There is always a way to wear fur. Personally I have it on my back.

The September Issue

A look into the making the most important fashion magazine issue of the year and its private editor, The September Issue is an entertaining documentary from R.J. Cutler but it has it's high and low points.

The film definitely tries to humanize Vogue editor Anna Wintour. She's supposed to be this impossible, ice queen as we saw in The Devil Wears Prada, in which the Miranda Priestly character is based off of Wintour. In The September Issue, Wintour comes off as an actual human being, who has no tolerance for nonsense and sees things as her way or the highway. But she's not insulting employees or making people cry. She's always been private so to let a documentary crew follow her around and let viewers see her for themselves is great. However, seeing as how she is so private and so powerful, I have a feeling she had a large role in the editing of the film. Her quiet and composed manner, even in stressful situations, somehow doesn't seem entirely natural. Wintour's most humanizing moment comes from a discussion with the director about what Wintour's siblings do. One works for the underprivileged, another runs a well respected newspaper and so on. Their thoughts on Anna's job is that it's "funny." Wintour's eyes well up with tears and she somberly repeats her sibling's judgment. It's a pretty powerful moment. Despite accounts of Wintour's behavior as editor, she does a damn good job and she's a woman doing a job a lot of men do. She deserves a high level of respect.

The film is supposed to give us an inside look at the making of Vogue's September issue, the holy grail of fashion issues. We see all the people high up in Vogue, such as Anna Wintour, Grace Coddington and Andre Leon Talley and various editors but I would've liked to have seen other departments. Maybe some interns, the finance department would've been fascinating. Producing Vogue is expensive, especially when Wintour kills $50,000 shoots. Cutler definitely could have dug deeper into the magazine's workforce and kept the film entertaining.

The film is a great ode to hard work and artistry. Wintour's great at running Vogue, Coddington creates and styles beautiful photo shoots, and we get to see celebrated photographer Mario Testino shooting September cover girl Sienna Miller. Furthermore, we get to see the work of Vera Wang, Karl Lagerfeld, Marchesa, and many more great designers.

This is an entertaining documentary that can appeal to a mass audience, not just documentary film or fashion lovers. It moves quickly and has compelling characters. I definitely think Cutler just skimmed the surface of Vogue and work that goes in the September issue. He could've pushed further.

Christina Ricci in Monster

Part of acting is making the other person look good. Charlize Theron couldn't have been as great as she was without a generous actress like Ricci. She gives Theron the fuel for her fire. This performance reminds me of James McAvoy in The Last King of Scotland, giving yourself over to the other actor so much so they can do their best work. Ricci is the perfect contrast to Theron and gives an understated and conflicted performance. In being a passive observer, Ricci's character becomes a kind of monster herself. Though Theron deserves all the praise she received, Ricci shouldn't be forgotten.

Netflix

The Green Mile-People really like this movie. Plus it's a tear jerker, and I love sad endings.
Did You Hear About the Morgans?-Yeah, I kinda wanted to see this.
Cool Hand Luke-Netflix Instant. Paul Newman was a fox.

Oooh, that's a bingo!

Inglourious Basterds

By far one of the best and most fun movies of 2009 and my favorite Tarantino film, Inglourious Basterds is a "comedy of horrors." The film is hilarious and depicts a fictional, but awesome way to have ended World War II. However, it could be a mediation on violence and crippling revenge.

But first, I must give obvious praise to Christophe Waltz. Within the first five minutes of watching him on screen, he sucked me in. His performance is hypnotic, engrossing, and incredible. I knew he was destined for greatness in American cinema. As Hans Landa, also known as "The Jew Hunter," Waltz is pure evil and sprinkles his performance with uncomfortable and corny humor. He is chilling and theatrical. The opening scene is just...I have no words. I was literally on the edge of my seat. The way Waltz can switch back and forth between persona's as casually as he switches between languages is incredible. One has to remind him/herself that Waltz is playing a Nazi, a particularly evil one at that. I really look forward to seeing the work he'll do. Tarantino discovered a star.

Also notable is Melanie Laurent as the heroine Shoshana. Her performance is very subtle but her face speaks volumes. When reunited with Landa, Laurent does an excellent job of conveying Shoshana's fear and need to remain composed in front of Landa, the murderer of her family. She's breathtaking in many ways, particularly in that red dress.

Brad Pitt's hilarious Tennessee accent is a pleasure and Michael Fassbender is very enjoyable. Diane Kruger also turned out a great performance...but none of them can touch Waltz and Laurent.

Tarantino writes an excellent parallel between Waltz and Pitt's characters. Both are committed to their jobs, hunting and killing their respective "enemies." Both have nicknames, which they take pride in. Though Waltz kills persecuted innocents, both men have similarities that cannot be ignored.

Inglourious Basterds is a fantasy, a great "hey wouldn't it be cool if..." Tarantino clearly had fun writing and making this film. Nazi's are a universally despised symbol and watching American Jewish officers and a stunning French Jewish woman take them all down is many people's dream come true. Comedy, drama, thrills, suspense and a sweet love story all climb into bed together in Inglourious Basterds. Furthermore, there is no question that this is a Tarantino. The witty and snappy dialogue along with the perfectly selected music help the film fit nicely in Tarantino's filmography.

