Movie Roundup: (3) Away We Go & (4) Push

Movie #3: Away We Go (2009---on DVD)

Directed by Sam Mendes and scripted by Dave Eggers, the indie road comedy Away We Go boasts an impressive enough pedigree, but one that doesn't quite realize its full potential. The story is simple enough---a young 30-something couple, played with realistic chemistry by The Office's John Krasinsky and Saturday Night Live's Maya Rudolph---set off on a trip to locate the home in which they will raise their forthcoming child. Like any road comedy, they come across a variety of kooky characters that create equally kooky situations. While these encounters do have their funny moments, by and large the supporting cast is way, WAY over the top. This isn't a problem if you're making a movie like Road Trip, but it is a problem if you're making a movie which also wants to be taken seriously...which Away We Go most definitely does. While I love actresses Allison Janney, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Catherine O'Hara, their scenery-eating performances just don't mesh with the sweet, understated (by comparison) comedic interactions of our two leads. The movie works best when they encounter more realistic characters to help reflect their own anxieties and insecurities---such as Rudolph's character's sister, and their old college friends who now live in Canada and raise a family of adopted children. For all of the jokes and bits that don't work in Away We Go, however, there are plenty that do. Krasinsky has an affable, deft comedic touch, and Rudolph is a true revelation here. Away We Go is not all that it could have been, but it's enough to recommend.

Rating: 7/10


Movie #4: Push (2009---on DVD)

Filmed entirely in Hong Kong, a location that lends itself to some truly beautiful cinematography here, Push begins strongly enough on the basis of its interesting premise, but the early momentum rapidly dissipates with the introduction of a weak love story, and with a narrative that's never really explained to satisfaction. The world of Push is populated by a variety of characters with various paranormal talents. There are Pushers---who can push thoughts on to other people; there are Sniffers---who can track people's scents from halfway across the globe; there are Watchers---who can foresee the future; there are Movers---who can, yes, move stuff with their mind...and a variety of other character-types that succeed in creating a fertile backdrop for what could have been a solid action movie. While some scenes do evoke a thrill, most are flat or downright silly. One battle has a clever premise in which two Movers square off in a restaurant. Using their minds, they both levitate pistols as they seek out and try to shoot each other. It's a cool idea, but seeing handguns float in the air reminded me of the special effects in Memoirs of an Invisible Man. It's hard not to laugh. The acting in Push isn't bad---Chris Evans and Dakota Fanning have solid rapport---but they're not given much to work with. Push isn't quite as bad as some critics made it out to be, but it definitely fails to deliver on its immense potential.

Rating: 5/10

Friday Night Video

A little over a week ago, at the same Haiti benefit concert where I had the good fortune to discover last week's Friday Night Video performer (Freelance Whales), Eugene Mirman, the very funny emcee for the evening, surprised the audience with an announcement of a very special guest...Neil Young! Out walked Young, donning his usual duds, his hat pulled down low. He grabbed a stool and started playing.



That, of course, was not Neil Young...but rather Jimmy Fallon doing a dead-on impression of what Will Smith's "The Prince of Bel Air" might sound like if Neil Young got a hold of it. Here's a second video of that performance---abbreviated, but a bit closer to the stage.



Evidently, the Neil Young character Fallon is doing these days is not a one-song gag. He's also performed a Neil Young version of "Pants on the Ground." Fallon was definitely one of the many highlights of the benefit show I attended. CLEARLY.

Trailer Tuesday

This is a day late, for which I will gladly blame the 2-hour premiere of Lost. You would think I might make it up to you by both a) showing you a good movie trailer, and b) writing a fresh and witty premable to it. You get neither. What you get is a crappy trailer with a crappier introduction from guest blogger Scott Schlossberg. Take it down and away, Scott...
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Repo Men imagines a not-too-distant future where artificial replacements are available for your failing organs, at grossly inflated prices. But if you miss a payment, the company sends Jude Law and Forest Whitaker to take back the organ. And none too gently. When Law’s character has to have an artificial heart installed and becomes a target for the repo men, wacky hijinks ensue.

