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Monday , April 12, 2010
To Go: A Mini Bette Gordon Retrospective at IFC Center, NYC
I totally romanticize the NYC of the late 70s and early 80s, when rent was cheap, crime was high, drugs were everywhere and the city was inspiring the likes of Basquiat, Fab Five Freddy, Keith Haring, Madonna, Blondie, the Ramones, James Chance, Nan Goldin, Kiki Smith, and about a million and ten amazing, creative human beings. The art and music of that time get a lot of love, in part because nostalgists like me have relatively easy access to the material they made. The filmmaking of that time, though, gets a bit of a short shrift, simply because a lot of the work of the No Wave filmmakers at the time isn't easily available on DVD or online. Which is a bummer and a shame, of course, and which is why I leap when opportunities to see the work from that period pop up--it's a genuinely rare thing. And which is why all the sexy NYCers out there should take this chance to catch the work of one of the movers and shakers of that scene--filmmaker Bette Gordon, who made the hugely important Variety, which is up at the IFC in a rare screening this Thursday as part of a mini-retrospective honoring Bette's work and release of her latest film, Handsome Harry.
Variety chronicles the sexual awakening and journey of a woman who takes a job at a Times Square porno theatre back when Times Square was seedy and not the quasi-Disneyland-from-hell that it is now. Feminist film peeps know Variety as an interesting response to the debates swirling around women and porn at the time, as well as a rare film that presents a very open, complicated portrayal of female sexuality that doesn't package female pleasure as a commodity or simple afterthought. NYC urban types prize the film for capturing a time and place that has completely disappeared from the city landscape, and cineastes will appreciate the influence of film theory in its aesthetics. A bit of a cult film, Variety is one of those films that you read about more than you can see, so I'm excited for the opportunity to see it on the big screen.
Of course, Bette went on beyond the scene at the time to direct more films: as part of the mini-retrospective, her film Luminous Motion screens today. This is all in honor of her latest film coming out in select theatres this Friday, Handsome Harry, a movie that takes on the mores and sexuality of men. Knowing Bette (and I know her personally as my thesis advisor at Columbia University and she is a highly rad woman), I know it'll be a strong, complicated, sharply discerning take how and what human beings both hide and reveal--to each other, and to themselves. Bette's interested in the tricky parts of people, and that makes her a filmmaker more people need to see.
Tags: back in the day, Bette Gordon, filmmaking, IFC, No Wave, NYC, Times Square, Variety
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by Kat in Film
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Friday , March 19, 2010
You Know You Want to See It: "The Runaways" It could be the worst movie ever, but I'd still go see The Runaways this weekend for these five reasons: 1. MICHAEL SHANNON IS KIND OF THE BEST ACTOR WORKING RIGHT NOW: After his turns in Revolutionary Road and My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done?, he's like the new Christopher Walken. 2. I DECIDED I LIKE KRISTEN STEWART: I like that she's so awkward in interviews, that she wears jeans and hoodies all the time in real life and she's not some overprocessed Teen Vogue starlet. I can totally overlook all that problematic Twilight stuff. 3. COME ON, DUDES, IT'S JOAN JETT! We should all pay homage to Joan Jett for doing the best version of "Crimson and Clover," ever. 4. DIRECTED BY FLORIA SIGISMONDI! Floria Sigismondi is a genius music video director who's taken years and years to make this movie. And despite the fact that the first woman finally won a Best Director Oscar, believe me, Hollywood still operates under the assumption that people don't see movies about ladies and/or made by ladies. LAME! So if anything, going to see "The Runaways" is like a half-assed political act or something, no thanks to the lame half-assedness of Hollywood. 5. LOOK AT THIS PICTURE OF KRISTEN AND DAKOTA HAVING FUN AND DON'T TELL ME YOU'RE NOT CURIOUS ABOUT THEIR SCREEN CHEMISTRY. This pic is so nogoodforme, I can't stand it! 
Tags: Joan Jett, Kristen Stewart, Michael Shannon is a thespian god, The Runaways
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Tuesday , March 16, 2010
Under Great White Northern Lights Is A Beautiful Movie
And I think the last scene is the maybe my favorite movie ending, of all the movie endings in the world. I want to tell you what it's like but I think you should just see it for yourself.
P.S. There's a screening tomorrow (Tuesday) at the Echoplex.
P.P.S. Lord do I wish I'd been on that bus (at the end of the trailer)!
