A really nice new product was released by Turner Classic Movies TCM.com yesterday (Reuters coverage here) - the Media Room. Very slick product with lots of classic movie material for your viewing pleasure. And see below - you can embed content off their site as well, like this intro by Otto Preminger for his film ‘In Harms Way’ starring John Wayne.
Let’s face it - David Cronenberg is a sick puppy. From the ear-piercing with a hatpin as foreplay in Videodrome, to the various ‘Acts of Violence’ in this flick, each with more and more blood bubbling, spraying and dripping, Cronenberg has shown that he always wants to press boundaries to their limit. That’s not to say that A History of Violence (IMDB, Netflix, Official Site) is overly gratuitous. There is a message in the madness. This is a memorable film, with themes of violence, family and sexuality all intertwined to hold a mirror up to the violence that permeates society today. Viggo Mortensen is great in the lead role, as is Maria Bello. I’m going to call this a ’social action flick’ - if that is possible - and is best described as intense, sparse, and highlighted by sudden moments of emotion - classic Cronenberg fare.
You have to appreciate a restaurant where one of the servers suggests that by the end of their eight-course blind tasting menu that you certainly would not have room for a ‘wafer-thin mint’, recalling the seminal scene from Monty Python’s Meaning of Life involving a particularly rotund man in a fine dining establishment who (a) throws up for roughly five minutes of screen time and finally (b) explodes after eating a mint petit-four.
Amy treated me to a wonderful meal last night at The Dining Room at the Ritz Carlton last night to celebrate my 40th, and it was quite honestly one of the most amazing meals I’ve had in a very long time. Chef Arnaud Berthelier is a star - having only been here in Atlanta for 9 months or so, the food is just stellar, comparing favorably with the very best New York has to offer. I had the seven-course tasting menu with paired wines (by their rising star 24-year old sommelier Chantelle Grilhot), and won’t soon forget the meal. Highlight for me - the ‘Fruit Soup’ - a warm compote of fruits and fresh herbs in a translucent bag, snipped open dramatically at the table, allowing the infusion to waft around the table. The wait staff then placed a scoop of lemon verbena ice cream in the warm fruit, allowing it all to meld. Amazing! Update: Didn’t want to forget to mention this. Also very cool was the so-called ‘molecular cuisine’ technique used in the course pictured above. The egg-like object at left was the sauce for the filet of daurade, using calcium chloride and sodium alginate.
Based on the Walter Kirn novel of the same name, Thumbsucker is an interesting little film by first-time director Mike Mills (no relation to the R.E.M. bass player). The film captures well the strained relationships between a teen boy who still sucks his thumb and his screwed up parents, classmates and teachers. Tilda Swinton is great as the mom neither the audience or her son really understand until late in the film, and Benjamin Bratt has a nice cameo as a cocaine-addicted TV star. Vince Vaughn, Vincent D’Onofrio and Keanu Reeves also put in good performances - especially Reeve’s Zen-master orthodontist. The story is bittersweet, and full of very authentic moments - a nice little indie flick worth checking out. Two-and-a-half stars.
Tags: Movies
I’m trying to make it a policy that I’ll post at least a short review on anything we are watching from Netflix, mostly for the greater good my own recollection. 
Anyway, I’d seen a preview for Everything is Illuminated sometime last year when Amy and I had actually managed to see a movie, the I Heart Huckabees indie flick. Anyway, I recall being charmed by the visuals and the storyline of an American Jewish writer going back to Russia to find the people involved in his grandfather’s life and his escape from the Germans in WWII. The film was charming at times, disturbing at others, and in my opinion a must-see for anyone who traces their ancestry through Eastern Europe and the Holocaust. A great performance by Elijah Wood, the grandfather (who at times reminded me in mannerisms of my dad), and the goofy rapping Russian guide. I’m putting the book by Jonathan Safran Foer on my ‘to read’ list. Four stars.
New photos of kids from 1971 Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory: Here’s a link to a Willy Wonka fansite (the old-school version) with scans of Poloaroids taken of the five kids from the 1971 flick, all grown up. Augustus is just creepy.
(Via Boing Boing.)
Tags: Movies
Meant to blog this last week - but Sam gets in the way of that sort of thing. Anyway, I got a pass from Amy to head out with some fellow geeks from work to catch the midnight showing of the Star Wars prequel, Revenge of the Sith. I’ve posted a bunch of photos on the moblog I shot of my fellow geeks that night, so check those out. Sounds like I added to what was really a phenomenal opening - surpassing Spiderman for opening weekend ticket sales. NPR this morning had a tidbit estimating that the sum loss of productivity from the ‘Wookie Hooky’ - people calling in sick on Thursday or Friday - at something approaching $600 million. Maybe Mr. Greenspan will be giving Mr. Lucas a call and asking for some help there…
Tags: Movies
Two of my favorite animated characters will soon be featured in their very own full-length film, Curse of the Wererabbit. Their official site reports a release this Autumn, and explains that the film has been in development for four years and will take over 18 months to shoot. A crew of over 200 people are involved in the production covering every aspect of the film making process, from the modelmakers and animators, set dressers and art directors to story artists, directors of photgraphy and editors. This is very funny stuff. Take a look at this video showing behind-the-scenes production. It’s amazing how painstaking claymation remains with current technology. And visit the BBC to see another hilarious short - Wallace’s take on Soccer, ‘Soccomatic’.
Tags: Movies
The first trailer for the upcoming Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy film was posted on the front page of Amazon.com today. Do not stop, do not pass go, etc., just get yourself over to there and watch it NOW. Warning: The video takes a about 60 seconds to load — traffic issues? or just a slow Flash player?
Of extra note - I reported earlier that the release date for the movie was May 6, 2005 - but Amazon’s info has moved this up one week to April 29.
I’m prepared to be hugely underwhelmed by this movie, some twenty years in the making. But I’m cautiously optimistic seeing this trailer, the first showing action from the film (the earlier trailer was just a CG tease). The trailer suggests a bit more of an ‘Independence Day 2005′ feel, and is perhaps less humorous in tone than I expected. But that’s probably just marketing spin for this, an early Summer release. Amazon also has a selection of new screenshots from the film, and the new movie poster, pictured above.
Tags: Movies
The way I look at it, you can either be an actor and aspire to do great work and probably starve while doing it, or try to make a buck and grow a thick skin - the critics are going to (rightfully so) tell you how bad your crap is. Mr. Schneider responds to an LA Times column about how Deuce Bigalow 2 is an example of Hollywood not concentrating on quality film making in a full page ad in Variety. Expensive way to show you are more of a tool than we even imagined. Read on at Defamer.
Tags: Movies