It’s a clever premise. Insurance companies already cut off cancer patients in the middle of chemotherapy. It’s not a huge stretch to imagine companies killing people outright for not keeping up with the payments. But clever premises don’t always make good movies (just see District 9…Best picture? Really? Bleh.).
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Ed Note: Scott, you blew it. If anyone else wants to audition for the role of guest blogger, do let me know...but please, please...bring more to the table than Scott.

Movie Roundup: (1) Semi-Pro & (2) Avatar

One of the things I'd planned to do with this blog in 2010 was to resume tracking all the movies I watched, both in theaters and on DVD, and to give little mini-reviews of them. Needless to say, that's not yet happened. As luck would have it, however, I saw fewer movies in the month of January than perhaps in any other month of my life---save for the month of Jewish summer camp in which the ONE movie night consisted of the classic If You Could See What I Hear...starring the Beastmaster himself, Marc Singer. Sadly, I couldn't even count that movie as I'd already seen it at least three times prior to that muggy night in Bruceville, Texas. The point is that, even though January has come and gone without a movie review, it's not too late to catch up...and the catching up begins right now.

Movie #1: Semi-Pro (2008---on DVD)

Being a Will Ferrell movie there are certainly a fair number of laughs to be had in Semi-Pro, but the final product is under-written and one that rather transparently expected to succeed on the basis of its principal star (which it almost does). The premise is solid, and setting it in the old ABA in the blue collar town of Flint, Michigan is one that could have yielded a few meaningful scenes, especially in light of how economically depressed Flint would become in later years---but this background is completely ignored. The team could have been playing in any small city in America. Flint is not a character, and that's a mistake. Outside of Ferrell doing his best with weak material, the rest of the cast is mostly unfunny. Semi-Pro isn't a "bad" movie, it's just a lazy comedy...one that knows it can make you laugh simply by putting Ferrell in front of the camera with an afro-wig on. That pisses me off. But I still laughed. And that pisses me off more.

Rating: 6/10


Movie #2: Avatar (2009---in theatre)

The all-time top grossing film (if not adjusted for inflation) is one that, like Cameron's previous blockbuster, Titanic, has generated a wide range of opinions. I saw it with my friend Brian in 3-D IMAX and we emerged from the film with two very different takes. While I was not willing to bestow upon it the lofty accolades so many critics had readily done, I did find it an entertaining ride that was, at times, thrilling, moving and eye-popping. Brian, on the other hand, gave it a 1/2 star review and faulted practically every aspect of the movie. In the month since I've seen it, it has certainly diminished in my eyes somewhat. It's too long. The villain is too over-the-top. It's awkward in its racial allegory. And, despite the outrageous hype about the digital animation, these are still quite clearly fake creatures created on a computer. But strip away the hype, the controversies, and the ridiculous post-movie stories about people being depressed they're not living on the planet of Pandora, and what you're left with is an entertaining, albeit flawed flick. No need to over think it. It doesn't deserve all the money it's made, and it won't deserve all the Oscar attention it's likely to get tomorrow morning, but that's no reason to backlash against it. It is what it is.

Rating: 7/10

Freelance Whales

Following up on the Friday Night Video post, I bought the album "Weathervanes" from Freelance Whales and have been listening to it on an endless loop this weekend. I can't say enough about it. It's sort of exciting to discover a band you have a feeling is going to be something big one day...and that's exactly what I think is in store for these guys. I had two live versions of their songs on Friday, but let me embed this one straight from the album. It's called "Starring" and it's a pitch-perfect emulation of Postal Service. This will be on a UPS commercial before too long.

