The Pop Culture Addict’s Blog

I thought the movie was cute and watchable and I would certainly watch it if I caught if on cable sometime while channel-surfing. I wouldn’t mind watching it again all the way through to see the the parts I really enjoyed. But I have a feeling the soundtrack might have longer lasting power. The book sounds cute and I can see the appeal of turning it into a movie. Michael Cera endeared himself to me as George Michael on Arrested Development and I don’t think I will ever not enjoy seeing him onscreen. I think he shined in Superbad. He is fun to watch in Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist. The story is light. It has some real moments. I like his band and bandmates. I like seeing NYC through the eyes of Peter Sollett who wowed everyone with his short 5 Feet High and Rising and then Raising Victor Vargas. It wasn’t mind-blowing but I did want to see it so I’m glad I got a chance to see it in the theater. I bet if you want to see it, you’ll find enough in it to enjoy. As a big fan of Nick Hornby, I would say Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist was Nick Hornby-esque in an American, junior, lite way if that makes sense. The girls were cute too. I remember seeing Ari Graynor in that play Dog Sees God. She played Peppermint Patty’s pal Marcy. Actually, Eddie Kaye Thomas has a small but memorable role in Nick and Norah and he was in that play too as “CB.” In fact, I think they are a real-life item perhaps stemming from working together in that play. Anyway, if you haven’t seen Arrested Development yet, please give it a try.

The Return of 30 Rock

I’m so glad 30 Rock Season 3 is starting this week. I admit I watched the sneak preview provided by hulu.com as linked to by Watch with Kristen’s Kristen. Thanks, guys. Alec Baldwin is sublime. I also love how Jack Donoghy and Liz Lemon are BFF’s. They make this status seem believable and desirable. I am still reeling from the memory of how ingenious Jack McBrayer was at the NYC improv performance he gave with his improv partner Paul Scheer over the summer. Paul Scheer was great as well. It was at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre. I already loved the character of Kenneth. Now I can truly appreciate the comedy genius of Jack McBrayer.

W

I ended up seeing W again with a fellow Pop Culture Addict who really wanted to see it. I still think Josh Brolin did a great job. I thought the story was decent. Another PCA said she didn’t think there was enough to the story but appreciated the work of Josh Brolin.

Mad Men Season 2

I have yet to watch the season 2 finale but I can’t wait. I was surprised to read a somewhat humdrum review in the NYT of season 2 in general. Every episode has been full of surprises. I also haven’t had a chance to watch Jon Hamm on SNL (also available at hulu.com) but I’m sure there will be something amusing there. Don Draper is certainly the role of a lifetime for Jon Hamm and he is fabulous in the show. Everyone does such a great job of fleshing out their characters. The writers, directors, set designers, costume designers, dps, etc. all pay such attention to detail. And it all works. I find the show very warm and real even when it is addressing the unhappiness and uncertainty in the lives of the characters. Yes, I’m behind, very behind in watching my dvr’d shows. But I refuse to give anything up…yet even if it means Thanksgiving weekend I’m still watching shows from this week.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows

A Pop Culture Addict lent me this book I had never heard of and said I would like it. I knew nothing of it and was pleasantly surprised by how charming it was. I must say I highly recommend it. It is a series of letters from various people all tangentially related in post-WWII Great Britain. It starts when a writer receives a letter from someone who comes upon a book she once owned. He finds her name and address written in the cover and just wants to know where he might find more books like that one. From that letter, a series of people enter this woman’s life and it reads very smoothly and engagingly.

Terminator – The Sarah Connor Chronicles Renewed for Season 3!

This show is effective in capturing the nuances of interpersonal issues yet making it extremely action-packed for a network television show. I thought it was not going to last much longer. I had heard that Season 2 might even be cut short. Then suddenly, it was announced that Season 3 had been picked up. I guess I am less interested in the Shirley Manson storyline but I like enough about the show to be happy it will continue a little longer. Frankly, if I had to choose between this and Heroes, at this point, Heroes would fall by the wayside. But as it stands, I’m still trying to keep up with both shows. The one show I had to put on hold for now (because of my love of Chuck and Gossip Girl) is How I Met Your Mother. I might be able to catch up online or else, I’m counting on summer reruns to carry me through. So try not to tell me what happens. Ha, who am I kidding, I will find out without even trying.

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I forgot I wanted to mention how almost every director, actor, producer and other participants have mentioned how beautiful the Ziegfeld Theater is and how it brings back memories from childhood and history. Many have said, what a beautiful cinema. Steven Soderbergh said that if we didn’t like Che at the Ziegfeld, we wouldn’t like it anywhere. A fellow Pop Culture Addict (PCA) said the Ziegfeld is probably the nicest theater these movies will play in aside from the ones that showed at the Palais in Cannes.