Tags: buses, Jack White, Meg White, movies, The White Stripes
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by Liz in Film
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Thursday , October 22, 2009
nogoodforme ix: All-Time Favorite Onscreen Performances Jane Fonda as Bree Daniels in Klute Sometimes I think I wanted to be a director because I love working with genuinely talented actors and actresses -- such is the respect, awe, and sheer love that I feel when collaborating with a cast on a project. So it's no surprise that I am huge fan of many stratospherically talented actresses and could rattle of a huge, huge list of favorite performances and performers: Cate Blanchett, Tilda Swinton, Liv Ullmann, Monica Vitti, Giulietta Masina, Ruth Gordon, Romy Schneider, Jennifer Connelly, Kate Winslet, Emily Blunt, blah blah blah. The point is that the list is huge and very considered; I've seen a ton of movies, probably more than most people, and I've always paid very close attention to performances, having spent a lot of time performing and studying acting myself. (Two years of Meisner, thank you very much.) And so it's kind of the real deal for me when I say that I think Jane Fonda's performance in Klute is one of those jaw-dropping, haunting, mesmerizing things, a real tour-de-force that elevates a decent, serviceable thriller into something transcendent and indelible -- she's that fucking awesome. She plays call girl Bree Daniels, who's trying to quit "the life" yet being stalked by a deranged killer at the same time. Forget hooker with a heart of gold -- it's more a heart of darkness with Bree, who Fonda plays with equal amounts of nervy sexuality, raw vulnerability, steely intelligence and a million other amazing true, honest things. I could write whole papers on Klute and its reflection of anxieties about the "new woman" and feminism, its subversion of the thriller genre, and its genius use of sound, but really, the thing that hits you viscerally about Klute is Bree. (I also find the young Donald Sutherland to be oddly hot in that "tall, rangy wolfman" kind of way, but maybe that's just me.) Just do yourself a favor and take two hours of your life, rent it/watch it instantly on Netflix or something, and watch one of the most complex female characters ever committed to celluloid. The following clip (from 3:07 to about 6:02) is my favorite Bree moment in Klute. Here, she blows off steam at a club frequented by her former pimp after discovering a former colleague in a flophouse, addicted to heroin and totally strung out. But forget what's going on in the story -- just watch how every single moment is so fucking specific and precise. She goes from needy to posturing to self-loathing to intoxicated to defiant to just plain tired and lost, commanding an entire three minutes without a line of dialogue. A-fucking-mazing. (Kat) David Bowie as Andy Warhol in Basquiat As my buddy Wapner pointed out a very long time ago, the coolest thing about David Bowie's performance in Basquiat is you're never ever aware that it's David Bowie. He's not the man who sang the song "Andy Warhol"; he's the man the song "Andy Warhol" was sung about, or something. The fact that a human being as glittering-golden-grandiose as David Bowie can just disappear into a role like that makes my head fall off a little, and it feels kinda neat. The second best Movie Warhol, by the way, is Crispin Glover in The Doors, the third is the dude in I Shot Andy Warhol, and the fourth is the otherwise-awesome Guy Pearce in that fucking hateful Factory Girl. Right? (Liz) The "Saddle River's in New York, Saddle River's in New Jersey" debate from Basquiat: Tom Cruise as Brian Flanagan in Cocktail People give Tom Cruise a really hard time for being a crazy person, but personally, I find Tom Cruise's focused and ebullient brand of psychosis rather beguiling. This dude is so awesome!!! He's a couch-jumper! He's Suri's Daddy! Why is his relationship with Katie "The #1 Celebrity I Get Told I Look Like" Holmes so disconcerting? It's such an elegant sham! Is he secretly gay? What is he using The Church of Scientology to distract himself from? He's so handsome, yet entirely non-sexy! That taut little body! Those piercing blue eyes, ablaze with the fires of his poorly-veiled lunacy! Thank God, or "auditing", or "ARC/KRC Triangles" for Thomas Cruise Mapother IV. I love Cocktail for its furious lameness. It epitomizes the concept of "So Bad It's Good." I love all the retarded Coughlin's Laws, its use of "Kokomo" by the Beach Boys, how Brian Flanagan's obvious alcoholism is never acknowledged once (Is this because he is Irish? Why are Irish people allowed to drink more than the rest of us? It's so unfair!), but mostly I love Cocktail because Tom's such a little goddamned DYNAMO in it! He reminds me of a positively-charged ion, and it's funny now to imagine a Universe wherein popular culture "bought" Tom Cruise as a steel-balled, lady-killing sex maniac, instead of just a normal maniac. I always wonder why they didn't name it Cocktails & Dreams; it seems to make a lot more sense. I guess because it probably sounded too gay to dude test audiences. (Laura Jane) Samantha Morton in a lot of things, especially