Film Fresh

Three Films to Watch on Thanksgiving

Kick off the holiday season with a decidedly un-cheesy Reese Witherspoon romance comedy (yes, it exists!), a quirky, coming-of-age, Thanksgiving family drama, or an old 1950's classic featuring Mr. Bing Crosby.

As families are the center of holiday films, holiday films tend to focus on the inevitable family politics that reignite all those "unresolved issues" during the November/December months. Luckily, there are great ones to remind us that we're not alone, and maybe even inspire us to hug our dogs. FAMILIAR STRANGERS is a quirky yet touching story of a family who are coping with divorce and adolescent angst during a 4-day family gathering to celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday.

Witherspoon and Vaughn in the "tart" and "lean" movie FOUR CHRISTMASES.

Among the new releases this week we have FOUR CHRISTMASES, a romantic comedy starring Vince Vaughn and Reese Witherspoon as a couple who are forced to visit all four of their divorced parents' homes on Christmas Day. The upscale, unmarried couple, Brad (Vaughn) and Kate (Witherspoon), greatly enjoy their annual ritual of escaping to an exotic, sunny locale during the holiday season, allowing them to avoid squabbling or dysfunctional family members. But this year, they get trapped in the San Francisco airport and are forced to spend "four Christmases" with the relatives they've been avoiding. A.O. Scott enjoyed the film, describing it as "refreshingly tart and lean, forgoing the usual schmaltz and syrup of the season" (more). Be prepared, however: a number of critics thought the film's "tartness" was overly cynical, and while FOUR CHRISTMASES may be about ABOUT families, it is not necessarily a "family film".

One classic film that we just added to Film Fresh's growing collection is WHITE CHRISTMAS, which highlights the importance of friendship during the holidays. When Bing Crosby sang "White Christmas", written by the great composer Irving Berlin, the song became one of the best-selling singles of all time and an indespensible Christmas classic. In this 1954 musical, Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye star as two talented song-and-dance men who met as soldiers during World War II. They pair up with two equally musical women and head to Vermont during the holidays.

The kind of happiness that doesn't exist anymore.

WHITE CHRISTMAS was extremely popular with audiences, as the film made $12,000,000 at the box office, making it the top moneymaker during the year of its release. The film continues to receive positive reviews from critics. "Crosby wraps up his portion of the show with deceptive ease," writes VARIETY. "Kaye takes in his stride the dance, song and comedy demands of his assignment, keeping Crosby on his toes at all time" (more).

Finds of the Day - 11/23/09

We're still happy about awards for CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON.

Whaaat? THE TWILIGHT SAGA: NEW MOON sold $140.7 million in tickets on its opening weekend. This ranks as the third-biggest opening on record of all time behind THE DARK KNIGHT and SPIDERMAN 3. Last week, Film Fresh reported on the highly unfavorable reviews that the film has received (As James Berardinelli calls the film "unintentionally funny"), but obviously, NEW MOON's poor critical reception didn't stop anyone (more).

Vera Farmiga, Peter Sarsgaard, Stanley Tucci and Christoph Waltz will receive the Cinema Vanguard Award at the Santa Barbara Festival (more). "This group of supporting actors encompasses the best of the best; their roles have made us love them as well as hate them, sometimes all at the same time," said the festival's director, Roger Durling.

INDIEWIRE composed a list of 25 things the Academy has done right with the Oscars since 2000, since complaining about the awards ceremony has evidently become too easy. Writer Peter Knegt is happy with the 8 nominations and 2 wins for MILK, Laura Linney’s nods for best actress, and the 10 nominations and 4 awards for CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON, and more.

Film School: The 1990s

The 1990s were an era of blockbusters, technology and bankable celebrities. However, they were also an era of a growing independent film movement that looked to gain access into Hollywood by defying its rules. Sound ironic?  That’s probably because it was, but the 90s were a decade seeped in irony and it only makes sense that the film world would reflect this cultural trend.

The 90s kicked off with continued work by the influential Move Brats, the group of influential movie directors that came to prominence in the 70s such as Steven Spielberg, Francis Ford Coppola and Martin Scorsese. These three began the decade by adapting well-known books to the big screen. Steven Spielberg cast Robin Williams, Dustin Hoffman and Julia Roberts in a different take on the Peter Pan story with his 1991 film HOOK. Now a childhood favorite of many, it is important to remember that when it was released HOOK was a financial and critical failure. Spielberg quickly rebounded with another book adaptation. However, this time the director chose a more serious topic, a non-fiction book about the Holocaust. Spielberg’s SCHINDLER’S LIST was incredibly well received by audiences and critics, winning the Oscar for Best Picture and earning Spielberg his first Academy Award for Best Director.