I read an article by Mark Blankenship around the time of the film's release. He wrote an excellent piece for The Huffington Post about the film's larger theme, of how revenge can cripple society. Blankenship writes how "culturally acceptable hatred creates a terrifying mob mentality." Case in point, the climactic and incredibly shot cinema burning scene. The audience watches a film of a Nazi soldier killing hundreds of Allied soldiers and we are disgusted. But when Shoshana sets the theater on fire and two of the Basterds, perched in an opera box or "bird's nest," start shooting at the people below, much like the Nazi in the film, we cheer. Blankenship asks, "when we celebrate death, who have we become?" Good question. When is violence worthy of celebration? I found myself internally cheering at the bloody demise of Hitler, Goebbels and other evil doers, but I felt a little gross afterwards too.

Here's the link to Blankenship's piece.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mark-blankenship/another-way-to-see-inglou_b_270952.html

Bottom line, the film is fun, thought-provoking, and well done. I'm not sure how I feel about this rumored prequel Tarantino already has written. However, if Waltz is in it, I will be there opening night.

Zach Galifianakis in The Hangover

Oh dear God, he was just hilarious. The one liners, the mispronunciations of words, asking if Cesar's Palace in Vegas was actually Julius Cesar's palace. He was the strongest comedic actor in the film, and he's good in the other things I've seen him in, namely on "Bored to Death." This guy needs to be in more movies.

Netflix

Capitalism: A Love Story-I usually enjoy Moore, but I do take everything he says with a grain of salt. This is his latest.
Love Story-Yeah, I know.
M-Netflix Instant. Classic.

All these neat little houses, and these neat little streets. It's hard to believe something's wrong with some of those little houses.

All the President's Men

A movie I consistently enjoy, All the President's Men is a fascinating story about one of America's biggest scandals. Plus, it began my love affair with Dustin Hoffman.

This film could have been insanely boring. A lot of the action takes place over the phone or Woodward & Bernstein interviewing witnesses. Lots of talking, no love story, no car chases or explosions. Hoffman and Robert Redford can take a lot of the credit for the film's fast pace and suspense. They keep audiences engaged. They have great chemistry and play off each other nicely in serious and comedic ways. As well, viewers rely on them to tell us when an exciting discovery is made, because viewers don't know all the names and details of Watergate. Widened eyes, fast talking, and fidgeting are essential cues perfected by Hoffman and Redford in these roles. And they are both so dreamy.

The film has been ccriticized for how it portrays Woodward and Bernstein as the sole heroes. There were many other people who helped bring down Nixon...but that would've been another movie. This is about the reporters, chasing leads, writing stories and getting out the truth to the American people. Audiences have also had trouble with the film's abrupt ending and a seeming lack of closure. I like the ending. We all know the final outcome of the scandal. Plus, the investigation and "Woodstein's" reporting went on for years. If director Alan Pakula had tried to jam everything into two and a half hours, the result could have been sloppy. I like that the film end's with the headlines being typed on a typewriter, further emphasizing Woodward and Bernstein's role in the uncovering of the scandal.

The sound design team did a stellar job. The film opens with the extreme close up and high volume sound of a typewriter. It almost sounds like a gun is going off. Further more, the lighting was notable. Keeping the Washington Post brightly lit and many scenes of Washington, D.C. in the dark emphasizes a dark side of politics and further positions the reporters as the heroes.

This film is no nonsense. It gets right down to business and doesn't include unnecessary sub plots, the way I feel some films do. The film gets better with each viewing, because you go in knowing more about Watergate every time.

Emma Thompson in Love Actually

Is this woman ever bad? Certainly not in Love Actually. She's the support system of the whole film and the wave of subtle emotion the sweeps over her face when he realizes what her husband has done...mesmerizing. And having to suddenly turn on the happy mom switch, her composure is moving.


Netflix

In Bruges-Love it. Gets better every time. Must see again.
Lorna's Silence-Some French film that Netflix keeps recommending to me.
Heat-Netflix Instant. This was made back when Michael Mann made quality films right?

Let's play an Oscar drinking game

Today is the Oscars. This is one of several days every year I look forward to consistently. It's like my super bowl. I'm really looking forward to seeing the clothes and the John Hughes tribute. Other than that, this year will MOST LIKELY be pretty boring.

This year, every thing has been pretty predictable. The same people/films have won consistently at pre-Oscar awards. Some deserved, some not (in my opinion). Jeff Bridges is a lock to win, mainly because people feel it's "his turn." I haven't seen Crazy Heart, so this isn't my place to make judgements, but the argument that it's "his turn" is bullshit. Just throwing that out there. Sandra Bullock will most likely win, not because she was the best this year, but because she tried something "new" and America loves her (myself included).

If everything goes the way I expect, this year affirms for me, that the Oscars don't matter that much. They are pretty superficial. It's still a huge honor and I still buy into them, but they aren't a great judge of a person's work. Some deserving men and women won't win tonight, because it's someone else's "turn." Some deserving men and women weren't nominated because they didn't campaign, which is ridiculous. Some deserving films weren't nominated simply because they were in non-traditional Oscar categories, like Star Trek, (500) Days of Summer, and Moon. (props to District 9 for repping sci-fi though, that was a shocker).

Okay, rant over. I'm still looking forward to enjoying the ceremony, laughing and crying. I'm not going to make a post about the winners, unless there is some shocking win, like if Colin Firth beats Jeff Bridges.