Written by James McBride Directed by Spike Lee Starring Derek Luke, Michael Ealy, Laz Alonso, Omar Benson Miller and Valentina Cervi
2nd Staff Sergeant Aubrey Stamps: I know, I’m the only one left who knows.
I know this is too easy even for me but the true miracle at the center of Spike Lee’s latest joint, MIRACLE AT ST. ANNA, is that I was able to sit through it without screaming out of sheer frustration over how hollow the whole affair was. I don’t feel so bad about taking that oversimplified stance, seeing as how Lee himself didn’t seem to have any concerns about dumbing down this important history lesson. Lee is an accomplished filmmaker and MIRACLE AT ST. ANNA is an ambitious project, even for him. He prides himself, as well he should, on telling stories from an African-American perspective that is rarely taken in mainstream film. In this case, he chose to shed some much needed light on the soldiers known as the Buffalo Soldiers, all black regiments in the U.S. army. He wanted to give the world a fresh take on the World War II epic by using an unfamiliar voice but all he accomplished was minimizing their plight by weighing down his film in tired convention and never committing to any one point of view.
I don’t mind long movies when the story warrants the time spent. MIRACLE AT ST. ANNA opens in 1983. A postal worker (Derek Luke) has just shot and murdered a man who bought a stamp off of him for no apparent reason. A statue head, one with incredible value both financially and historically, has been found tucked away at the bottom of his closet. News of the statue’s recovery spreads across the globe and an investigative journalist (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is determined to understand why a seemingly law-abiding citizen would commit such a random act of brutality. This goes on for about thirty or forty minutes until the postal worker finally agrees to tell his story. It all started in Italy during the second world war. My question is, if it all started then, why did Lee waste so much time with a pointless excuse to get to the actual story when the story in question needed no excuse to be told? This all too tired Hollywood convention needs to cease. People need to start getting to the point.
The story, adapted from James McBride’s novel of the same name by McBride himself, follows a foursome of Buffalo soldiers who survive a German attack, find a young Italian boy in need of medical attention and eventually set up camp in a small village while they wait for reinforcement. During their stay, the soldiers make friends and enemies with the townspeople, which challenges the inherent racism of all involved. It isn’t a bad story; it is just written in such a false and incredible fashion that undermines the film’s credibility. There is no time for one liners when you are being attacked on all sides by the German army but yet somehow McBride felt that quips between gunfire would alleviate the intensity, as if that were necessary. There is also apparently no time for real character development. Bringing an untold story to light means putting faces to characters that had none before. Without development, these soldiers are nothing but black soldiers instead of real people. Somehow, by forcing us to face the colour of their skin, Lee made it so that is all we end up seeing.
Spike Lee makes important movies but sometimes, he makes them with the knowledge of just how important they truly are. MIRACLE AT ST. ANNA is at times horrifying and at others, beautiful. Mostly though, it is tedious and disappointing. It is not so much disappointing that Lee wasn’t able to pull off such a huge endeavor but more so that if anyone could have done it the justice it deserved, it would have been him. Now, the story has been told but the point was never made.
Another week, another Black Sheep giveaway! It is the second week of our four part series to celebrate Black Sheep's 3 years online. First off, I must congratulate last week's winner, Mr. Alexandre Savoie for correctly identifying Joel Coen as the Coen brother that is married to regular Coen actress, Frances McDormand. Alex, your double pass to BURN AFTER READING is on its way. That said, no one was able to answer the second question regarding LE BANQUET correctly so we will be putting it back into the mix this week. Thanks to everyone who played!
Just like last time, drop an e-mail to joseph@blacksheepreviews.com with the correct answer to any of the following questions for a chance to win a double pass to see the movie any time you want, anywhere in Quebec. Winners will be announced next Wednesday.
RIGHTEOUS KILL How many minutes did Robert De Niro and Al Pacino share on screen in the three hour movie, HEAT? (You can make an approximation)
LE BANQUET Name one of director, Sebastien Rose's two previous films before LE BANQUET.
THE WOMEN Who played the role Eva Mendes plays in this remake in the original 1939 George Cukor film?
Written and Directed by David Gordon Green Starring Kate Beckinsale, Sam Rockwell, Michael Angarano, Olivia Thirlby and Amy Sedaris
Louise Parkinson: It’s easy to block out the things that upset us. It’s what most people do.
By now we’ve all seen the movie already. It’s a small town with people with small lives. They’re not like you and I. They have quirks that set them apart. And while we meet them and are introduced to all their idiosyncrasies, something happens in this small town that no one is prepared to deal with. Before you know it, you’re taken back in time to see everything that led up to this moment. Yes, we’ve all already seen this movie but though it presents itself as exactly this movie, SNOW ANGELS is not this movie whatsoever. Sure it follows that simple approach but thanks to delicate, subtle performances and a soft, sensitive direction from David Gordon Green, SNOW ANGELS is at times as precious as the image the title conjures.
Green has had an impressive year. SNOW ANGELS first debuted at the 2007 Sundance film festival but only found its way to theatres this past winter to an art house audience that embraced it for many weeks. He followed that success with the widely popular stoner comedy, PINEAPPLE EXPRESS. Though they are nothing at all alike on the surface, they do share at least one similarity if you look a little deeper. Green breathes a certain peace into his films. Whether his characters are fumbling through their crappy lives or getting lost in their own zaniness, they are given the space to allow what needs to happen to happen. In SNOW ANGELS, Green, who also wrote the screenplay, gives us a mixed bag of characters who have all been involved with each other in some form or another and are all trying to follow the straight and narrow. The trouble is that while some are trying to do their best, others give into a destruction that affects all around them.