Jesus' Son and Sweet and Lowdown I'm really bummed that I can't put my most favorite onscreen Samantha Morton moment on here 'cause it's just not on YouTube or Google or Vimeo anywhere. It's from the dreamy, surrealistic shaggy-dog movie Jesus' Son, where Billy Crudup plays a drugged up fuckhead named Fuckhead and Samantha Morton is his girlfriend Michelle, equally drugged up and fucked up. For a character that didn't really exist in the original source material, she's pretty fantastic, and my favorite moment of all-time is when she boogies down to Tommy Roe's "Sweet Pea" and basically makes FH fall totally in love with her. Alas, it's not meant to be, so I'll just have to be content to show you a moment from my second favorite Samantha Morton performance, from Woody Allen's Sweet and Lowdown where she plays the mute laundress Hattie. Yeah, roll your eyes, it's Woody Allen and he's got fucked-up issues with women -- he's such a goddamn misogynist sometimes. But Morton manages to infuse a kind of thankless role with the type of charm and emotional translucence that makes you wish you could've discovered her during the days of silent cinema. (Kat) I love this moment -- it's so simple but so rich, 'cause she's totally falling in love with him: Benicio Del Toro as Fenster in The Usual Suspects About eight or nine years ago I was painfully but beautifully in love with Benicio Del Toro and talked about him all the time, which I think might've really annoyed my boyfriend. My favorite is his role as Jean-Michel's BFF in Basquiat, especially when he says "John Henry was a steel-driving man!" at 1:45 of this clip, and also the part when he tries to kiss Claire Forlani on the stairs. My second favorite is Fenster, mostly because of the funny talky thing and how he's always putting on lip balm. I also really dig the way he walks down the street, in what's probably the most hotly choreographed arrest scene ever shot. God, he's so great! Why isn't he in every (good) movie ever made, instead of hardly ever being in any movies at all? Another thing I'm confused about is why we're not dating, as I'd think we'd make a hell of a team. So if you know Benicio Del Toro, please tell him I'm in love with him again, and that his second favorite record (Darkness on the Edge of Town by Bruce Springsteen) is probably my 32nd favorite record - which is so close, in the grand scheme of things - and that basically we're just soul twins. I know I sound like I'm joking but, really and truly, I'm about as serious as a heart attack. (Liz) My soul twin: Ringo Starr as Ringo Starr in A Hard Day's Night Ringo Starr may be the Beatle I love the least, but he's also the Beatle I like the most, something I have in common with every other Beatle. Ringo looks like a basset hound. If he was my boyfriend, I would nickname him "Hushpuppy", or maybe "Sad-Eyed Ringo of the Lowlands." But Ringo Starr could never be my boyfriend, because, as was established many moons ago, Ringo Starr is a non-sexy non-genius, and I only date sexy geniuses. I generally neglect "writing about Ringo" in favor of "writing about the other three," but this is only because there is no conflict surrounding Ringo, and it's boring to write about something that doesn't have a "versus" to compound it (according to my ex-boyfriend, who goes to Harvard, this is "dialectics", maybe). "Ringo Starr lucked into being in the Beatles! He is less talented than John, Paul and George!" is a hackneyed point to make, as is "Ringo's 'walking around dejectedly' scene is the best scene in Hard Day's Night." While I do agree that Ringo totally steals A Hard Day's Night, it is SO not because he walks around dejectedly. That part of A Hard Day's Night is boring. If I wanted to watch someone walk around dejectedly, I could just watch myself walk around dejectedly, or a stranger. I look to the Beatles for escapism, not "a reflection of my everyday life." In my opinion, Ringo's "theft" of AHDN occurs at precisely 4:19 into the video below, when Paul McCartney asks "He's a human being, isn't he?"and Ringo responds, "Well, if he's your grandfather who knows HUHHHEUHAEHHAHHEH." That laugh is the most hilarious laugh that anybody's ever laughed. RINGO FOR PRESIDENT!!! (Laura Jane) Crispin Glover in a lot of things, but especially River's Edge The stock response to Crispin Glover is to say, "HE'S SO CREEPY!" Which he is, I suppose, but that doesn't stop me from absolutely fucking loving him every time I see him onscreen. He's just an oddball, able to twist the simplest gesture or phrase into an epic of eccentricity in the best way possible. I loved him as Creepy Thin Man in the Charlie's Angels movies 'cause he cut such a fine line in a suit (and, by the way, he also made a rather odd Andy Warhol in The Doors), but I think my favorite Crispin performance of all time was as Layne in cult classic River's Edge, one of my most favorite 80s movies ever. He's just so awesomely demented as the kinda ineffectual yet oddly passionate ringleader of a group of heshers dealing with the ramifications of a dead body. I mean, just watch him in this and don't tell me he's hilarious, especially when he gets into his whole Reagan Youth moment. (Kat) Flea as