Review: "The Social Network" All-American and All-World

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 17 (of 2011) by Leroy Douresseaux

The Social Network (2010)
Running time: 120 minutes (2 hours)
MPAA – PG-13 for sexual content, drug and alcohol use and language
DIRECTOR: David Fincher
WRITERS: Aaron Sorkin (based on the book The Accidental Billionaires by Ben Mezrich)
PRODUCERS: Dana Brunetti, Ceán Chaffin, Michael De Luca, and Scott Rudin
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Jeff Cronenweth
EDITORS: Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall
COMPOSER: Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross

DRAMA

Starring: Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield, Armie Hammer, Justin Timberlake, Max Minghella, Rashida Jones, Joseph Mazzello, Brenda Song, Josh Pence, and Rooney Mara

The Social Network is perhaps the most critically acclaimed film of 2010, having won close to 20 best picture honors from critics groups and organizations. Directed by David Fincher and written by Aaron Sorkin, The Social Network is a fictional account and dramatization of the founding of Facebook, the hugely popular social-networking website.

The film begins on a fall night in 2003, when Boston University student, Erica Albright (Rooney Mara), breaks up with Harvard undergrad, Mark Zuckerberg (Jesse Eisenberg). A computer programming genius, Zuckerberg sits down at his computer and lashes out in a flurry of blogging and programming that launches “FaceMash.” Zuckerberg’s new website not only captures the attention of the entire Harvard campus, but also gets the attention of a trio of budding entrepreneurs. That night, in his dorm room after the breakup, leads to what will become “The Facebook” which will eventually become the global social network, Facebook. This revolution in communication, however, brings Zuckerberg both success and a horde of broken friendships, partnerships, and lawsuits.

The Social Network is about several things. It is about Mark Zuckerberg, about the founding of Facebook, about a clash of privileged and ambitious personalities, and about perception and point of view. Most of all, The Social Network seems to be about the beginnings of a map to the future. The triumph of Aaron Sorkin’s screenplay is how he compressed all of this and dramatized in two hours what was probably dull and tedious in real life – including Zuckerberg’s legal wrangling. Sorkin makes nerds come across as sexy masters of the universe. Slimy bastards (like Justin Timberlake’s Sean Parker) seem like rock stars. Parties are shinier, and Harvard’s campus is like a hub, the nexus where all exciting places meet.

And the performances meet and match Sorkin’s exceptional screenplay. Jesse Eisenberg has made a career of playing likeable, amiable dweebs, but as Mark Zuckerberg, he turns that on its head with this outstanding, sublime performance. Eisenberg’s Zuckerberg is like a god, a genius whose indomitable spirit smolders behind a mask of petulance, detachment, and a pout. Zuckerberg should be so Garbo-cool.

I’ve thought for a long time that Justin Timberlake had the dramatic chops to pull off good roles; now, I have proof. Timberlake makes Sean Parker (founder of Napster) cool and attractive, the guy you’d want in your corner, and you’d still forgive his cocaine habit and general sliminess. Andrew Garfield almost steals the film as Eduardo Saverin, a character who is the only adult in the room (which makes him a tragic fall guy). Armie Hammer makes the most of his every moment as the twins, Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss (with actor Josh Pence doing body double duties) by giving each brother a separate, distinct personality.

The one who pulls it all together and makes The Social Network arguable the best film of 2010 is director David Fincher. The phrase, “visionary director,” gets thrown around a lot about talented hack directors (like Zack Snyder), but since Fincher’s mid-90s film, Se7en, it has been obvious that he is a true visionary. Fincher makes The Social Network operate like a suspense thriller; that’s why Sorkin’s tale of conniving nerds is never boring and always gripping. Here, computers, programming codes, and the Internet are like shiny guns, weapons that make these nerds seem like crazy, sexy, cool gangstas.

The Social Network is compelling drama – mesmerizing, hypnotic, and engaging. Everything about it works, and everyone involved should get credit for their great efforts, especially David Fincher.

10 of 10

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

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"The King's Speech" Wins Best Picture BAFTA

BEST FILM

THE KING’S SPEECH Iain Canning, Emile Sherman, Gareth Unwin WINNER

BLACK SWAN Mike Medavoy, Brian Oliver, Scott Franklin

INCEPTION Emma Thomas, Christopher Nolan

THE SOCIAL NETWORK Scott Rudin, Dana Brunetti, Michael De Luca, Céan Chaffin

TRUE GRIT Scott Rudin, Ethan Coen, Joel Coen

2011 Oscar Nominations: Best Picture

Best Picture

“Black Swan” Mike Medavoy, Brian Oliver and Scott Franklin, Producers

“The Fighter” David Hoberman, Todd Lieberman and Mark Wahlberg, Producers

“Inception” Emma Thomas and Christopher Nolan, Producers

“The Kids Are All Right” Gary Gilbert, Jeffrey Levy-Hinte and Celine Rattray, Producers

“The King's Speech” Iain Canning, Emile Sherman and Gareth Unwin, Producers

“127 Hours” Christian Colson, Danny Boyle and John Smithson, Producers

“The Social Network” Scott Rudin, Dana Brunetti, Michael De Luca and Ceán Chaffin, Producers

“Toy Story 3” Darla K. Anderson, Producer

“True Grit” Scott Rudin, Ethan Coen and Joel Coen, Producers

“Winter's Bone" Anne Rosellini and Alix Madigan-Yorkin, Producers

Saddam Hussein Novel Inspires Upcoming Sacha Baron Cohen Film

SACHA BARON COHEN’S NEXT COMEDY “THE DICTATOR” TO OPEN WORLDWIDE ON MAY 11, 2012

Larry Charles Comes Aboard To Direct, And Scott Rudin To Produce

HOLLYWOOD, CA (January 20, 2011) - Paramount Pictures announced today that Sacha Baron Cohen’s new comedy The Dictator will be released worldwide on May 11, 2012. The studio also announced that Larry Charles (“Borat”, “Bruno”) has come aboard to direct.

The film tells the heroic story of a dictator who risked his life to ensure that democracy would never come to the country he so lovingly oppressed. It is inspired by the best selling novel "Zabibah and The King" by Saddam Hussein.