Gomorrah

Gomorra

Matteo Garrone/Italy 2008

The director introduced the film saying he was from Rome and had no idea of this active war (between mafia clans) going on in Naples right now.  He said the five stories from the book are taken from among the hundreds of stories in the popular book. He said the author of the book had to go into hiding. But they personally did not have difficulty filming on location. In fact, they cast theater actors from the neighborhood for many of the roles. There is a story about two adolescent boys. They are both in the same clan and then one of them decides he must join the rival clan. The director said one of the boys said in real life he hated that clan so he would not play that role. The movie does a good job of distilling the essence of the book (I imagine as I have not read it) and showing how the violence and corruption is an everyday part of all of the inhabitants lives from cradle to grave, whether they run the local grocery store, do money drops or want to be their own crime boss. The producer and director were saying that cinema influences the gangsters more than the other way around. They filmed at a local gangster’s (former?) home and were told the gangster showed Scarface to his architect and said make me a home that is identical to Tony Montana’s.  Another interesting fact, the movie is subtitled in Italian in Italy because what is spoken is so non-standard, even Italians can’t understand it.

Lola Montès

Max Ophuls/France/West Germany 1955

I have to admit I was not aware of this movie until the festival decided to show a completely restored version of it. I appreciate that aspect the most. After it came out in 1955, the producers decided to respond to audience confusion and 1) dub the German lines in French and 2) re-cut the film so it was chronological rather than flashing between the present and past as well as jumping around her life. Then at some point it was edited even more à la Magnificent Ambersons and that cut film was lost forever. However, thanks to digital technology, the generous funding from various sources including agnès b and L’oréal and the magicians at Cinémathèque Française, Lola Montès is restored to as close to Max Ophuls’ vision as possible. Film critic Andrew Sarris introduced the film and then sat in on the panel afterwards. He is 80 years old and as passionate about cinema as he ever was. I greatly enjoyed his stories and analyses of Lola Montès and other movies. He said he actually thought Max Ophuls best movie was The Earrings of Madame de… but he wanted people to see Lola Montès so he had no problem using hyperbole to achieve this (he called it the greatest film of all time.)

Ashes of Time Redux

Wong Kar-Wai/Hong Kong 1994/2008

My memory of this movie fell far short from the experience of seeing it this time. I couldn’t understand how people could rate Ashes of Time as Wong Kar-Wai’s best movie. After seeing this restored version on a big screen, at the Ziegfeld no less, I can see why people are so moved. I saw it on a screen at the Museum of the Moving Image in Queens. At the time, I just thought it was interesting to see anything by Wong Kar-Wai.  I had recently discovered his work and was mesmerized. Still, I remember thinking the slo-mo was kinda cheesy and that I wished the fight scenes had been filmed differently. Also, the soundtrack was just so-so. The new soundtrack is beautiful. And I am able to accept the slo-mo. I can appreciate the beautiful scenescapes of the Chinese desert as shot by Chris Doyle. So I expected to see Wong Kar-Wai there but was happily surprised to see cinematographer Chris Doyle and actress Brigitte Lin whose swordplay is astounding in those martial arts movies. As I said earlier, I miss Leslie Cheung. Wong Kar-Wai only referenced his favorite actor and friend when he said it was impossible to re-record the narration since Leslie Cheung had passed away 2 years ago (it was 5 years ago but maybe he was thinking of when he decided to redox the movie). Wong Kar-Wai said it was hard to go back to this early work but he said it is an important movie in all of their careers because it was true independent film-making and they made the most of what they had to work with. It seems Chris Doyle and Wong Kar-Wai collaborate closely and then need breaks from each other. But there was nothing but respect, some irrevent, for each other at the intro and Q&A. Chris Doyle, encouraged aspiring filmmakers to be adventurous and just make a movie already. Brigitte Lin looked so stately. She has been making movies since she was a teenager. I think she is semi-retired so it was a big deal she flew out for the fest. Check out Dragon Inn and Swordsman II. She played a role in Chungking Express as well. Anyway, in watching Ashes of Time Redux, I saw all of Wong Kar-wai’s movies in it. Even My Blueberry Nights is like Ashes of Time but without martial arts. Maybe that’s what it was needing. Someone asked about why WKW chose to have Leslie Cheung’s character narrate the movie. He said because his first exposure to martial arts stories was through radio programs and he wanted to harken back to that. My fellow PCA pointed out these are the kind of stories Tony Leung wrote in 2046.

