Mass for Cinephile Shut-Ins: Part Three

Let us commune over all this vague pre-publicity so as to garner faith and hope for a bright cinematic future. And let us also pass invalid judgment.

This is Part Three.

The secret word of the day is: dysfunction.

Life During Wartime

directed and written by: Todd Solondz

starring: Charlotte Rampling, Allison Janney, Paul Reubens, Shirley Henderson, Ciaran Hinds, Ally Sheedy

Basically: Following the events of 1998's Happiness, family man and pedophile Bill is released from prison and faced with the monumental task of forgiveness.

And We Should Care Because: Todd Solondz knows that misery loves company, and that we the company love laughing uncomfortably alongside it. His last feature Palindromes was similarly a "pseudo-sequel" to his breakthrough Welcome to the Dollhouse, and still managed to take its own oddball and disturbing (ie. hysterical) routes. A new ensemble takes up the varied roles from Happiness, such as Ciaran Hinds re-imagining the part that Dylan Baker made infamous as the dad who subscribes to "family first" ideals and "Teen Beat" magazine. Advanced word has been mixed, but somewhat more favorable than Palindromes and his vastly underrated Storytelling. Though it seems more devoted Solondz fans find plenty to laugh at and feel bad about later, calling it a notable meditation on family and forgiveness.

Status: Can't Miss

Jake Gyllenhaal IS a drug

that fights erectile dysfunction.

Love and Other Drugs

directed by: Edward Zwick

written by: Marshall Herskowitz, Edward Zwick, Charles Randolph, Jamie Reidy (novel)

starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Anne Hathaway, Hank Azaria, Oliver Platt

Basically: The competitive world of pharmaceuticals brings together a salesman for erectile dysfunction with a woman suffering Parkinson's disease and her Prozac-peddling man on the side.

And We Should Care Because: It's a Brokeback Mountain reunion for Jake Gyllenhaal and Anne Hathaway in this story of power plays in the bedroom and the world of prescription drugs (they never were mutually exclusive). This comedic satire is based on Jamie Reidy's memoir "The Hard Sell" and looks to take on a deceitful industry with a lighter touch, although director Ed Zwick was behind the political thriller and wedding industry nightmare, Blood Diamond. In fact before partners Zwick and Marshall Herskowitz took to pill-popping tales of political hire, they were behind TV classics thirtysomething and My So-Called Life, so it's fair to assume they can handle both sides of the comedy/drama balance (you know Jordan Catalano would be prescribed Adderall if that show were now in production). Beyond that the talk show circuit has given Jake Gyllenhaal many a fruitful discussion of wearing "cock socks" on set, which should test many a Viagra prescription.

Status: Curious

A sunny disposition and other impossible pursuits.

Love and Other Impossible Pursuits

directed by: Don Roos

written by: Don Roos, Ayelet Waldman (novel)

starring: Natalie Portman, Lisa Kudrow, Lauren Ambrose, Scott Cohen

Basically: A troublesome bond with her stepson helps a woman overcome a traumatic loss.

And We Should Care Because: When I last wrote on this film it had the chick-lit diary title 17 Photos of Isabel, and before that Jennifer Lopez was set to star. Dire news that was making this project almost impossible to pursue. Thankfully things seem to be coming together for the latest from writer/director Don Roos, mastermind behind The Opposite of Sex and the always undervalued Happy Endings. Lopez has been graciously replaced with Natalie Portman, Lauren Ambrose is lending her charms, and the true muse of Don Roos, Lisa Kudrow, should guarantee plenty of sardonic strength and support. The film's tone, based on Ayelet Waldman's novel, looks to be more melodramatic and teary-eyed than usual for Roos, possibly playing more to the moods of his plane crash romance, Bounce. It might not be worth all this pursuit, but I still love Lisa Kudrow.

Status: Curious

Money can't buy happiness,

but surely a criminal defense lawyer.

Lucky

directed by: Gil Cates Jr.

written by: Kent Sublette

starring: Colin Hanks, Ari Graynor, Ann-Margret, Jeffrey Tambor

Basically: A serial killer's luck cashes in when he wins the lottery and finally has an in with the girl of his dreams.

