JA Gives Thanks...

... for the weirdly discomfiting scene at the pizza place early on in Ti West's terrific horror-throwback The House of the Devil. It cements everything that the film does so well, from the uncannily spot-on period detail to the off-kilter hum of dread throbbing below the most banal of surfaces. Greasy pizza will murder us all!

Plus Greta Gerwig's hairstyle is just flippin' rad.
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[Editor's Note: the official site says this is now available VOD if you're curious]

Beloved Turkey: Poison Ivy

Adam of Club Silencio here with a dose of good cheer and a dollop of bad taste.

Thanksgiving is about family and turkey, and giving thanks when they're ironically combined into a turkey movie about family. One of my favorites, Poison Ivy, is like a cornucopia of crass. Cheap in titillation and sentiment, it speaks of what it takes to be a family, for better or much, much (much) worse.


Whether you already have a family that loves you or you're planning on seducing a new one, Poison Ivy reminds us ALL to give thanks for Cinemax-style softcore. Take this story of a Lolita-like Drew Barrymore seeking a family to embrace her. Mock her methods of matricide or making it with Tom Skerritt, but Ivy's devotion to starting a family is met with a gung-ho kind of grace. She befriends a lonely outcast named Sylvie (Sara Gilbert), whose father is experiencing a late-life crisis and whose mother is more likely to hug her oxygen tank than her own daughter. It begins tenderly as many friendships do, at the local tire swing. Soon it progresses to underage tattoos, bisexual taboos and doing the dirty with the downtrodden Dad while he's checking in on his unconscious wife. Thanksgiving is also about family dysfunction and turkey, and Poison Ivy will make almost anyone's family drama seem relatively low key.
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Robert Gives Thanks

I love slow movies. Really slow. For the longest time I thought everyone else considered that word to signify the worst in movies. Slow meant bad enough to put you to sleep. I love movies that put me to sleep. I’ve a whole collection of movies that I can pop in the DVD player whenever I can’t sleep and they’ll do the trick. If we can agree that music peaceful enough to put you to sleep can still be great, why not movies?

So this year I’m thankful for slow movies. But I’m also thankful for others who love them, because together we inspire filmmakers to keep making them. Great modern films like Goodbye, Solo and The Assassination of Jesse James..., and The Band’s Visit and Silent Light.

I’m thankful that cinema hasn’t been completely overrun by the desire to make anything but “boring” when too often films that are poetic, relaxing, serene, and contemplative are given that most terrible of labels.

I’m also thankful for Studio Ghibli, Charlie Chaplin, Mumbecore films, Faye Wong in Wong Kar Wai movies, Maria Falconetti , Charlie Kaufman, the masculinity of John Huston, the Iranian New Wave, Max Von Sydow (who looks like my grandfather), Fellini in the 1980’s, everything that comes out of Werner Herzog’s mouth, the modern Documentary movement, Louise Brooks and her hair, and Jude Law’s last line in A.I. “I am, I was!”

Thanks Giving and Beloved Turkeys

Wishing you and yours the best for the holiday tomorrow. If you're travelling today, be safe. If you're trying to lose weight, sorry! If you aren't American, please pardon the slightly hijacked programming.


Over the holiday break, there will be posts. I've asked TFE contributors to give thanks for their favorite cinematic whatsis of the moment or to honor beloved turkeys. The other kind of turkeys. Not that you wouldn't eat a deliciously bad movie if you could. After years of obsession I don't so much regard Showgirls (1995) as a bad movie to love but a genius movie that only wears gaudy clothing and talks trash to be bad. So my favorite bad movie of all time is undoubtedly the Olivia Newton-John rollerskating musical Xanadu (1980), so if you haven't read that piece, click here.

Happy Thanksgiving

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Birthday Suits

Your filmic birthdays for 11/25
1914 Joe DiMaggio, center fielder and Mr. Marilyn Monroe, albeit briefly
1920 Ricardo Montalban "Smiles everyone, smiles." (sniffle)
1933 Kathryn Grant, aka Mrs. Bing Crosby, whose film career was spotted with famous stuff (Rear Window, My Sister Eileen, The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad) but less than a decade in length.
1947 Jonathan Kaplan, director of 80s & 90s actresses (Bad Girls, Love Field, The Accused, Heart Like a Wheel) who now only works on TV
1947 Tracey Walter, character actor
1960 JFK Jr., prince of Camelot, dater of actresses, magazine entrepeneur. I loved George back in the day. Remember that?
1965 Dougray Scott, the almost Wolverine (Mi:II, Enigma, Dark Water)
1984 Gaspard Ulliel, French looker. Also acts.

Nine Posters? Nine Nominations? Nein Review!

