by zombies fairly soon into the movie, our gal Rose manages to make it through the movie with improvised prosthestics, including a machine gun. And when the relationship between McGowen's character and Freddie Rodriquez begins to get steamy? Just like the old days...the film melts and you get a message from management saying they're sorry for the missing reel. (Which you know now lives with Projection-man Willie at his house.)

This is SO not my kind of movie but I thoroughly enjoyed all the parts in which I wasn't closing my eyes. I did at one point channel Dorothy from the WIZARD OF OZ when I thought, "Lions and tigers and pustules, oh my!" Despite my complete dislike of that sort of cinema, I felt like this was "old home" week with familiar characters and dialogue you knew was coming but *wanted* to hear anyway.

By the time GRINDHOUSE ground down to the Tarantino portion of the evening, I was ready to enjoy another rollicking poke-of-fun at the bad movies of yesteryear. Unfortunately Tarantino wasn't ready to provide that. His DEATH PROOF plods along. I couldn't find a character to truly root for in the film but he does give you someone to root against...eventually. I predict next year's DragonCon will see its share of Stuntman Mike costumes.

Just as the older production houses used their "stable" of actors again and again, DEATH PROOF retreads a few of the actors from the first film. Female characters abound and Tarantino seems to have a penchant for writing really bad, smart-ass girl-talk. Didn't make me like 'em. Bored me in fact. The resolution does make a strong statement about the power of women. I'm not sure it's a flattering statement, but Tarantino does resolve his movie in a way that leaves the viewer feeling that the justice or revenge was done. (You'd have to see the movie to decide which it is, but I recommend skipping DEATH PROOF altogether. Watch the trailers after PLANET TERROR and then leave. Your butt will thank you.)

Has anyone else seen GRINDHOUSE? Do you agree that one of the films is clearly better than the other? Do you like remakes or "homage" because these aren't true remakes. Just throw backs to action/zombie/prison-babe movies of yesteryear.

Debra - Who, me? & MONDAY MORNING REVIEW - "Kinky Boots"

You know that feeling you get when everyone in the room turns to look at you and you don't know why. You sit up a little straighter and look behind you in the vain hope that there is some idiot behind you and everyone is looking at the idiot? You know that feeling...

Well, I don't think there is an idiot behind me. I think it's me.

I thought I was blogging tomorrow. But since no one has posted today and the blogging calendar says, "Idiot." Then this must be my day. And you are all looking at me waiting for me to do something. So, I'm posting this. In fact I'll be reposting this several times in the next few minutes as I create a blog right before your eyes. No safety net. No spell check. Just slamming words into the keyboard. Stay tuned...more to come.

Sorry, took a client call, but I am right here at my computer.

Okay! On to the MONDAY MORNING REVIEW.

One of the joys of having signed on to NetFlix is that I don't have to trudge around the movie rental store. But that's not the only joy. I'm able to enjoy movies that just never made it to my town.

For some reason they just didn't think there would be enough of an audience for KINKY BOOTS in my Southern redneck of the woods. Why, you ask?

1. It's an English movie. (foreign film, doncha know?)
2. The cast is unknown.
3. It's about shoes for Drag Queens.
4. It's based on a true story.

As far as I'm concerned...what's not to like?

A real shoe factory in England found itself about to go out of business because there just wasn't a market for its high quality, labor intensive men's shoes anymore. Cheap imports were crushing this solid bazillion-year-old, family-owned factory. Patriarch dies. Son must take over the factory and discovers that his father had no orders but just kept on making shoes. The son, gives up the life he had planned away from this small factory town and must now take over the factory, firing people so that the company doesn't go under from the weight of the payroll. What choice does he have? No one wants their shoes.

The firings are painful. He says the usual, "Gee, I'm sorry. What can I do?" Until a female worker challenges him to do something rather than nothing. Asking him to honestly ask himself what he can do. Our hapless hero is now feeling the full weight of holding the future of his workers in his hands.

Having recently saved a drag queen from a beating and witnessed how poorly his/her boots held up, our hero has the glimmer of an idea. What if he found a niche market? A market willing to pay top dollar for a quality product they couldn't get anywhere else?

Enter the drag queen who is FABULOUS. I adored the musical sequences and confess to rewinding the DVD to watch many of them again.

The movie answers the burning question of how a drag queen becomes a shoe designer and saves a shoe factory from death's door. The final dance sequence which is on the runway of Milan for the company's big unveiling of their new shoe line is priceless.

Was this this greatest movie ever? No. But tons of fun. A romance thrown in. Great dance numbers and endearing actors. Rent this movie, give it some time to work through its setup and then enjoy the ride.

WEDNESDAY TREAT! Jenny Cruise will be riding with us! Prepare to be entertained.

Debra - MONDAY MORNING REVIEW

Because I Said So...

ROMANTIC COMEDY
3 1/2 stars (out of 5 stars)

Cast: Diane Keaton, Mandy Moore, Gabriel Macht, Tom Everett Scott, Lauren Graham, Piper Perabo, Stephen Collins

I have to admit that I went to see this movie because I'm a fan of Lauren Graham (Gilmore Girls). The trailer during Gilmore Girls last week made it seem like she had a much bigger role. Unfortunately she was on screen too little to make me happy.

The movie is really about the relationship between a meddling mother (Diane Keaton) who just wants all her daughters to be happily married and her youngest daughter (Mandy Moore) who can't seem to put a decent relationship together despite being attractive, a business owner, genuine and kind. The MM (meddling mom) has a nasty little habit of offering well-meaning advice that slices through her younger daughter's confidence.

Somehow MM's character is deftly played by Keaton and you truly believe she loves her daughter and wants to help rather than sticking in nasty jabs here and there as a power trip. MM is just clueless. Can't buy a clue. Wouldn't know a clue if it fell on her head. And doesn't know why she's so driven to see all of her daughters happy. Her motivation will be revealed to her as the events unfold. The viewer is pretty certain from the get go that MM wants her childen to avoid a long lonely life. She's raised them by herself and hasn't been in a romantic relationship/had a partner in ages. In one particularly touching scene we find out that she's never had an orgasm.

But let's get back to the action...

Instead of backing off as her daughter has asked, she places an online personals ad to interview men for her daughter. (mistake #1) After a disasterous number of men, she finds one that seems perfect. One a lot like her. An important, structured architect. (mistake #2) Meanwhile, a completely charming young musician with a 50's Brat Pack essence has watched her for most of the day and helps her out of a jam. He thinks he might like her daughter and throws his hat into the ring. MM turns him down. (mistake #3) So the charming young musician palms a card for the daughter's business from the table and arranges his own meeting.

The movie is predictable but fun. Comedy unfolds as the daughter juggles two men and her meddling mom and seeks the advice of her sisters. Gabriel Macht who plays the muscian is yummy and he's a stand-up guy with a young dynamo for a son. It's fun to watch the MM begin to realize her flaws and needs. There's a romance thrown in for her (Stephen Collins who is the father of the yummy musician). And did I mention Gabriel Macht?? Yummy.

If you're a romantic comedy buff, give this one a look at the theater. My husband even enjoyed it. Not the best romantic comedy ever but a lovely way to spend the afternoon with a salted pretzel.