Now available to rent or own, SNOW ANGELS makes for a very pensive and somewhat melancholy evening in. Green is still light and playful though so while it does get bleak, it never loses hope. I would sooner go with rent then own in this case though as the DVD contains no special features at all outside of scene and audio selections. For such a thoughtful film, some insight could have been put into the package. Still, the unique interaction SNOW ANGELS has with our hearts and minds is a profound one to be had.
Samuel L. Jackson living next door to you is apparently horrifying to everyone except perhaps the people at Screen Gems, as they celebrate the number one opening of LAKEVIEW TERRACE, in which a happy couple move to the suburbs only to find that they are living next to the neighborhood terrorist. So if you are not with the Screen Gems camp and you discover Mr. Jackson lurking around your rose bushes, I suggest you call your realtor.
LAKEVIEW TERRACE opened solidly with fifteen and a half million and a sturdy per screen average of over $6K. This would not be enough though to elevate the overall box office to the same levels as the pack of Hollywood hits from last weekend did. LAKEVIEW TERRACE is certainly the only successful wide opening of the weekend. Opening just below in third and fourth respectively was the romantic comedy, MY BEST FRIEND’S GIRL and the animated IGOR. Both films earned mediocre per screens of $3K and poor reviews. The weekend’s only other wide opener, the David Koepp directed GHOST TOWN, opened on a good chunk less screens but found a similar sized audience for an eighth place debut. All four films found their own audiences and found at the same time that these audiences weren’t all that big.
Brad Pitt was feeling generous this week when he gave $100K to support the gay community looking to keep gay marriage legal in California when the subject comes up for debate in the coming election. It’s no surprise he’s out there giving it away as he is clearly riding high on the success of his latest, BURN AFTER READING. The Coen Brothers directed pic held steady with only a 41% loss for a 2nd place finish. Good word of mouth and strong critical response has made it the must-see September title. This isn’t saying that much given the competition but it’s still something. Last week’s other holdover titles all plummeted by nearly 50% or more, showing absolutely no staying power whatsoever.
Two high profile festival favorites made their platform debuts to spectacular results this weekend. The Ed Harris directed western, APPALOOSA, scored an $18K per screen average on 14 screens. The other title outshined even that with a $29K average on a mere 7 screens. This would be the Saul Dibb directed, THE DUCHESS, starring Keira Knightly. Both will expand slowly in the weeks to come and will hopefully do so more smoothly than TOWELHEAD. After a stellar platform last week, the film fizzled after adding 14 screens, the Alan Ball directorial debut saw its per screen average drop from $13K to under $4K. The true test comes this weekend when it expands to 90 screens. If it doesn’t work out, Ball might want to change his name to Baghead because he might not want to show his face for a while.
NEXT WEEK: What is with all this overcrowding? Aside from three high profile wide releases, there are no less than a dozen limited releases vying for the North American dollar. The biggies include the Shia LaBeouf thriller, EAGLE-EYE, the repairing of Richard Gere and Diane Lane, NIGHT AT RODANTHE and the latest Spike Lee mess, I mean, joint, MIRACLE AT ST, ANNA. Meanwhile, BLINDNESS, CHOKE and THE LUCKY ONES are just a few of the indies hoping to find a place in the crowd. C’mon, Hollywood, spread the love!
Brazilian director, Fernando Meirelles has been sharpening his skills for quite some time now, literally. His 2003 international debut, CIDADE DE DEUS (CITY OF GOD) opens with quiet titles against a black backdrop and is suddenly interrupted by quick, bright inserts of a blade being sharpened. In the context of the film, the knife is to be used by a bunch of street punks to kill a chicken. As far as we’re concerned though, that knife is being sharpened to rip us apart because that is exactly what happens when you watch Meirelles work his magic on screen. The chicken, seemingly aware of her fate, escapes to see another day but escape is not so easy for those of us at home. Once Meirelles has you, there is no escape.
CITY OF GOD made people around the world stand up and take notice of this 53-year-old director. It was a stylistic revelation, both gritty and smooth. The blaring sunshine glistening against the soft Brazilian skin tones and bare sandy beaches is mesmerizing while watching street kids make all the wrong choices as though they had no others to make is nauseatingly disturbing. His ability to create a space that was both exquisite and exhilarating while still sparse and hollowing earned him international acclaim but it was his seamless blending of story and reality that earned him an unexpected but well-deserved Oscar nomination for Best Director (and a Mouton d'Or in the same category). The story itself exposes the slum known as the City of God and the difficult struggle against a destiny of drugs and crime for every child that comes from there. Kids acting like gangsters is hard enough to deal with but even harder when some are not even acting. Meirelles cast actual street kids in some of the roles and found a way to use the experiences they survived to infuse performances from inexperienced players. The result is so real at times that you forget you’re watching a narrative film.
