Posts Tagged ‘Cinema Society’

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Movie Afternoon: “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel”

Saturday, May 5th, 2012

 

I wasn’t that excited about going to our Cinema Society screening today. I love all the actors in the movie and director John Madden is the genius behind “Shakespeare in Love,” among other achievements, plus the reviews for the film were good (it opened yesterday in several U.S. markets), but the thought of sitting there for two hours to watch a comedy about a group of London sixtysomethings embarking on a new life in India didn’t thrill me.

Was I ever wrong. I adored this movie – seriously loved it.

Not only are the actors – Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, Tom Wilkinson, Bill Nighy and Dev Patel (from “Slumdog Millionaire”) – a revelation and the India backdrop practically a character of its own, but the script is first rate and I laughed and cried and everything in between.

After the movie, there was a reception for John Madden, who was extremely affable and entertaining. Also with him was the gorgeous young Indian actress,  Tena Desae, whose first English-language film this was. She was thrilled to be in Santa Barbara (it’s been a beautiful sunny day here) and asked, “Is this whole place a resort?” “Sometimes it feels that way,” I said. I asked how she first heard about our little hamlet and she said she used to watch the soap opera “Santa Barbara” in Bombay! So funny.

Anyhow, I recommend the movie highly. I defy anyone – young or old – to walk out of the theater without smiling.

 

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Movie Day: “A Cabin in the Woods”

Sunday, April 8th, 2012

Our Cinema Society group started back up over the weekend with a screening of the soon-to-be-released horror film “A Cabin in the Woods.” Our email invite came with a disclaimer in bright red type that read “WARNING: STRONG VIOLENCE AND GORE.” I’m not a moviegoer who scares easily, so while some of my friends stayed away, I was eager to see a film that people have been saying redefines the horror genre.

We were asked not to reveal too much about the story, and there were enough men-in-black security guys from Lionsgate around the theater that I took the request seriously.

That said, this is a movie within a movie – i.e. there’s more going on than a bunch of kids who wind up at a haunted house. It throws every horror movie trope at you and then takes you in a totally different direction from where you thought you were headed.

Is that vague enough?

Okay, what happens is (SPOILER ALERT) there’s a “Truman Show” thing going on and our happy fivesome at the cabin are actually being manipulated by a larger force.

There are zombies and flesh-eating monsters and every manner of ghoul in the movie, along with a healthy dose of humor. I thought it was a lot of gory fun, if that’s not an oxymoron.

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Movie Night: “Albert Nobbs”

Thursday, January 5th, 2012

Our last Cinema Society screening before the Santa Barbara International Film Festival kicks off in a few weeks, “Albert Nobbs” was, like “The Iron Lady,” a movie I was eager to see because of its leading lady. I’d heard that Glenn Close transforms herself into the role of a male servant in much the same way that Meryl Streep becomes Margaret Thatcher, and that both will be Best Actress Oscar contenders.

The verdict? Close does an amazing job of immersing herself in the character of Albert, and the result is both wonderful and frustrating. Albert is so restrained, so timid, so shy that we don’t really get to know the character or what drives him/her. (It’s hard to believe that Close is the same actress who so convincingly played the femme fatale in “Fatal Attraction.”) Janet McTeer’s character, on the other hand, a woman who is also hiding out as a man but who approaches the gender bending in an entirely different way, makes the movie come alive.

I love period pieces with an upstairs-downstairs story line, so I really enjoyed the film, even though it was terribly slow at times. The sets are beautiful and every detail is just right, and all the performances are excellent. What’s not to like?

 

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Movie Saturday: “Melancholia”

Saturday, December 17th, 2011

Kirsten Dunst, who won Best Actress at Cannes, has been getting raves here in the U.S. for her performance in Lars von Trier’s latest adventure in strange storytelling. Today I got to see what everybody’s been talking about.

Before the lights went down in the theater, our Cinema Society director gave us sort of a preview of the movie so we’d “get it.” He told us that while Dunst’s character does suffer from depression or “melancholia,” as does Lars von Trier, the planet called “Melancholia” that’s about to crash into Earth and spell the end of days is really meant to be symbolic. He told us to view the film as an opera – complete with an overture and parts I and II. Needless to say, I was ready for something unusual.

And unusual is what “Melancholia” is. The images are gorgeous. So is the Wagner score. And the setting – an opulent estate somewhere along the English coast – is breathtaking. Dunst is very good, as are the always watchable Charlotte Gainsbourg, Charlotte Rampling, John Hurt and Keifer Sutherland.