Friday Night Video

This weekly segment has tilted heavily towards Brooklyn-based acts of late, and who can blame me? There's little argument that Brooklyn is the epicenter of indie music---good, bad, original, derivative, precious, pretentious, and otherwise. All of it can be found in New York's most populous, most talent-laden borough. On Wednesday night I went to a Haiti benefit concert at The Bell House in Brooklyn, a fantastic venue which showcased a lengthy and diverse list of acts. I'll try and scratch out a review of that show this weekend, but there was one group which left an indelible impression upon me and scored themselves a coveted spot on the BHG Friday Night Video blog post...Freelance Whales.

Mark Steffen at Jonk Music wrote an excellent review of their debut album and I'll steal his opening paragraph:

"Freelance Whales are one of those bands that I'd like to dislike. They live in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. They do things like perform on Bedford Avenue to a crowd of hipsters. They note that they roll their own cigarettes. And they list the harmonium as an essential instrument. They include mathematical characters in their song titles. But I can't get myself over the delightful, heartbreaking fairytales that spew from their debut album, Weathervanes."

That's sort of how I felt by the time they finished their dynamic three-song set. Their cultivated uncultivated look screamed "annoying hipster," but who gives a fuck, really? These guys are the real deal. With eclectic, ethereal arrangements, there were hints of Arcade Fire and Polyphonic Spree, but really it was a beautiful sound, original in its composition and masterful in its production. I'm not especially good at writing about music, so let me have Mark Steffen drive this one home:

"The album settles comfortably in what people will refer to as "neo-folk" or "indie-pop-folk" or "post-everything," and none of these labels will come close to what Freelance Whales have given us. Supposedly the band name is both a description of the music and the band's lifestyle outside of music. And, for once, it's pretty perfect. These boys have a lot of talent in a lot of different areas. It's jittery, downplayed, catchy, dreamlike, and imperfect, but it's all presented in true New Yorker "freelance life" form."

I have two videos for you. The first is a live performance of them doing the song "Generator ^ Second Floor". Yes, that symbol in the title is intentional. And yes, there is also a song called "Generator ^ First Floor"...which happens to be the second video. In it, an abbreviated video, they perform the song in the Bedford Avenue subway station in Williamsburg. These guys are good. VERY good.

"You take a chip, you take a chip."

I've done very, very little at work today. Some days I earn my paycheck, others I could be convicted of embezzlement. Today is the latter. How lazy have I been? Lazy enough to watch a bunch of Greg the Bunny clips on YouTube. The best character from that puppet parody show was easily Warren DeMontague, and there's no better clip of him than this.



I have been this guy.

Trailer Tuesday

It's getting harder and harder to find a trailer that doesn't bore me to tears. I had to go all the way back for a trailer that was released to little fanfare back in November, but I'm glad I dug deep. As I've mentioned here on several occasions, Kicking and Screaming is my all-time favorite movie. Written and directed by Brooklyn-born Noah Baumbach at the age of 26, his debut film remains his best, most balanced, most engaging work to date. His more recent films have not been without success, however. He scored an Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay for his 2005 movie The Squid and the Whale, and he's certainly deserving of another nomination this year as co-writer with Wes Anderson for the adaptation of Fantastic Mr. Fox.

Baumbach returns to the director's chair for his newest movie---Greenberg. Starring Ben Stiller in what, thankfully, appears to be a restrained role, the title character is "a dysfunctional 40-year-old at a crossroads in his life who wants to do nothing for awhile." They had me at dysfunctional. The preview is a bit difficult to get a handle on, but then so is most of what Baumbach writes. One thing you can expect is smart, witty dialogue...and some of that is on display here. There's also going to be a great soundtrack...and that, too, is key for this trailer. One interesting note to keep in mind while watching this is that Mark Ruffalo and Amy Adams were originally cast as the two leads. I like Stiller, and this Greta Gerwig seems good, too, but wow...Ruffalo and Adams seem better for this film, no? In any case, this is Greenberg...and is hopefully not me in four years.

Friday Night Video

There's a reason Guitar Hero and Rock Band became so popular in the last two years...and that reason is this song. Or at least a handful of other songs just like it---the kind of song that makes you really wish you were looking out over a sea of people...their firsts pumping in unison with the power chords being belted out from your guitar. I don't think any other band, with the possible exception of The Who, has more songs that fit this bill than AC/DC. At their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2003, Aerosmith's Steven Tyler described their power chords as "the thunder from down under that gives you the second-most-powerful surge that can flow through your body." The first is cum. He's talking about cum.

