A Guest Review of Hugo
It’s not me, it’s Steve
Once in a while, someone comes along who loves or hates a movie with such passion that I ask them to be a guest reviewer here on Movie Rewind. It’s also really nice when the movie in question is one I have yet to see. You get a review, you get a new reviewer and I get to whet my appetite for a great new film.
Today, the film in question is Hugo. I have to admit that if not for Steve McCall, our guest reviewer du jour, and his wife Melissa I would never even have considered seeing Hugo in the theater. It’s in 3D and I generally assume that 3D will suck with its gimmickry. It’s a family movie, which I generally assume I will sleep through. And the kiss of death – it’s directed by Martin Scorsese, for whose work I have an unreasonable dislike. And yet…they loved it. And I trust them. They’re grown people like me, they like a lot of the things I like, they’re smart and witty and articulate. I pretty much just want to be them. What to do, what to do???
If you’re me, the thing to do is ask Steve to write a review to find out just what is so great about Hugo. And write one he did, a masterful review that will get my lazy butt into a theater seat to view this fantastical film. Go ahead – read it. See if it doesn’t make you want to drop what you’re doing and lose yourself in 1930′s Paris for a while. I know that’s what it does to me. Hugo, take me away!
A big thanks to Steve for writing this review – hopefully I can convince him to do another someday. And, as always, please enjoy the obnoxious multitude of links to the review itself. I’m nothing if not consistent.
I’m Thankful I’m Not These Guys
The Way Back will make any family holiday look perfect
Just in time for Thanksgiving, how about a movie about people suffering unimaginable hardship? While contemplating your Uncle Fred snoring and farting off his Thanksgiving dinner or your teenager’s denouncement of eating turkey as inhuman it’s nice to be able to relax and watch some movie people’s pain and angst. So I give you The Way Back.
The Way Back tells the story of a group of men escaping from a Russian gulag in Siberia in the early 1940s and walking – yes, walking – to India and freedom. Incredible cinematography, beautiful and forbidding vistas and some really great performances contrast with the heat, cold, hunger, fear, thirst, exhaustion and various physical maladies as the group makes its way slowly across vast expanses. It’s really quite the spectacle and will make you undeniably thankful for however you may be celebrating Turkey Day. At least you aren’t doing it starving to death in the desert. Hopefully.
The movie isn’t all perfect, though. Despite being beautifully acted by Ed Harris, Colin Farrell, Saoirse Ronan and Jim Sturgess and beautifully directed by Peter Weir there are a few things you should know before watching. Important things that may make or break your enjoyment of the story. You can find out what they are in my full review, which you can find here.
Yes, I really am that mean – you have to read the review for the juicy tidbits. That, and my usual shameless link pimping in this post, are my Thanksgiving gifts to you. Eat, drink and be merry! And stay out of the Gulag.
Coming Soon – Dirty Girl
Never heard of it!
Nope, never heard of the movie Dirty Girl. But thanks to the good folks at Anchor Bay it’s now coming out on DVD if you, like me, missed its run in theaters. Actually I don’t even know if it had a run in theaters, but still – coming out on DVD on January 17, 2012.
Dirty Girl takes us to 1987 Oklahoma where Danielle (Juno Temple) is the Dirty Girl. She dresses slutty, asks pointedly sexual questions and eventually gets herself placed in a “special” class where she meets shy, overweight Clarke (Jeremy Dozier). The two decide to make a run for California after Danielle’s home life takes a turn to which she vehemently objects.
Basically a coming of age story featuring the two young actors, Dirty Girl sports a great adult cast in the roles of the various and sundry parents and parental figures. William H. Macy and Milla Jovovich appear as the adults in Danielle’s life and Mary Steenburgen and Dwight Yoakam those in Clarke’s. It’s hard to imagine Jovovich playing a teenager’s mom, but there she is.
If you’re a fan of coming of age stories, teenage rebels and misfits and the parents that fail them, this might be one for you. Let’s take a look at the trailer.
Awards Show Manic Depression
Oscars and Globes make me bipolar
Why, you ask? I’ll tell you. It’s the hosts. Back and forth and up and down – I’m happy, I’m sad, I’m…dizzy. But it looks like the dust has settled for the main shows this year – the Academy Awards and the Golden Globes both have hosts. But how do we feel about those hosts? Let’s find out.
The Depressive
This honor goes to Billy Crystal as host of the Oscars. Don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against Crystal and enjoyed his schtick when he hosted the show 172 years in a row. But after Brett Ratner stuck his giant foot in his mouth, causing his
Billy Crystal...stepping up to the plate
withdrawal as producer of the show and Eddie Murphy’s immediate bail I was hoping for some fireworks. My initial misgivings about Murphy hosting had given way to anticipation – maybe he was going to bring some zing to the proceedings.
When it all fell apart I was disappointed, but also excited to see what such chaos might bring to the broadcast. Surely things would be different now! They had to get a producer and a host in such a short time! Oh, the glorious anarchy of it all!
Alas, it was not meant to be and my dreams of an Oscar broadcast that broke the mold were dashed. Brian Grazer stepping in as producer made me nervous, but Billy Crystal stepping up to the plate as host sealed the deal – it’s going to be the same old, same old. Sigh.
It’s not that I don’t understand, I do. When in a pinch it’s always wise to go with the tested, the tried and true, the familiar. It’s definitely the most prudent move by the Academy. But it’s so safe, so boring, so depressing. I’ll still watch, and for the most part I’m sure I’ll enjoy. But in the back of my mind will be visions of the delicious, shocking chaos that might have been. The kind of chaos that would bring audiences flocking back to watch the fireworks at the Oscars.
Oh, well, maybe next year.