Nihilist #2 in The Big Lebowski Here's the part where I admit I'm completely at sixes and sevens on how to do this post. It's the toughest thing I've ever had to write for nogoodforme, and everything here is a lie, as I have zero clue as to what my favorite movie performances might be. Truly my number-one is probably Heath Ledger in Lords of Dogtown but I'm sort of "Heath Ledger in Lords of Dogtown"-ed out when it comes to nogoodforme.com. So mostly I'm just picking Flea in The Big Lebowski because (1) Flea is My Favorite Person Whom I Don't Actually Know, (2) the nihilists are obviously the best thing about that movie, and (3) it's funny to think about the time I drank way too many Red Bull & vodkas in Vegas and then flopped all around the MGM Grand at 3 in the morning, tripping over my own red shoes and saying "LINGONBERRY PAHNCAKE!" over and over in between ranting about the patriarchy. Lordy me, it's so good not to be 28 anymore. (Liz) HL singing "Maggie May" toward the end of Lords of Dogtown, maybe my favorite movie moment evs. What a beauty he was. This pick is based entirely upon cuteness. Amedeo Turturro as Young Richie Tenenbaum is my "Dream Son." I want to raise him, hold him, and teach him to love his enemies. He's just the sweetest little buddy in the world! My favourite Young Richie Tenenbaum moments are: 1) When Royal is telling the children about the divorce and he squinty-eyedly whimpers, "Do you still love us?"; 2) His peppy delivery of the line "Hi, Eli!" (right before he & Margot escape to the African Wing of the Archives Whatevy); 3) When he drums on his drumkit, and; 4) When he is smiling and awkwardly throwing money at the dogfight. Thanks to the max adorability of Amedeo "John Turturro's Son" Turturro in this film, I will probably force my future children to always be wearing sweatbands. If Young Richie Tenenbaum, or Amedeo Turturro, or both, was my Actual Son, I would nickname him "Dandelion Chicken Wing," cuz that's what he looks like! (Laura Jane)
Amedeo Turturro as Young Richie Tenenbaum in The Royal Tenenbaums
Tags: alcoholism, Amedeo Turturro, Andy Warhol, Benicio Del Toro, Crispin Glover, Flea, Heath Ledger, Jane Fonda, Laura loves the Beatles, love, max adorability, nihilism, Richie Tenenbaum, Ringo Starr, Samantha Morton, soul twins, The Church of Scientology, Tom Cruise, Vegas
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by Kat in nogoodforme IX
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Sunday , July 26, 2009
KAT ATTACK! Five Awesome Movies Coming Out Soon(ish): Whip It, Jennifer's Body, The Runaways, 9, Dear Lemon Lima
KAT ATTACK! is Kat's unwieldy portion of the currently inert "We're Obsessed" feature. There is no organizing principle in this column, other than Kat writes it. She hopes to discourse/blab about all the random things she loves: movies, perfume, philosophy, dudes, dating, words, autumn, the Fall and shoes, among other things, which she does, anyway, but perhaps in a more rambly way. She is taking requests on things you would like her to write/obsess about (kat (at) nogoodforme (dot) com) and promises never to use the third-person again in a preface of KAT ATTACK!, unless she is impersonating Mary J. Blige or other eminent R&B and rap superstars. In this installment: movies coming out soon that you may want to keep your eye out for -- Whip It, Jennifer's Body, The Runaways, 9, and Dear Lemon Lima,
WHIP IT
I always considered Drew Barrymore to be like my pop cultural sister: we're approximately the same age, we're both part of that micro-generation sliver somewhere between the slacker cynicism of Gen X and ambitious uber-connectivity of Gen Y, we both seem to be extended adolescents, and we both clearly have boy/commitment issues that we're happily working our way through. I like to imagine that Drew and I will be pals, going to shows together, ogling the cute guitarists, something like that. I've always rooted for Drew, even from her Little Girl Lost days when she was starring as jailbait in B-movies and writing tell-all autobiographies (Little Girl Lost, by the way, is one of my favorite celeb bios, right up there with Faithfull and the Motley Crue bio The Dirt: Confessions of the World's Most Notorious Rock Band.) I even stuck up for Drewski during her stripping-on-Letterman days. Now she's all grown: she's a genuine Hollywood mogul and impersonates Edie Beale on a television movie near you! And she's also directing a movie about roller derby, starring everyone's newly favorite indie ingenue, Ellen Page. It looks amiable, fun, a bit silly and good times, which is totes Drew:
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Tags: 9, Amanda Seyfried, Dear Lemon Lima, Diablo Cody, Drew Barrymore, Floria Sigismondi, Jennifer's Body, Karyn Kusama, movies, previews, screenwriters, stitch punk, Suzi Yoonessi, the Runaways, Tim Burton, Whip It, women film directors
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Thursday , February 19, 2009
You Should Probably Netflix The Go-Getter Sometime Relatively Soon