CITY OF GOD earned a total of four Academy Award nominations and once that had happened, Meirelles could choose any project he wanted. He chose the John Le Carre adaptation, THE CONSTANT GARDENER. Going from the slums of Brazil to A.I.D.S.-stricken villages in Africa seemed risky but promising. It was not so much Meirelles’ opportunity to solidify his position as a potential master director but rather a necessity that everyone wanted to see successfully met. Within moments, any doubt that he would be able to meet the challenge is washed away. THE CONSTANT GARDENER confirmed Meirelles’ uncanny ability to tell a story in a harsh environment while making it seem as though the action itself was unraveling amidst that environment, even with the inclusion of Hollywood actors like Ralph Fiennes and Rachel Weisz (who went on to win the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress). It is also a brave account of government involvement in drug testing on what they consider to be the disposable population of Africa. As bleak as it sounds though, Meirelles weaves multiple levels of love and humanity into this complicated conspiracy thriller and gives value to lives that have been devalued and ignored for far too long.
His third project, BLINDNESS, seems like a natural enough progression. It is yet another critique on how horribly human beings can disregard the value of another person. The major difference is that Meirelles leaves his signature ability to recreate reality to tell a story that is entirely unreal. Based on Jose Saramago’s Portuguese novel, BLINDNESS imagines what the world would be like if humanity suddenly lost the ability to see. It is unexplained, incurable and downright unnerving. It is also unfortunately lacking compared to his previous efforts. Obvious plot holes lead to gaping questions that never go answered and for the first time, it feels as though Meirelles is making concessions instead of making a masterpiece. BLINDNESS stars Julianne Moore, Mark Ruffalo and Gael Garcia Bernal and follows them as they are all quarantined and cut off from the rest of the world. What happens in the quarantine is ugly and dirty and sadly not so far fetched. The style is still tops and the performances are unfaltering but it’s the loose ends that become BLINDNESS’s ultimate undoing. What is going on outside of the quarantine? Has blindness only affected this particular American city or is this a world wide epidemic? Why is it that if Moore’s character is unaffected that scientists are not studying her? While BLINDNESS is still well worth seeing, its lack of cohesive emotional impact makes you wish Meirelles had stayed with what he knows, how to be real and harsh while still staying true to hope. Instead, he turns a blind eye to what he knows isn’t working and we see right through it.
Despite a minor slip, there is no denying Meirelles’s calculated talent, unique vision and passion for humanity. Given his proximity to genius, if I were that chicken, I would have let him cut me up. No doubt I would have ended up as something infinitely more meaningful and served amidst chaos with the intent of bringing balance and peace to the table.
Tell me, what are you up to this weekend? Between you and me, I don't see a lot coming out worth spending your money on. I suppose you could watch Samuel L. Jackson terrorize Patrick Wilson in LAKEVIEW TERRACE. Or you could check out Dane Cook steal Kate Hudson from Jason Biggs in MY BEST FRIEND'S GIRL. C'mon though. Neither one of these movies, which are the best Hollywood has to offer this weekend, actually seems "must see", so why not put your money towards a good cause instead of a two hour waste of your time? How about you go see THE DARK KNIGHT again? It doesn't matter if you've already seen it twice already, this is important. THE DARK KNIGHT is currently running about $82 million below the grand total earned by current all-time box office champ, TITANIC. Sure that's a very large number but this is the only time in recent history that a film has come anywhere close to toppling that record and TITANIC needs to go down.
Now, let me ask you a question. Have you seen TITANIC recently? Time has not been kind. This is a film, that when released, struck such a chord with viewers that it shattered all notions of what a successful film could be. It was released just before Christmas, opened at number one with $28 million and stayed on top for a whopping 15 weeks. In the current box office climate, this would be impossible to accomplish. This is the era of the opening weekend. People need to see movies as early as possible so that they can chime in with their opinions before the following weekend when everyone starts talking about the next big thing. THE DARK KNIGHT opened with $158 million. For those of you who don't do math, that's $130 million more than TITANIC. You would think that would be plenty to overtake the king of the world but TITANIC was taking in more week on week by week four.
There is already talk of a DARK KNIGHT rerelease in IMAX theatres this January in order to generate buzz for potential Oscar nominations which could generate some decent business, maybe another $10 or $15 million. Should it earn those nominations and even go on to win a few actual awards, it could tack on another $20 million or so. That will not be enough. Batman needs your help! The campaign is officially on to sink the TITANIC and all you need to do to help is get out there and drop ten bucks to see a movie you know is going to rock.
It all comes down to this. What would you rather see as the all-time box office champ? A dated film with a story that is at times so cheesy it could be a bad movie of the week or a masterful revelation that has redefined the comic book genre? Give THE DARK KNIGHT the last laugh it most definitely deserves.
Sources: Box-Office Mojo (for a complete box-office comparison)
In October of 2005, I published the first Black Sheep Review. It was for Tim Burton's THE CORPSE BRIDE and it was mostly favorable. I didn't know what I wanted from my life at that time. I knew I loved the movies. I knew I enjoyed forming opinions on them and that a lot of people I knew looked to me for advice on what they should or shouldn't see. So I thought, maybe the whole world would one day come to me for advice. I don't know if I've reached the whole world but I have reached people all around the world in the 200 posts that have followed that first one. Black Sheep Reviews has changed my life, given me focus and grown a passion for film I never knew could be so grand. It has also brought me to you and if for nothing else, that needs to be celebrated.
