You're so strong-ish.

Adventureland: And the award for the most misrepresentative trailer of 2009 is... For fun, go read the IMDB Message board for this movie, it's filled with endless posts about 'This movie sucked', 'Superbad is much better', and 'Don't trust the commercials...' (Also, lots of 'Kristen Stewart sucks' threads because of Twilight). And on some levels, I'm completely annoyed that so many people hate a movie this good. But, on another, if you watched the trailer and expected 'Superbad at an amusement park', I can completely understand that sentiment. But, this is actually a perfectly acceptable little movie. It's less of a comedy and more of a coming-of-age movie. Jesse Eisenberg is lovable as always (Did anyone else not know that he was the older brother of the cute little Pepsi girl from about ten years ago?) in the lead role as the college graduate who had planned on spending his summer in Europe and instead has to take a summer job at an amusement park. Bill Hader and Kristen Wiig steal every scene they're in as the Mom and Pop who run the theme park. Ryan Reynolds is woefully miscast as the ex-musician/maintenance man. Reynolds is perfectly fine, but he's too damn gorgeous and likable, for a role that should have gone to someone a little uglier, a little sadder. Anyways, it's well worth a watch.

IMDB is an absolute cesspool. They really need to remove the message boards and get rid of the voting. Great database, but the site is crowded with troglodytes.

As for Adventureland, I dug it. But the wishy-washiness of the ending prevents it from being anything more than just a good film. They never should have had that city sequence at the end. Maybe leave some mystery as to how things turn out. Take Before Sunrise. How bad would it have been if, instead of fading out, the film cut to however many months later and showed the two characters getting together?

But he tries and succeeds to pick up girls by convincing them that he's a rock star. Dunno if that's a job for ugly sad dudes.

His good looks just make him scummier.

You could be right, though I felt like he wasn't quite scummy enough. Ryan Reynolds seems like such a solid dude, that he could be raping and killing people in movies and I'd probably be like "Eh, well, you know, maybe he's got a reason for it."


Yarp. I was actually hoping for a real downer ending (And I'm usually a proponent of happy endings...weird!), I was actually expecting James gets to NYC, meets Em, she invites him in to dry off, goes in to kiss her, she backs away, and the t-shirt he borrows off her belongs to her new boyfriend.

I was fine with the happy ending, but come on... doesn't he get off the bus and within a couple minutes just so happens to run into her?

I thought New York was like some big place.

lol. I'd figured he looked her up and hung around outside her place for hours waiting for her to get home. But, that begs the question, how easy would it be to find an Emily Lewin in New York City?

The voting can be interesting on obscure films. Check out the highest rated films for a given year. Say 1943 or something. It's interesting what comes up. the Boards are another question. They should tie it in to what amazon does: To post you have to buy something. A.K.A. be an adult.

yeah, i had the same issue with the ending. if it ended with him on the bus in nyc, the replacements on the soundtrack, it would have been just about perfect. we could imagine him seeing her again. or not. the important thing would be him taking that risk, getting out while he still could. as happy an ending as him finding kristen stewart was, it feels small, compared to him getting a new beginning.

Haven't seen the movie, but it sounds like you guys were vicitms of an ending that was written by a focus group.

probably not. this was a pretty small scale, sundance-y kinda deal. more likely, the film fell victim to that mentality. although, that said, superbad was motolla's biggest film and had arguably his most emotionally resonant ending. who knows. either way the ending's a letdown, but doesn't negate the wonderfulness that came before it.

Just finished Blow Up. My shitty library-copy DVD had a nick in the famous Yardbirds segment, but I dont' feel like I missed much (did I?). Pretty good movie all around.

I didn't view it as a big happy ending. I find it hard to believe that the relationship between those two characters is something that would last very long. I mean, it barely worked in the context of their world being an amusement park. It probably is going to break down rather quickly in the real world.

It may have been a happy ending for right now, but I don't believe that it would be forever.

I could see it, honestly. The making-of had this producer talking about how hard it was to make a movie with believable characters that will still draw in movie-goers and his tone just sounded like a guy who would be going "No, no, make it happier!" I could be wrong, but going on a gut feeling, I could see that maybe the studio wanted a more obviously happy ending.

even still, that changes the theme of the movie from 'boy in post-collegiate purgatory learns to live' to 'boy in post-collegiate purgatory learns to get laid.' has anyone here checked out flirting yet? its ending leans a little too heavily on the melancholy end of the spectrum, but it avoids the easy happy ending well enough, while basically providing a small town-aussie variation on adventureland's same themes and feelings.

Caught it this weekend, really enjoyed it. Worth going to see just for his internal monologues alone. Acting was superb all around. I really liked some of the artistic choices, from the somewhat goofy soundtrack to whatever lighting filter they filmed it with (i'm sure I don't know the technical term) it all really worked to set the tone. I could have easily spent a few more hours with this character fascinating portrayal by Damon.