Liam Neeson starred as Oskar Schlinder in the film that earned Steven Spielberg his first Oscar.

In that same year, Francis Ford Coppola concluded his crime trilogy with THE GODFATHER: PART III, based upon Mario Puzio’s initial novel on the Correlone family.  Coppolla refers to PART III as the saga’s epilogue and the film features a greater emphasis on historical events than the previous films of the franchise. Following that, Coppola directed a bombastic and epic adaptation of a horror classic. BRAM STOKER’S DRACULA was a visual feast and a drastically different take on the vampire lore seen in any other cinematic interpretation.

It was probably Martin Scorsese who made the biggest initial impression in this new decade with one of his most celebrated films. Based upon former mob member Henry Hill‘s non-fiction book Wiseguy, Scorsese’s GOODFELLAS took the film world by storm with its uncompromising violence and realistic portrayal of the gangster lifestyle. The film was immediately considered a classic, earning several Academy Award nominations and it was even proclaimed by some critics as being the best gangster film of all time.

This scene between Joe Pesci and Ray Liotta in GOODFELLAS is one of the most memorable from any 90s film.

The freedom and diversity of projects of the movie brats does not accurately reflect the trends that were occurring in other mainstream Hollywood films. James Cameron’s sci-fi sequel TERMINATOR 2: JUDGEMENT DAY set the standard for high cost, high grossing summer blockbusters that dominated the film market of the 90s.

There were several other sci-fi films with bloated budgets and stacked casts that enticed filmgoers every summer.  INDEPENDENCE DAY, GODZILLA, MEN IN BLACK, ARMAGEDDON, MARS ATTACKS are just a few of the films that reflect this trend.

Perhaps the most memorable, influential and well-received science fiction film of the 90s came near the end of the decade with THE MATRIX.  Critics hailed the film not only for its groundbreaking special effects, but also for its intelligent plot and captivating storyline; traits they felt was sorely lacking from many of the decade’s sci-fi films.

THE MATRIX featured some of the decade's most dazzyling special effects.

But while Hollywood was chugging along releasing a slew of blockbusters, there were also several new, independent filmmakers breaking their way into the mainstream. Partially due to the success of films like SEX, LIES AND VIDEOTAPE and THE CRYING GAME, there was an increasing interest for young filmmakers hitting the festival circuit with films quite different from those gracing screens at the multiplexes.

Within the span of two years, three directors that dominated the 90s came into the national conscious. Quentin Tarantino, Robert Rodriguez and Kevin Smith became unexpected, almost overnight success stories with RESERVOIR DOGS, EL MARIACHI and CLERKS.  Proclaimed at the “VCR Generation,” these filmmakers were the first of major auteurs to grow up with movies on home video. They even gained access into the Hollywood studio world and showed what they were capable of when they had more than a shoestring budget to work with. Their low-budget approach to filmmaking was a refreshing change of pace from the Hollywood releases and these directors enjoyed continued success throughout the decade. Tarantino even earned an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay with his sophomore effort PULP FICTION, arguably the most influential film of the decade.

Samuel L. Jackson's character in PULP FICTION became one of the most quoted.

While many cinephiles may argue that the 90s were one of the worst decades for movies, there was plenty to love and admire about the films of this era. Those coming of age in the 90s had the opportunity to see some of the best work from classic directors, as well as the rise of new important figures in the film world. If nothing else, the world took greater notice of the incredible work created outside of the mainstream.

What People Are Saying About ... PRECIOUS: BASED ON THE NOVEL 'PUSH' BY SAPPHIRE

The film PRECIOUS: BASED ON THE NOVEL ‘PUSH’ BY SAPPHIRE is quickly earning critical acclaim and box-office success. As the film’s lengthy title suggests, it is adapted from a book published back in 1996 . The movie tells the story of 16-year old Precious, a girl whose day-to-day life in Harlem deals with such issues as incest, rape and poverty. (more)

Thanks to the film’s big-name producers (Oprah Winfrey and Tyler Perry), PRECIOUS earned a distribution deal with Lionsgate after premiering at the Sundance Film Festival, where it won both the Audience Award and the Grand Jury Prize for best drama. (more) 

PRECIOUS received a limited release on November 6 and, to date, is still only playing in a handful of theaters across the country. However, the film is has cracked the top five of the weekend box-office since its release. Most recently it was number three, surpassed only by the disaster flick 2012 and the holiday remake A CHRISTMAS CAROL. (more)