And We Should Care Because: So I worked on the (amazing) crew. So I made the wrong kind of tea for Ann-Margret. So promoting this film seems like a cheap, false ploy. Not so! I'm lucky enough to really believe that the film has all the potential in the world, with a uniquely sick, sweet and satirical tone, and a cast more than ready for the challenge. Colin Hanks seems perfect for the part -- he is suspiciously normal with a dark comic streak. And Ari Graynor (Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist, Whip It, Youth in Revolt) is more than deserving of a showcase with the screentime to match her stellar comedic chops. Then there's the likes of legendary and lovable Ann-Margret as Hank's mother, and Jeffrey Tambor's more serious side. All great people to boot. Don't take my word for it, but your odds are infinitely better than winning the lottery.

Status: Can't Miss

First Michelle Williams lost her dog, Lucy.

Now she's lost the entire Oregon Trail.

Meek's Cutoff

directed by: Kelly Reichardt

written by: Jon Raymond

starring: Michelle Williams, Paul Dano, Bruce Greenwood, Shirley Henderson

Basically: Three families attempt crossing the Cascade Mountains in 1845 with the help of their guide, Stephen Meeks, whose shortcuts leads them onto a path of desolation, until they meet a Native American wanderer.

And We Should Care Because: Kelly Reichardt's last feature, Wendy and Lucy, used sparseness and subtlety to gain surprising emotional heft, also displaying the nuanced talents of Michelle Williams in the lead. Old Joy likewise found in Reichardt a talent for blending vivid, real world environments with impactful character arcs. This period piece set upon the Oregon Trail similarly takes on a tale of drifters, and of human nature at a cross with the natural landscape. She has a skill for crafting small, personal films that bring about remarkable implications of much greater scale (Wendy and Lucy's lost dog walks with the immense weight of homelessness, poverty and a wayward American dream). Let Kelly Reichardt be our guide. Guaranteed there will be no desolate shortcuts.

Status: Can't Miss

No souls left to take after

the Twilight franchise...

My Soul to Take

directed and written by: Wes Craven

starring: Shareeka Epps, Max Thieriot, Nick Lashaway, Denzel Whitaker

Basically: A town's legendary serial killer vows to return and kill the seven children born on the day of his death. Sixteen years later the murders commence. Is one of the children responsible, or has the killer made his supernatural return?

And We Should Care Because: Wes Craven's last attempt to write and direct yielded the savvy series highlight and Freddy reinvention, Wes Craven's New Nightmare -- an underrated display of Craven's talent for witty and innovative premise with a signature dark streak. Since then Craven has receded to directorial gigs to the smashing success of Scream and the dismal failures of the studio-hacked, ironically named Cursed, and inevitably declining sequels like Scream 3. True to Craven's career though he's made a genre classic for every mediocre effort, but his auteur works are often his most memorable (The Last House on the Left, The Hills Have Eyes, A Nightmare on Elm Street). His premise here recalls both his Nightmare glory days and... Shocker. Things could fall either way. Anybody want to bet these kids use boobytraps to fight their killer? It worked for Nancy Thompson, the Collingwood parents and the Carter Clan. Let's hope it gives us what the Nightmare remake inevitably won't: genuine horror that's genuinely creative.

Status: Curious

Part Four soon!

Don't Tempt Me... Again

The 20 Most Tempting Titles of 2009

(#11-15)
(#16-20 here)

(Warning: Not sold temptingly.)

(11) King Shot
Director: Alejandro Jodorowsky
Executive Producer: David Lynch
Starring: Nick Nolte, Marilyn Manson, Asia Argento, Udo Kier, David Hess

If you look at that roster and feel nothing, you're at the wrong blog, mister. That's a whole lot of crazy on one crew sheet, and more than enough to make one hell of an interesting movie -- or at the very least a compelling disaster. Looks like cult cinema is about to give birth to a bastard child, and I can't think of anyone better to raise it than Jodorowsky and Lynch; two of the finest of fantastic filmmakers. Their work is supremely cinematic, audacious, ominous and wholly consuming... and little bit fucked up in the very best way. That last bit pretty much sums up that entire cast as well.

This concept art promises.. fun?