The Nine embargo is still in place for "reviews" but lifted as far as any other discussion goes: awards and whatnot. I'm curious how there can exist an embargo on discussing a movie (outside of a review embargo which I totally understand) since people discuss movies freely for years before they come out. Free Speech! I'm joking. It's an awards season curiousity but I play along. After all, the game of waiting for something you desperately want can be fun. Think of how you felt about Christmas as a child. The problem stems from the studios making film fans wait way too long. Christmas should come every weekend, you know. Movies are not like gifts. You can't just unwrap them and move to the next and form a big pile. They take 2 hours just to unwrap in the first place. Spread them out!


You know what else is curious? The new posters. The marketing peoples for Nine made the numerically questionable decision to release 4 posters. I'd say why not 9 except the movie itself doesn't really seem to know why it's called Nine. I enjoyed the movie a lot but when you cut out the Nine song, you do sort of mess with the title... since there's only 8 characters. You have to count Guido twice. But without the song... oh, never mind. I'm still smarting from the dumping of that song. I love that song! And damnit, I wanted to hear Sophia Loren sing it.

The first two posters above are fine but I shan't say anything more about the crammed and ugly poster (third from left) that Jose savaged yesterday. He said it all. But this next one...

Huh ????????? (Nine question marks) Only 3 stars are featured on this poster to your left. I keep blinking and staring at it and yet my girl Nicki never appears. This poster is defective!

Seriously, what is that about? In another 58 years people our ages now won't have a clue who Fergie and Kate Hudson are but the movie freaks will be holding centennial parties for Nicole Kidman. It's so obvious. When will the goddess catch a break? I guess we have to wait until 2010 when Rabbit Hole reminds... Crossing my fingers for that at any rate. You never know. It could be another Fur (an effort but one that doesn't work).

I understand that Fergie is a hitmaker, musically speaking, but is she really more bankable for a m-o-v-i-e than Dame Dench, Kidman, or Daniel Day-Lewis. Bizarre. Not to diss Fergie. Her number "Be Italian" is terrific, the 'Cell Block Tango' of this Chicago sibling. Rob Marshall is the babydaddy again. If you haven't inked him down in your Best Director predictions, you should.

Nominations in order of likelihood

• Cinematography, without question
• Picture, easy-peasy
• Director, ditto
• Costume Design, in Atwood they trust
  
• Art Direction, they keep nominating John Myhre for dressing up theater stages (Chicago, Dreamgirls) so why stop now?
• Editing, Moulin Rouge! and Chicago factored in here. But not Dreamgirls so who knows...
  
• Sound Mixing it being a musical and all. Likely
  
• Original Song, after that debacle with The Wrestler last year and the "Come What May" situation with Moulin Rouge! back in the day I will never again assume that this category can contain locks. But I hope to see Marion Cotillard perform "Take it All" at the Oscars but not Kate Hudson shimmying to "Cinema Italiano".
  
  that's 8 nominations and that's where things get trickier...
  
  
• Supporting Actress This would be a slam dunk for Marion Cotillard except that she's campaigning for lead actress. So there's probably room for Penélope Cruz, unless they object to her garbling the very funny lyrics of "A Call From the Vatican"
  
• Actress More on Marion later. I need to discuss that specifically and all by its lonesome.
  
• Actor The novelty and his reputation might be an irresistable combo. but who knows before the precursors have their say in a race that looks pretty tight for the 4th and 5th spots
  
• Adapted Screenplay If they're feeling nostalgic to honor tAnthony Minghella (RIP)
  
• Supporting Actress Marion Cotillard if AMPAS rejects her Weinsteined categorization
  
• Supporting Actress Judi Dench if they flip their shit for the movie.

More after the holidays. Or maybe during them. You can't get enough of Nine can you? I hope the movie lives up to your dreams.
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The Somewhat Lovely Bones?

You probably caught on Awards Daily that some early reviews of The Lovely Bones are out. Lots more to come presumably. But did you see this tweet from British actor/novelist/funny man Stephen Fry

Variety is significantly less riveted than Fry, calling it an "artistic disappointment". Todd McCarthy also crushes my dreams by starting the review talking about Heavenly Creatures, a film which he seems to hold in as high regard as I do (One of the three best films of the 1990s, if you ask me).

The "disappointment" seems to stem from Jackson's infatuation with visual f/x. As for its actors, this bit is interesting...

With reddish hair, brilliantly alive eyes and a seemingly irrepressible impulse for movement and activity, Ronan represents a heavenly creature indeed, a figure of surging, eager, anticipatory life cut off just as it is budding. Less quicksilver and more solidly built, McIver's Lindsey properly begins in her live-wire sister's shadow only to grow gradually into an impressive figure. Chain-smoking and depleting the liquor cabinet, Sarandon camps it up for a few welcome laughs...

McCarthy is less impressed with the parental units, Wahlberg and Weisz. Are you still counting down the days until dem bones arrive?

Mare Hugs Jake

Watch me bury the lead.

I'll be writing about Brothers, the new war-at-home drama, for Tribeca Film soon but for now I just wanted to say that I didn't even know until I was watching it how much I'd missed Mare Winningham. She's an actress whose vibe is a little closer to television (familial, earthy, someone you might see every day) but whose talent is silver screen (rare, outsized, possibly superhuman). I was thrilled when she was unexpectedly nominated for an Oscar for Georgia in the 90s. If you've never seen that performance you must. She's projecting so many layers of character in that film, you start to realize that most performances are threadbare. Put some layers on, actors! You'll catch a cold.