Producing alongside Baron Cohen are Scott Rudin, Alec Berg, Jeff Schaffer, and David Mandel. The project marks the first collaboration for Rudin (“The Social Network,” “True Grit”) and Baron Cohen, while Berg, Schaffer and Mandel (Seinfeld, Curb Your Enthusiasm) join him as screenwriters on the movie. The movie is the latest collaboration between Baron Cohen and Charles, who previously worked together on “Borat” as well as “Bruno”. Dan Mazer (“Borat” “Bruno”), Ant Hines ("Borat" "Bruno") and Peter Baynham (“Borat”) will serve as executive producers, reuniting the rest of the Academy Award®-nominated and Golden Globe winning “Borat” team. Todd Schulman ("Borat" “Bruno”) is co-producing under Baron Cohen’s Four By Two Films banner.

Larry Charles, Sacha Baron Cohen and David Mandel are repped by WME. Dan Mazer, Alec Berg and Jeff Schaffer are repped by UTA.

About Paramount Pictures CorporationParamount Pictures Corporation (PPC), a global producer and distributor of filmed entertainment, is a unit of Viacom (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), a leading content company with prominent and respected film, television and digital entertainment brands. The company's labels include Paramount Pictures, Paramount Vantage, Paramount Classics, Insurge Pictures, MTV Films and Nickelodeon Movies. PPC operations also include Paramount Digital Entertainment, Paramount Famous Productions, Paramount Home Entertainment, Paramount Pictures International, Paramount Licensing Inc., Paramount Studio Group, and Worldwide Television Distribution.

Review: "Failure to Launch" Flies Alright

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 175 (of 2006) by Leroy Douresseaux

Failure to Launch (2006)
Running time: 97 minutes (1 hour, 37 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for sexual content, partial nudity, and language
DIRECTOR: Tom Dey
WRITERS: Tom J. Astle and Matt Ember
PRODUCERS: Scott Rudin and Scott Aversano
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Claudio Miranda
EDITOR: Steven Rosenblum

COMEDY/ROMANCE

Starring: Matthew McConaughey, Sarah Jessica Parker, Zooey Deschanel, Justin Bartha, Bradley Cooper, Kathy Bates, and Terry Bradshaw, Tyrell Jackson Williams, Rob Corddry, Patton Oswalt, Stephen Tobolowsky, Kate McGregor-Stewart, and Adam Alexi-Malle

Tripp (Matthew McConaughey) still lives with his parents, Sue and Al (Kathy Bates and Terry Bradshaw), and they’re desperate to push him out of the nest. They hire Paula (Sarah Jessica Parker), a relationship consultant. She’s a kind of professional interventionist who uses her tried-and-proved tactics to pretend to fall in love with a guy. Paula wants to make a client feel good about himself and improve his self-esteem to the point where he’s ready to live on his own. Paula, however, finds herself falling for Tripp, but what will she do if he finds out that his parents paid her to date him?

The concept behind Failure to Launch is dumb. It’s just a desperate film concoction with the specific purpose of creating one of those mismatched pair/star-crossed lovers scenarios – the kind of tale of unlikely love that audiences just love. What makes it work so well? It’s probably the cast, which itself seems mismatched, but somehow works together (and the chance to see former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Terry Bradshaw in his birthday suit). Somehow through all the stupid things the characters did, through all the treacherous acts that people commit against the ones they love (the road to Hell…), and through the holes in both the concept and the plot, Failure to Launch left me humming with feel good satisfaction. It even made my cynicism smile.

6 of 10
B

Friday, August 11, 2006

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Review: Gritty "True Grit" Offers Great Characters and Superb Performances

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 6 (of 2011) by Leroy Douresseaux

True Grit (2010)
Running time: 110 minutes (1 hour, 50 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for some intense sequences of western violence including disturbing images
DIRECTORS: The Coen Brothers
WRITERS: Joel Coen and Ethan Coen (based upon the novel by Charles Portis)
PRODUCERS: Ethan Coen, Joel Coen, and Scott Rudin
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Roger Deakins (D.o.P.)
EDITORS: Roderick Jaynes (Ethan Coen and Joel Coen)
COMPOSER: Carter Burwell

WESTERN/ADVENTURE/DRAMA

Starring: Jeff Bridges, Hailee Steinfeld, Matt Damon, Josh Brolin, Barry Pepper, Candyce Hinkle, Roy Lee Jones, Orlando Smart, and Ed Corbin

The latest film from the Coen Bros. (Joel and Ethan) is the Western, True Grit. It is the second film adaptation of the 1968 Charles Portis novel, True Grit; the first was a 1969 film starring John Wayne. True Grit is the story of a stubborn young woman who convinces a tough U.S. Marshal to help her find her father’s murderer.

After her father is murdered by one of his hired hands, a man named Tom Chaney (Josh Brolin), 14-year-old Mattie Ross (Hailee Steinfeld) arrives in a small town to collect her father’s body and get his killer. She attempts to hire U.S. Marshal Reuben “Rooster” Cogburn (Jeff Bridges) to track Chaney into Indian country where he is hiding with a gang of criminals. Mattie tells Cogburn that she chose him because he has “true grit,” but that isn’t enough to convince Cogburn to take the job. When he does accept the offer, Cogburn decides to take a vain Texas Ranger, LaBoeuf (Matt Damon), with him instead of Mattie. But the young woman is about to show them both that she also has “true grit.”

As they do in all their movies, Joel and Ethan Coen get great performances from their actors. Jeff Bridges gives so many layers to Rooster Cogburn (the role John Wayne played in the 1969 film). The viewer will spend the entire movie peeling those layers back and still not have the whole story on this character that Bridges makes so real. Although LaBoeuf isn’t quite as interesting as Rooster, Matt Damon shows his true grit by making a vain chatterbox and (at best) semi-competent lawman/nincompoop a character that I wish was onscreen more.

Yes, the praise that newcomer Hailee Steinfeld, as Mattie, has received for her performance in this film is not mere hype. She’s a natural, and she makes this movie as much as anyone else does – including the Coen Bros.

