Julie & Julia
American screenwriter and director Nora Ephron has been responsible for an impressive list of movie ‘hits’. Her screen credits include ‘Silkwood’ (1983), ‘Heartburn’ (1986), ‘When Harry Met Sally’ (1989) and ‘Sleepless in Seattle’ (1993). In her latest comedy, Ephron pairs Meryl Streep with Amy Adams to tell a fantastic story about cooking. Actually, the movie is two stories in one, which play simultaneously. In one story Meryl Streep portrays the famous 1950’s American celebrity chef Julia Child, and it depicts her struggles to write a definitive book about French cooking. In the other story Amy Adams is a present day 30 year old civil servant, who feels her life is going nowhere. She decides to write a ‘blog’ about her attempts to cook 524 Julia Child recipes in 365 days. The movie is very simple, but very amusing. Both actresses sparkle in their roles, yet, it is Meryl who steals the show. Meryl is outrageous and extremely funny. This is a Meryl Streep you have never seen before, and you are going to fall in love with her all over again!
Away We Go
Sam Mendes is an English director of some note. His most acclaimed films to date would be ‘American Beauty’ (1999) and ‘Revolutionary Road’ (2008). In his latest work Mendes presents a human interest story, which allows him to continue his studies on American contemporary culture. A young couple, soon to have a baby, search for a place they can call ‘home’. This search includes visiting family, friends and acquaintances in places as far flung as Phoenix, Tucson, Madison, Montreal and Miami, as they sample the local environment. However, these visits to this assortment of places also allows Mendes to explore a wide variety of alternative American lifestyles. The film is a low key reflective comedy, but, at times, it can be quite acidic!
Dean Spanley
Based on a classic novel by Lord Dunsany, ‘Dean Spanley’ is a highly unusual movie which comes from New Zealand, masquerading, quite successfully, as Edwardian England. At a lecture concerning reincarnation, a very proper Edwardian Gentleman meets a Dean of the Church of England. Intrigued by the Dean, the Gentleman invites him to dinner, and, over a series of intimate meals, the Dean reveals his conviction that he has led a previous life as a Spaniel Dog! As their cozy discussions and revelations continue, some unresolved issues from the past are finally put to rest. The movie is whimsical and endearing. The old ‘ham’ actors who star in the movie, like Peter O’Toole, Sam Neill and Bryan Brown, are all excellent.
2012
Okay, here we go! The first 15 minutes of this ‘disaster’ movie is quite dull, as the facts concerning the calamity which we are all going to experience on the 21st of December, 2012, are presented very incoherently. Then, 30 or 40 minutes are wasted establishing, in typical ‘disaster’ movie style, various characters and situations. However, once the action starts the movie is amazing. This must be the ‘disaster’ movie to end all ‘disaster’ movies. It has everything. Volcanoes, Earthquakes and Tidal Waves. I just love it when Los Angeles falls into the Pacific Ocean! Directed by Roland Emmerich, the movie is a tad too long, but, when it is ‘working’, it is ‘working’ very well. Of course, the trick with this movie is not to take any of it at all seriously!
Spread
This movie reminds me of Paul Schrader’s seminal 1980 erotic thriller ‘American Gigolo’, which starred a young and hunky Richard Gere. I guess the reminiscences come about as both movies have a similar theme. In this pseudo update, a young and hunky Los Angeles hustler is working wealthy older women. That is, until he is caught cheating on one of them, and he is back on the streets again, penniless! Ashton Kutcher makes a good young and hunky hustler, while Anne Heche is also terrific as one of his ‘older’ clients. Directed by David Mackenzie, the movie has an honesty which is refreshing, it also doesn’t hurt that the movie is very sleek, stylish, and sexy!
(500) Days of Summer
As the narrator of this movie says: “This is not a love story”. In fact, the movie has an unhappy ending. In this gentle romantic comedy a greeting cards writer falls in love with a new assistant in his office, though, she makes it perfectly clear that she is not looking for a relationship. The writer has to learn the hard way that love can sometimes hurt! Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel are both absolutely charming, but, the real star of the movie is its director, Marc Webb. He has a sure and sensitive touch, and Webb fills his movie with wonderful screen references and captivating cinema techniques. In particular, in one extended sequence, he uses a split screen extremely effectively to show the differences between ‘expectations’ and ‘reality’. The movie is a very nice example of professional film making.
Zombieland
Ruben Fleischer directs this piece of rubbish, which is intended to be a comedy. Granted, of a very ‘black’ nature. A virus has swept over America, turning everyone into Zombies, except for a few, who have to find sanctuary wherever they can. The movie goes along reasonably well, I suppose, until Bill Murray makes an unnecessary and unwanted boring guest appearance, playing himself. The movie never recovers from that embarrassing fiasco!