On an unrelated note does anyone know when A Serious Man is going wide? I can't seem to find a straight answer on the internet.

Literally made a face when I saw Marvin Hamlisch listed in the opening credits but he turned out to be a brilliant choice for the music.

Why? His early scores are quite good ('Take the Money and Run' and 'Bananas').

They don't care about pole vaulting. Or dreams.

Visioneers: So, this was actually kinda incredible. It's Zach Galifianakis as a guy in the not-too-distant future working at a massive corporation who yearns for something more to life while people around him are literally exploding from stress. I like the way they drop you square into the middle of the plot without explaining everything. Galifianakis is actually a terrific actor, making you really sympathize for a character who doesn't always tell you what's on his mind. Also the trailer within the movie for Mack Luster is AMAZING. Reminds me a lot of a very low-budget Brazil, played equally for laughs as much as drama.

Was that on video, or in the theatre?

just realized how awesome galifanakis was in BELOW.

Just came out on DVD this week.

Thanks, I'll ask the wife to 'que' it up.

the brothers bloom was tremendously precious, but still really enjoyable. the middle portion sags, the ending is a little underwhelming, but overall, i was pleased with it. at first it reminded me of a wes anderson knock-off, until i realized that it had more in common with jp jenuet than with anderson. either way, great score, awesome first third, good cast and it never took itself too seriously. hard to believe the movie flopped as hard as it did (i think due to a collapse of the film distributor), in another time this would be buzzed about like a sleeper, or a inevitable cult hit. nowadays, doubtful that it'll gain any sort of reputation. shame, kind of. hope rian johnson doesn't get stuck in director jail.

Pretty much sums my feelings up on it


Bang Bang has a cell phone?

The Brothers Bloom: On the wrong day, in the wrong frame of mind, I could see really detesting this movie. But, as it were, it came after a day where I felt kind of down all day long, then was disappointed by the cloying wedding episode of The Office and sat down to watch this a full day after I'd planned (As Blockbuster, with their new policy of keeping the discs of new DVDs behind the counter, not...you know...in the case, forgot to give me the disc), and was completely engrossed and entertained the entire time. It's a con-man movie, which sometimes annoy me with their endless "It was a con all along!", about orphaned brothers who become con men. One wants out while the other draws him back in with a con on kooky rich-girl Rachel Weisz. It's not really a new concept, or presented in any kind of ground-breaking way, but, somehow, it was still completely lovable. I think it helps that they cast such likable actors. I mean, I can't think of the last movie I've seen where Mark Ruffalo, Adrien Brody, and Rachel Weisz weren't anything but completely endearing. Also, Rinko Kikuchi was terrific as Bang Bang, the demolitions expert who (save for a karaoke performance) only has two words of dialogue in the entire film. It's probably rather two-faced of me to love this and deride Away We Go for similar flights of fancy, but, that's the way I'm wired.


Money allows you to be who you truly are.

The Good German: The Bad Movie.


Seriously, though, this was pretty unenjoyable. Tobey Maguire was a lot of fun as a truly nasty, despicable character: pickpocketing wallets, banging prostitutes, beating up handsome leading men, punching women in the stomach etc. etc. But, once his character gets killed the wind comes right out of the movie's sails and it settles into this slow-moving film noir that's never really interesting or surprising. I mean, it's an interesting idea, to film it like an old Hollywood pic in black and white with old techniques and technology, but why not go the whole nine yards and drop the cursing, nudity, and violence. Also, somehow, Cate Blanchett's accent here, sounds just like her evil Russian accent in Indiana Jones

Caley, I fucking hated the Good German. It sure didn't help that the film noir in B&W premise was such a good idea, that i like, expected something good.

I mean if I 'knew' it was a Tobey McGuirre movie, I guess that would have been something. Silly me, I was expecting a George Clooney movie.

God that movie sucked.

I vote-- Soderburgh's worst.

Schizopolis is Soderbergh's worst, in my opinion. The Good German had so much potential, and the film looks gorgeous. It's really too bad the script feels nothing like the films the picture is trying to replicate. It needed more wit, charm, and humor. Instead, it was just really unpleasant. Making Clooney's character a bit of a wimp wasn't a good idea.

Agreed on almost all points. It was just dour, the big reveal wasn't much of a surprise, Clooney was a wimp. And that ending! It veered dangerously close from homage to parody, with the umbrella, the hat, the plane, the walking away in the rain. It reminded me of Duke Phillips reworking of the end of Casablanca from The Critic (Wow, twice in one day), with Sam playing the piano: "Stay tuned for Magnum P.I."