The one glaring weakness that keeps True Grit from being a truly great film is how the filmmakers treat the villains. There is potential in Josh Brolin’s Tom Chaney and especially in Barry Pepper’s “Lucky” Ned Pepper, but both are hardly ever on screen. The film spends so much time showing us the tremendous work of Bridges, Steinfeld, and Damon and their characters that everyone else gets shorted.

There isn’t anything really profound about True Grit, except this tidbit at the end: time catches up with everyone. This film is really not about ideas. True Grit, even with the performances at its heart, is a Coen Brothers film. This is about how they do it – their style, their rhythms, their quirks, their directorial trademarks and flourishes. That’s not a bad thing simply because Joel and Ethan Coen do their thang so well.

8 of 10
A

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

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"The Social Network" Wins Best Motion Picture-Drama Golden Globe

Best Motion Picture - Drama:

The Social Network (2010) WINNER

Black Swan (2010)

The Fighter (2010)

Inception (2010)

The King's Speech (2010)

Review: "The School of Rock" is Sweetness Playing Edgy

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 251 (of 2004) by Leroy Douresseaux

The School of Rock (2003)
Running time: 109 minutes (1 hour, 49 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for some rude humor and drug
DIRECTOR: Richard Linklater
WRITER: Mike White
PRODUCER: Scott Rudin
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Rogier Stoffers, N.S.C.
EDITOR: Sandra Adair
Golden Globe nominee

COMEDY/MUSIC

Starring: Jack Black, Joan Cusack, Mike White, Sarah Silverman, Adam Pascal, Lucas Papaelias, Lucas Babin, Jordan-Claire Green, Veronica Afflerbach, Miranda Cosgrove, Joey Gaydos, Jr., Robert Tsai, Angelo Massagali, Kevin (Alexander) Clark, Maryam Hassan, Caitlan Hale, Cole Hawkins, Brian Falduto, James Hosey, Aleisha Allen, Zachary Infante, Rebecca Brown, and Jaclyn Neidenthal with Frank Whaley (no credit)

Dewey Finn (Jack Black) is a wannabe rock star kicked out of his own band. Dewey has also been mooching off his roommate, Ned Schneebly (Mike White), a substitute teacher, for years, but Mike’s girlfriend, Patty Di Marco (Sarah Silverman), wants Dewey out of the picture if he doesn’t pay his rent. In need of cash, fortune favors Dewey, when he answers a phone call meant for Ned. Dewey, pretending to be Ned, poses as a substitute teacher at an exclusive prep school. Upon discovering that the students in his particular classroom are quite musically gifted, Dewey tries to turn them into a rock band with himself as the leader. His goal is to enter the upcoming Battle of the Bands contest and win the $20,000 prize. Of course, there are complications.

The School of Rock certainly seems out of place in the filmography of director Richard Linklater, the fine director behind such fabulous films as Before Sunrise, Before Sunset, and Dazed and Confused. However, that this feel-good, warm-hearted, family-friendly comedy actually feels very good, is simply warm-hearted, is nicely family-friendly, and is funny is a testament to Linklater’s skill. This could have been yet another mediocre flick about a rebel who sneaks into the system and teaches the kids (the Socrates motif) to feel good about themselves, believe in themselves, and unleash their creative skills and talents. Yes, it is just another one of those films, but it works because it’s entertaining and ultimately doesn’t seem so contrived.

A lot of the credit goes to Jack Black. His performance is one of sustained madness that is a shaky house of lies built upon a flimsy foundation. Black isn’t just another funny fat guy; he’s also a movie star with an intriguing film personality. So far, he’s basically played the same person, but there is something about him that works on the big screen, even when you realize that the characters he plays are selfish and sneaky suckas. He has a look on his face and a mean glint in his eyes that suggest he deserves watching; for some reason it works.

The School of Rock is not without it’s problems. At times it seems too contrived and too long. The narrative seems bogged down in the classroom when the entire school begs to be examined, especially Joan Cusack’s uptight and anal school principal Rosalie Mullins. Ultimately, Dewey Finn is let off the hook too easily, but it leads to a sweet finale, so I can cut The School of Rock some slack.

7 of 10
B+

NOTE:
2004 Golden Globes: 1 nomination: “Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy” (Jack Black)

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Review: "Greenberg" is an Excellent Character Study

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 103 (of 2010) by Leroy Douresseaux

Greenberg (2010)
Running time: 107 minutes (1 hour, 47 minutes)
MPAA – R for some strong sexuality, drug use, and language
DIRECTOR: Noah Baumbach
WRITERS: Noah Baumbach; from a story by Jennifer Jason Leigh and Noah Baumbach
PRODUCERS: Jennifer Jason Leigh and Scott Rudin
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Harris Savides (D.o.P.)
EDITOR: Tim Streeto

DRAMA

Starring: Ben Stiller, Greta Gerwig, Rhys Ifans, and Jennifer Jason Leigh

Greenberg is the most recent film from filmmaker Noah Baumbach, the writer/director of the Oscar-nominated films, The Squid and the Whale and Margot at the Wedding. Greenberg focuses on a New Yorker returning to Los Angeles, the place where he grew up, to figure out some things.

Fresh out of a mental institution, 40-year-old Roger Greenberg (Ben Stiller) travels to L.A. to housesit for his brother, 15 years after he left the city. At a crossroads in his life, Roger, a carpenter, hopes to fix his wreck of life, while he fixes some things around his brother’s house. Roger meets his brother’s personal assistant, Florence Marr (Greta Gerwig), a sweet and considerate, but naïve 20-something. Roger needs Florence because he doesn’t drive, and the two begin an awkward relationship. Roger, however, has a quick temper, over-analyzes everything, and does not have a sense of humor when it comes to himself. Can Roger really fix himself?

Greenberg seems more like an extended chapter in a longer story than it does a self-contained film narrative. I have to give Baumbach credit for presenting a character like Greenberg who seems broken beyond repair and who is also funny, but mostly unlikable. I give him even more credit for writing a script and creating a visual narrative that makes Roger Greenberg so interesting and then dares to tackle his complicated ways.

Ben Stiller seems to shape his performance as Greenberg in a way to make readers always want to know more about the character, including his past and even his future. Stiller really sells the idea that Greenberg is broken and in need of repair. Greta Gerwig and Rhys Ifans are also quite good, creating engaging characters whose own stories matter well beyond their connections to the lead, Greenberg.

