Yikes!

I Hated "No Country For Old Men"

It's getting lots of Oscar buzz and all that, but I hated it.

I saw it several weeks ago, and at the time I didn't quite have the words to describe what I didn't like about it.

Jonathan Rosenbaum is a movie critic, so he gets paid to be able to articulate what he doesn't like about movies. So he has the words to describe what's crappy about it. Basically, it's a narrative that doesn't really go anywhere. The story has no natural trajectory. And it has no redeeming message, either. Just lots of gratuitous violence.

Is it well acted and beautifully shot? Sure. But it's kind of hard to sit through a movie for a couple of hours and walk out totally unmoved, unchanged, and without anything real to show for your two hours.

So, no, it's not a good movie.

Dan and I Made This Movie

For All I Know, It's a Great Movie

I read the following in a Reuters story about foreign films up for Oscars:

The Academy has many Jewish voters, and some have said they will not vote for a Palestinian film at a time when a declared enemy of Israel is taking power in the West Bank and Gaza.

This sounds an awful lot like, "Since Jews control Hollywood, there's no way a Palestinian movie will ever win an Oscar."

Maybe it's just me.

Munich

I saw Munich today. A few observations:

1. It is not anti-Israel, and certainly not anti-Semitic. It presents in Israel that deserves to exist, is deeply in mourning over the loss of their athletes, and struggles with all the issues that surrounded how to respond. In this respect, it is a deeply Zionist film, and a deeply Jewish one. In this day and age, anyone who claims to be deeply committed to Israel has a responsibility to struggle with the difficulties. As far as I understood it, Spielberg and Kushner seem to be saying that everyone has a right to "home," but we all must realize that having a home comes at a cost.

2. They got Israelis very very well. The Israeli characters in the film (some of which were played by actual Israelis) not only sounded Israeli, they acted Israeli, too.

3. The opening (or, just after the opening) and closing sequences were heartbreaking.

   In the opening, we see the Black September terrorists breaking into the Olympic Village and attacking the athletes, followed by reaction in Israel (flashes of newscasts, crying widows, etc.), with Hatikvah in the background. It's haunting.

   The closing -- which I won't reveal except to say it features of a shot of the World Trade Center -- is gutsy. I'm surprised I haven't read more criticism of it. To me, it was evoking a clear message: simply killing terrorists is "shortsighted tit-for-tat" (as David Edelstein puts it) that does little but breed even worse acts of terrorism. Ultimately, I don't think the movie presents an anti-retaliation message. Rather, it's saying that retaliation is a complex -- and occasionally morally and psychologically problematic -- undertaking.

4. Eric Bana deserves an academy award. Period. Spielberg and Kushner probably do, too.

I'd love to hear what you think, too. As usual, use the "comments" feature.

"Trust me. Everyone is less mysterious than they think they are."

Sara and I saw Elizabethtown, Cameron Crowe's new film, at ArcLight last night.

It's maybe a little bit long at parts, but it's kind of like Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back. As a Kevin Smith fan, I loved it. But I wouldn't expect anyone who isn't a Kevin Smith fan to like it very much. The same is true with Elizabethtown. If you like Cameron Crowe -- especially if you like Jerry Maguire and Almost Famous Cameron Crowe -- then you'll like Elizabethtown. If you are easily drawn to vomitatiousness by over-sentimentalism, flashback-set-to-music montages, or Tom Petty, then you would probably find Elizabethtown to be a pretty crappy piece of film-making.

Anyway, the film's strong points were performances by Orlando Bloom and Kirsten Dunst, along with some nice small supporting roles by Susan Sarandon, Alec Baldwin, and an unknown actor named Paul Schneider who plays Bloom's drum-playing cousin Jesse. Bloom and Dunst have nice chemistry, and they worked perfectly with Crowe's delightfully nonsensical dialogue.

If you've seen it, I'm interested in knowing what you thought. Just click "Comments."

Go See a Movie

So I have a classmate, Rachel (one of seven Rachels on the program) who has siblings who made a movie. It's called DIG! and it's opening this weekend in the U.S.

It’s a hipster movie about two indie rock bands that are caught between their artistic vision and commercial success.  If ticket sales are high, DIG! will open in 120 cities next month.  If not, it will close within a week.  It won the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance last January, and has been getting great reviews in everything from the New York Times to Entertainment Weekly.

So go see it, if for no other reason than because Rachel is cool.

"That's Ren and Stimpy‭. ‬They're way existential‭.‬"

Last night, I went to a teen movie festival at the Jerusalem Cinematheque that included Clueless and Mean Girls. I went with Delson and Leah (and Adam was there with Kate O.).

Watching Clueless made me miss my sister. There's this great scene in the movie where Alicia Silverstone, Stacey Dash, and Brittany Murphy are sitting in a restaurant. "Rollin' with the Homies" comes on the radio, and Murphy slams her head on the table three times. BAM, BAM, BAM.

Abby used to love this scene so much, she'd rewind the tape over and over again to watch the BAM, BAM, BAM.

Anyway, the movies were a lot of fun. It was cool to sit in the theatre -- which was full of a good mix of Israeli and American teenagers -- and know all the lines to Clueless ("What's the point‭? ‬Everywhere you go has valet‭.‬"). But it got us thinking... how much of these movies, which were subtitled in Hebrew, do Israelis get?

