4chixpost

The Jane Austen Book Club

I think I liked this movie! I was attracted to it when it first came out, due in large part to the cast: Amy Brenneman, Jimmy Smits, Maria Bello, Maggie Grace, Kathy Baker, Emily Blunt, who I loved so much in The Devil Wears Prada, and Hugh Dancy (that's almost Darcy!) who has been tapped for the male lead in the Shopaholic movie.

The club is founded by Bernadette, played by Kathy Baker, who is about  60 and has been married six times. She thinks it will help console her friend , played by Maria Bello, who is attending a funeral for her beloved Rhodesian ridgeback as the film opens. This means either she needs a man in her life OR has it all figured out.

Like Austen, the film is character driven and of course, a movie about a contemporary California book club that focuses exclusively on the works of Jane Austen would at some point have to have itself a plot that resembles a Jane Austen work. However, it's cleverly done and fairly subtle with it. There are some unpredictable moments in it and I found it pretty funny at times though it is humor mixed with pathos, and some totally inappropriate behavior.

It helps if you are a Jane Austen fan and familiar with her work because the characters reveal themselves in how they react to the novels, including the one token guy in the group. Another thing to like is the cast, who are all terrific in their roles, including the botox free older women actors who can actually move their faces. On Netflix it is rated between three stars and four stars, and on the IMDB it is a seven out of a ten. I think that is about where I am with it and the thing that keeps me from rating it higher is that the ending felt a little rushed to me. After you have invested so much time in the characters, and the timeline in the movie is they read one book a month, you want a little more time devoted to the outcome to feel satisfied for your investment in it.

This is probably not a chick flick that your DH will like at all. My DH can go for Bridget Jones, Devil Wears Prada, In Her Shoes, but this one would be a no largely because there is nothing about Jane Austen that he gets or cares to get. This is for you with a glass of wine when you want to chill and be entertained by something that requires a little bit of your brain to appreciate.Though Roger Ebert loved it.....OK......depends on your DH!

2 Days in Paris

This is a quirky independent film that DH and I both enjoyed! Julie Delpy produced, wrote, and starred in this along with her ex-boyfriend, Adam Goldberg. He has been in loads of film and television roles, but I always remember how funny he was as the room mate that would not move out on Friends. Anyway, they have great quirky chemistry, and this film is good for anyone who has ever wondered how two people that seem so different could possibly stay together.

It is also a great way to see Paris and to explore the stereotypes of Parisian cab drivers, waiters, tacky Americans in Paris, and the eccentric familial relationships familiar to us all. Delpy is an artsy Parisian born photographer and Goldberg plays her American-born designer of a boyfriend, neuroses honed to a Woody Allen level after years of surviving life in New York. Adding to Goldberg's general malaise about life , he does not speak a word of French, and is further alienated by no one making an attempt to speak English when he and Delpy end a romantic (disastrous) vacation to Venice with a two day stop off to visit her folks in yes, Paris.

Delpy has ex-boyfriends lurking around every corner and at first Goldberg finds it charming that she has stayed good friends with them. He is less charmed as they keep coming, in droves, and he becomes paranoid about what he is not understanding as she chats them all up in French...he begins to feel like the butt of a very long joke at his expense. Suddenly, he is not sure if he actually knows anything about her, despite their two year romance, and questions everything. Delpy's real life parents are entertaining as her overbearing in your face bohemian stereotypes that at once charm and repulse him. The light touch on the direction keeps this from getting too "Scenes from a Marriage" intense and we found parts of it laugh out loud funny. This is one to put in your Netflix cue for a Friday night with take out and some good Cotes du Rhone.

Let me know if you have seen it and what you think!

Charlie Wilson's War

By now you know that this movie starring Tom Hanks is based on a true story and it takes on even more meaning in light of today's assassination of Bhutto. But I digress. This is a good movie. Go see it!

If you were a fan of West Wing, you will delight in the snappy dialog. My favorite: Philip Seymour Hoffman as a disheveled CIA agent, upon meeting Tom Hanks, as sleazy Representative Charlie Wilson. Wilson quips, "you are no James Bond" to which he replies, "well, you are not exactly Thomas Jefferson!" Hoffman and Hanks have great chemistry and Hoffman nearly steals the movie. There has been alot said about Julia Roberts performance as waxy or underutilized. DH and I disagree. We thought her performance was restrained and subtle and her character is pivotal to the story.

What a great story it is - and ironic to be witnessing history you lived through with the gift of hindsight and the ultimate aftermath of this man's war. Most of the reviews I read say that this story is told without irony. I disagree. DH and I both thought it was dripping in irony, but the great performances and Sorkin's light touch on the script add layers to distract you from that. It works because this is fascinating story. DH and I both give it an A minus but for different reason. He didn't like the ending though since this is a true story not much to be done about that. Unless they stopped and started in a different place, and I empathize that he does not like the flashback plot device. It worked for me.