Like Baumbach’s other films, Greenberg is inimitably human, balancing the fragile with the sturdy and the mundane with the humorous. Baumbach and Stiller give us a wild adventure into the personality and connectivity turmoil of a complicated, complex character. The only problem is that sometimes, writer/director and lead actor hide too much of Greenberg’s nature and thoughts behind a wall of eccentric behavior and petulance. Still, such an all-too-human character in the cinematic world of vapid characters is welcomed.

7 of 10
B+

Friday, December 17, 2010

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Countdown to Oscar 2011: 2011 Spirit Awards Nominations

Press release:

2011 FILM INDEPENDENT SPIRIT AWARD NOMINATIONS ANNOUNCED

- $125,000 in grants to be awarded to filmmakers -

LOS ANGELES (November 30, 2010) – Film Independent, the non-profit arts organization that produces the Spirit Awards and the Los Angeles Film Festival, announced nominations this morning for the 2011 Film Independent Spirit Awards. Eva Mendes and Jeremy Renner served as presenters and 2011 Spirit Awards host Joel McHale was also on hand. Nominees for Best Feature include 127 Hours, Black Swan, Greenberg, The Kids Are All Right and Winter’s Bone.

Please Give was selected for the Robert Altman Award, which is given to one film’s director, casting director and ensemble cast.

2011 SPIRIT AWARD NOMINATIONS:

BEST FEATURE (Award given to the Producer, Executive Producers are not listed)
127 Hours
Producers: Danny Boyle, Christian Colson, John Smithson

Black Swan
Producers: Scott Franklin, Mike Medavoy, Arnold W. Messer, Brian Oliver

Greenberg
Producers: Jennifer Jason Leigh, Scott Rudin

The Kids Are All Right
Producers: Gary Gilbert, Philippe Hellmann, Jordan Horowitz, Jeffrey Levy-Hinte, Celine Rattray, Daniela Taplin Lundberg

Winter’s Bone
Producers: Alix Madigan-Yorkin, Anne Rosellini

BEST DIRECTOR
Darren Aronofsky - Black Swan
Danny Boyle - 127 Hours
Lisa Cholodenko - The Kids Are All Right
Debra Granik - Winter’s Bone
John Cameron Mitchell - Rabbit Hole

BEST SCREENPLAY
Stuart Blumberg, Lisa Cholodenko - The Kids Are All Right
Debra Granik, Anne Rosellini - Winter’s Bone
Nicole Holofcener - Please Give
David Lindsay-Abaire - Rabbit Hole
Todd Solondz - Life During Wartime

BEST FIRST FEATURE (Award given to the director and producer)
Everything Strange and New - Director: Frazer Bradshaw, Producers: A.D. Liano, Laura Techera Francia

Get Low - Director: Aaron Schneider
, Producers: David Gundlach, Dean Zanuck

Night Catches Us - Director: Tanya Hamilton
, Producers: Sean Costello, Jason Orans, Ronald Simons

The Last Exorcism - Director: Daniel Stamm
, Producers: Marc Abraham, Tom Bliss, Eric Newman, Eli Roth

Tiny Furniture - Director: Lena Dunham
, Producers: Kyle Martin, Alicia Van Couvering

BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY
Diane Bell - Obselidia
Lena Dunham - Tiny Furniture
Nik Fackler - Lovely, Still
Bob Glaudini - Jack Goes Boating
Dana Adam Shapiro, Evan M. Wiener - Monogamy

JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD - Given to the best feature made for under $500,000. Award given to the writer, director, and producer. Executive Producers are not listed

Daddy Longlegs
Writer/Directors: Benny Safdie, Josh Safdie
Producers: Casey Neistat, Tom Scott

Lbs.
Director: Matthew Bonifacio
Writer/Producers: Matthew Bonifacio, Carmine Famiglietti

Lovers of Hate
Writer/Director: Bryan Poyser
Producer: Megan Gilbride

Obselidia
Writer/Director: Diane Bell
Producers: Chris Byrne, Mathew Medlin

The Exploding Girl
Writer/Director: Bradley Rust Gray
Producers: Karin Chien, Ben Howe, So Yong Kim

BEST FEMALE LEAD
Annette Bening - The Kids Are All Right
Greta Gerwig - Greenberg
Nicole Kidman - Rabbit Hole
Jennifer Lawrence - Winter’s Bone
Natalie Portman - Black Swan
Michelle Williams - Blue Valentine

BEST MALE LEAD
Ronald Bronstein - Daddy Longlegs
Aaron Eckhart - Rabbit Hole
James Franco - 127 Hours
John C. Reilly - Cyrus
Ben Stiller - Greenberg

BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE
Ashley Bell - The Last Exorcism
Dale Dickey - Winter’s Bone
Allison Janney - Life During Wartime
Daphne Rubin-Vega - Jack Goes Boating
Naomi Watts - Mother and Child

BEST SUPPORTING MALE
John Hawkes - Winter’s Bone
Samuel L. Jackson - Mother and Child
Bill Murray - Get Low
John Ortiz - Jack Goes Boating
Mark Ruffalo - The Kids Are All Right

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Adam Kimmel - Never Let Me Go
Matthew Libatique - Black Swan
Jody Lee Lipes - Tiny Furniture
Michael McDonough - Winter’s Bone
Harris Savides - Greenberg

BEST DOCUMENTARY (Award given to the director)
Exit Through the Gift Shop
Director: Banksy

Marwencol
Director: Jeff Malmberg

Restrepo
Directors: Tim Hetherington, Sebastian Junger

Sweetgrass
Directors: Ilisa Barbash, Lucien Castaing-Taylor

Thunder Soul
Director: Mark Landsman

BEST FOREIGN FILM (Award given to the director)
Kisses
(Ireland)
Director: Lance Daly

Mademoiselle Chambon
(France)
Director: Stéphane Brizé

Of Gods and Men
(France)
Director: Xavier Beauvois

The King’s Speech (United Kingdom)
Director: Tom Hooper

Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives
(Thailand)
Director: Apichatpong Weerasethakul

ACURA SOMEONE TO WATCH AWARD – The 17th annual Acura Someone to Watch Award recognizes a talented filmmaker of singular vision who has not yet received appropriate recognition. The award includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant funded by Acura.