(12) The Countess
Director: Julie Delpy
Starring: Julie Delpy, William Hurt, Anamaria Marinca

I love me some Julie Delpy walking around European cities and talking. I'm not averse her to her ritualistically bathing in the blood of virgins either, as apparently she's prone to do now and again. Delpy's so multi-talented that she's playing the lead villainess, directing herself, and scoring the entire film. I'd say she should start her own cosmetics line, but you know those prices would be outrageous...

Countess Bathory had such a ritual in 16th-century Hungary, but such a small price for attaining that youthful glow. It all seems the making for a sinister and salacious costume drama, with some real talent on all sides of the camera... oddly enough all in the form of Julie Delpy.

Maybe she's born with it, but it's not Maybelline.

(13) 17 Photos of Isabel
Director: Don Roos
Starring: Natalie Portman, Lisa Kudrow

Last time I wrote about this "difficult stepchild drama" (the gist of the plot), I was saying "Enough!" to Jennifer Lopez in the lead opposite the great director of The Opposite of Sex and Happy Endings, Don Roos, and my beloved Lisa Kudrow! Turns out Natalie Portman's since taken over in the lead and the world breathes a little lighter today. The title also changed from Love and Other Impossible Pursuits to the chick-lit stylings of 17 Photos of Isabel. Write down that title in your diary next to your drawings of unicorns in love.

Here's one of the first photos of Isabel so far:


Not sure I care to see sixteen more if they're all like that...

(14) Giallo
Director: Dario Argento
Starring: Adrien Brody, Emmanuelle Seigner

My dreams for the final part of his eerie and majestic Three Mothers Trilogy were dashed against the cheaply constructed rocks, but I have an undying love for Dario Argento no matter my ambivalence to his recent efforts. I'm hoping that this one's less a rush job and more of a return to the genre he helped define, as the title would indicate. If The Third Mother gave us anything it was a reminder that Argento will always shatter silly notions of good taste. This plot's "jaundiced psycho on a model hunt" looks to have all the right setup with a promising old-school edge.

But this trailer is stale and bland on dry toast...



Oh well. More in the vein of The Card Player -- which is to say nothing particularly bad, just nothing spectacular either. Argento will still crack this list next year and probably the year after that. You take the good, you take the bad, you take them both and there you have Dario's career.


(15) The Informers
Director: Gregor Jordan
Co-writer: Bret Easton Ellis
Starring: Mickey Rourke, Winona Ryder, Chris Isaak, Kim Basinger, Brad Renfro

The works of Bret Easton Ellis have a sardonic, ambiguous edge which should score lots of points with you if you're socially detached, bitter, jaded, sarcastic or rude. Since you're still on this site, I'm guessing you're all of those things and should check this movie out. Hey, I'm just the informer...



Plus, how great and bizarre is that cast? Mickey Rourke fresh off his winning lead as The Wrestler, Winona Ryder gracefully and graciously crawling out of the woodwork, and the deceased Brad Renfro (The Client, Apt Pupil, Bully) in his final appearance. This is also Bret Easton Ellis's first time trying his hand at his own novel's adaptation in the wake of two fantastic ones by other authors (American Psycho, The Rules of Attraction). Hopefully he keeps it that much truer to the book's desiccating, eerie and hilariously detached mood.

Or it could turn out something like this:

2009 and Beyond the Infinite: Part 2

A look into the films of the future.

Part 1 available here.

Dark Shadows

Release: 2010 (?)
Director: Tim Burton

The soapy sixties saga from creator Dan Curtis about time-shifting vampire Barnabas Collins and his dark legacy is always ripe to be drained of its blood. There was already the nineties' short-lived revival series, and this decade's botched teenage spin, but now it's Tim Burton's turn to revisit the Gothic mystery of Collinwood Manor. It sounds unexpectedly enticing! Naturally Johnny Depp's set for the lead, but this time it's as much about good casting as it is Burton's friendly obligation. The series had a tone of playful fantasy that can be Burton's specialty, although Big Fish and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory seemed like manufactured whimsy more than inspired streams of his imagination. See Edward Scissorhands or Beetlejuice for that. John August is writing the script and we can probably assume it will stick to the core story of Barnabas falling for the beautiful visitor Victoria Winters, who bears a striking resemblance to his long lost love Josette. It's all about witches, werewolves and Barnabas Fucking Collins! (John August is welcome to use that line in the film.) Burton's off doing his version of Alice in Wonderland first, also starring Johnny Depp, but we'll wait and see if he can recover some of that old black magic.