Angus Young, while instantly recognizable for his kitschy schoolboy-uniform outfits and his charismatic duck walk, is also one hell of a guitar player, coming in at an undervalued #96 on Rolling Stone magazine's 100 Greatest Guitar Players of All Time. From "Back in Black" to "You Shook Me All Night Long" to "T.N.T.", Angus has gotten to duck walk his way through some of the best pure guitar rock songs in history. For my money, though, "Thunderstuck" is the most electrifying rock anthem of the last 20 years. The opening sizzles and never relents. I can't play a guitar worth a lick, but after being stuck on this song for the last few days, I think I just might add the special AC/DC Rock Band add-on. I would attempt to do the duck walk, but I live in a NYC apartment. I would get two steps and have to pivot back. That kind of kills the mood, you know? Anyway, this shit rocks.

Blog Love

I really do intend to give this blog some more attention in the coming weeks, but let's get the ball rolling on that by giving some attention to another blog. As many of you already know, the inspiration (and look) for my own blog was largely a result of reading and commenting on my friend John Williams' blog---A Special Way of Being Afraid. While there are definite similarities (a little bit of sports, a little bit of movies, a little bit of politics, a little of this and a little of that), John's writing is typically more thoughtful and detailed than what you might find here. This should come as little surprise as John has made a living editing books, writing freelance articles, maintaining a separate blog about books, and also betting on horses...though I suspect that last source of income is more of a hindrance than a help.

Like me, John goes back and forth between allowing his real-world responsibilities to encroach on his routine blog updates, but he's come out firing on all cylinders in 2010. He's had several good posts this year, but the sequence of posts I've really been waiting for began earlier today. John, who has written many an excellent film review over at Pajiba.com, has elected to count down his 100 favorite films of all-time, a daunting task even if you don't give it the level of care and thought I'm certain he's put into this project. It's the kind of project I'd love to do for myself one day, but it's also one that, quite frankly, I just don't have the patience for. I'm not sure how one can rank and compare Broadcast News vs. Freebie and the Bean, but I'm pretty sure I might kill myself if I tried.

Still, over the last last few months when he announced his plans to create this list, John seems to have methodically reviewed a list encompassing almost every movie ever made. He admits an omission or two is possible, but you can be sure this list was not thrown together haphazardly. I encourage you all to check out his countdown (hint: Avatar will not be on his countdown). I, too, will be checking in on it and offering up my own two cents on his selections. If nothing else, I can tell my Netflix queue is going to have several new titles added in the coming weeks. His first five movies in the countdown are as follows:

100) Dressed to Kill
99) Airplane & Anchorman (he's already cheating!)
98) Broadway Danny Rose
97) Donnie Brasco
96) Hoop Dreams

Of these six films, I've seen four for sure...with Dressed to Kill and Broadway Danny Rose being the two movies I'm familiar with but not entirely sure I've "seen." I think Airplane is the only one from these six that would be on my own list, and I cringe at it getting equal billing with Anchorman, but the rest of the picks are solid selections. I always considered Donnie Brasco to be slightly overrated, and the initial impact of Hoop Dreams has faded in my memory, but if John says a film is this good, it probably means I should take a second look...and so should you.

Trailer Tuesday

Saturday Night Live skits that have taken the leap to the big screen have often been hit (Wayne's World) or miss (A Night at the Roxbury), but they keeeeeep on coming. The latest entry to this decidedly mixed canon is MacGruber, the Will Forte-centric parody of the 80's action-adventure show MacGyver. I've never been a "fan" of this sketch as it's always seemed like a one-joke, one-note gimmick...funny the first time, then less and less funny with each successive appearance of the character. That said, this brand new red-band trailer shows some promise. Not everything in the trailer works, but there's more than a few laugh-out-loud moments here...so, maybe? It also co-stars Kristen Wiig and that's never a bad thing.