Hossein Keshavarz

Dog Sweat

Laurel Nakadate

The Wolf Knife

Mike Ott

Littlerock

PIAGET PRODUCERS AWARD – The 14th annual Piaget Producers Award honors emerging producers who, despite highly limited resources demonstrate the creativity, tenacity, and vision required to produce quality, independent films. The award includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant funded by Piaget.

In-Ah Lee

Au Revoir Taipei

Adele Romanski

The Myth of the American Sleepover

Anish Savjani

Meek’s Cutoff

AVEENO® TRUER THAN FICTION AWARD – The 16th annual AVEENO® Truer Than Fiction Award is presented to an emerging director of non-fiction features who has not yet received significant recognition. The award includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant funded by AVEENO®.

Ilisa Barbash, Lucien Castaing-Taylor - Sweetgrass

Jeff Malmberg - Marwencol

Lynn True, Nelson Walker - Summer Pasture

ROBERT ALTMAN AWARD - (Given to one film’s director, casting director, and its ensemble cast)

Please Give
Director: Nicole Holofcener
Casting Director: Jeanne McCarthy
Ensemble Cast: Ann Guilbert, Rebecca Hall, Catherine Keener, Amanda Peet, Oliver Platt, Lois Smith, Sarah Steele

http://www.spiritawards.com/

http://www.filmindependent.org/content/2011-film-independent-spirit-award-nominations-announced

"It's Complicated" is Complicated

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 39 (of 2010) by Leroy Douresseaux


It’s Complicated (2009)
Running time: 120 minutes (2 hours)
MPAA – R for some drug content and sexuality
WRITER/DIRECTOR: Nancy Meyers
PRODUCERS: Nancy Meyers and Scott Rudin
CINEMATOGRAPHER: John Toll
EDITORS: Joe Hutshing and David Moritz
COMPOSERS: Heitor Pereira and Hans Zimmer

COMEDY/DRAMA/ROMANCE

Starring: Meryl Streep, Steve Martin, Alec Baldwin, John Krasinski, Lake Bell, Mary Kay Place, Rita Wilson, Alexandra Wentworth, Hunter Parrish, Zoe Kazan, Caitlin Fitzgerald, and Emjay Anthony

Whatever it may have seemed like in the commercials and trailers, It’s Complicated, a film from writer/director Nancy Meyers (Something’s Gotta Give), is not simply a bubbly comedy about a divorced woman having sex on the side with her ex-husband, while her new boyfriend is caught in the middle. This movie is a family melodrama, romantic comedy, relationship drama, soap opera… well, it actually is complicated.

A divorced mother of three grown children, Jane (Meryl Streep) doesn’t date much. Self-reliant, she focuses her attention on her thriving Santa Barbara bakery and restaurant. After a decade of divorce, Jane has an amicable relationship with her ex-husband, attorney Jake (Alec Baldwin), although Jane still feels uncomfortable in the presence of Jake’s hot young wife, Agness (Lake Bell). For her son’s college graduation in New York City, Jane finds herself staying at the same hotel as Jake, and an innocent meal with him ends with the two having sex.

Thus, begins an unimaginable affair between ex-wife and ex-husband that features frequent sexual encounters. Jake is cheating on Agness, and Jane is sort of cheating on Adam (Steve Martin), an architect hired to remodel Jane’s home. Adam is also healing from a divorce, and he is starting to fall in love with Jane. Jane finds herself forced to confront a number of issues, including if she really is in love with Jake, again.

Early on in It’s Complicated, in particularly the scenes that detail the beginning of Jane and Jake’s “affair,” the movie tries to come across as a bubbly romantic/screwball comedy. I say try because everything seems forced. Early in the movie, Meryl Streep, who hasn’t starred in many comedies, makes a vain attempt at playing the flighty heroine. Streep’s attempts at playing someone caught in comically awkward situations look ridiculous – all that laughing makes her sound like a horse. It is as if the only thing she can think to do with her character is laugh.

Alec Baldwin is usually next to Streep, also forcing it just as hard, doing his schtick. In this film, he just looks like a fat, middle-aged guy desperately trying to pass a reluctant turd. At this point, I have probably made It’s Complicated seem like an awful movie, but it really isn’t.

When the story leaves New York and returns to Santa Barbara, It’s Complicated seems to mature, leaving the silliness behind. The comic tone turns lighter, and the story gets serious about the implications of Jane and Jake’s affair. That is when Streep and Baldwin seem more like themselves, and the better parts of their talents show themselves. Suddenly, the NYC sequence seems like a bad dream, and the real story begins.

Once she makes the other major characters aware of the affair, Nancy Meyers really begins to play with the complications and story angles and situations such an almost taboo romance as depicted here offers. At that point, the audience can do more than just “Ooh” and “Ah” at the scandalous and embarrassing moments. They will feel engaged, because when Meyers really gets to the heart of this complicated matter, she forces the viewer to do more than just be a voyeur looking for easy chuckles. Meyers makes the viewer think: How do Jane and Jake get out of this? Should they do this? How does this affect everyone else? Whom should Jane choose?

It’s Complicated isn’t anyone’s best work – not Meyers, Streep, Baldwin, or even the passive Steve Martin. Still, it is good to see a thoughtful romantic comedy and love story in which the love interests are all over 50.