Over the course of the next four weeks, Black Sheep Reviews will be giving away two double run-of-engagement film passes every Wednesday. All you need to do is answer the question related to the film pass being given away via e-mail and one lucky winner will be chosen at random from the correct entries. Please send all e-mails to joseph@blacksheepreviews.com. (Please note that these passes are good only in Quebec.)
To which Coen brother is Frances McDormand married?
E-mail your responses to joseph@blacksheepreviews.com before Friday, September 19, at midnight and winners will be announced Saturday. Next week, two more passes will be given away so be sure to check back Wednesday morning.
An interview with actor/singer/songwriter, Jay Brannan
I first noticed Jay Brannan in John Cameron Mitchell’s controversial exploration of sex and love, SHORTBUS. He played Ceth, an aspiring musician who falls into the middle of a troubled relationship between two men named Jamie. His charm was winning, his smile was soft and his singing voice was soothing. I couldn’t help but fall in love with him right there and then.
I took to the internet, a place where Brannan has carved out a sizeable home for himself. His part in SHORTBUS led many people to his humble, self-made website. Brannan decided it was the right time to capitalize on his notoriety and did what he had to do to get himself into a studio to lay down as many tracks as he could afford. The tracks went up on iTunes and sold well enough over time to get Brannan the money he needed to record a full-length EP. “Goddamned” became available online this past July and immediately debuted in the Top 30. That’s pretty impressive for an unsigned independent.
Brannan is a new kind of artist. He is a modern success in every sense possible. He has utilized social networking sites like MySpace, YouTube and Facebook to the best of his advantage. Roles in films like SHORTBUS and the 2008 independent feature, HOLDING TREVOR, have raised his profile but it is his 21st century grassroots approach to self-marketing that has found him thousands of fans around the world, of which I am proud to count myself amongst.
I had the distinct pleasure of catching up with Brannan on the phone in New York the day before he left the country for his first European tour. I quickly found out that he is as multifaceted as his music.
Joseph Belanger: First off, I cannot start this without offering my congratulations. I love your album and I am a big fan. I will try not to gush throughout this interview. Jay Brannan: Thank you.
Belanger: I know you’re busy right now but I have a few questions for you. Hopefully they aren’t too personal but I figured seeing as how your album is fairly personal, you wouldn’t mind. Brannan: If they are, I’ll let you know.
Belanger: That sounds fair. I’ll just start by asking a bit about yourself. If you visit your website, one of the first things you read on the main page is a disclaimer you wrote claiming you’re not sure why anyone would want to know, see or hear anything about you. Yet, here we are having this interview. You’re about to go on a European tour. Clearly, people are interested in Jay Brannan. Has this sunk in? Brannan: I can see that is happening now. It just really surprises me. I can’t imagine why anyone would care. I just like writing songs and playing them for people. I always feel really grateful when people show up at the shows or send me e-mails or buy the CD. It’s nice but it’s hard to believe that I’m playing shows around the world. People shout out and request songs by name or sing along. It is kind of shocking to my brain.
Belanger: Hopefully your humility will stay with you. I feel like your path to success is this modern, grassroots approach, which is suitable considering you’re a self-professed folk singer. How did you make this all work? Brannan: Obviously, the era plays a huge part in this. I would be nothing if it weren’t for MySpace and YouTube. Even just my own website was constructed with some templates and HTML stuff but there’s a mailing list and all of this has been completely invaluable for me. Of course, being in SHORTBUS, was a big part. It was distributed around the world and being in that film as well as having a song in the film and on the soundtrack was the equivalent of going on a world tour without actually having to leave New York. Once the film was released, it just drove all this traffic to these sites where I just tried to maintain activity, keep putting music out. It was like all of a sudden I had 2000 MySpace messages.
Belanger: SHORTBUS received a mixed reaction when it was released. Given its highly sexualized nature, it cannot help but be the kind of film that polarizes people. Despite that, it certainly left its mark and we’re still talking about it now. What was it like being a part of that unique experience? Brannan: Being a part of SHORTBUS was one of the most meaningful things I’ve ever done. It was an incredible experience, just a personal and a creative level, without looking at the professional opportunities it brought to me. We worked on the film for two and a half years. The actors were cast before there was even a script. The thinking was that actors could be more comfortable taking risks like this, like having explicit sex on screen, if they had a hand in creating the characters, the plot, the script. We all became very close and I made some amazing friends. I’m very proud of how the film turned out. I feel like it has this greater cultural purpose.
Belanger: The SHORTBUS DVD actually goes into great detail about the process you’re describing. It sounds like it was much more of a communal effort rather than just something where you sign a contract, show up, shoot and go home. Brannan: It was an actor’s dream. I actually moved out to L.A. to be an actor but ended up quitting just because it is as miserable as everyone says. Once this film came along, it was more about the project itself and it ended up actually being more about what I genuinely liked about acting in the first place. John [Cameron Mitchell], the director, was very good at creating a warm, validating environment. It was like work and play were the same thing. It was just fun and creative and experimental and you don’t often get a lot of that.
Belanger: You mentioned that you had pretty much quit acting but now you’re in another film called, HOLDING TREVOR. Do you think that you might end up doing more acting as your career progresses. Brannan: I definitely have an interest in doing more acting but it’s just a little more difficult to do on your own. Filmmaking is so much more collaborative than music some times. I can write a song in the middle of the night in my apartment and throw it up online. While with film, you need a director and all these people to hire you and buy into you. With music, I can spearhead it myself. HOLDING TREVOR came from because my best friend in L.A., [Brent Gorski], had written a script for us to do together. It was an interesting project that I could make with friends. We had absolutely no money to make the film. It was the director’s first feature and she was willing to give this a shot on a budget that is basically barely enough to make a bad music video. It was just something that came along that would be fun and a way to make art with friends.