Critics are praising the film. A.O. Scott of the NEW YORK TIMES calls the film, “the illumination of an individual’s painful and partial self-realization” (more) and Joe Morgenstern of the WALL STREET JOURNAL says, “If the filmmaking weren't so skillful and the acting weren't so consistently brilliant, you might mistake this production for a raw slice of life from a Third World country where movies can still be instruments of moral instruction and social change.” (more)

But, per the usual, there are critics who have been unmoved by this tale. Dana Stevens of SLATE.COM finds the film problematic and believes that the filmmakers have, “created something uncomfortably close to poverty porn.” (more)

With PRECIOUS up against THE TWILIGHT SAGA: NEW MOON this weekend, it will be interesting to see how the film fares at the box office as it continues its limited release.

What People Are Saying About...THE TWILIGHT SAGA: NEW MOON

THE TWILIGHT SAGA: NEW MOON is the sequel to the 2008 vampire movie TWILIGHT, both of which are based on novels by Stephanie Meyer. NEW MOON, directed by Chris Weitz, stars Kristen Stewart as Bella Swan, Taylor Lautner as Jacob Black and Robert Pattinson as Edward Cullen.

The 2008 TWILIGHT film received a number of positive reviews from critics, which is especially impressive considering its target audience. It grossed over $7 million in ticket sales from midnight showings alone last year, and accumulated $69.6 million overall (more). Even David Denby's review in THE NEW YORKER was surprisingly positive: "Twilight, the first movie adapted from Stephenie Meyer’s series of best-selling teen novels, is going to be a big hit with young girls, and deservedly so -- the picture delivers," he wrote.

The sequel, however, isn't faring as well with critics this year. Stephanie Zacarek, who reluctantly praised the original TWILIGHT, wrote that NEW MOON "offers few of the juicy, go-for-broke romantic pleasures of its predecessor, and the movie is so badly shaped that it's hard not to blame Weitz as a director" (more). James Berardinelli of REELVIEWS was even harsher in his assessment of the film. "NEW MOON comes dangerously close to self-parody on more than one occasion," he writes. Berardinelli muses that the film nonetheless "seems blissfully unaware of this and soldiers on with a seriousness that's unintentionally funny" (more).

The film does have a few supporters, like Michael Sullivan from the WASHINGTON POST, who calls the film "a sexy and scary romp", although Sullivan remains in a slim minority (more).

Film School: The 1980s

The 80's duo "Wham!" looking macho.

Recently, the 80's hit "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" by Wham! got into my head and wouldn't leave for a couple of days. I eventually forced myself to listen to an equally catchy Mariah Carey song to drown it out, but that didn't stop me from looking up the original video on YouTube in the meantime. Click here if you're brave. The video features the duo performing the song onstage in front of an audience of teens, wearing t-shirts that say "CHOOSE LIFE" and "GO-GO" in the largest possible text. They are both wearing a notable amount of makeup, although that doesn't even BEGIN to describe just how over-the-top the video becomes (as in, when Pepsi, Shirlie, and Guru are onstage together wearing tiny neon shorts with white socks and break out into a poorly-coordinated "monkey dance").

Is it possible that this video once looked totally normal?

Perhaps, considering how often similar, jazzercise-inspired dances are featured in prominent films from the 80's. Maybe Wham! really did once blend in with the crowd. Released in 1980, Alan Parker’s dance/musical FAME served as a fortuitous introduction to a loud decade full of dances with names like The Moonwalk, Cloning, The Hammer Dance, The Sprinkler and The Worm. In a number of popular 80s films, an epic dance scene could unite seemingly incompatible characters, or provide emotional release after watching an hour and a half of dialogue. Sequences from 80’s films such as RISKY BUSINESS and FOOTLOOSE are still being imitated by revivalist fans and referenced by characters on television shows like "Scrubs" or "Friends."


Alex, the famous dancer in Adrian Lyne's hit movie FLASHDANCE (1983).

Jennifer Lopez was even successfully sued in 2003 for referencing the 80s movie FLASHDANCE in one of her music videos, which she intended to be a tribute to the original. In the video, Lopez wore the same messy hair and black leotard that the character Alex once did in the 1983 film. Instead of gyrating to Michael Sembello’s song, “Maniac”, however, Lopez dances to her own song “I’m Glad”, as the camera moves up and down her sweaty, muscular physique and taped feet. Alex’s costume in this particular FLASHDANCE scene inspired about five to seven years of aerobics-inspired fashion that included items such as the terrycloth sweatband and leg warmers.