But the actual movie? It was just too artsy and slow for me. It had its moments, but I appreciated it more than enjoyed it. I kept wishing I had a remote with the fast forward option.

 

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Movie Night: “War Horse”

Monday, December 12th, 2011

I never saw the acclaimed London or Broadway productions of “War Horse,” but friends who did advised me to bring Kleenex to tonight’s screening of the film, which opens Christmas Day.

When Michael and I arrived at the theater, we were surprised to see a long line outside. Normally, we just go right in for these screenings and have a previously specified area where we always sit. But Dreamworks decided to turn us into airplane passengers and station security people in the lobby. Not only did we have our cell phones confiscated (or we could walk back to our cars and leave them there), but we were scanned with one of those wands that they use at airports. I guess we were lucky not to be strip-searched. Sheesh. I get that piracy is an issue for movies that haven’t been released, but this was ridiculous.

Once we were seated and the lights went down, I stopped grumbling and let Spielberg and his magic (particularly, his cinematographer and composer) take me away.

The good news? The story of the miraculous horse and the boy who raised him is heart-tugging and beautifully photographed and feels like the best kind of epic – sweeping landscapes, soaring music, emotional moments.

The bad news? Only that for me the number and length of the battle scenes became numbingly boring after awhile. Yes, the movie is called “WAR Horse,” so battle scenes are to be expected. But at some point, if they go on for too long, I just tune out and that’s what happened tonight.

The star of the film was most definitely the horse. He was gorgeous. He was brave. He had personality. He’s the one we truly root for. If there were an Oscar for Best Horse, this one would win.

And yes, I cried. Not as much as Michael did, however. He wasn’t sobbing at the end but almost. As we were leaving the theater, I was teasing him about his tears and he said, “You are a cold-hearted woman.” I must be.

 

 

 

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Movie Sunday: “The Iron Lady”

Sunday, December 11th, 2011

Well, “The Iron Lady,” which opens nationwide in mid-January, wasn’t as deadly as “J. Edgar,” so that was a relief. And it was fun seeing the great Meryl Streep inhabit yet another character with a foreign accent, although even though she was playing Margaret Thatcher I couldn’t help hearing just a hint of Julia Child (something in the high-pitched voice, I guess).

The trouble with making a biopic as a feature film is that they too often feel like they’d be better off on the History Channel or A&E, this one included. It does an admirable job of cutting back and forth between the memory challenged elderly Thatcher and the young daughter of a grocery store owner who rises to power in Britain despite being a woman. And there are scenes that are genuinely affecting as the elderly Thatcher struggles to deal with the loss of her husband and the distant relationships with her two children.

But it was sooooooooooooooo slow. And repetitive. And just plain dull. Even in nonfiction, you need drama to keep the audience hooked, and there was precious little drama in “The Iron Lady.”

As the credits rolled, I turned to Michael and said, “Why did anybody think telling this story was a good idea?”

 

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Saturday Movie: “Drive”

Saturday, December 10th, 2011

Today’s Cinema Society screening was a film I’d been hearing a lot about. “It’s so violent,” several friends warned me. “It’s the best movie of the year,” one friend said. “Albert Brooks will be nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Oscar,” almost everybody raved.

It was that last comment that made me want to see “Drive” since I’ve been a big Albert Brooks fan forever – for his comedy roles. I was curious to find out how he’d do in a villainous part.

The answer is he was very good – and very funny at the Q&A following the screening.

But it was Ryan Gosling whose movie this is, and I absolutely loved it. The best movie of the year? I don’t know yet; I haven’t seen them all. But “Drive” is now on my Top Five List for sure.

I wasn’t expecting to like it. It had violence and car chases, both of which I usually avoid when it comes to movies. But the director did such an amazing job – not overdoing the violence or the car stuff but knowing exactly when to cut away.

I was riveted every second – and I can’t give a movie any higher praise than that.

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Movie Sunday: “Like Crazy”

Sunday, December 4th, 2011

I finally saw the 2011 Sundance winner today at a Cinema Society screening, and it was every bit as charming as billed. A film that was made for about $200,000 (a shoestring budget, in other words), “Like Crazy” tells the story of two college kids – he’s an American, she’s a Brit attending the L.A. school on a student visa – who fall in love and spend the next seven years trying to negotiate a long distance relationship after she’s sent back home on an immigration violation.