Belanger: Clearly, being true to your art is important to you. Your first full-length album, GODDAMNED, was just released last month. It is a very intimate experience. I thought we might chat about a few of the songs specifically in order to get to you the man behind the music. In “Half-Boyfriend” you sing, “You’re the pill I never wanted to take, my anti-misanthrope.” Does Jay Brannan resist love and happiness or is that no one worth it has convinced you of otherwise? Brannan: It’s a little bit of both. I probably do resist happiness to a certain extent because the opposite of that is my comfort zone; it’s what I’m used to. At the same time, I don’t feel like I’m making any of this up. I’ve always been an angsty, sad person. That’s just who I am and there are a lot of reason for that. Part of it might be some sort of chemical imbalance, I guess. People always ask why I’m so sad or why I’m so angry and I just want to shake them as k why they aren’t sad. Look around at this world and what’s going on. The truth is I walk around every day feeling the pain of the world. All these horrible things, they’re so frustrating. The world is the way it is and I’m just affected by that.
Belanger: The title track, “Goddamned” exhibits a certain bravery and honesty in your lyricism that is refreshing but also somewhat abrasive. Do you always say exactly what you’re thinking? Brannan (Laughing): Most of the time, yeah. I’m a pretty honest person. I have a concept of appropriate vs. inappropriate circumstances – when to keep my mouth shut. Just because I’m feeling a certain thing doesn’t mean it is necessarily the right thing to say. I don’t want to hurt other people or cause problems. I’m not always the best at it, like I’ve been fired from jobs before for being too honest in a professional setting. When it’s appropriate, like in a lyrical context, and I’m not going to hurt someone unnecessarily, I’m honest because sometimes you’ve just got to tell the truth regardless of the consequences. I’m actually really not good at the opposite, hiding things or keeping them to myself. It just builds up and makes me crazy.
Belanger: The song, “Can’t Have It All”, asks, “Do you want a lover or do you want a life?” Is it too simplistic to say that we can’t have it all? Brannan: I would like to believe that we can but I think all evidence points to the contrary. I think some people can have it all but I don’t think we all can, particularly in the way of love. For some reason, we’ve all been taught that everyone has a soul mate, then you look around and see how many people don’t. All these people who live out their lives alone or die alone; it just happens.
Belanger: So then, is it too simplistic to say that Jay Brannan is a pessimist? Brannan (laughing): Actually, I would say that’s pretty accurate.
For a pessimist, he’s a pretty lovable guy. Brannan is stopping in Toronto (September 19) and Montreal (September 20) before heading back out to Europe to continue his successful trek. If he isn’t careful, he might wake up one morning to realize he’s closer than he’s ever been to actually having it all.
For ticket information or to buy a copy of "Goddamned", please visit jaybrannan.com
So I didn’t bother with the box office report last weekend. It’s not like anyone bothered going to the movies last weekend either so no big deal. With four major wide releases all pulling in above $10 million to secure the top four spots, the fall box office is back and up and running. There were even a few surprises amongst the fall colours to keep people guessing and I’m not referring to Nicolas Cage’s BANGKOK DANGEROUS plummeting nearly 70% in its second week after barely making anything in first place last week. That wasn’t the least bit surprising.
First of all, the Coen brothers must most definitely be surprised as they find themselves debuting at number one for the first time with BURN AFTER READING. The Coens’s films do not ordinarily open wide. In fact, after THE BIG LEBOWSKI, THE LADYKILLERS and INTOLERABLE CRUELTY, BURN AFTER READING is only the fourth Coen brother film to open wide right away and it is certainly the first to debut on top with such robust numbers. Of all the major releases this week, this was the only picture to garner critical support. That, in combination with the immensely marketable cast and the buzz they earned with their Oscar win for last year’s NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN, gave the Coens exactly what they needed to finally convince the masses that they can make movies for them too.
Although it wouldn’t be the first time, Tyler Perry might have been surprised to find his latest, TYLER PERRY’S THE FAMILY THAT PREYS settling for second. Almost all of Perry’s previous offerings have surpassed expectations at the box office to the point where racking up $18 million seems below standard practically. Still, the film generated the highest per screen average of any film in the Top 10 and only came up a couple of million shy of this spring’s MEET THE BROWNS.
The good people at Overture must be surprised. After all, how could a picture that boasts the two greatest actors of our generation for the first time together on screen – apparently the marketing folks have conveniently forgotten HEAT – open below a quirky comedy and a movie with a marginalized audience. RIGHTEOUS KILL, starring Al Pacino and Robert De Niro, opened wider than any other film and only managed an average of $5K. It may be modest but it is by no means an embarrassing gross for an opening weekend – that is unless your film stars Pacino AND De Niro. Yes, I’m sure the folks at Overture are still shaking their heads.
