Trash, art, and the movies.
So I prepared myself for this movie, having an idea of what to expect from the Farrelly brothers—who have raised political-incorrectness to an art form (albeit in a rather perverse manner). I’m expecting there to be rampant assaults on mental disability, and instead I feel like I’ve stepped into the Twilight Zone. At the promo screening, I’m told, are Special Olympics board members, athletes and even the President of the…
I came into the film expecting it to fail. In some ways, the book is dated in its sensibilities, which isn’t to say it’s a bad book. I think it’s quite hilarious. However, as with a lot of material from decades past, I have to wonder about screen adaptations that attempt to modernize the setting. Why not make the film in the time period? As an example, I find the screenplay for “Born Yesterday” seeming entirely anachronistic in the hands of John Goodman and Melanie Griffith, whereas Judy Holliday…
The Dick and Jane children’s books were created in the 1950’s about two children who grew up together. Many books have been published about the children for children that included an easy to read sentence on each page of only maybe five or six words. The original Fun with Dick and Jane, directed by Ted Kotcheff, starred George Segal as Dick Harper and Jane Fond as Jane Harper. The two are now a married couple, who have lost their money and had to hold armed robberies in order…
Jake Gyllenhaal (left) and Heath Ledger (right) star in Ang Lee’s BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN. A Focus…
At first glance, Everett Stone (Dermot Mulroney) and Meredith Morton (Sarah Jessica Parker) seem appropriate for each other: Everett’s the stiff, never without a necktie—running for mayor. If Meredith’s hair were tied back any tighter, her face might explode. However, while Everett comes from an affluent, liberal family, Meredith’s…
There seem to be two movies intercut with one another. The first is a story about Carl Denham (Jack Black) and his haphazard plan to make a movie, the details of which he hasn’t completely sorted out. The second centers on the relationship between an out-of-work vaudeville actor, Ann Darrow…
My childhood memories of The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe evoke two different emotions in me: first, I remember my second grade teacher (and first love) reading to us after lunch time…so I was of course doubly enthralled by the experience. My second, and most vivid memory, is of crying my eyes out while…
Sunrise on a desert. In the haze, there are throngs of migrant workers crowding around buses. The scene is emblematic of one of many central themes struggling to be heard in this movie. The very next scene takes us into a city—a party in stark contrast to what we’re used to seeing when the media feeds us imagery of the Middle East. Bob Barnes (George Clooney) is asked by a friend, “Have you ever tried…