What’s unusual about this film, other than it marks the U.S. debut of lovely young British actress Felicity Jones, who won the Sundance prize for Best Actress, is that virtually all the dialogue was improvised. The writer/director, Drake Doremus, wrote a detailed treatment but left it to the two lead actors to develop their own story. The result is that the whole endeavor feels incredibly real and true.

My only issue with the movie was the ending. There’s been a recent spate of films by young directors who seem to have an affection for leaving it to the audience to figure out what happens to the characters. During today’s Q&A with Doremus, he said that “love isn’t black and white; it’s gray” – or something like that. Which means that it’s not clear cut whether the two lovers end up together after all. Maybe they do and maybe they don’t. That’s the sort of ending “Like Crazy” has. Call me old fashioned, but I like it when we, the audience, is given some sort of clue as to what will happen. But I was in the minority at the screening, as most people thought the ending made sense. Oh, well.

Also at the Q&A was Felicity Jones, and she was adorable.

I look forward to seeing more from her.

 

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Screening Sunday: “Rampart”

Sunday, November 6th, 2011

I had a Cinema Society screening today, and the film was “Rampart” – an indie hit on the festival circuit that opens in wide release in January.

 

A raw, inside look at a dirty cop in LA’s notorious Rampart district, the film is a character study more than a story with much plot. It showcases the talent of Woody Harrelson, who’s in virtually every scene and plays a horrible guy whose world has changed even as he remains a relic of a time past. It’s an amazing performance – an Oscar nom for Best Actor is likely – and he’s surrounded by a terrific ensemble that includes Robin Wright, Sigourney Weaver, Anne Heche, Cynthia Nixon, Steve Buscemi, Ned Beatty and Ice Cube.

If only I’d liked the movie. It wasn’t the violence that got to me. It was the director’s insistence on being pretentious and arty – from camera work that jumps around enough to make you seasick to the non-ending ending, another one of those “let’s leave it to the audience to interpret where this goes.” And it was much too long. Seriously. How many scenes in bars did we need? How many closeups of Woody riding in his police car? I kept wanting to yell, “CUT!”

Still, “Rampart” is getting a lot of love from early reviewers. Here’s a clip from the event at the Toronto Film Festival.

After our screening, Woody showed up with the director for a Q&A. I wondered if he’d be stoned, given his often-mentioned fondness for weed. He didn’t zone out on us. On the contrary. He cried. His daughter was in the audience, and he kept choking up whenever he looked at her, finally telling us, “I’m sorry but I haven’t seen her in months.” Who knew he was so emotional.

He told us how he researched the part by spending time with two cops in LA and learning about their culture. He said he never thought he’d be able to play a cop, let alone this particular bad cop, but he lost 29 pounds for the role and really immersed himself in it. As I said, his name will be mentioned at Oscar time even if the movie itself gets lost in the shuffle.

 

 

 

 

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Midway Through A Movie Tripleheader

Saturday, October 22nd, 2011

I do love movies. I could watch them 24/7, which is a good thing since watching movies is pretty much all I’ll be doing this weekend.

Last night was the Hollywood Film Festival/world premiere of my friend Wendy’s indie romantic comedy, “Dorfman” (see my last post), and it was such fun – a thoroughly charming story of love and family and reinvention set against the invigorating backdrop of downtown L.A. After the film, there was a party at the producer’s mansion (we’re talking about a major house here, complete with a bell tower). There were lots of yummy hors d’oeuvres and interesting people, but the pleasure for me was in seeing my pal at the center of it all.

This morning, back in Santa Barbara, our Cinema Society had a screening of “Another Happy Day,” which won the Best Screenplay for Sam Levinson (son of “Diner” director Barry Levinson) at Sundance. Opening next month, it’s the story of a dysfunctional family that gathers for a wedding. Here’s the trailer.

I know there have been several movies about dysfunctional families and weddings (“Rachel Getting Married” and “Margot at the Wedding,” to name two), but this one has a fabulous cast (Ellen Burstyn, George Kennedy, Thomas Haden Church, Demi Moore) anchored by the amazing Ellen Barkin. I adored her in “The Big Easy” and “Sea of Love” back in the day, and she gives this role all she’s got.

Barkin came with Levinson for a Q&A after the film and was engaging and funny and surprisingly emotional about playing a flawed mother. I only found out later that she and the 26-year-old Levinson are said to be a couple. All righty then.

Next up is tomorrow morning’s screening of “The Artist.”

The director of Cinema Society said it’s one of his favorite movies of the year, so I’m stoked.

 

 

 

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