Let’s not forget the ladies even though they conveniently forget the men. Diane English’s remake of the 30’s classic, THE WOMEN features Annette Bening, Meg Ryan, Eva Mendes, Jada Pinkett Smith, Debra Messing and not a single man. That’s right. There are no men to be found in this picture – even if one of the women is walking down a busy New York street. Though the film battled scathing reviews to muster a $10 million dollar debut, I’m sure English was surprised the take was not bigger. After female-skewed hits like SEX AND THE CITY and MAMMA MIA! performed so well, PictureHouse was hoping to capitalize on the trend. Those films were hits because they reached past their core markets and brought in unexpected male audiences though. Maybe it’s because they actually had guys in them.
The final surprise this week is for Alan Ball. The Academy Award winning screenwriter of AMERICAN BEAUTY and creator of HBO’s “Six Feet Under” made his directorial debut this week to mixed reviews and polarized controversy with TOWELHEAD. The film, in which an Arab-American girl struggles with a sexual obsession, scored an impressive average of over $13K on just four screens and secured its expansion.
NEXT WEEK: It is another busy week for Hollywood next week, except with less high profile bows. Still another four wide releases will hit. GHOST TOWN finds Ricky Gervais seeing dead people. John Cusack gets animated in IGOR. Samuel L. Jackson makes trouble for neighbour, Patrick Wilson, in LAKEVIEW TERRACE. And Dane Cook steals Kate Hudson from Jason Biggs in MY BEST FRIEND’S GIRL. This is the widest of the four releases. You’d think we cared or something.
Written and directed by Joel Coen and Ethan Coen Starring George Clooney, Frances McDormand, John Malkovich, Tilda Swinton and Brad Pitt
Osborne Cox: With all due respect, what the fuck is this? Whose ass did I forget to kiss?
The now infamous Coen brothers make a lot of movies and they know that people out there see a whole lot of movies too. A population distracted by constant film watching is a population led to see the world in a truly dramatic fashion. Finding a computer disc in the ladies locker room of a fitness club would ordinarily be just another occasion to throw something left behind in a lost and found box, likely never to be reclaimed. If you’ve seen one too many movies though, and you don’t have a whole lot going on in your own little life, you might see finding this disc as an opportunity to blackmail the owner of said disc for contents you believe to be top secret C.I.A. intelligence. There’s just one thing the movies don’t tell you about capers such as these though, and that is that none of it is real. In BURN AFTER READING, the Coens decide it’s time for a little fun and serve up a hearty dose of signature comedy that both highlights the influence of film and perpetuates it further at the same time.
BURN AFTER READING begins with a thunderous, percussion heavy score and an all too familiar opening shot of the planet we call home. Slowly but persistently, the worldview becomes more focused and as we descend, we zero in on the city of Washington. The titles appear on the screen, digitally processed as though you were reading them off a computer. Have the Coens made a super spy movie, I wondered, and with that, they had me exactly where they wanted me. Though you wouldn’t know it from the way they speak in public, the Coens are big jokers; they like to play with their audiences. They get you thinking one way and then take you in a whole other direction. It’s almost like they’re laughing at you sometimes but really, they just want you to have as much fun as they seem to be having. And fun is to be had in BURN AFTER READING. After perfecting the art of suspenseful drama with last year’s NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN, the brothers have returned to more familiar waters for zaniness that is entirely offbeat while still sharp and biting.
The premise itself is certainly amusing, if not a little scattered, but it is the top-notch ensemble that solidifies this work as quintessentially Coen-esque. Regulars like George Clooney and Frances McDormand return as two particularly kooky people who find each other online while pretending to be different versions of themselves. Tilda Swinton and John Malkovich are a married couple on the way to divorce. Both are, to a fault, cold and crazed respectively, as well as formidable performers. Richard Jenkins turns in another self-effacing, understated performance (after this year’s THE VISITOR) that should nab him more work with high profile directors. And while all of these performances are top notch and so delightfully exaggerated, it is Brad Pitt that shines brightest for the simple reason that he is entirely ridiculous. Pitt plays Chad Feldheimer, a fitness trainer who has perhaps been running on endorphins for one too many laps, and the only character in this film who isn’t pretending to be anything he isn’t. This could have a lot to do with his character not being smart enough to pull off disguise but Pitt himself is more than capable. We never quite forget that we’re watching Pitt but that’s what makes his unbridled exuberance as he bounces around to the music in his headphones so darn funny.
Despite the title, nothing actually gets burnt after being read at any point in the film. The act itself though is so dramatic that to name your movie this essentially announces the intended tone. BURN AFTER READING definitely makes good on its promise and has a blast doing it. The Coen Brothers are sitting pretty atop their throne as two of Hollywood’s most celebrated filmmakers and their latest plays out almost effortlessly. Even switching over to a new cinematographer, Emmanuel Lubezki (rather than long time collaborator, Roger Deakins), happens without a beat missed. It’s as though they could do all of this in their sleep. Now, that would be one hell of a dream that would make one heck of a good movie. We just have to make sure we can spot the difference between that and the real thing.
Summer is over! It's back to school and back to the grind. It's got to make us all feel a little like zombies so why not give away some zombie movies while the mood is in effect. Back in 1978, zombie master, George A. Romero unleashed DAWN OF THE DEAD on an unsuspecting public. The film's success led to three other installments in the thirty years that followed. Now, it has lead to a remake of the second installment, DAY OF THE DEAD. The new film, starring Ving Rhames, Mena Suvari and Nick Cannon was directed by Steve Miner.