6 of 10
B

NOTES:
2010 BAFTA Awards: 1 nomination: “Best Supporting Actor” (Alec Baldwin)

2010 Golden Globes: 3 nominations: “Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy,” “Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy” (Meryl Streep), and “Best Screenplay - Motion Picture” (Nancy Meyers)

Saturday, May 29, 2010

Review: "Fantastic Mr. Fox" Actually Not Fantastic

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 35 (of 2010) by Leroy Douresseaux


Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009)
Running time: 87 minutes (1 hour, 27 minutes)
MPAA – PG for action, smoking and slang humor
DIRECTOR: Wes Anderson
WRITERS: Wes Anderson & Noah Baumbach (based upon the novel by Roald Dahl)
PRODUCERS: Allison Abbate, Wes Anderson , Jeremy Dawson, and Scott Rudin
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Tristan Oliver
EDITOR: Andrew Weisblum (supervising editor)
COMPOSER: Alexandre Desplat
Academy Award nominee

ANIMATION/FANTASY/ADVENTURE/COMEDY/CRIME

Starring: (voices) George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Jason Schwartzman, Bill Murray, Wally Wolodarsky, Eric Anderson, Michael Gambon, Willem Dafoe, Owen Wilson, Robin Hurlstone, Hugo Guinness Brian Cox, and Adrien Brody

Fantastic Mr. Fox is a 2009 stop-motion animation film from director Wes Anderson (The Royal Tenenbaums). The film is based on a children’s book of the same title by author Roald Dahl first published in 1970. It is the story of a human-like fox who outwits his human neighbors and steals their livestock and food right from under their noses.

Mr. Fox (George Clooney) is a thief. To feed his family, he steals livestock from three wealthy local farmers, and during one such mission, he is joined by his wife, Mrs. Felicity Fox (Meryl Streep). However, the couple is ensnared in a cage, but escape after Felicity reveals that she is pregnant. Years later, the couple is living an idyllic home life with their sullen son, Ash (Jason Schwartzman), and Mr. Fox’s visiting young nephew, the soft-spoken and talented Kristopherson Silverfox (Eric Chase Anderson).

After 12 years of domesticity, Mr. Fox feels his wild animal instincts coming to the fore, and this bucolic existence starts to bore him. With the help of his pal, an unassuming opossum named Kylie (Wallace Wolodarsky), Mr. Fox soon slips back into his old ways as a sneaky and highly successful thief stealing chickens, turkeys, and apple cider from the wealthy farmers, Franklin Bean (Michael Gambon), Walter Boggis (Robin Hurlstone), and Nathan Bunce (Hugo Guinness). Doing this endangers not only his beloved family, but also the whole animal community, when Bean leads a vicious, total war campaign to capture Mr. Fox. Trapped underground and without enough food to go around, will the animals band together or will they turn Mr. Fox over to the farmers?

Fantastic Mr. Fox is what happens when quirky drowns whimsical. Instead of a fanciful animal fable, what Wes Anderson gives us with this stop-motion animated film is weird and peculiar. It is sometimes entertaining, even delightful, but still weird and peculiar. The script by Anderson and Noah Baumbach tries to impart wisdom, but much of it is lost in the idiosyncratic visual vibe of this film.

There are some good voice performances, especially Wallace Wolodarsky as Kylie. Because their performances, Jason Schwartzman as Ash and Eric Chase Anderson as Kristopherson end up being the best pairing in the film – the most interesting team.

Fantastic Mr. Fox is a sometimes fun ride, although much of it seems awkward. The strange textures of the animation are a mixed bag. Fantastic Mr. Fox looks like a Tim Burton stop-motion animation picture done with tattered puppets and shabby sets. Ultimately, I find myself sitting on the fence about this film because it entertains and perplexes in equal measure.

5 of 10
B-

NOTES:
2010 Academy Awards: 2 nominations: “Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Score” (Alexandre Desplat) and “Best Animated Feature Film of the Year” (Wes Anderson)

2010 BAFTA Awards: 2 nominations: “Best Animated Film” (Wes Anderson) and “Best Music” (Alexandre Desplat)

2010 Golden Globes: 1 nomination: “Best Animated Feature Film”

Thursday, May 20, 2010

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Review: "Sleepy Hollow" Remains a Tim Burton-Johnny Depp Masterpiece

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 111 (of 2004) by Leroy Douresseaux

Sleepy Hollow (1999)
Running time: 105 minutes (1 hour, 45 minutes)
MPAA – R for graphic horror violence and gore, and for a scene of sexuality
DIRECTOR: Tim Burton
WRITERS: Andrew Kevin Walker, from a screen story by Andrew Kevin Walker and Kevin Yagher (based upon the “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” by Washington Irving)
PRODUCERS: Scott Rudin and Adam Schroeder
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Emmanuel Lubezki
EDITORS: Chris Lebenzon and Joel Negron
Academy Award winner

HORROR/MYSTERY

Starring: Johnny Depp, Christina Ricci, Miranda Richardson, Michael Gambon, Casper Van Dien, Jeffrey Jones, Christopher Lee, Richard Griffiths, Ian McDiarmid, Michael Gough, Marc Pickering, Lisa Marie, Steven Waddington, and Christopher Walken

An Academy Award winner (Best Art Direction-Set Decoration) and recipient of two additional nominations (Best Costume Design and Cinematography), Tim Burton’s film Sleepy Hollow is perhaps the quintessential Tim Burton movie, the film that is the visually summation of the promise he showed in such films as Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands, and Tim Burton’s Nightmare Before Christmas. Dark, gothic, and moody, it is a bold fairytale told with modern materials but steeped in early Americana.

The tale is a quirky, modern retelling, or (to use a new term) “reimagination” of Washington Irving’s classic tale “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.” In this version, Irving’s famous cowardly hero Ichabod Crane is Constable Ichabod Crane (Johnny Deep) whose superiors send him from New York City to Sleepy Hollow, an isolated village in the upper Hudson valley, to investigate a series of murders in which the victims were beheaded. Crane arrives in the village to find the residents mostly hiding behind locked doors and closed shutters. Everyone knows that the Hessian Horseman (this story’s version of the Headless Horseman and played by Christopher Walken), the spirit of dead mercenary, has returned to earth to kill the hapless citizens of the Hollow.

Of course, Crane is a man of reason and refuses to believe in the horseman. During the course of his investigation, he takes on a ward, Young Masbath (Marc Pickering), the son of the one Horseman’s victims, and falls for Katrina Anne Van Tassel (Christina Ricci), the daughter of a village elder. But soon, Crane witnesses the evil power of the horseman, and his mind spirals into paranoia. He begins to suspect many former allies of conspiring with the Horseman, but will Crane be able to tell friend from foe in time to stop the Horseman and his co-conspirator in time to save his friends?