The only reason I give it an A minus is because there was one part where I thought the touch was too light for the subject matter. However, that is a small quibble. This is one movie I would like to see again, and in the movie theater. I don't think you will be disappointed. Please post a response if you see it!

SATC

They are back, and I've missed them!

ANY CHANCE this movie will be any good????

A Good Year

If you blinked you missed it. This movies, based on a book by Peter Mayle (A Year in Provence) was directed by Ridley Scott and starred Russel Crowe and Albert Finney. Released late in 2006. One of the best things about it is a shirtless Crowe.

Seriously, if you like Peter Mayle you know he is light and fun and almost single handedly started the tourism boom of Americans going to the south of France. He's not writing great literature, but its charming and engaging. Kinda like the movie. Filmed on location in Gordes, the cinematography is stunning and was nominated for a British version of an academy award.

Critics largely panned the film, mostly because they could not see a clean shaven and dapper Crowe in what they think should have been a "Hugh Grant" role, but if you like him you will like it. And Albert Finney is great, and look, there is that cute blonde actress that supposedly broke up Reese and Ryan.

Mostly, you will love Provence in all it's ocher light and just as you start to get a little antsy, look, there is Crowe without his shirt again.Funny, i do recall when our local paper reviewer, who usually hates this kind of film, gave it three out of four stars, and I was surprised. So I gave it a shot on pay per view and would recommend it. If you are in the mood. Grab a glass of Bordeaux, relax, you won't have to think so hard, and you'll have fun. And there is a great insult that Crowe uses on the French - hint: it involves a finger and famous bicycle race...

The Breakup

Nearly unwatchable.

I decided to give this a go on Friday night since DH and his Dad had gone to see Flags of Our Fathers. They liked it, though DH said it had a little to much plot, but as a rule I do not watch WWII movies.

I had been warned by my sister in law that The Breakup was awful, but I wanted to see it for myself. How bad can it be with Vince Vaughan and Jennifer Aniston? There were a couple of good points about the movie. Those two do have some good chemistry, and I liked the setup of his job being Three Brothers tours of Chicago. That would be all I liked. I fast forwarded through most of the movie, watching only a total of about a half hour.

The main problem for me was that it was too real. Everyone who has been in a bad relationship or even had a fight in a good one can see where this is going. It is like watching someone break up in real time, and the dialog, self analysis, and bad friend and family advice was cringe inducing. I simply could not watch it. If they had instead made a screwball comedy in the style of Doris Day and Rock Hudson I think I would have found it entertaining, but this cinema verite was not satisfying and even after reading the reviews and being warned, I expected more. Skip it, unless you want to relive a bad relationship.

Mrs. Henderson Presents

If you are a fan of Dame Judy Dench, go ahead, Netflix this now. She is superb in this film, based on a true story of a widow who struggles to keep her theater open in London during the bombings of WWII.  Even with all that it has going for it, DH and I both hesitated to give this film more than two out of four stars. But that's a thumb's up, right?

The problem is that parts of this film are just tedious. That's because the type of entertainment presented as Mrs. Henderson's theater, The Windmill, is  a vaudevillian style act dubbed "revueville." It "perks up" a bit after Mrs. Henderson charmingly and disarmingly convinces Lord Chamberlain to let her include nudity in the acts . She theorizes that as long as the women do not move, they are "art" just like in the National Museum, thereby escaping censorship. The film becomes a bit predictable since it is set in WWII, and you know what happens, yet it does strike a chord of nostalgia for the soldiers and their enjoyment of the corny entertainment that was the "big time" to them. So we decided today at lunch, after two days to think about it, that we upgrade our rating to two and a half stars. It just sticks with you, and you want to sing "It's a Long Way to Tipperary...

Friends with Money

DH and I watched this weekend and independently each rated it three and a half stars out of four. The casting is terrific with Catherine Keener, Jennifer Aniston, Frances McDormand and Joan Cusack. I thought McDormand stole the film a bit, but DH thought all four were equally good and especially enjoyed another subtle "non-Rachel" performance from Aniston - he has not seen "The Good Girl." Peter Travers in Rolling Stone said: "Smart, witty and alert to the buried resentments that poke through the shiny surface of affluence, Holofcener's film recognizes that money is the new sex."

Nicole Holofcener writes and directs. You know her from Six Feet Under and Sex and the City work. Their tones are in evidence here. The setting is west LA, and all four women have lead interesting and somewhat complicated  and complex lives. Their attitudes and judgments about money, who has it, and what it means, is thoughtful and empathetic. Things are not what they appear.