As of late, Miner directs a good deal of television but this wasn't always so. His first feature film was actually pretty high profile. Tell me the name of his first film and you can win one of five copies of his new film, DAY OF THE DEAD (courtesy of the good folks at Peace Arch Home Entertainment). Send replies to joseph@blacksheepreviews.com
The contest will close Sunday, September 14 at midnight with winners announced on Monday. Good luck!
CONTEST CLOSED ... AND THE WINNERS ARE:
Jesse Gainer Andrea Pietzykowski Jane Zilberberg Eric Hatch and Amy Minsky
Congratulations! You will all be contacted about how to collect your prize. The answer, by the way, is FRIDAY THE 13TH PART 2.
Hello Readers. How ya doin' huh? I'm a little spent. After just one weekend too. Anyhow, I wanted to explain briefly why I haven't posted so that I can get it all out of the way and start posting again. I was in Toronto. It's festival time if you haven't heard. And while I was not able to get accredited again this year (hence my expensive stay being limited to one weekend), it was certainly a different experience than the year before. I can't figure out quite the precise moment when I knew but it could have been while I was standing in the hallway of the Intercontinental Hotel waiting for my interview with French director, Martin Provost. Press people and agents kept buzzing past me. Ben Mulroney zipped past me. I heard things like, "I'd like to get a sense of what you're going to want to eat as we only have an hour lunch with the Fox Searchlight people." Then Steve Zahn was standing in front of me, shirt open, chest hair out. I was suddenly in the middle of some behind the scenes, tongue in cheek Steven Soderbergh picture. Or it could have been when I was running from my screening of Fernando Meirelles's BLINDNESS to wait for a roundtable interview with VOY A EXPLOTAR executive producer (and coincidentally, star of BLINDNESS), Gael Garcia Bernal. He was a little late and my impending departure time was looming. I ended up chatting with the young gentleman for five minutes before a cab whisked me away and I panicked internally until I was safely on the train five minutes before it was due to go. Yes, something was definitely different this year. I couldn't understand what I was in the middle of until my good friend, Holly, explained to me that it was my life. She's direct that way.
What wasn't different this year was my sheer joy for the privilege of seeing such wonderful films with such appreciative filmgoers. I really liked the Coen Brothers' BURN AFTER READING. Very funny. I have to say, I was moved by Jonathan Demme's RACHEL GETTING MARRIED though. That was a very big surprise. Very big. NICK & NORAH'S INFINITE PLAYLIST was adorable and Michael Cera continued to show just how many different variations there can be on awkward. I mostly enjoyed Danny Boyle's SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE .. uneven but definitely intriguing. And it was a miracle that I actually made it through the incredibly long and overwrought Spike Lee film MIRACLE AT ST. ANNA. The stars were all out and I saw every one of them ... from very far in my expensive seat at the back. And if I wasn't at the world premiere, it was the North American premiere. I was smiling all the time, despite the rain. I smiled when the crowd erupted in cheers of support for the volunteers. I laughed out loud when I first heard an audience "Arrrr ... " in true pirate fashion when the anti-piracy warning appeared on screen. (Good one, mateys.) And I smiled randomely every time I remembered where I was.
Now I am home and I have a ton of writing to do. I apologize for skipping this week's box office report (there was nothing to report anyway from what I read). I will return to regular posting this weekend with my review for BURN AFTER READING. Have a great week!
When most people think of Roman Polanski, they immediately remember his legal troubles over a sexual encounter with a 13-year-old girl in 1977, when he was 44. To counterbalance this common instant reaction, Marina Zenovich’s new HBO documentary, ROMAN POLANSKI: WANTED AND DESIRED, does as much as it can to remind you about the other great hardships of Polanski’s life. There have been plenty, that’s for sure. He lost his mother and father during the Second World War, his mother losing her life in Auschwitz. He survived somehow and eventually made his way to London, where he pursued a career in filmmaking, something he always knew he wanted to do. It was there that he met his future wife, actress, Sharon Tate. They made a life for themselves in Los Angeles and for a while, they were happy. Then Tate, eight months pregnant at the time with Polanski’s child, was murdered in her home along with four others in a horrific fashion at the hands of Charles Manson and his “family”. Still Polanski soldiered on and he did so by producing some of Holywood’s greatest classics, like ROSEMARY’S BABY and CHINATOWN. Polanski has had incredible highs and horrendous lows and while he should be both commended and consoled, he still slept with a minor and that can’t be forgotten.
With so many dramatic experiences to choose from, it isn’t difficult for Zenovich to string her piece together. Despite its straightforward approach, it is never quite clear where she stands on Polanski’s behaviour. She does focus her documentary to show how no matter how many other things have happened in Polanski’s life that this one particular mistake is the event that defines it all. However, she never questions his judgment and leaves the opinion forming to her audience. This would ordinarily be a respectable decision but Zenovich’s intentions may not be as noble as they appear. She presents us with a very well balanced argument regarding whether Polanski received a fair trial or not. Lead legal counsel for both the defense and the prosecution are interviewed and, lending volumes of weight to the film, they both present relatively similar accounts of the trial and what went on behind the scenes. It is the behind the scenes material that puts the issue of fairness into question. The proceedings were overseen by Judge Lawrence Rittenband, a judge notorious for his attraction toward celebrity and the idea of being one himself. Rittenband essentially orchestrated the proceedings of his court as though he were directing a film and the intended audience was the press. Zenovich has shown us the charade and while this is all horribly unjust, it still does not negate what Polanski did.