The film is fun to watch, and the actors are great. They mix serious thespian chops with just the perfect amount of tongue-in-cheek. I loved the cast, and Johnny Depp, a frequent collaborator of Burton, straddles the comic with the mad. Christina Ricci looks as if she were born with her face to be a Burton film icon, but her performance here is a bit uneven. Miranda Richardson also makes the most of her small part; she is wicked with an air of menace about her that helps her steal every scene in which she appears.

The film is absolutely gorgeous, at that time, probably the finest looking film of the fantasy/horror genre since Bram Stoker’s Dracula. Burton mixes everything together so well; he is truly a visionary and one of the consummate visualists of the last two decades. Hell, he made Sleepy Hollow a much better film than 1999’s Oscar winner for Best Picture, American Beauty.

9 of 10
A+

NOTES:
2000 Academy Awards: 1 win: “Best Art Direction-Set Decoration” (Rick Heinrichs-art director and Peter Young-set decorator), and 2 nominations: “Best Cinematography” (Emmanuel Lubezki) and “Best Costume Design” (Colleen Atwood)


2000 BAFTA Awards: 2 wins: “Best Costume Design” (Colleen Atwood), “Best Production Design” (Rick Heinrichs), and 1 nomination: “Best Achievement in Special Visual Effects” (Jim Mitchell, Kevin Yagher, Joss Williams, and Paddy Eason)

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Review: God I Still Hate this Movie: "The Hours"

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 39 (of 2003) by Leroy Douresseaux

The Hours (2002)
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: UK/USA
Running time: 114 minutes (1 hour, 54 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for mature thematic elements, some disturbing images, and brief language
DIRECTOR: Stephen Daldry
WRITER: David Hare (based upon the novel by Michael Cunningham)
PRODUCERS: Scott Rudin and Robert Fox
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Seamus McGarvey (D.o.P.)
EDITOR: Peter Boyle
COMPOSER: Philip Glass
Academy Award winner

DRAMA

Starring: Nicole Kidman, Julianne Moore, Meryl Streep, Ed Harris, Stephen Dillane, Miranda Richardson, John C. Reilly, Toni Collette, Allison Janney, Claire Danes, Jeff Daniels, and Jack Rovello

Director Stephen Daldry’s The Hours is one of those prestige, award season movies. It’s no secret that Hollywood, or the film industry, if you will, reserves films of a serious, meaningful, thoughtful, artistic nature for release during the last quarter of the year, especially late November and December. That is a late enough release so that the films will, hopefully, still be fresh in the minds of Oscar voters come January or February, whenever ballots are mailed to members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

This is like a big bake off to impress Oscar voters. Studios trot out their best baked goods to tempt the appetites of those who might award them one faux gold statue called “Oscar,” or maybe two, or three or so on. In a way, these films are often as formulaic as the trash the studios trot out during the summer and winter vacation seasons. Oscar contenders are made of varying measuring spoons and cups of serious acting by acclaimed thespians, scripts from the best scribes adapting the most recent literary sensations, veteran directors pining after that Oscar that would define their careers, and, of course drama. Oh the drama, be it initiated by disease, murder, family conflict, or international strife, the drama is so important. Comedies hardly ever win Oscars, and Oscar treats science fiction, fantasy, horror, and mystery like bastard children.

What does that have to do with The Hours? The Hours is so painfully and obviously aimed at earning awards for its cast and crew that it can’t help but show all its tricks. Like a clueless magician, The Hours spoils the show by showing its hand too early.

The story revolves around three women of different eras, two of them affected by the works of the third woman, Virginia Woolf (Nicole Kidman). From 1923 to 1941, Ms. Woolf lives in a small English country town at the behest of her doctor and her husband Leonard (Stephen Dillane) who feel London is bad for her unstable mental health. Ms. Woolf is working on her novel Mrs. Dalloway, a novel in which the story takes place over an entire day, but she’d really like to return to London social circles despite the fact that London eventually drives her wacky and makes her want to kill herself. In 1951, Laura Brown (Julianne Moore), a pregnant housewife, is preoccupied with the novel Mrs. Dalloway and is contemplating suicide on her husband’s (John C. Reilly) birthday. In 2001, Clarissa Vaughan (Meryl Streep) is living the novel the day she is planning a party for her long time friend, Richard Brown (Ed Harris), a poet who is dying of AIDS. As the story unfolds, we see how the women and the events of three eras are inextricably linked.

First, there is a better Stephen Daldry film, the wonderful Billy Elliot. However, the acting is good. How can it not be, considering the film’s stellar cast? The problem is the material. It’s so morbid and moribund, so depressed and stilted. Yes, Ms. Streep can emote. Ms. Kidman is simply mesmerizing as Ms. Woolf. The material just didn’t hold my interest. Sometimes, I couldn’t wait to see what Virginia would do next, so good was Ms. Kidman in creating this fascinating creature; other times, I couldn’t wait for her tired ass to just disappear. To be honest, if Meryl Streep wasn’t so good at emoting, her character would have been an empty shell, merely a melancholy mannequin. It seemed as if she were just there only to look earnest and sad.

And, in the end, that’s the best way to describe this film – earnest, yet sad. Nothing happens beyond people being anxious and depressed. The grimaces, the smiles to hide the emotional exhaustion, the pangs of emptiness, the feelings of regret, the etc., there was good material; it’s just that what made it onto the screen could leaving you asking, “if you’re so sad, what’re you going to do about it?” The Hours is oh-so serious with an oh-so talented cast and oh-so serious artistic intentions. In those moments between the interesting moments and dreary tedium, I could only ask, “Oh, so what?” This movie does have many good moments, and if you’re a fan of the three leads, it’s certainly worth seeing just to watch the stars.

Maybe, someone needs to have lived a long life filled with the bitter and the sweet, with lots of regret, and with lots of life experience to appreciate this film. Maybe, The Hours is geared towards an older audience, an older female audience of a particular intellectual persuasion. I think the occasionally witty Virginia Woolf character would have made for a good film had the character not been relegated to a winsome creature mindlessly chasing self-destruction. Of course, death is part of life, but the life/death struggle doesn’t always make for a good movie.