The Changeling

Director: Clint Eastwood, Country: USA, Release: 2008

I liked it enough. It was a solid movie. Angelina Jolie did a fine job with her role. I thought it was a little thin on the other characters. The LAPD was corrupt for corruption’s sake. I love Burn Notice and was excited to see Jeffrey Donovan in a different type of role. But it fell short of anything terribly interesting. The story itself, based in fact, was intriguing. However, as a fellow Pop Culture Addict pointed out, the movie was too on the nose. It didn’t have that wow factor that Million Dollar Baby, Unforgiven or A Perfect World had. I was most riveted by seeing Clint Eastwood and Angelina Jolie up close and not so personal.

The Last Command

Director: Josef von Sternberg, Country: USA, Release: 1928

The Alloy Orchestra wrote and performed a new score for this silent movie. It was phenomenal. The music was perfect. It was cool to see a decent print. The actual story was still very relevant. I found it quite moving. It was exactly the kind of experience I want from a film festival film.

Che

Director: Steven Soderbergh, Country: France/Spain, Release: 2008, Runtime: 268 with a 30 minute intermission

I thought it relevant to write the running time here. Yes, you are reading correctly- the running time at the fest was about 4.5 hours plus a 30 minute intermission. When it is released in theaters, it will show as two separate movies. Che was also exactly what a film festival movie should encapsulate. It was experimental, it has brilliant moments, it has a fascinating story and a strong lead in Benicio del Toro, it has an innovative filmmaker in Steven Soderberg. The first part was the strongest in my opinon. It was fast paced and effective in showing the roots of Che’s activism and his drive and charisma. Also, it was the more optimistic portion of his career as a revolutionist. The second half was the less successful, if not total failed portion of his life. Very bleak. I’m glad I saw it. I’d see it again.

Afterschool

Director: Antonio Campos, Country: USA, Release: 2008

This movie was much better than I expected it to be. In fact, it was pretty decent. I liked how the adults, aside from the main kid’s mother, were actually understanding of the trouble the teens were experiencing. The guidance counselor sought out the main kid who was traumatized by witnessing the accidental overdoses of those twin girls and spoke to him in a way that actually felt real. The kid actors did a fine job. They were there looking sincerely thrilled. That’s refreshing.  

Tokyo Sonata

Director: Kiyoshi Kurosawa, Country: Japan/Netherlands, Release: 2008

Another interesting movie worth watching. This is a contemporary family drama. Everyone in this family goes on a defining journey and just when you think they won’t find their way back to each other, they do.

Pandora and the Flying Dutchman

Director: Albert Lewin, Country: United Kingdom, Release: 1951

Martin Scorcese and Kent Jones introduced this restoration. It was a fun conversation to hear. They both know their movie history. I had never seen this movie. It looked fantastic. Ava Gardner was mesmerizing.  

A Christmas Tale

Un conte de Noël
Director: Arnaud Desplechin, Country: France, Release: 2008

This movie also had a film fest quality to it. It had a Quentin Tarantino, Lost, loose timeline thing going that worked. This was also introduced by Kent Jones who introduced Tokyo Sonata. I think I omitted that earlier. Anyway, he said he watched this twice in one day. It’s another intense family drama. I liked it.

Chouga

Director: Darezhan Omirbaev, Country: France/Kazakhstan, Release: 2007

I would’ve loved to have seen the director and heard a Q&A by him but alas, he was not present. This movie is inspired by the story of Anna Karenina. You know, the Tolstoy book that starts off famously: “All happy families are like one another; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.”  Similar things happen but instead over 1000 pages, it happens in a neat 88 minutes. The kids were adorable, the women were gorgeous. The men had their actions to enact and keep the plot going.

The Day Shall Dawn

Director: A.J. Kardar, Country: Pakistan, Release: 1959

I loved almost everything about this movie: the look, the sound, the story, the people. I’m so glad I got a chance to see it. I highly recommend looking for or asking about a showing of this restored Pakistani movie that made me think about how we are all connected. The style is neo-realism and I loved how the lives of the inhabitants of the village are documented in such a real way. I felt like I was there but was glad I was in the here and now where creature comforts are more abundant.

The Wrestler

Director: Darren Aronofsky, Country: USA, Release: 2008

Not actually being a Darren Aronofsky fan, I must say, I was blown away by the performance of Mickey Rourke as an aging pro-wrestler. He is going to be Oscar-nominated and I would say even win something somewhere for this role. During the movie, I actually thought to myself, Aronofsky has made an outstanding movie.

