Movie Roster - October 31, 2009

I want to resume an old practice that I have let go some time ago. My movie roster. So here it goes:

TItle	Main Actor	Released	My Rating (1-5)
This Is It	Michael Jackson	2009	5
Easy	Marguerite Moreau, Naveen Andrews	2004	3.5
InkHeart	Brendan Fraser	2008	2.5
Management	Jennifer Anniston, Steve Zahn	2009	4

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This Is It - Michael Jackson

Simply amazing.

Mind you, I have never been a big fan of Michael Jackson. But after watching this 2-hour movie of what might have been, I was fervently wishing it could have been.

Jackson's creative vision, musical talent and genius choreography spilled out over the screen, making me yearn to see the final masterpiece.

It will never be seen.

The movie begins with the montage of the opening, demonstrating in drawings how a robot would drop down like a Deaux Ex Machina. Projected on all sides of the robot would be slices of video, creating a collage of images across its body. When the machine touched down, it would open up to reveal Michael.

And the show would begin.

This theme of showing Michael's multi-faceted talent, vision and persona played through out the film. Editing between 2-3 days of Michael's performances to show one complete song, you saw how Michael was the ultimate showman even in rehearsals.

I always sort of understood he was talented but it wasn't until I saw this movie that I saw how brilliant he was. A truly gifted man, this 50 year old man could dance and keep up with his 20 year dancers. It was hard to remember that he was 50 years old when he died.

He was so light on his feet, so effortless. In many ways, he reminded me of Sammy Davis, Jr. Remember that Sammy was a dancer, too? That same effortlessness was so apparent. Just like the brilliant Fred Astaire or Gene Kelly.

And his voice, too, is amazing. To be able to retain that beautifully high tenor at his age--it made me wonder how he did retain that voice.

But singing and dancing aside, what shone through was his deep kindness and goodness. A perfectionist in all things, he spent days trying to convey the vision in his head to the people around him. That can be a very hard thing to do. But he never once raised his voice, lost his temper or showed any anger.

Over and over again, he spoke of love, of God and with kindness.

Sure, it could have been edited out but after discussing this it was agreed that it was too entrenched in his personality. He was just a very, very kind man.

The production was brilliant. Full of completely executed videos in 3-D, merged montages with classically famous video footage, the breadth and depth of the artistry and talent in him and around him to execute this film is breath-taking.

One of the most brilliant moments in the film for me was when Michael demonstrates a dance ONE TIME to a circle of 12 people. Immediately, the choreographer and a few of the dancers dance it right back to him--EXACTLY mimicking his moves. Then IMMEDIATELY, the entire circle of 12 repeat the dance back again. Now that is master craftsmanship--genius.

But perhaps the most poignant piece of the film is the opening credits when we hear and watch dancers from around the world flock to the opening auditions for his show.

This is it: when we truly see the Man in the Mirror reflected upon those around him.

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Inglourious Basterds - Brad Pitt (2009)

I don't know, I must be getting old.

And Brad Pitt is getting old.

But I just didn't think this movie was that good.

Don't get me wrong; I loved Pulp Fiction. But Quentin Tarantino's latest effort--Inglourious Basterds-- is more of the same, tired, overly violent crap.

The blood baths, so outrageous in Reservoir Dogs and Kill Bill: Vol. 1 and Vol. 2, are no longer shocking. It is just gross.

And it just wasn't that funny.

I thought Pitt did an excellent job--I loved his bravado and his accent. A cross between John Wayne and Clark Gable, he was the funniest thing going. The plot was just silly, tho--a movie about wishful thinking and alternative histories.

The people who were laughing are predisposed to Tarantino. No matter what he says or does, to these folks, he's golden.

I was waiting for a spectacular soundtrack and was, again, disappointed.

Tarantino had his time in the sun. Now the sun has set and it is nightfall. He needs to stop while he's ahead.

I won't see another Tarantino. Not unless he really changes his ways.

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Chéri - Michelle Pfeiffer (2009)

This gorgeously filmed movie, starring Michelle Pfeiffer, is an adaptation of two novels by famed French novelist, Collette.

Collette, a writer of the late 1800s and early 1900s, wrote the novel Gigi, upon which the same-titled film is based.

The novels, Chéri and La Fin de Chéri, are about a aging courtesan and her relationship with the son of a fellow courtesan.