If it was a whole movie centered around the Tully character, driving around post-war Germany, being a bastard, it would have been terrific. When Hollywood ultimately starts cannibalizing its own movies from the 21st century, I hope someone reworks The Good German into a Tully-centic B&W remake.

caley, i was also in a really bad mood today, prior to watching brothers bloom. funny that if i had been in a better mood, i might have hated it, instead of finding it charming. i loved the scope of the movie. unlike wes anderson's diorama style, this one is a real widescreen wonder. loved the globetrotting, goofy adventure side of it all. plus rachel weisz's gratuitous ass shot really made me smile. it's just a goofy ass genre excercise that also kind of looks like a vanity fair photo spread. with really strong performances.

Might still just be the fact that I love the genre, but Bloom remains my favorite film this year. Has only gotten strong on third and fourth viewings. First half is definitely the best, and actually nothing in the film quite lives up to that five minute intro as children, which is in its own right, one of the better comedy shorts I've ever watched.

watched trick r treat tonight and was kinda disappointed. had been looking forward to this for a couple years now and i saw it on the on demand list. it wasn't bad, decent cast, original premise, good production values, but at the same time it left me cold. there were definitely a few chuckles (mostly in the dylan baker and brian cox segments), along with some pretty vicious scenes. i mean, you have to give credit to a horror movie that is totally unafraid to kill children, animals and the mentally challenged. but at the same time, due to the anthology structure, i didn't really care about any of the characters and cutting back and forth just killed the tension. definitely not a bad movie, especially as far as modern horror goes, but not as effective as some others i've seen recently.

"you have to give credit to a horror movie that is totally unafraid to kill children, animals and the mentally challenged. "

Yes-- indubitably, you do.

It was the last night of the Drive-In season, so don't blame me for the movie choices...


You think you run the world with your phallus

Love Happens: Or, as my sister put it, "I can't believe they made a movie with two leads with absolutely no chemistry." And they don't. At times, I wouldn't have been surprised to find out that they were brother and sister, because they sure didn't give off any romantic vibes. Anyways, I could barely hear this one, as we made the stupid decision to sit outside for the first showing, in sub-zero temperatures with only my friend's Explorer speakers, and with my friend, whose a serial quipster, but it was probably the most enjoyable way to sit through it. Aaron Eckhart is a motivational speaker/author, whose wife died, and Jennifer Aniston is the kooky florist he falls for. Anyways, it has the always terrible Dan Fogler, Martin Sheen whose face is stretched to the limit to the point that he's barely able to register a facial expression, and a visit to Bruce Lee's grave. And in the middle is a great big commercial for Home Depot. Seriously, it's the most egregiously bad product placement, with a lasting, centered shot of a store with the Home Depot logo dead-center, as Eckhart and that bald guy from Fargo/Drew Carey/Zodiac go shopping for tools to forget about his dead son, and are greeted by helpful Home Depot employees (So that means this movie should fall under the fantasy mantle), then his friend pays for it with a perfectly centered shot of his American Express card. Then, Aaron Eckhart's character, in one of those 'do a symobolic gesture for my dead wife' moments, takes her tropical bird out of her parents' place and frees it into the wilderness of Seatlle, WA, because, you know, that's where tropical birds traditionally come from and thrive. Recommended only if you're a big Rogue Wave fan (That's not a dig at Rogue Wave, it's because they go to a Rogue Wave concert, sort of, in the movie). I don't know about you, but I'm suddenly in the mood for a Rogue Wave concert, followed by a trip to Home Depot, all paid for with my American Express.


You give me such a wettie

Jennifer's Body: Picture the worst aspects of the dialogue from Juno, then pair it with your run-of-the-mill horror effects/plotline and you have Jennifer's Body. The whole indie-band-sacrifices-a-virgin-who's-not- for a shot at fame, is sort of entertaining with lead singer Adam Brody saying something to the effect of "There are so many indie bands, and we're all cute, but unless you get on Letterman it's tough to get anywhere", but would have been so much more funny if they'd used a real indie band like, say, Death Cab For Cutie or anyone with a sense of humor about themselves. Anyways, it's basically a 102 minute advertisement for Megan Fox's body and certification that, outside of Juno, Diablo Cody doesn't really have anything else to offer. I mean, the two leads greet each other with "Hey Monistat!" "What's up Vagisil?" and Fox even utters the memorable line: "You're lime green jello and you can't even admit it to yourself." Awful, awful, awful.

Synecdoche, New York: I saw this last night. Incredible. Confusing, yes, but incredible. Charlie Kaufman is God.

We finally watched "Revolutionary Road", and we felt kinda meh. I would say that RR gives you the same kind of emotional experience as "The Reader". Nothing too great, and you don't really want to see it again. The most interesting character/performance was "John", the crazy guy.