Even though Mare has next to nothing to do in Brothers other than project step-maternal concern, I wanted to hug her as hard as she's hugging Jake Gyllenhaal in the photo.



And usually when someone is hugging Jake Gyllenhaal I am thinking about being them rather than hugging them back. I'm just sayin'.

So yeah, I met Jake Gyllenhaal.

Also rare, outsized, superhuman...

He looks exactly the same offscreen as on (which isn't always the case for better and for worse). I don't advise, if you are a mere mortal like myself, to stand next to celebrities and be photographed. You will just feel so... pathetically human. I don't normally do it (this is only the second time but the first was with Julianne Moore years ago and in both cases, I couldn't not. I'm only human). He was friendly and after I paid him the mandatory compliments that probably sounded like weird if familiar gibberish to him (I'm guessing) we chatted very briefly about Brothers and the Danish film its based on -- yes, he's seen it --before we took this photo. Then I let him loose on the next person who was desperate to talk to him. They were also human.

It's so weird when celebrities are in a room. The crowd can be totally dispersed and navigable and then *boom* bottleneck traffic jams. Everyone wants to be in the place nearest to the celebrity/celebrities.
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Two Ladies

an update: The Nine embargo has officially lifted SORT OF. There be fine print. "Reviews" still have the embargo in place... so back to the drawing board for me. I'll write about the Q&A I attended or something else soon. Stay tuned.
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Curio: Those Aren't Pillows

Alexa from Pop Elegantiarum here sharing a little Thanksgiving cinema goodie. Planes, Trains and Automobiles captured the purgatory that is holiday travel; watching it is a great Thanksgiving tradition. I know some may think its signature scene is homophobic, but I don't think so: it just shows two men who really don't want to get to know each other that well, in a situation of awkward, forced intimacy. Sort of how I feel at holiday gatherings with most of my extended family. So I thought it only fitting to feature these this week, in celebration of holiday togetherness:


Wouldn't it be great to have those overnight guests of yours sleep on these? You can buy them here. Save 'em for next year.

The Blog Saga: New Link

Movies Kick Ass deconstructs yet another photoshop casualty (i.e. movie poster), this one for NINE . My thoughts on that film will hopefully be up later today... time is a tough taskmaster.
Cinema Styles looks forward to Luise Rainer's 100th birthday in January. We should all be celebrating! Especially since she'll (god willing) still be alive for it. She was Oscar's very first two-time acting winner... beating Spencer Tracy to the title by one year.
Topless Robot Batman's TV villains who should make the leap to the screen
Scanners (sarcastically) hates on ambiguous movie endings
Empire keeps track of Thor's ever expanding cast list so you don't have to. The only person this chart is missing (as far as I know) is Kat Dennings (Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist)
In Contention looks at the Adapted Screenplay Oscar race
Noh Way expresses photographic love for director/muse duos beyond Pedro & Penélope

Sexiest Men Alive?
popbytes is on the Brad Pitt beard watch. Did it cost Brad the title of...
People's "Sexiest Men Alive". It's not just Johnny Depp. Roughly every famous person shows up. Though...
Go Fug Yourself has a laugh about the Glee photoshoot therein
My New Plaid Pants, uninfluenced by mainstream rags, remembers his love for Jean Claude Van Damme [nsfw]

Twi-Hard
Bright Lights After Dark "tortured longing is the new coke" Erich's inner 13 year old makes a case for The Twilight Saga: New Moon
Erik Lundegaard gleans box office meaning: stop ignoring girls
Variety director Chris Weisz blames New Line for the way The Golden Compass (2007) turned out. You know, I liked that movie more than most but it was but 1/20th of what it could have been given how excellent the book is. But I'm not sure you can take this in a black & white way, blame wise. Why would they interfere so much there but not on The Lord of the Rings? Would they have interfered with Peter Jackson if he weren't such a goddamn visionary? I just think this is probably a gray area unless Weisz has suddenly shown new cinematic mastery with New Moon. And well...
Antagony and Ecstasy thinks it's "boring as fuck-all". And wouldn't that indicate some degree of problems with Weisz' powers behind the camera?

...and no, I have no real plans to see New Moon. Unless it falls into my lap, I shan't ever know if it improves upon the original (which wouldn't be a significant hurdle). Time and money are both precious commodity this time of year. I have so many movies left to see in such a short time frame before awards are passed out. So I'm not going to pay hard earned $ to be bored (and support Mormon causes financially) if I don't have to for Oscar write up purposes. I'm guessing I don't have to worry about this movie securing nominations. If I'm wrong I promise to stare at Kristen Stewart and her dead eyes (shouldn't she be playing the vampire?) for 2.5 hours and issue my mea culpas.
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