Michelle Pfeiffer plays the 1890s version of a cougar with elegance and verve. Still startlingly beautiful, it is no surprise that Chéri, played by the equally beautiful Rupert Friend, is enraptured.

Opened with a fairy tale-like narration by the film's director,Stephen Frears, the stage is set for a magical, farcical tale with outrageously beautiful sets, costumes and staging.

Lovely to behold, it was a movie about beauty and its power to enrapture us and entice us to hold it at any price.

Pfeiffer did a wonderful job of capturing the certainty and knowledge of an aging beauty who knows her limits yet yearns to hold on to youth.

A truly French film, Chéri captured the ironic humor and angst typical of their films.

The movie also starred Kathie Bates, who made absolutely no attempt to use either a French or British accent. I was a little disappointed by this but she performed passably well.

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Julie & Julia - Amy Adams, Meryl Streep (2009)

I thought I was going to have to sit through GI Joe since my friend had brought her husband along with us to the movies.

I was pleasantly surprised to find that they had bought tickets for Julie & Julia.

Oh, what a wonderful movie. And Meryl Streep--what an astounding actress. She surprises me over and over again.

The story of a 29 year old's quest to "make something of herself" before she hits 30, Julie test her limits by cooking all of the famed American cook Julia Child's 536 recipes in 365 days.

Telling the tale of two stories--Julia's and Julie's--the film flips between the young New York Julie chronicling her year-long adventure on her now famous blog, The Julie/Julia Project, and Julia Child's 10-year development of her now classic cookbook, Mastering the Art of French Cooking.

A movie as much about writing as it is about cooking, the parallelism was undeniable; the manner in which each accomplished their missions were indicative of the times.

Both women were blessed with a gifts of cooking, writing and loving husbands.

Amy Adams held her own against the strength of Meryl Streep's performance. I have heard some critics call her performance as "whiny" but, too me, she acted as most 29 year old women act.

And, I must add, Stanley Tucci, as Julia's husband, gave an excellent performance.

But the movie is not only for foodies or females. It is an amazing character study of a 2 women determined to mark their place in this world; be they 50 or 30. Both women, Julie and Julia, a little lost and brimming with intelligence, take a natural gift and human desire and turn it into a career. Julie's melodramatic melancholy is a smart counterpoint to Julia's bubbling good humour and earthiness, and embodies the their respective decades--the 50s and the 00s.

So go. Go hungry. Imbibe and enjoy.

Bon Appetite!

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A Guilty Pleasure

Kind of like People magazine -- I swear I only read it at the manicurist's -- I have become a new subscriber to Blah Girls.com.

I love it! My favorite part is the Friday video called "Stewart's Hot Minute"; a take on Perez Hilton, opening with the line, "Hey, b*tches, Hey, floozies." He takes on every spotlight-seeking starlet and skewers them.

Produced by TwitterMan, Ashton Kutcher, it looks like Demi's husband once again scores with a social media win.

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Ne le dis à personne (Tell No One) - based upon a Harlan Coben Novel (2006)

Heart Rate: YYYYY

I love Harlan Coben's mysteries--I think he is a terrific writer. In fact, this book, Tell No One, was the first of his that I had read. Impressed by the innovative plot line, quick style of writing and the profound way in which he wrote about love, I was hooked on his books.

When I stumbled across a film adaptation of the book, Tell No One, on Netflix, I had to watch it.

A French film, the director Guillaume Canet did a superb job of translating this book to film.

Alexander and Ann are married to one another after spending their childhood together. After a long week-end, they return to their cabin by the lake. They take a late-night swim and are lying on a raft, when they argue. Ann swims to the shore, walking into the darkness. Suddenly, Alexander hears a scream. He leaps into the water and climbs onto the dock only to be attacked and knocked unconscious.

The film picks up eight years later, to the day. Alex is alone and Ann is dead, murdered by a serial killer. That day, Alex is checking his e-mail when he receives a message. When he opens it, a video begins to run. There is Ann, alive and well.

The chase begins.

A very tricky plot that spans a life time, the screenplay, written by Coben and two French writers, Guillaume Canet and Philippe Lefebvre, masterfully interweave three different time periods: childhood, the time of the murder and eight years later.

The movie stars François Cluzet, who plays Alex. Kristin Scott Thomas, from the movie the English Patient, plays Alex's sister's lover. The cast is very good with all of the actors working together effortlessly. Paris is lovely, as usual, and the cinematogrophy only enhances its looks.

There is strong language, violence and brief nudity. French subtitles.

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