As I think my fellow Sombies have said, there is no emotional connection to the main characters, and since you don't care what happens to them, and since they 'are' the whole movie-- (except the 2 scenes with John) you end up being dissappointed.

You mean Revolutionary Road. Which, as I've said before, I love.

Jess thought that "Mad Men" does a much better job, telling basically the same story, but with better acting. (that's what she said)

watched the first third of Year One, then turned it off. completely unfunny. i've defended jack black longer than most, and he isn't the only offender here, but i wished he'd shut up and go the hell away after about five minutes.

Ebert panned it too.

year one was really a shame. they coulda done more with the concept. instead it just kinda keeps going, laughless.

mother, juggs & speed (76')

there's something about catching a flick late at night that you always meant to see and find yourself somewhat surprised by who was in it. Here it was Larry Hagman doing his best act as an s.o.b. outside of Dallas and I must have blinked when Toni Basil came on as a junkie with a shotgun?! Just those unexpeted moments alone made this for one of those weird surreal cable TV moments.


also saw a great bio on James Cagney which was stellar and I'll admit to having not really known much about his persona offscreen so it was with kind of a surprise to see how different he was in real life much less how he felt about his work. really need to revisit his films.

Just watched Knowing. Lol. What the fuck? hahahahahahaha. Seriously, this was terrible. Ebert must've been high on a shitload of painkillers when he saw this. What an utterly incompetent and embarrassing failure.

And I just finished Adaptation, thus completing my Nicolas Cage double feature. Hadn't seen this in awhile. Wonderful film.

I have weekly movie nights with friends and keep bringing this one over to their place, only for them to choose something else. If I can't convince them soon, I'm totally rewatching it myself next week.

Ebert invested a lot in his early adulation of Alex Proyas. It's a bummer to hear him keep insisting the guy's a genius.

I'm having a mini Spike Jonze retrospective this week (films, music videos) in preparation for Where The Wild Things Are. I was surprised by Adaptation. I remember liking it when I saw it in theaters, but I had also just read the screenplay before the film came out, and the screenplay was brilliant and a bit different from the finished film, so I was constantly thinking of everything that was different and how much better it would've been if it had stayed closer to the original script. I had the same feeling watching it when it came out on DVD. Terrible way to watch a film, I know.

But now, watching it after I don't know how many years, probably 5 or 6, I was able to take it in fresh. And it's such a funny, smart, and touching picture. And honest. Very honest. Kaufman is very open with his insecurities here. And though the character is pathetic, he's never unpleasant, which is part of the reason I like this film more than Synecdoche, New York. I can see myself in both characters, but Synecdoche nearly gave me a panic attack. Hoffman in that film is pathetic and depressing (by design, no doubt) and the film as a result, brilliant though it is, feels like a slog.

Proyas' work definitely took a pretty stunning nosedive after The Crow and Dark City. It hardly seems like the same director. About Knowing, Ebert wrote, "It is among the best science-fiction films I've seen -- frightening, suspenseful, intelligent and, when it needs to be, rather awesome. In its very different way, it is comparable to the great "Dark City," by the same director, Alex Proyas. That film was about the hidden nature of the world men think they inhabit, and so is this one... With expert and confident storytelling, Proyas strings together events that keep tension at a high pitch all through the film. Even a few quiet, human moments have something coiling beneath. Pluck this movie, and it vibrates."

I just can't believe someone could watch this film and think these thoughts. The disconnect between what Ebert is describing here and what the film actually accomplishes is mind-boggling, and hilarious. The only way this review would make sense is if Ebert had put at the end, "By the way, today is opposite day."

Best In Show: One of my all time favourites. And I don't even like dogs that much.

Only in America!

Rocky V: I didn't hate this nearly as much as my Rocky-loving friends, but it certainly played like Rocky's Greatest Hits with many flashbacks, references to previous films. Funny to read that Stallone originally intended this one to end with Rocky's death and the studio forbade it. Also interesting to read that Tommy Morrison, who played Rocky's protege, was diagnosed with HIV several years after this movie and ended his boxing career, then he had a series of tests disproving that he had HIV, then another that said he did, then another that said he didn't, so he has this on-again, off-again boxing career.

caley, wrong quote for the Rocky V picture caption. The correct quote is 'Yo Tommy...I di'nt hear no bell.'

lord help me for admitting this, but josie and the pussycats is totally under-rated. i mean, i'd probably rank it as a top 20 comedy for this decade. doesn't always hit its mark, but does more often than not. it's like they live for teenage girls, shot as flatly and shinily as possible by matthew libatique. plus rachel leigh cook never seeming to wear a bra adds to the enjoyment.