5 of 10
C+

NOTE:
2003 Academy Awards: 1 win: “Best Actress in a Leading Role” (Nicole Kidman); 8 nominations: “Best Actor in a Supporting Role” (Ed Harris), “Best Actress in a Supporting Role” (Julianne Moore), “Best Costume Design” (Ann Roth), “Best Director,” (Stephen Daldry), “Best Editing” (Peter Boyle), “Best Music, Original Score” (Philip Glass), “Best Picture” (Scott Rudin and Robert Fox), and “Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay” (David Hare)


2003 BAFTA Awards: 2 wins: “Anthony Asquith Award for Film Music” (Philip Glass) and “Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role” (Nicole Kidman); 9 nominations: “Alexander Korda Award for Best British Film” (Scott Rudin, Robert Fox, and Stephen Daldry), “BAFTA Film Award Best Editing” (Peter Boyle), “Best Film” (Scott Rudin and Robert Fox), “Best Make Up/Hair” (Ivana Primorac, Conor O'Sullivan, and Jo Allen). “Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role” (Ed Harris), “Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role” (Meryl Streep), “Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role” (Julianne Moore), “Best Screenplay – Adapted” (David Hare), and “David Lean Award for Direction” (Stephen Daldry)


2003 Golden Globes: 2 wins “Best Motion Picture – Drama” “Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama” (Nicole Kidman); 5 nominations: “Best Director - Motion Picture” (Stephen Daldry), “Best Original Score - Motion Picture” (Philip Glass), “Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture” (Ed Harris), “Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama” (Meryl Streep), “Best Screenplay - Motion Picture” (David Hare)

Review: "Zoolander" is Smart and Silly

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 4 (of 2001) by Leroy Douresseaux

Zoolander (2001)
Running time: 89 minutes (l hour 39 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 on appeal for sexual content and drug references
DIRECTOR: Ben Stiller
WRITERS: Drake Sather & Ben Stiller and John Hamburg, from a story by Drake Sather and Ben Stiller (based upon characters created by Sather and Stiller)
PRODUCERS: Stuart Cornfeld, Scott Rudin, and Ben Stiller
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Barry Peterson
EDITOR: Greg Hayden
COMEDY

Starring: Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, Christine Taylor, Will Ferrell, Milla Jovovich, Jerry Stiller, David Duchovny, Jon Voight, and Judah Friedlander with cameos by Christian Slater, Cuba Gooding, Jr., Tommy Hilfiger, Natalie Portman, Fabio, Lenny Kravitz, Gwen Stefani, Paris Hilton, David Bowie, and Tyson Beckford

In Stiller’s uproarious satire, Zoolander, he plays Derek Zoolander, male model and three-time winner of the “Male Model of the Year” award until he loses to a virile young rival named Hansel (Owen Wilson, Shanghai Noon). In a bit of soul searching, Zoolander returns to his coal-mining hometown in South New Jersey only to be rejected by his clan, which includes his stone faced father (Jon Voight) and a largely silent brother (Vince Vaughn). A gay fashion maven Jacobim Magutu (Will Ferrell, who is increasingly being revealed to be a talented character actor with each film) recruits a spiritually lost Zoolander to kill the Prime Minister to Malaysia. The PM’s child labor laws threaten a shadowy cabal of clothing manufacturer’s, of which Magutu is part.

Clearly, the filmmakers mean this film to be a satire of the fashion industry, but it is a thin, superficial satire, which relies on poking fun at and holes in stereotypes of which the audience is familiar. If satire preaches to the already converted, Zoolander’s brand of satire will reap boffo box office. The movie does not focus so much on the industry as it does on what the general public perceives to be the fashion industry. This is not an insiders view like Robert Altman’s Ready to Wear. This movie really satirizes vanity, self-centeredness, selfishness, and ignorance more so than fashion, clothiers, designers, models and such.

Stiller’s Zoolander is a harmless buffoon, a clown for whom one can feel love and sympathy and at whom one can feel annoyance. Although he is the lead, Zoolander is not one of those super ego characters that act like a black hole and sucks the charm and life out of interesting supporting characters. This is why Wilson can shine so much as the postmodern, globetrotting adventurer, Hansel. The secret of Hansel’s charm is not his looks but rather his disdain for the obviously superficial Zoolander. Hansel successfully feigns disdain for fashion, but forwards a public persona of one who loves rugged manly adventure. Hansel is Zoolander’s foil and provides a nice dynamic of tension that the movie needs and does not get from its assassination plot line.

Clearly the filmmakers doubted that an entire movie could be made around Zoolander’s and his cronies’ lives, so they attached the thin genre thread of international intrigue to the story. It is a concession to the idea of plot and high concept. Movies can hang on characterization and characters’ charms and quirkiness. However, many movie producers believe that a movie has to be about “something.” The belief is that it is easier for a studio to sell a movie that is described as “vain supermodels must stop an assassination attempt planned by an evil fashion designer” than, say, a movie described as “a hilarious send-up of the fashion world.”

Zoolander also fairly bursts at the seems with superstar cameos, but the main cast is so good that one quickly forgets each cameo appearance as soon as it comes and goes, the exception being the nice surprise appearance by Wynona Ryder. Stiller and Wilson are really good, and there is a bite to their rivalry and a realness to their later reconciliation. Will (“Saturday Night Live,” The Ladies Man) can bury himself in a part and make it very good, although his character Magutu did seem a bit dark for this movie.

Christine (who played Marcia Brady in the Brady Bunch movies of the 1990’s) Taylor is a competent, if under utilized, foil for the two male models, and one gets the feeling that she could have added so much more to the movie had a little attention been turned her way. Milla (Fifth Element) Jovovich is lost in make up and in a perpetual scowl, but that doesn’t hide Jovovich’s immense talent. Stiller’s father Jerry Stiller (“Seinfeld”) plays an agent; it is an awkward forced part that is at times funny and at other times, fat that can be trimmed.

The movie is very funny and snide to the point of excess. Stiller, who proved to be a capable director is Reality Bites, fills each frame to the brim in order to create the atmosphere of his comedy. From wall hangings, to signs, sculptures, and costumes, he uses the visuals to establish his humor. A scene at a gas station is so funny and so well staged that it almost guarantees us a future of excellent comedy from Stiller, and it was worth at least half the admission price.

An excellent effort by all and well worth the time.

7 of 10
B+

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