The next question is whether what Polanski did thirty years ago even matters now. Samantha Geimer, the plaintiff in the case, who also appears in the film, has forgiven Polanski publicly. The judge now responsible for the case has stated for the record that Polanski would not serve any jail time if he were to reenter the United States. The man even won an Oscar for directing THE PIANIST in 2002. Clearly the world has moved on but Zenovich has brought us back. Her approach is well-rounded; her style is formulaic but solid. The only thing missing is a genuine satisfaction that her efforts have been fully realized. ROMAN POLANSKI: WANTED AND DESIRED alludes to Polanski being wanted in one country and desired in others but does nothing to suggest what the wants and desires mean about those feeling them. So all we’re truly left with is another reminder of what he did.
Written by David Magee and Simon Beaufoy Directed by Bharat Nalluri Starring Frances McDormand, Amy Adams and Lee Pace
MISS PETTIRGREW LIVES FOR A DAY and it is one heck of a day. She has just lost another job, can’t get a bite at the local soup kitchen and has to face the world in a hideously plain brown frock and a frazzled mess of a hairdo. These, although it certainly wouldn’t seem it, are the least of her concerns. For Miss Pettigrew (Frances McDormand) is about to meet Delysia Lafosse (Amy Adams). While all Miss Pettigrew’s troubles are desperately difficult, Delysia is a tropical storm on the verge of being upgraded to a hurricane and it is Miss Pettigrew’s job to keep her out of trouble.
Novice filmmaker, Bharat Nalluri’s throwback to the classical Hollywood farce is slow to start, which ultimately limits the audience that can’t get past the messy beginning. What lies afterward though is a pleasantly uplifting lesson in life and love that you’ll miss entirely if you dismiss this charmer too hastily. What lies past the film on its home video release is a fairly complete packaging. Both the full and widescreen versions are available on flip sides of the disc (which I didn’t know they still did as everyone should be in the widescreen camp by now). The features range from an enthusiastic making of to an interesting look at the classic novel’s extremely long journey to the screen (it was originally published in 1938). The director feature commentary is insightful but very quiet, as though we were watching the film in a library. Still, Nalluri knows what he’s talking about, even though he’s whispering it instead of yelling it.
While the entire premise is a tad bit too whimsical for its own good, given the realities of the looming war and the destitution that waits outside their posh townhouse doors, MISS PETTIGREW LIVES FOR A DAY is acted out by two fabulously talented actresses that raise this mediocre effort to heights it would never had reached had they not been cast.
What a wimpy way for such a powerhouse summer to end. Hollywood unleashed four wide releases and not a single one of them managed to connect with audiences. The most successful of the bunch is the Vin Diesel starring futuristic action flick, BABYLON A.D. but that only managed a second place finish, allowing Ben Stiller’s TROPIC THUNDER to top the charts for three consecutive weeks. How are we supposed to go back to school feeling so uninspired?
TROPIC THUNDER added over 120 screens this week to it’s already 3000+ count and saw its returns slack off only 29%. The film is essentially one week away from making good on its reported $90 million budget and that’s only from domestic returns. Its $11.5 million take was plenty to keep BABYLON A.D. from debuting on top. The latter finished in first on Friday but the narrow gap was not enough to hold on to the ultimate title come weekend’s end. BABYLON A.D. managed a fairly miniscule average and will come nowhere near recouping its $70 million budget. Producers, now would be a good time to sign Vin Diesel up for your next pic. I hear he comes at a crazy discounted rate.
The week’s other debuts were all fairly forgettable. The Don Cheadle Bourne-style thriller, TRAITOR, was the only one of the bunch to muster a respectable per screen average. Having opened on Wednesday ate into its weekend returns somewhat so it might have managed a potential fourth place finish but still, no better than that. DISASTER MOVIE lived up to its title, opening in seventh place. Perhaps the adolescent audiences that usually flock to these farces might finally have had enough. Let’s hope, shall we? And speaking of adolescents, did they all leave the country for the weekend? The teen raunch comedy, COLLEGE, didn’t come anywhere close to making the grade, opening in a pathetic 15th place.
Given the lack of performance of Hollywood’s newest offerings, I think it appropriate to celebrate longevity instead. In its seventh week of release, MAMMA MIA! actually saw its tally increase over last week, even after dropping over 350 screens. Woody Allen’s 40th feature, VICKY CRISTINA BARCELONA inched back into the Top 10 after narrowly missing out last week, coasting on a loss of less than 1%, scoring the highest per screen average in the Top 10. Below the Top 10, WALL-E added 370 screens late in the game and saw a 15% increase, for a grand total of $217 million. And of course, how can I address longevity without mentioning THE DARK KNIGHT? The film fell off a scant 17%, inched back up to third place and officially crossed the $500 million mark.
The art house offerings were pretty quiet this week, no doubt waiting to platform a number of awards contenders in the fall. ELEGY and TELL NO ONE continued to post impressive gains with slight expansions. HAMLET 2 however, failed to connect. Sure it increased over 280% this week after adding 1,494 screens but its per screen was barely over a grand. They should never have made a sequel.
NEXT WEEK: It should be another uneventful weekend. Hollywood only has one major release to unleash, the Nicolas Cage action flick, BANGKOK DANGEROUS. This should pretty much leave plenty of space for everyone to catch their summer favorites one last time.