I can’t believe I finally finished going through the list of movies I saw at the film festival. Let me end by saying my first non-festival movie was W.

W.

Josh Brolin was amazing. I liked the movie in general but it is hard to separate out the movie from Josh Brolin’s performance. He made a fleshed out, interesting, fully dimensional person out of W. I did not like Thandie Newton’s cardboard Condoleeza Rice. But everyone else was fine. Although other reviewers have called this an even portrayal, I think the movie still has a bias. But what movie doesn’t? Even documentaries have biases. I wonder how Josh Brolin will be on Saturday Night Live tonight. After his blow out performance in No Country For Old Men and now W., I am sold on his talent. He turned a non-believer (of his ability to hold my interest on film) into a believer.

I am not even going to read over this entry right now because I am too happy about finishing it so please forgive the typos. 

Okay, I admit I went back and quickly edited a little of it down. But I’m done with the entry now.

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Usually I wait until the end and do a total wrap up. But I’ve been pretty good about keeping track of my reactions. I guess I can say this is most of week 1.

The Class

Entre les murs

Director: Laurent Cantet, Country: France, Release: 2008, Runtime: 128

The Class was the Opening Night feature. Before I saw it, a fellow PCA had already said it was likened to Season 4 of The Wire but not as good. Not having watched The Wire yet (I know, I know, I need to get it done!), I assumed the reference meant it was drug dealer/police drama set in Paris. No. That is completely wrong. It is literally about a class of kids based on a book by a teacher, who plays himself in the movie. The movie is a slice of life of school life in a multi-ethnic community. It was interesting – about 30 minutes too long but fast-paced without any particular plot points or climaxes. More docu-drama. It reminded me of what L’Esquive ( English title: Games of Love and Chance), and Half Nelson but I liked both of those a bit more.

24 City
Er Shi Si Cheng Ji

Jia Zhangke, China/Hong Kong/Japan, 2008; 112m

Critics love this guy director Jia Zhangke. I wasn’t that into Platform (2000). It was interesting as a picture of life in China at a certain time ie 1980s. But it didn’t really hold me. I think I saw Unknown Pleasures (2002) too because I was curious about his hype and see, I can’t even say for sure I saw it. So I was surprised to find Useless (2007) to be so innovative. That was at last year’s fest. He has found a voice I can relate to and stay with. He used this documentary technique in his latest feature 24 City. He said he started to make it a straight documentary but then saw he needed a fictional component to tell the story he had in mind. The story is fact-based. It is a series of interviews of former workers and residents of 24 City, a factory town
that is being converted into luxury condominiums. Jia weaves together actors and real workers/residents in the story. It feels very real and makes its point poetically. I recommend 24 City. It shows the impact a
changing government, economy and philosophy of life one individuals and community. And it is generalizable to other cultures and countries. In the Q&A, it sounded like Jia feels like he has found the filmic direction he wants to follow with Useless and 24 City and it shows.

Happy-Go-Lucky

Mike Leigh, UK, 2008; 118m

Director/Writer Mike Leigh is a darling of the NYFF. He said it was his 7th time invited to the fest. He has his team of players, his long rehearsal process which involves letting his actors fully explore their characters and improvising dialogue which he writes into the screenplays. As I typed that sentence, I realized his process is also Judd Apatow’s process although I wonder if they watch each other’s movies. Anyway, Happy-Go-Lucky may look and sound like fluff (I admit when I saw the trailer, I thought it looked cute and then wondered how light could a Mike Leigh movie be). But while mostly light-hearted, it is a meaty portrayal of a 30 year old woman, Poppy, who cares a lot about many but tries not to get overwhelmed and down when things don’t go optimally. Still, when one of the grumpier characters has a meltdown and criticizes her, through his clear personal difficulties, there seemed to be some truth in his assessment of her and her motivations. Mike Leigh and Sally Hawkins were at the screening. They spoke of working with an ensemble though Sally Hawkins is in most of the scenes if not every scene. Mike Leigh said something that seemed facetious about liking the NYFF Q&As because someone once asked if the guy in Naked (1993) would be alive one hour after the movie ended. That comment made me think of Maggie Cheung’s comment after the In the Mood for Love Q&A about how the questioners didn’t seem very intelligent. I think this is because a fan asked her about her next Jackie Chan movie rather than focusing on Wong Kar Wai etc.

