I liked Jesse Eisenberg when I first saw him in Roger Dodger all those years ago — his pent up sexual energy oozing out among cougar sexpots Jennifer Beals and Elizabeth Berkeley. I loved him in The Squid and the Whale – his arrogance hiding his pain and confusion, and still more pent up sexual energy. [...]
This is a long delayed posting of a much underseen film that did not get the recognition I believe it deserved during awards season. As a matter of fact, looking back over its awards history, I am really saddened that writer /director Courtney Hunt went unrecognized in all of the big competitions. But I am getting ahead of [...]
Last night I had the pleasure of attending a panel hosted by Creative Screenwriting Magazine that included 6 of 10 Oscar nominated screenwriters for this year. The panelists are listed below, followed by a pithy commentary on their personality: Simon Beaufoy – Slumdog Millionaire (Best Adapted Screenplay) Charmingly bumbling short British guy in a tan [...]
Is there anything better than a SearchingOutOldGirlfriends movie? Well, maybe a Jean-Claude Van Damme double feature, but besides that. In an instance similar to more recent efforts like The Wrestler, Jim Jarmusch‘s 2005 mid-life drama Broken Flowers never could have worked without the sensibilities of its star, in this case Bill Murray. Murray plays Don [...]
I’ve come to a conclusion. It’s a big, sweeping, unnecessary conclusion, but as I finished watching Neil LaBute‘s The Shape of Things the other day, it became painfully obvious. Brace yourself. With very few exceptions, I do not like movies based on stage plays. Good, bad, mediocre. Well directed with stars or haphazard with unknowns. It [...]
Usually, when a movie comes out with a couple of star actors – especially two that I happen to be fairly fond of — I hear about it. And if I don’t, it’s normally a very bad sign, not only in terms of poor marketing and disappointing box office, but also in terms of the quality [...]
A Note: If you haven’t seen Synecdoche, New York and plan to, you may not want to read this right now. You can, if you must, I wrote it and posted it after all. But some of the things that surprised me about this film were beautiful and meaningful because they were surprises. It comes out [...]
Apparently people that give titles to movies don’t actually want people to see the movies that they are titling. Because, let’s face it, even a smart person doesn’t want to see a movie called Smart People. As a matter of fact, I’m going to contend that the smarter you are, the more you hate smart [...]
You know what movies I LOVE? Igby Goes Down, Rushmore and Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. This is none of those movies. Charlie Bartlett was supposed to come out last summer but it didn’t. I’m not sure if it had anything to do with Virginia Tech, but maybe because of like psychoactive drugs and suicidal teenagers, [...]
Anyone who’s anyone – that is, anyone who reads Defamer – has heard about how the plot for Be Kind Rewind was (maybe) copied (probably just a coincidence) from an episode of Amanda “Ellen Page? Where the Fuck is My Oscar Nomination?!” Bynes’ old Nickelodeon show (the impeccably titled) The Amanda Show. I think this [...]