Starring Penélope Cruz, Lola Dueñas, Chus Lampreave and Blanca Portillo from Volver. Plus: José Luis Gómez, Rossy de Palma (yay!) and Rubén Ochandiano
Synopsis The plot details of this contemporary thriller are being kept secret so the official synopsis is bare bones: "Fourteen years after having an accident that left him blind, a writer and filmmaker remembers the circumstances that surrounded him and the woman that he loved".
Brought to you by El Deseo & Sony Pictures Classics
Expected Release Date November (that's the Almodóvar slot)
Nathaniel: Pedro (also known as "The Greatest Living Film Director") makes sensational cinema and I love that he's been on this Hitchcock groove lately -- think of that great score for Volver or the threatening underlay of Bad Education. He promises this one is funny, too.
Whitney: The first Almodóvar I saw was Talk to Her, and I've felt uncomfortable with him ever since. There was something about that rape-a-coma-victim thing that stuck with me in a bad way. That's not to say that his films aren't pretty amazing, I just look forward to them in the same way you look forward to going to the gynecologist: you're glad you're going to get some substantial - perhaps needed - treatment, but you're trying to put it off for as long as possible.
Nathaniel: A ringing endorsement!Joe: I'm fairly certain I can't top the Almodóvar-as-gyno-appointment metaphor, and I'm tempted to just leave it at that. As it stands, it feel weird to be merely a casual appreciator of Almodóvar's movies as opposed to a rabid fan, because it seems like that's just now how it's done. But I've been a huge fan of the Hitchcockian touches as of late, too, and as long as clever, artful comedies remain a rarity, I'll treasure weird old Pedro.
JA: Yeah, I've been racking my brain all day, trying to figure out if that makes Penny Cruz the stirrups, the forceps, the... other things (it's terrible when the first reference one comes up with for gynecology is Cronenberg's Dead Ringers, no?). Speaking of auteurs with wacko fascinations! I've thoroughly enjoyed Pedro's recent renaissance, and all the associated Hitchcockian accoutrements, too. I hope he dials it up to 11 and pulls a De Palma type Hitch "homage"... if Penny doesn't wear a blonde wig at some point, I might find myself very disappointed.
Joe: So it's come to referring to her as "Penny" now, in some "we love your newfound discovery of talent so much we want to be on not only first-name but nickname basis" stab at familiarity now? What happened to the good old days when she gleefully sucked in mainstream Hollywood fare and we could all be content in the knowledge that she would be the worst thing in any given movie? Simpler times, man. Post-Volver America freaks me out.
Fox: First, Nathaniel got the "Greatest Living Film Director" wrong,.. that would be Brian De Palma. But to not take anything away from Almodóvar - a director I really admire -- I'll steer this away from any possible "my daddy is bigger than your daddy" bickering -- I hope it's funny. I prefer the more absurd comedies of his to the more recent serious turns. True, Talk to Her and Bad Education could be considered dark comedies, but before Volver, the last film of his I liked was Live Flesh. I think Pedro came off as bitter in his 00's work prior to Volver, and I don't think that suits him, or, at least he hasn't figured out how to wrangle that in yet.
Oh, and yay to Penélope. Remember the above the kitchen sink shot in Volver? Talk about your Psycho-sexual imagery with that phallic knife that she's give a scrub to.
Nathaniel: How about you, reader? Anxious for another round with "P & P"?
In case you missed any entries they went like so...
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We Can't Wait:
#1 Inglourious Basterds, #2 Where the Wild Things Are, #3 Fantastic Mr. Fox,
#4 Avatar, #5 Bright Star, #6 Shutter Island, #7 Scott Pilgrim vs. The World
#8 Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus, #9 Nailed, #10 Taking Woodstock,
#11 Watchmen, #12 The Hurt Locker, #13 The Road, #14 The Tree of Life
#15 Away We Go, #16 500 Days of Summer, #17 Drag Me To Hell,
#18 Whatever Works, #19 Broken Embraces, #20 Nine (the musical)
intro (orphans -didn't make group list)
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