This is a small, "script driven, " film that debuted this year at Sundance to good reviews - EW gives it a solid B+. But just like Sideways, some will be looking for the film to be more than it is, more than it means to be, and be disappointed. If you don't go in looking for big movie production values, I think you will enjoy it. Aside from the four strong women characters, British actor Simon McBurney shines as the metrosexual "is he or isn't he?" husband of McDormand's character. And I will never again be able to skip a day of washing my hair without thinking about her! To go into much more detail might accidentally ruin it for you if you plan to watch. I recommend it!

The Devil Wears Prada

What a fun film! I read the book, and while it would not win a Pulitzer, thought it was fine beach reading /mind candy last year and really enjoyed it. You know the premise - boss from hell story told from the POV of the assistant to the Anna Wintour like editor of the fashion magazine Runway. It was a runaway bestseller, and spawned it's own "scorned assistant" mini-genre of chick lit.

I enjoyed the casting. Meryl Streep is perfect as the dominatrix ice queen fashion editor and Anne Hathaway, all doe eyed and Audrey Hepburn-like, more than holds her own against her. Stanley Tucci is over the top in a good way,  and Michael Buble's girlfirend, Emily Blunt, as Emily, steals a few scenes herself with just a subtle roll of her eyes. Oh, and the movie starts out with "Suddenly I See" by one of my new faves, KT Tunstall. DH liked it too so it's not just a "chick flick."

A few disappointments: the movie cuts some of the more layered and intricate plot twists for time so if you haven't read the book, you won't get some of the brief references such as the white Hermes scarves. The ending nearly falls apart too as they change a few things around to make the Anne Hathaway character come off as less bitter than Lauren Weisberger does in the book. I kinda liked the bitter edge in the book but the editing doesn't take away from my total enjoyment of this movie.

If you want a good time at the movies, as opposed to solving a world problem, and want a fast paced entertaining and visually lush film on a hot summer night, this is it. I give it three and three quarters stars out of four. Go see it!

The Family Stone, Elizabethtown, Match Point, Rumor Has It

The chick flick film festival continues every evening at my house.  With DH away for awhile I've gone hog wild.

The Family Stone was better than I'd expected (which is a kind of recurring theme amongst these movies...).  I'm normally not that attracted to ensemble, family, holiday movies, but this one has some good moments.  Sarah Jessica Parker as the visiting fiance is almost difficult to watch as she transforms our beloved Carrie into an upright, uptight, spoiled WASP, who everyone hates.  We keep waiting for her to say "Gotcha!" and resume her normal Carrie behavior.  Claire Danes is pretty milque toast as her sister who arrives to save the day.  Dermot Mulrooney as the family member who's engaged to Sarah's character is cute but vapid.  (Did I say I liked this...?)  There are too many characters to count, but Diane Keaton finally wins me over as the Mom with a secret -- the deaf, gay brother and his partner are delightful -- Craig T. Nelson as the dad is humorous -- but Luke Wilson (as is often the case) steals the show.  Ultimately, the whole is better than the characters taken alone.  Try it -- you'll probably like it. 2.5 stars-

Elizabethtown is the first movie I've ever seen where I actually liked Kirsten Dunst.  In fact, it's the first time I've ever found her even remotely appealing -- period.  Orlando Bloom is equally appealing.  The movie navigates through some odd territory as Bloom travels from Oregon to Kentucky to retrieve his deceased Dad's body.  Dunst is the quirky, Southern-accented (pretty authentic, too) flight attendant he just can't shake. 1.5 stars-

Match Point is vintage Woody Allen, without the normal NYC backdrop. Outlandishly wealthy London family combined with a young, beautiful, voluptuous outsider (Scarlett Johansen) who turns at least one family member's life upside down. It has many of his recurring themes -- love or money? -- class considerations -- life's doors opening and closing -- family dynamics -- hidden sexual encounters.  As I said, it's vintage Woody -- if you love him, you'll love it -- if you hate him, you'll hate it -- if you don't think much about him either way, you'll think it's ok.  I, personally, love him.  3 stars-

Rumor Has It was a flash in the pan -- literally.  One day it was in theaters, the next it was on Netflix.  I tolerated it, but it was cheesy.  And it didn't have to be.  Great cast -- Jennifer Anniston, Kevin Costner, Shirley MacLaine.  Silly story -- Anniston as the granddaughter of the woman who was played by Katherine Ross in The Graduate.  So much of the film is spent with Anniston doing voice over to explain who's who and what's what...they'd have been better off requiring that everyone had seen The Graduate first.  Poor Jen -- she needs a hit.  1 star-