The only reason I don't 900% regret seeing What We Do Is Secret is that it led me to the trailer for The Go-Getter, which is one of the best movies you could ever watch whilst feeling sick-ish and rained-on the day before Valentine's Day. It's about a boy named Mercer (played by the thumbsucker in Thumbsucker) who steals a car from the car wash and takes off on a road trip to find his long-disappeared older brother to tell him their mom's died, and on the way has many adventures that I'm not going to give away 'cause I don't want to be spoily. But the twisty thing that makes the movie is how the car's owner (played by Zooey Deschanel) has left her phone in the glove box and keeps calling Mercer for pillow-talky kind of conversations, which of course eventually leads to a little daydreamed reenactment of the Madison dance sequence from Band of Outsiders (among other precious things). And there's lots of other great ladies too, like Judy Greer and Maura Tierney and Jena Malone (who's really non-annoying here, or at least annoying in a totally perfect way). But mostly I loved The Go-Getter because it's the kind of movie that makes you want to make movies - especially ones where the two lead characters sit around a hotel-room floor and eat French fries and talk about ice cream - and because nearly every shot is like the most beautifully composed photograph. Which generally tends to bug the hell outta me in these quirky-indie-type deals, but here it's just so lovely. Behold:
Tags: Band of Outsiders, French fries, ice cream, Jena Malone, movies, Zooey Deschanel
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Tuesday , September 23, 2008
nogoodforme superlatives: Favorite Lame Romantic Comedy That In Fact May Not Be So Lame
The Truth About Cats and Dogs
My knee-jerk reaction to most romantic comedies is to hate them, but sometimes I wonder if rom-coms (as they are so lamely nicknamed) get short shrift because their audience (and makers) are predominantly female. Sure, most of them are bad beyond belief -- but then again, so is your average stupid action movie, and those don't get saddled with such loaded, pejorative nomenclature like "chick flicks" or what have you. Bad action flicks don't get weighed down with this gender representation baggage in the same way -- they just get to be plain old bad and make lots of money. Where does all this leave your average feminist-minded film lover? Confused! The truth is, I do hate most romantic comedies because I'm really a film snob at heart -- but I also know that there's nothing worse to watch on a plane or in bed when you're sick than an Ingmar Bergman movie. Really, you kind of want to kill yourself in the worst way possible. Don't try it at home, kids.
Ultimately the search for a transcendent romantic comedy is like looking for leprechauns at a gay pride parade -- it is a search full of dissimulations and mirages, but ultimately a fruitless one. No one looks for aesthetic greatness, spiritual transformation or emotional revelations in a romantic comedy; they just want to be intelligently and adroitly entertained and leave with the gossamer hope that romantic foibles can iron themselves out into a narrative of charm and fortuitous folly. In a world where courtship is a dirty word, some dudes act like puritanical 1950s virgins and many ladies sleep their way through entire zip codes while blogging about it on MySpace, romantic comedies affirm a (perhaps false) comfort in the old-fashioned codes of romance or, perhaps more broadly, offer the beautiful illusion that the messiness of human relations can be streamlined and tamed. It is outside the scope of this blog to dismantle such longings, so I'll just skip ahead to The Truth About Cats and Dogs, a modern-day Cyrano de Bergerac story starring Janeane Garofolo as an "average girl" and Uma Thurman as her supermodel neighbor who both try to win the heart of a rumpled, cute British photographer. This movie is both lame and awesome. It is lame because:
1. Uma Thurman is only intermittently funny in it (and I generally am an Uma fan, so it pains me to say this.)
2. It uses a dog as a key plot point and exploits the cuteness factor shamelessly
3. It uses a tortoise as a key plot point and exploits the ick factor shamelessly
4. There's a "inadvertently seductive eating" scene set to a song by Suzanne effin' Vega called "Caramel"
5. You don't really buy Uma Thurman and Janeane Garofolo being friends often enough -- which is kind of a key premise of the film's plot.
That said, I do enjoy The Truth About Cats and Dogs for the following reasons:
1. Janeane Garofolo is pretty adorable in it, and totally cute.
2. Ben Chaplin's accent as the cute photographer is adorable, and so is he.
3. This is the first film that ever made me want to move to L.A. -- because everyone lives in such cute apartments! (I think vicarious apartment dwelling and vicarious wardrobe wearing is a huge reason why people go see these movies, actually. I mean, I watched Music and Lyrics and thought it was really dumb in the least fun way possible, but I thought Drew was dressed adorably, which made it semi-watchable.)
4. The dog stuff is actually kinda cute, and so is that tortoise scene, so I totally fell for that trick 'cause I'm a sucker.
5. The film has this horrid department store shopping scene that totally nails why it sucks to buy makeup at those stores.