The Manic
I would never leave you all on such a down note. There’s good news to be had! After taking a beating last year for being, well, funny, Ricky Gervais has actually been invited back to host the Golden Globes! And he’s accepted! It wasn’t that NBC didn’t want him back, it was the Hollywood Foreign Press (whose show it is) that balked. They really didn’t like Gervais
Oh Ricky you're so fine...
picking on the stars in attendance at last years event. The stars agreed. They don’t want to be anything but fawned over at these public awards spectacles and Gervais simply didn’t provide the ass kissing to which they are accustomed. Boo-fricking-hoo.
Even my beloved Robert Downey, Jr. had his undies in a bundle over Gervais. While causing me some momentary cognitive dissonance I decided to stand firm for snark over celebrity. Downey and the rest need to grow up and realize that they are the most privileged of the privileged. The rest of the world watches them live large every single day while a lot of people in this country are worried about losing their jobs or their homes. Do we like to see someone have some fun at the expense of pampered celebrities? You bet we do!
Word is that the ‘industry’ (you know, the rich, famous people) feel that Gervais makes the show all about him, instead of being a proper celebration of the stars. Bullshit. Or not. I don’t care why he does the things he does – he’s funny and not concerned with celebrity brown nosing and I, for one, look forward to watching the show this year.
Last year I actually missed the broadcast in a stupor of apathy. I didn’t care, I was saving my tolerance for fawning for the Oscars and missed the spectacle, seeing only bits and pieces later on. But not this year. I’m thrilled that NBC prevailed and that Ricky is coming back – I will most certainly be watching. I only hope that he’s not swayed by last years hooha into becoming a nice, tame host that the stars can pet and hand feed.
This year The Golden Globes is the awards show to watch. If I had to pick one I would choose the acerbic and unpredictable Gervais over the probably mildly amusing and safe Crystal any day of the week. Here’s to award show chaos – bring it, Ricky!
New on Netflix – November 15th and November 22nd
Short Days, Long Nights, New DVDs
It’s getting dark pretty early these days in the hinterland. As we hunker down and wait for the inevitable deep, dark winter it’s time to stock up on entertainment. Some books, some CDs and a whooooooole lot of movies. This is the time of year when I start to dig into the back catalogue of the Netflix queue and catch some of the releases I missed when I could leave the house without seven layers of outerwear. it’s also a great time to check out some new arrivals. So let’s see what we having coming up for new releases from Netflix in the next couple of weeks! As always, you can find all the 2011 Netflix releases over at Everything Netflix – so you can catch up, too!
November 15th
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (action, Johnny Depp, Penelope Cruz) – I can live without Orlando Bloom and 
Keira Knightly, just bring on my Depp fix!
Monte Carlo (comedy, Selena Gomez, Leighton Meester) – Wow, with that sort of star power I’ll avoid this like the plague!
Main Street (drama, Colin Firth, Orlando Bloom) – Wait, here’s Orlando Bloom! This time instead of swashbuckling he’s playing a cop in a decaying town looking at a drastic solution. It got horrible reviews.
Christmas Lodge (family, Peter Benson, Michael Shanks) – Again, I apologize. Christmas Crap is inevitable this time of year, even in DVDs.
Evil Things (horror, Laurel Casillo, Elyssa Mersdorf) – Bwahahahahaha….EVIL!
Master Harold…and the Boys (drama, Freddie Highmore, Ving Rhames) – Based on the play by Athol Fugard and set in apartheid era South Africa.
Flypaper (action, Patrick Dempsey, Ashley Judd) – Dr. McDreamy, action hero and romantic lead. I liked him better as Ronald the nerd in Can’t Buy Me Love.
Bellflower (drama, Evan Glodell, Jessie Wiseman) – A pre-apocalyptic quirky indie drama? You bet! It’s running 6.2 on IMDb, I’ll take a chance on it.
Griff the Invisible (comedy, Ryan Kwanten, Maeve Dermody) – Aussie office worker with super hero secret identity. Yawn.
The Tree (drama, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Morgana Davies) – A weird sounding little movie about grief and fig trees.
November 22nd
Super 8 (sci-fi, Joel Courtney, Kyle Chandler) – JJ Abrams knows his stuff. I’m looking forward to seeing this one.
Wrong Turn 4: Bloody Beginnings (horror, Terra Vnesa, Dean Armstrong) – Damn wrong turn. It gets ‘em every time.
Tyler Perry’s A Madea Christmas (comedy, Tyler Perry, Tony Grant) – No, thank you. And really, this guy is going to play James Patterson’s Alex Cross? Seriously?
Sarah’s Key (foreign drama, Kristin Scott Thomas, Niels Arestrup) – I read the book, it’s great. Kristin Scott Thomas is perfect for the role. But it has subtitles. Will I ever see it?
The Green (drama, Cheyenne Jackson, Jason Butler Harner) – Julia Ormond co-stars in this drama about molestation accusations in a high school.
Making the Boys (documentary, Tony Kushner, Edward Albee) – A documentary about the making of the film The Boys in the Band.
The Family Tree (comedy, Hope Davis, Chi McBride) – Amnesia is funny! Actually, I like Hope Davis and Chi McBride – I’ll see this one.
Carjacked (thriller, Maria Bello, Stephen Dorff) – Never heard of it. Maybe I’ll see it anyway – Maria Bello rocks.
And thar she blows! I’m looking forward to Pirates, Super 8 and a couple of the indies – The Family Tree and Bellflower. Then, who knows? Maybe I’ll watch a few things I missed back in July. Now what should we buy today? I’m in the mood for a little movie merchandise. If we get tired of watching movies during one of these long cold nights, we should all probably play some Pirates of the Caribbean Monopoly! Awesome.
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