Hunger
I won’t watch this movie again but it was astounding. There was hardly any dialogue in it and yet I didn’t really notice because the images on screen were so full of narrative. The movie depicts life for the IRA prisoners and guards at Her Majesty’s Maze prison in 1981. Director/writer Steve McQueen first focuses on one guard, one riot officer, one prisoner then two then the whole picture. It isn’t until end when the viewer first hears IRA member Bobby Sands give his reasons for organizing a hunger strike and then watches him go through it on screen. The actor, Michael Fassbender supposedly lost 30 lbs but he looked like he lost more. It reminded me of watching Emile Hirsch in Into the Wild. It was deeply absorbing but painful and sad. At the Q&A, people seemed to fixate on the one long scene of dialogue but personally, I was impressed by the rest. The nonverbal scenes conveyed so much and it was enough. I didn’t need to hear people talking to want to know what happened next.

I’m gonna explode
Voy a Explotar

Gerardo Naranjo, Mexico, 2008; 106m
There were lots of things I liked about this movie but I also didn’t feel quite fulfilled by it. I enjoyed Mexican director Gerardo Naranjo’s introduction though. He said after his first two movies didn’t get into the NYFF, he had given up hope so he was ecstatic when I’m Gonna Explode got in. Still, I appreciate seeing what film makers are trying to do. He seems like a big movie fan and paid homage to many of his favorite directors and movies. I loved Rushmore and felt he did too when I read the description. Then at the Q&A, the two young actors (Maria Deschamps and Juan Pablo De Santiago) said they watched many movies including Rushmore which they both seemed to like. The movie is influenced by French New Wave. The story has a strong similarity to Godard’s Pierrot Le Fou as mentioned in the program. Daniel Giménez Cacho who plays the father was also there. My memory is fuzzy but he said something about his rich right wing politician character being a person who is so opposite who he is but easy to reference in real life. SPOILER ALERT: The director admitted that when he was 9, he ran away from home all the way up to his roof and stayed there for 3 days until he saw his mother crying and felt guilty. But he didn’t run away with a girl or a gun. Maybe it is just my personality but I think what I wanted from the movie was for the two kids to have an experience together but also move on and start to find balance in their lives and not feel so out of place. Also, the boy was more off kilter than the girl and I felt for her when he would do his selfish teenage boy things like running off without checking on her. Also, I couldn’t stop thinking of the playwriting adage, if there’s a gun in the play, at some point it is going to go off.

Summer Hours
L’heure d’été

Olivier Assayas, France, 2008; 103m

Olivier Assayas in person was much more humble and gave much warmer and interesting answers than his work would suggest. I can’t remember if he was at the special screening of Demonlover. I probably blogged about it here. Connie Nielson was there as well as Sonic Youth who scored it. I guess what I am saying is even though I liked Irma Vep and Demonlover, I found them a bit cold. Clean was okay. I admit my US Weekly reading self was more interested in how it was for Maggie Cheung and Olivier Assayas to work together after their divorce. That said, I liked Summer Hours very much and found a lot of humanity and warmth in it. It is such a universal story of how different generations in a family are affected by the family history and heirlooms. It almost sounds dull when explained so I think it is better to say the movie made me think it is better to bust out the action figures and play with them rather than keep them in its original packaging for life. I am speaking metaphorically as I don’t have any action figures. But you know what I mean. An object’s meaning is made fuller through use.

Waltz With Bashir

Ari Folman, Israel/Germany/France, 2008; 90m

I think this movie might be another one I probably wouldn’t watch again because of its intensity. But it was very good. The director and writer Israeli Ari Folman said it isn’t a movie he can say, I hope you enjoy it, but he hoped it would make us think and feel we could relate to it universally. It is an autobiographical movie about the director’s experience fighting in Lebanon in 1982. He said it started when he felt so detached from his 19 year old self and he had repressed his memories of it but as his friend relayed a nightmare to him, he started to piece together the stories of others who were experiencing PTSD. But he said after conducting interviews from the 100 or more responses he got from an internet ad, he realized he had to tell his own story. So the movie is about his journey through his memory.

Coming up: Gomorrah, Lola Montes, Ashes of Time Redux and The Changeling.

Until then, my one-sentence reviews are as follows:

Gomorrah Matteo Garrone, Italy, 2008; 137m – Remind me NEVER to visit Naples.

Lola Montes Spotlight Retrospective Max Ophuls, France/West Germany, 1955; 115m -I would listen to Andrew Sarris talk for hours!

Ashes of Time Redux Wong Kar-wai, Hong Kong, 2008; 93m A Sony Pictures Classics release - I miss Leslie Cheung.

The Changeling Centerpiece Clint Eastwood, USA, 2008; 140m – Clint Eastwood and Angelina Jolie look and sound intriguing in person too.

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