A natural progression.

Enter the Void
Release: 2009 (Cannes Film Festival)
Director: Gaspar Noé

If you've got a strong stomach or a substance abuse problem, this one's your golden ticket! Shocking and innovative French director Gaspar Noé (I Stand Alone) takes us on a psychedelic trip through the mind of a man on the brink of death. Noé says the film, which was recently completed in Tokyo, will be an exhaustive experience blending dreams, memory and startling streams of consciousness. He mentions his primary influence was the mind melding 2001: A Space Odyssey, which he already made direct connections to in the bold and controversial Irreversible. The trippy, "melodramatic" plot concerns a brother's efforts to save his sister while having a near death experience. It sounds radically visual with an inventive narrative, and there's no doubt Noé's got a little shock left in his system. Check out the film's striking poster art and more of Noé's thoughts here.

"Someone in here!"

Satisfaction
Release: 2009 (?)
Director: Miranda July

Me, you and everyone I know loved Miranda July's indie/performance art debut. Her follow-up is a modern romantic comedy that, according to Variety, "turns on a young couple: Jason, goes off on an ecological mission; Sophie starts an affair with an older man. Both events threaten the relationship." Some threads of the film might even connect to July's recent short story collection No One Belongs Here More Than You. Expect big heart, inoffensive quirk, and possibly some small kids chatting poetically about scat.

))<>((

Love and Other Impossible Pursuits
Release: 2009 (?)
Director: Don Roos

Am I actually looking forward to a movie starring Jennifer Lopez? To that I say, "Enough!" But then I look out the window and hell hasn't frozen over. It's just her good luck to be paired with a hilarious queer director and his perfect sardonic muse Lisa Kudrow. Don Roos, who gave us The Opposite of Sex and the undervalued Happy Endings, is back with another take on the perils and promise of modern relationships. According to the (far too spoilerish) synopsis here, the film follows an aspiring lawyer (Lopez) whose flirtation with a married senior partner (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) quickly spins into marriage, pregnancy, and dealing with a difficult stepchild. Did you just nod off? Well it takes some darker turns from there which sound like they'll definitely reap the heavy drama. It's based on a novel by Ayelet Waldman and could be more in keeping with Roos' 2000 feature Bounce. I'm not making this sound good at all... But Lisa Kudrow everybody!

Antichrist
Release: 2009
Director: Lars von Trier

Previously discussed here. While we wait on Washington and pray Nicole Kidman frees up her schedule, we get this equally drool-worthy prospect. Lars von Trier is fusing his notoriously horrifying take on humanity with a more genre-based horror. It's got a cabin in the woods, a demonic pregnancy and Willem Dafoe, all working their way under your skin. Do yourself a favor and gear up for this one by watching von Trier's miniseries spectacular The Kingdom (Riget). Because where else can you see Udo Kier's adult head emerging from a womb?

Rosemary had it easy.

Taking Woodstock
Release: 2009
Director: Ang Lee

Recently discussed here. I lust for any new Ang Lee film, devoid of caution that it could ever disappoint. (Covering my ears as you say The Hulk). Gay themes, Emile Hirsch and Jeffrey Dean Morgan! ...Oh, and something about music... or some kind of festival... maybe?

"Bring on shirtless Emile Hirsch! ...Oh, and the band. We should probably hear the band."

Margaret
Release: 2009
Director: Kenneth Lonergan

Kenneth Lonergan's second feature has been a long time coming. It was way back in 2000 that he warmed indie-loving hearts with the magnificent You Can Count On Me. Stars of that film Mark Ruffalo and Matthew Broderick (plus your standard Culkin kid) are joined by Matt Damon and Anna Paquin for this morality based drama. The film follows Lisa Cohen (Paquin), a high school student witness to a horrible traffic accident. She feels as though the tragedy may have inadvertently been her fault, and in efforts to make things right with herself she brings about complications with those around her. It sounds like another richly rewarding character piece from Lonergan, and if it's anything like his debut we can expect some wonderfully natural dialogue and subtly affecting humor.

She's too depressed to be fucking Matt Damon.

Part 3 coming soon.

Cruising with Lisa Kudrow

"Why did he grow that beard?
And his posture! He looks like Early Man."