6. Yay to any film that advocates incorporating the reality principle in contemporary femininity, even in a trite, glossy way!
It's interesting to think that this film was made in 1996; I highly doubt that this script, however witty and smart and light-footed, would be made now, because there's probably some lame-ass Hollywood exec who would change the movie into a BFF/frenemy story about two socialites who bond through breast augmentation and armpit Botox. (Wait, isn't that a reality tv show?) The sad fact is that it is rare for Hollywood to make films about women and their emotional states; this theme mostly assumes any centrality in romantic comedies, which is ultimately why they matter, as lightweight and insignificant as they seem as cinematic products. You know that moment when your "boyfriend" belittles your feelings and reframes your emotional experience to make you look crazy? And it takes awhile, but you finally realize they're kind of lame? That's Hollywood -- an emotionally condescending jerkface who doesn't take love seriously enough to craft stories that do its complexity justice with any semblance of wit, charm and intelligence. Dear Hollywood, that's why I'm breaking up with you. I'm going out with France now -- he's kind of hard to understand, but way sexier. Love, Kat. P.S. - I'm giving back your mix tapes. They are really bad. (Kat)
You've Got Mail
Of all the 9 million movies Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan have made together, the best is obviously Joe Versus the Volcano. But that's not really a rom-com, so instead let's review the top ten reasons why I almost-love You've Got Mail:
1. I like how it feels like a Christmas movie even though it's not actually a Christmas movie. Beautiful Girls is the same way, but I'm saving all Beautiful Girls-related content till we do a "Favorite Bromantic Comedy" superlative.
2. Excepting the aforementioned Joe Versus the Volcano, this is by far the most endearing I've found Tom Hanks since the part in The Money Pit when the bathtub falls through the floor.
3. Dave Chappelle! Especially when says "piazza" twice in a row.
4. Parker Posey! Especially when she makes that asinine/bizarro comment about the Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, and Meg Ryan gives Tom Hanks that totally priceless look and it's just so adorable (for real)!
5. Greg Kinnear! I always forget that I really like Greg Kinnear. Dude gets the job done like nobody's business.
6. The girl who plays the girl who works in the bookstore. I have no idea what the name of the actress might be, and I'm too lazy/apathetic to look it up, but I'm endlessly tickled by how she speaks with no affect whatsoever. In fact, I'm going to start talking like that on every nogoodforme.com conference call from now to eternity. Quelle nightmare, say Kat and Laura Jane.
7. If memory serves, one of the earliest scenes shows Meg Ryan bouncily walking to work, clutching a pumpkin in one arm and a cup of coffee in the opposite hand. Sometimes I kind of wish my entire life had that bouncily-walking-while-carrying-a-pumpkin-and-a-cup-of-coffee kind of feel. It would always be early-autumn and I'd be perpetually rosy-cheeked. I'd wear kneesocks every day! But not jumpsuits. While I support jumpsuit-wearing among other girls, you wouldn't catch me dead in a jumpsuit.
8. I like bookstores. More movies should be set in bookstores.
9. I like the stuff about Meg Ryan's character and her mom; that always gets to me the most. And, as with Tom Hanks, this is almost the most endearing I've ever found Meg Ryan. (When Harry Met Sally is maybe a runner-up, but we've all seen that fake-orgasm bit way too many times on Oscar montages and those "Aah...the magic of movies!"-type ad things that come on before the trailers on certain DVDs. It's just so totally played out.)
10. Lastly, even though "Don't cry, Shopgirl" is the dumbest line in the history of cinema, I generally think You've Got Mail is so sweet in a really inoffensive way. The day I saw it in the theater, I was all frowny-faced over a boy, and that whole thing about there being "the dream of someone else" just warmed my bitter collegiate heart. So, You've Got Mail completely serves its purpose. Now here's a scene from Joe Versus the Volcano:
(Liz)
ALL THE ONES WITH HUGH GRANT
Part One: Love, Actually
When Love, Actually came out in theaters, the tagline on all the posters read: THE ULTIMATE ROMANTIC COMEDY. This could not be more true! I "actually love" (not funny) this movie more than, well, pretty much any other movie I've ever seen. So, there you go, World: Laura Jane Faulds' favorite movie of all time is Love, Actually. As a matter of fact, I feel almost guilty writing about Love, Actually from a strictly Hugh-oriented P.O.V, since every storyline in the whole film (except for the dumb crap where Colin Frizzle moves to Wisconsin and has sex with Shannon Elizabeth) is heartwarming and brilliant. The scene where that dude who's never been in another movie holds up the sign that says "TO ME, YOU ARE PERFECT" for Keira Knightly has never failed to make me cry. Dear Dudes Reading This Who Might Want Me To Fall In Love With Them: Just do that. And then take me apple-picking.