Friday Night Video

Plushgun is a Brooklyn-based synth band I discovered on MySpace about two years ago that I became immediately hooked on. Their most well known song, the catchy, singable, dangerously close to too-cute "Just Impolite", has been featured in some MTV shows here and there, and it's also on the just-released trailer for a new movie called The Good Guy. While there's no official video for "Just Impolite," The Office's Rainn Wilson decided to do his own. In it, he beats up photographer Tyler Shields in slow motion for the duration of the song. It's committed acting.

Trailer Tuesday

When I said this blog would be getting more of my attention in 2010, I meant it. At the moment, I'm giving it lots of attention by being passive-aggressive with it.

I should also point out that I've begun to focus more on Twitter in the last few months, trying to find a voice on there that allows me to overcome my general disdain for the medium while still getting the benefit of using it. I think it's going well, actually, so if you follow this blog, go ahead and follow me on Twitter, too. You can always see my updates on the right side of this page, but I'd encourage you to take the extra step and sign up for an actual account. You'll be not unhappy you did.

But today is Tuesday, and that means Trailer Tuesday. I won't always be posting trailers for movies I think look good. And hey, guess what? That's the case this week! Sucks to be you. Earlier this week the trailer for The A-Team leaked to the internet. While it's been pulled from most sites like YouTube, low-res versions are still available for your viewing pain. The film actually looks a hell of a lot slicker than I expected, but given that the director is Joe Carnahan (Smokin' Aces, Narc), I shouldn't be too shocked. In fact, if the trailer had been one without any dialogue or acting, I might even have been intrigued. Sadly, there's dialogue. There's catch phrases. And there's a conversion van which just doesn't look cool in 2010, even allowing for retro charm.

Friday Night Video

Programming Note: Due to a lack of inspiration and an increasing disapproval of mediocrity, there will be no Friday Night Video this week. Also, speaking of mediocrity, go Cowboys.

Trailer Tuesday

It's the first Tuesday of the New Year and that gives me the chance to roll out a new weekly feature...Trailer Tuesday. Every Tuesday I will post a movie trailer for an upcoming movie. Why? Because it's easy and everyone loves movie trailers. But mostly because it's easy. I like easy. I can do easy. I will, however, attempt from time to time to spotlight upcoming movies you may not be overly familiar with, and that's the case this week.

Today's trailer is for a "horror" movie called Frozen. The simple, mostly absurd premise, is that three kids get stranded on a ski lift chair in mid-air. Nobody knows it and the slope is now closed until the next weekend. Could it happen? Eh, probably not. But if you suspend your disbelief just enough, this is a rather unnerving preview. It's like the winter version of the movie Open Water (Dianna---you should probably skip this trailer). I'm only glad I don't ski...

Friday Night Video

Happy New Year, everyone! I'll spare you all a lengthy list of resolutions except to say that this blog will be getting a lot more of my attention in 2010. In addition to more regular weekly features, you can count on a steady stream of original posts, reviews, links, and the usual assortment of curiosities. But for this first post of 2010, we have to go back to 2009...

SPIN magazine recently ranked their 20 best videos of 2009 and it's a mixed bag to say the least. The number one video, however, is definitely a hypnotic combination of attitude and guts. Matt & Kim is a Brooklyn-based indie duo who released their second album, Grand, in January 2009. You may be familiar with the most successful song off that album, the poppy and oh-so-catchy Daylight...which was also featured in commercials for The Sims 3 and Bacardi (hey, gotta make a living somehow). One of the other singles off that album is called Lessons Learned, and for that video Matt & Kim stroll through Times Square in February---slowly peeling off layers of their clothing until fully naked. While some of the shocked spectators are actors, most of the video is completely authentic...right down to them being violently tackled by NYPD's finest. It's sort of mesmerizing.

Yes, please.