Has there EVER been a girlfriend cooler than Sloane Peterson?

In the 80’s, dancing also took place in the street. The well-loved John Hughes film, FERRIS BUELLER’S DAY OFF, climaxes during a larger-than-life dance sequence lead by Bueller (the young Matthew Broderick) during a local street parade while he ditches school with his girl and his best friend. Ray Parker Jr.’s theme song for the film GHOSTBUSTERS was the number one hit in the country for three weeks after the movie’s release. The music video for the song features Ray Parker and other stars of the film dancing in the streets of New York, as Bill Murray leads a triangular formation of men swinging their arms in unison to the left and right. The dance sequence, like the hit song, became a familiar part of American pop culture and was shown again in the Ghostbusters cartoon series as well as the 2009 video game.


Everything here was brought to you by Kenny Ortega.

The choreographer who later became famous for directing Michael Jackon's THIS IS IT tour and for his work in HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL, Kenny Ortega, was also the mastermind behind the dance scenes of the 1987 hit DIRTY DANCING, featuring the late Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey. Their performance during the goosebump-inducing sequence at the close of the film brought the song "(I've Had) The Time of My Life", by Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes, to international fame and to the Academy Awards. While dancing, Grey whips her round mop of curly hair back and forth as she spins and swivels, perfectly demonstrating t-h-e signature move of the 80’s (see it again while watching Molly Ringwald in THE BREAKFAST CLUB, Jennifer Beals in FLASHDANCE, or like, every aerobics video ever made before 1993).

And with that, I will leave you with the lyrics from the song "Funkytown" by none other than Lipps, Inc., whose music continues to define an era:

Gotta make a move to a Town that's right for me
Town to keep me movin' Keep me groovin' with some energy
Well, I talk about it Talk about it Talk about it Talk about it
Talk about, Talk about Talk about movin
Gotta move on Gotta move on Gotta move on
Won't you take me to
Funkytown
Won't you take me to
Funkytown
Won't you take me to
Funkytown
Won't you take me to
Funkytown
Gotta make a move to a Town that's right for me
Town to keep me movin' Keep me groovin' with some energy
Well, I talk about it Talk about it Talk about it Talk about it
Talk about, Talk about Talk about movin
Gotta move on Gotta move on Gotta move on
Won't you take me to
Funkytown
Won't you take me to
Funkytown
Won't you take me to
Funkytown
Won't you take me to
Funkytown

What People Are Saying About ... THE BURNING PLAIN

Critics took notice of Mexican filmmakers when screenwriter Guillermo Arriaga released AMORES PERROS in 2000. Arriaga's work with director Alejandro González Iñárritu (AMORES PERROS, 21 GRAMS, BABEL) earned the writer an Academy Award nomination in 2007 and his collaboration with Tommy Lee Jones (THE THREE BURIALS OF MELQUIADES ESTRADA) won him the Best Screenplay Award at the 2005 Cannes Film Festival. Springboarding off  the success of these films, Arriaga recently made his directorial debut with THE BURNING PLAIN (more).
 
Like his prior work, the film features different converging storylines and a focus on the U.S./Mexico border. Starring acclaimed actress Charlize Theron, the film seems like the perfect package for critcs. However, unlike his other films, this one is not beloved.
 
The film has a current rating of 29% on review aggregate site Rotten Tomatoes, with reviewers saying that the film is "overly symbolic" and "melodramatic" (more). They also cite Arriaga's multiple, interweaving plots to be a major weakness of the film and its ultimate undoing. Is the Arriaga way of storytelling beginning to adhere to a type of formula? Is this formula waring thin on viewers?
 
In his review, Roger Ebert goes as far to say if the film were told chronologically, "it might have accumulated considerable power. Told as a labyrinthine tangle of intercut timelines and locations, it is a frustrating exercise in self-indulgence" (more).
 
Arriaga doesn't find his storytelling techniques to be formulaic. In a recent interview with Latino Review, the filmmaker states, "Until now I've been trying to find a different structure for a story. For example, the structure of AMORES PERROS is very different from the structure of THE THREE BURIALS OF MELQUIADES ESTRADA or this one" (more).
 
If you've caught the film in its limited release, or its run on Direct TV, leave your thoughts below. Is THE BURNING PLAIN a major disappointment for Arriaga's fans? Or is it another resounding success that critics just don't get?
 