Nevertheless, Hugh's Love, Actually plotline does indeed take the Love, Actually-plotline (tea)cake. Here are some reasons why:
1. He plays the prime minister of England. Can you imagine what a beautiful world it would be if the prime minister of England was as drop-dead gorgeous as Hugh Grant? It would be like JFK meets Nicolas Sarkozy meets, well, Hugh Grant's character in Love, Actually. There would be no wars, people would smile all the time, and I get the distinct feeling that The Twist would come back into vogue. I nominate the actual Hugh Grant to run for prime minister of England- who cares if he's unqualified? It's so worth it. I'm sure he could pull it together.
2. Martine McCutcheon is adorable like nobody's business and is the only Hugh Grant love interest in the history of Hugh Grant romantic comedies who I feel is "actually" (still not funny) worthy of Hugh Grant's love. I think she is just the sweetest little banoffee pie in the whole bakery! Her chirpy little voice, her inability to refrain from saying "fuck" (I particularly love when she asks, "Where the fuck is my fucking coat?"- THAT'S HOW I TALK!), her Veronica Lodge-esque good looks, everything, etc. Fuck. I fucking wish I was Martine McFuckingCutcheon.
3. When he says, "Who do you have to screw around here to get a cup of tea and a chocolate biscuit?"- I ASK MYSELF THAT EVERY DAY.
4. You really just can't beat a good "silly dancing" scene, can you?
FEAST YOUR EYES ON THIS MAX ADORABILITY:
Part Two: About a Boy
About a Boy is in no way lame. I like it a smidgen less than I like Love, Actually, but just so y'all know, it is about ten trillion smidgens cooler. Coolness, however, can not triumph over Thee Ultimate Romantick Comedy, so there you go. What I love most about About a Boy (besides "every single thing about it") is that Hughie plays moderately against type, which makes a lot more sense than usual.
The thing about Hugh Grant's fame is that he's carved out this awesome little niche for himself where he only ever plays foppish, awkward, nervous, bumbling nerds with mondo girl issues - it's extraordinarily charming and entertaining to watch, but leads me to what I like to call The Great Hugh Grant Paradox. The Paradox lies in how the potential success of these roles rests on the assumption that the film's audience will suspend its collective disbelief and pretend not to notice that Hugh Grant is totally sexy and charming and that it is literally impossible to imagine any single woman in the world not being interested in Hugh Grant. THAT MAKES NO SENSE. HE IS SO HOT.
In About a Boy, Hugh plays a suave playa-y douchebag named Will with too much money, a really sick apartment, the hottest personal style I've ever seen on a dude kind of (that scene where he's walking across the Millenium Bridge wearing a camo-print parka will never fail to send the ol' ticker into arrhythmia-palpitation overdrive), and a heart of whatever-the-opposite-of-gold is. IT MAKES PERFECT SENSE. HE IS SO HOT. I wish Hugh Grant would seduce me and then never call me back. THAT WOULD BE SO HOT.
Hugh Grant's sucky love interest in About a Boy is played by Rachel Weisz, who, along with Jennifer Connelly and Audrey Tautou, I wholeheartedly wish I could eradicate from the face of the planet, because every dude I ever love will think that whole damned troika of vaguely-nontraditional beauties are more beautiful than me. Go to Hell, Rachel Weisz/Jennifer Connelly/Audrey Tautou and the Drells.
Part Three: The Best of the Rest
a) Four Weddings and a Funeral: This is the one that started it all, "it" being the whole Hugh Grant bumbling bookish Brit archetype. Personally, my favorite element of 4W&aF is the extremity of Hugh's hair-floppiness. I also really thrive upon how he begins (and/or ends) 9 out of every 10 sentences he speaks with the words "I'm afraid..."
I'm afraid Andie MacDowell is my second least-favorite Hugh Grant sucky love interest of all time. I find it really difficult to believe that someone as hot/awesome as Hugh Grant could ever fall for someone as sucky/not hot/not awesome as Andie MacDowell, I'm afraid.
b) Notting Hill: Well, obviously Julia Roberts wins Laura Jane's prize for Most Annoying Sucky Hugh Grant Love Interest of All Cinematic History. I hate her stupid mouth; I wish I could punch it. I also wish I could remake this movie starring either myself or Sienna Miller in Julia Roberts' role; preferably myself (though, now that I mention it, I am mad curious to see what Hugh and Sisi's onscreen chemistry would be like. Hot, I bet).