I mean, subtitles can't possibly convey the funniness of the line where the-guy-on-Scrubs says, "He's a disco dancin‭', ‬Oscar Wilde readin‭', ‬Streisand ticket holdin‭' ‬friend of Dorothy‭, ‬know what I'm sayin‭'?‬", or the one where Josh tells Cher, "You get mad if anyone thinks you live below Sunset‭." If you don't get the references, more than half the fun of Clueless is lost. But lots of people laughed at a not-that-funny scene where Cher is watching CNN with Josh, sees war footage of Bosnia, and says, "I thought they declared peace in the Middle East." Hmm. The innocence of 1995.

Mean Girls, by the way, is one of my favorite movies of the past year. Excellent dialogue ("Oh my God‭ - ‬Danny DeVito‭! ‬I love your work‭!"). Tina Fey in top form. Great breast implant gags. A girl getting hit by a bus. Of course the Israelis didn't laugh that hard at the really good scenes ("I should cancel your Spring Fling‭, ‬but I'm not going to do that‭. ‬We've already paid the DJ‭. " and "Well‭, ‬there is this one thing‭, ‬it's like I have a fifth sense‭. ‬It's like I have ESPN or something‭. ‬My breasts can always tell when it's raining‭.‬"). They did laugh at a line about Hanukah that's not even meant as a joke.

So to recap: American teen movies = good. Tina Fey = funny. Israelis = don't get American pop culture references.

I want a Winnebago. Fully equipped. Big kitchen. Waterbed. AM/FM CD. Microwave. Thank you. Burgundy interior.

"I'd like to have a deep relationship
with a beautiful woman who'll love me
the very first time our eyes meet."

I've gotten myself a reputation as this guy who passionately loves a few obscure (but usually ridiculous and corny) movies and TV shows. I get made fun of for it... a lot. Cool Runnings is probably the best example, but I'm also known for having an unhealthy affinity for stuff like The Triplets of Belleville, SportsNight, Hey Dude, Perfect Strangers, and The Phantom Tollbooth. If you read this space often enough, you've seen me droning on about the wonders of all these things.

Well, it occurs to me that lately I've neglected to remind you, dear readers, about what a great movie Sneakers is. Written and directed by Phil Alden Robinson (the guy behind Field of Dreams), it's a story about a whole bunch of crazy hackers, all of whom are played by good actors. Mostly, I'm bringing this up because you should all go out and buy the Sneakers Collector's Edition DVD.

Seriously, I love this movie.

Anyway, here's part of my favorite scene, which is beautifully performed, and even more beautifully written. BISHOP is Robert Redford, WHISTLER is David Strathairn, and ABBOTT is James Earl Jones. The good guys (Redford and his buddies, including Strathairn) have just returned from the ultimate job (recovering a secret box), and are confronted in their hideout by Jones, the head of the NSA, and some armed NSA guys. Redford realizes that the NSA needs the box, and will do anything for it, so the members of the team start making demands -- including a trip to Europe and a Winnebago -- in exchange for the box. Now, it's Whistler's turn to ask for what he wants...

ABBOTT
I'm going to be sick! Are we done here?

BISHOP
No, not yet. Whistler?

Whistler walks out into the middle of the room.

WHISTLER
I want peace on earth and goodwill toward men.

ABBOTT
Oh, this is ridiculous.

BISHOP
He's serious.

WHISTLER
I want peace on earth and goodwill toward men.

ABBOTT
We are the United States Government. We don't do that sort of thing.

BISHOP
You're just going to have to try.

ABBOTT
(eyes narrowing)
Alright! I'll see what I can do.

WHISTLER
Thank you very much.
(shaking Abbott's hand)
That's all I ask.

Feel the rhythm! Feel the rhyme! Get on up, its bobsled time!

There have been plenty of Jewish Olympians, but this is just awesome. I don't think they have anyone named Yule Brenner on the team, but they do have pride, power, and a bad-ass mother who won't take no crap off of nobody. From the article:

Greaves is a Winnipegger who teamed up with a pair of Americans to form the first Israeli bobsled team. Their goal is to qualify for the 2006 Winter Olympics by becoming one of the top-30 crews in the world.

I can just imagine it.

"Hey Shmueli, ya dead?"
"Ya Man."

"Well, obviously it's not meant to be taken literally; it refers to any manufacturers of dairy products."

Monty Python's The Life of Brian
will be re-released in theaters on
April 30th in the United States

I ended my last post -- which included me babbling about how I was confused about how to deal with Mel's movie -- with a quote from Milton:

"Confusion heard his voice, and wild uproar
Stood ruled, stood vast infinitude confined;
Till at his second bidding darkness fled,
Light shone, and order from disorder sprung."

Turns out Milton was right... All I had to do was wait a day, and, thanks to Milton's countrymen, "order from disorder sprung."

Seems Monty Python is re-releasing it's own Jesus epic, Monty Python's The Life of Brian, which will, conveniently, be celebrating its 25th anniversary. "A lot of people in America have said that they couldn't figure out a way to deal with the public reaction to Mel's movie," Python producer John Goldstone told Daily Variety. "This is a kind of antidote to Mel."

Well, I plan on being at the Laemmle Sunset 5 for the opening. And I'll sing along...

Life's a piece of shit,
When you look at it.
Life's a laugh and death's a joke it's true.
You'll see it's all a show.
Keep 'em laughing as you go.
Just remember that the last laugh is on you.
And...

Always look on the bright side of life.