Christopher Nolan writing and directing with Leo and Joseph Gordon-Levitt starring? Want.

Resist! Resist! Resist!

It turns out that I am not alone. As you may recall from this previous blog posting, back in October I was fined $50 by the NYPD for taking up more than one seat on an empty train late at night. That provoked a justifiably belligerent response from me and, to date, I have not paid this fine. Inevitably this will lead to an arrest warrant similar to the one I have in Texas, but until I'm wanted in three states simultaneously, I do not plan to stop causing trouble. But back to the main point which is a story that appeared on Gawker yesterday afternoon. Citing this NY Post story, it seems the crackdown on "space hogs" is in full effect. The NYPD denies it and claims the number of citations in 2009 is only slightly higher than in 2008. Even so, the account given in the story is eerily similar to the bullshit story I got, namely the part in which, "The officer said it was a danger because people can get robbed on the subway if they fall asleep." Argh! Stupidest reasoning in the history of reason!

Friday Night Video

Today we go back, way back...44 years back in time to 1965. Simon & Garfunkel are uniformly awesome and require no explanation. I will say, however, that this song was chosen because its lyrics sort of perfectly match the December mood outside my window. I am not a rock, however. I'm a happy dude for a change, but I still like a moody woe-is-me song and this one fits the bill. For you miserable, lonely sons of bitches, this is for you.

A winter's day
In a deep and dark December;
I am alone,
Gazing from my window to the streets below
On a freshly fallen silent shroud of snow.
I am a rock,
I am an island.

Cosby Porn

Remember the good old days of porn when pornos had story, substance, character development, and more than one kind of dramatic climax? Me either, but the porn industry used to at least try and have a flimsy plot around which its characters could find a reason to have sex (sort of like real life). In the last 10 years or so, however, porn producers discovered that the main consumer of porn (MEN!) didn't really need a plot with their porn. In fact, the plot usually just got in the way and caused men to burn out the fast-forward button on their remotes. As a result, especially in the golden age of digital internet porn, the trend in the industry (so I've been told) has been toward cheaper, easier-to-produce vignettes. Minimal to no story---just sex, sex, sex. It's a little sad (but just a little).

Every now and then the industry will put forth an extraordinary effort to try and grab some mainstream attention, as was the case with the 2005 movie Pirates, reported to be the most expensive porn film ever made with a budget just north of a million dollars. I rather like what The New York Times had to say about it: "A relatively high-budget story of a group of ragtag sailors who go searching for a crew of evil pirates who have a plan for world domination. Also, many of the characters in the movie have sex with one another." Wanna know how you can tell it's a legit movie? The sequel came in at 2 hours and 18 minutes...making it like every other self-important, over-bloated sequel in history. Even so, herculean efforts like Pirates are few and far between. Recently, however, one film company has begun a new trend in the industry and, well, it's kind of awesome.

Porn parodies are not a new trend and have been around forever. We all remember Edward Penishands, yes? Good. But the most recent trend is towards parodies of classic television sitcoms, including The Brady Bunch, Three's Company, and The Cosby Show. Again, this alone is not that remarkable, but what is remarkable is how funny these parodies appear to be. Great care has obviously been taken with the script, with the casting, the set design, the costuming, and even with the camera movements...all carefully done to mimic the show's style. And if you think I'm exaggerating, take a look at the trailer for Not The Cosby Show XXX.



You don't see any sex in that YouTube-safe version, but trust me, this is a hardcore porn film. You can check out the not-safe-for-work version here. It's fucking genius, right? There's also parodies of Friends and Scrubs, and then there's this dead-on parody of The Office:



And the parodies keep coming and coming. Like this great one for 30 Rock:



Amazing.

Iron Man 2

Trailers rarely get me jazzed anymore, but this one sure did:

Friday Night Video

You ever had a drunken conversation at a bar where you're trying to get someone else to figure out what song is in your head---except you don't know the name of the song, the name of the band, or much more beyond a few key notes? This video answers that question from Thursday night. Jonathan, this song is dedicated to you.