The scene where "William Thacker" and "Anna Scott" are climbing over a fence and William Thacker keeps saying "Whoopsie Daisies!" is, well: it's a beautiful thing.
c) The Englishman who Went Up a Hill but Came Down a Mountain: I don't know. I've never seen it. I've started watching it about sixty trillion times, but always get bored five minutes in and go watch Best of Ari Gold Youtube videos or listen to the Kinks or something.
d) Nine Months: I have this frighteningly clear memory of watching this movie when it first came out (I was ten), and being completely terrified/disgusted/creeped-out by the scene where Hugh Grant and hella-preggers Julianne Moore attempt to have creepy pregnant sex. "EWWW!!!! THAT'S WHAT GROWN-UPS DO???" thought baby Laura Jane.
e) American Dreamz: This is literally one of the worst movies I've ever seen in my life. However, Hugh Grant and Mandy Moore's sexual chemistry is kind of off-the-charts, and totally hot.
f) Music & Lyrics: Alls I have to say is, POP GOES MY HEART:
Hugh Grant: to me, you are gold and silver, I'm afraid. Much love, (Laura Jane)
Tags: Beautiful Girls, Christmas, Dave Chappelle, Hugh Grant, I want to live in L.A., Janeane Garofolo, JFK, Joe Versus the Volcano, kneesocks, Martine McCutcheon, not wearing jumpsuits, The Truth About Cats and Dogs, Uma Thurman, Veronica Lodge, You've Got Mail
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Wednesday , July 9, 2008
To Go: special screenings of Valley Girl in L.A.
It's a very Valley Girl week here in Los Angeles! First, tonight at 7:30 the Aero Theatre in Santa Monica's doing a double feature of Valley Girl and Real Genius, both of which were directed by Martha Coolidge (who'll be leading a discussion in between films). Then on Sunday it's showing at Hollywood Forever cemetery as part of the Cinespia screenings. I still haven't gotten over my big crazy Valley Girl obsession from a little while back, so this is all very exciting for me.
And just because I love you, here's an mp3 of "Eaten by the Monster of Love" by Sparks. Now you owe me a plate of French fries at the Dupar's in Studio City.
Tags: Dupar's, film, L.A. goings-on, movies, new wave, Sparks, Valley Girl
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Monday , July 7, 2008
To Go: Afro Punk Festival + The Dudes of Dub, A Pictorial Extravaganza
New Yorkers, if you hurry, you can catch the tail end of the film part of the Afro Punk Festival, taking place mostly at BAM Rose Cinemas. Afro Punk is a multi-day cultural event celebrating black rebellion through art, music and film; it's always a good time and full of well-curated awesomeness that will get you thinking and dancing and all sorts of fun things. I already missed gems like The Upsetter: The Music and Genius of Lee Scratch Perry, a documentary on the man I consider one of the most fascinating in music, but you can still catch films like the New York premiere (tonight!) of the much talked about romantic comedy I'm Through With White Girls and White Lies, Black Sheep on Sunday, both of which detail the experiences of hipsters of color within a predominantly white subculture. Cineastes will also relish the opportunity to screen rarely seen gems like the Jules Dassin-directed Up Tight! (1968), about a group of black militants who steal ammunition from a warehouse, and the absurdist The Landlord (1970), directed by Hal Ashby, about a white landlord in Park Slope.
I'm bummed I missed a movie about Lee Scratch Perry, but to atone, I've decided to post awesome pictures of the dudes of dub, along with some cheeky yet totally loving and affectionate fashion analysis. Here's the thing: there are SO MANY dub producers and singers that have totally killer style. Look at enough pictures of Perry and his colleagues/rivals such as King Tubby, Keith Hudson and many more, and you realize that these men knew their way around the sartorial side of things. Some of them may have been all Rasta and nonmaterialist and all that, but they still were pretty sharp in the wardrobe department.
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Tags: afro punk, dub, dub dudes, events, film, film festivals, hipsters of color, men's fashion
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Thursday , June 12, 2008
Bid on a Devendra-made t-shirt, raise $$$ for Lavender Diamond's new movie
A couple weeks ago I went to the Silent Movie Theatre for a little event uncomplicatedly titled "Psychedelic Healing Visions: A Love Song and Dance to the Unified Ground of Being: A Celebration of Lavender Diamond's film, Imagine Our Love." There was lots of pretty singing (by lovely ladies like The Chapin Sisters and Eleni Mandell), and in between songs Lavender Diamond's Becky Stark gave a charmingly rambling play-by-play of Imagine Our Love's entire plot. I didn't stay the whole night, but from what I gathered pre-intermission, the movie involves some lady samurai warriors, an interplanetary peace council, a tea party with The Chapin Sisters, the formation of a new rose-shaped constellation, a visit to a diamond factory in China, a day-saving display of heroism by the "secretary angel birds" of the bail bonds office - and at some point Becky ends up in jail with Planet Earth in the next cell. Oh, and originally the story was supposed to start with Becky and Ariel Pink robbing a liquor store, but then they realized that was kind of silly.
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by Liz in Film
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