If you're unfamiliar with the writer's work check out BABEL and THE THREE BURIALS OF MELQUIADES ESTRADA here on Film Fresh and let us know if Arriaga's multiple, converging storylines enthrall you, or just irritate you.

Finds of the Day - 11/18/09

Universal released a new poster for their hit movie COUPLES RETREAT in the UK and made a pretty bad mistake (more). Yep, its bad.

Christopher Rosen from the NEW YORK OBSERVER makes a case for STAR TREK to be nominated for "Best Picture" at the Oscars, following in the tradition of other entertaining Blockbusters that were also nominated for the award, like ROCKY, JAWS, THE FUGITIVE and GLADIATOR (more).

Writer Keith Phipps retraced the pathway of the road trip in EASY RIDER on the iconic film's 40th anniversary, stopping in the places where the film was shot in location. "The America of EASY RIDER is one of unspoiled landscapes, utopian aspirations, deep-rooted prejudice, and senseless violence," he writes. "I wondered what remained of that world 40 years later" (more).

This Just In - 11/17/09

Starting today Film Fresh has J.J. Abrams' STAR TREK reboot. This summer blockbuster is one of the highest rated films of the year. NPR film critic Bob Mondello called the film an “insanely satisfying ride”  and ROLLING STONE critic Peter Travers believes the film is “an irresistible invitation for fun.”

One of the few naysayers of the film was critic Roger Ebert. “The movie deals with narrative housekeeping. Perhaps the next one will engage these characters in a more challenging and devious story, one more about testing their personalities than re-establishing them.” (more)

Abrams recently responded to criticisms of the film in an exclusive interview on the STAR TREK blog TrekMovie by stating, “I agree with almost every criticism I read.” However, Abrams goes onto to say that he is “incredibly proud of the cast, really honored to be involved in this movie. It was an incredible experience.”  (more)

Based upon the novel of the same name, MY SISTER’S KEEPER stars Cameron Diaz and Abigail Breslin (LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE). The film tells the story of one family’s struggle to cope with Kate’s (Sofia Vassilieva) case of promyelocytic leukemia. The movie is directed by Nick Cassavetes, who scored a hit with audiences back in 2004 with THE NOTEBOOK. MoviesOnline has an interview with Cassavetes where he discusses the challenges of making the film, including his decision to change the film’s ending. (more)

Adam Yauch of the Beastie Boys and his Oscilloscope Laboratories bring UNMISTAKEN CHILD to Film Fresh. This documentary observes the four-year search for the Lama Konchog in Tibet. Film critic Kenneth Turan of the LOS ANGELES TIMES says, “Its privileged glimpse deep into unfamiliar spiritual territory has the strength of revelation.” (more)

We've also got the music documentary LENOARD COHEN: I'M YOUR MAN. This look at the singer-songwriter also includes segments from a tribute concert featuring performances by Nick Cave, Jarvis Cocker of Pulp, Rufus Wainwright, Beth Orton, Kate and Anna McGarrigle. Find out more on the artist at his official web site. (more)

Finally, for all those Jason Statham fans out there, Film Fresh is happy to announce that CRANK 2: HIGH VOLTAGE is finally available for DivX download. Jason Anderson of the TORONTO STAR says the film is, “Tasteless, trashy and totally over the top, CRANK: HIGH VOLTAGE might also be one of the year's most inventive movies. Sometimes, nothing exceeds like excess.” (more)

Finds of the Day - 11/17/09

Al Gore in his documentary AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH.

Lady Gaga, who has acted in a few episodes of GOSSIP GIRL, has announced that she would like to pursue a career in filmmaking and ideally, would start with big-budget "Rock Opera" (more).

Martin Scorsese, already an Oscar and Golden Globe Award-winning director, has been honored the Hollywood Foreign Press Association's Cecil B. DeMille Award. Previous DeMille winners include Steven Spielberg, Warren Beatty, Robin Williams and Michael Douglas (more).

INDIEWIRE writes that its been a stunning decade for documentary filmmaking, as nearly all of the top 30 highest-grossing documentary films have been released in the last 10 years. "With early-to-mid 2000s entries like BOWLING FOR COLUMBINE and WINGED MIGRATION paving the way, documentaries all of a sudden became something they have rarely been considered with such consistency: potential moneymakers," Peter Knegt writes. Among the top-grossing documentary films of the last 10 years are:

THE FOG OF WAR
AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH
FAHRENHEIT 9/11
THE ARISTOCRATS
RELIGULOUS
STEP INTO LIQUID
MARCH OF THE PENGUINS
MAD HOT BALLROOM
SICKO