Weekend Movie Forecast: <em>Paul</em> Vs. <em>Limitless</em>
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<p>Nerds of America get psyched, because today the newest Nick Frost and Simon Pegg comedy <em>Paul</em> hits theaters, and if those names sound familiar to you (which they should), you know what all the excitement's about. The two star as a pair of nerdy slackers (that's a stretch) who visit Area 51 (remember, they're nerds) and stumble upon an alien slacker named Paul, voiced by Seth Rogen. The two haven't always starred in the best movies, but whenever they're the writers behind it, it tends to be pretty great. This is the first big movie they've written that didn't have Edgar Wright at the helm, having instead been directed by Greg Motolla (director of <em>Superbad</em> and the underrated and underappreciated <em>Adventureland</em>). Although most fans are waiting for part three of the <em>Blood and Ice Cream Trilogy</em>; <em>The Worlds End</em> (following <em>Shaun of the Dead</em> and <em>Hot Fuzz</em>), we're sure they'd love something to hold them over other than reruns of <em>Spaced</em>.</p><p></p>Reviews have been very mixed (we don't really see that stopping anyone already planning to see it), with Nathan Rabin from <a href="http://www.avclub.com/articles/paul,53318/"> The A.V. Club</a> saying: "With <em>Paul</em>, Pegg, Frost, and director Greg Mottola (<em>Superbad</em>) play it both ways, lightly spoofing messianic cinematic extraterrestrials like <em>E.T.</em> through its title characterâa pot-smoking, party-hearty space alien in a hurry to return homeâwhile still gleaning wide-eyed wonder from everyday guys bonding with a visitor from another world.<p></p>"<em>Paul</em> is more slapdash than <em>Shaun Of The Dead</em> and <em>Hot Fuzz</em>, but it shares many of those filmâs virtues and underlying sweetness, though the alien sometimes comes off as a Poochie-like exemplar of in-your-face attitude. Yet by the time it reaches an appropriately epic conclusion, the film has earned its laughs as well as its big dramatic moments. <em>Paul</em> is a little sloppy and a little sappy, but the filmmakersâ passion for their subject matter carries it over the occasional rough spot."
<p>Opening today is the film <em>Limitless</em>, which follows out-of-work writer Eddie (played by Bradley Cooper) whose future has zilch going for it, until an old friend introduces him to pharmaceutical wonder-pill MDT, which is basically a super amped-up Adderall, and gives him photographic memory and hyper-focusing skills. Things start looking up for ol' Eddie, as he lands hot dames and makes a killing in the stock market, but terrible side effects start taking hold and a bunch of hitmen start gunning for him and his magic pills. Could this movie be an interesting exploration about the pharmaceutical industry? The relationship between art and excessive drug use? Could the film use a somewhat fantastical premise to explore the all-too-common world of drug addiction? Nah, it's just a movie about a magic pill that works like the brain needle thing in <em>The Matrix</em> and the baddies who want to take it from him.</p><p></p>Reviews have been mixed to positive, with Nick Schager from <a href="http://www.villagevoice.com/2011-03-16/film/limitless-beyond-the-valley-of-the-dolls/">The Voice</a> saying: "Yet whereas this enthusiastic depiction of getting high (or 'clear,' as he describes it) would be an ideal means of parodying our narcotized age, [director] Burger plays the material for straight thrills. And suspense, alas, is even rarer than NZT in Limitless, thanks to a script (by Leslie Dixon, based on an Alan Glynn novel) that introduces threats via the very sort of nonsensical behavior from which four-digit-IQ Eddie should be immune.<p></p>"Eddie is a potentially inspired strung-out Einstein caricature, but with unchecked drugging presented as a surefire path to self-actualization and rock-star bliss, he instead winds up being merely an unimpeachable hero. Without a complex thought about narcissism, merit, or addiction, <em>Limitless</em> is content to be an empty, one-note, satire-free fairy tale of avarice and corporate-political ambitionâone that, ultimately, proves incapable of taking the nationâs current post-economic-crisis pulse."
<p>Back in the '90s, courtroom dramas were a dime a dozen. Just about every Grisham novel was adapted for the screen in addition to films like <em>Primal Fear, Sleepers,</em> and <em>A Civil Action</em>. Since then, TV shows like the <em>Law & Order</em> franchise have stepped in to feed our countries' desire to watch highly inaccurate, albeit entertaining and intense, courtroom scenes where everyone badgers the witness and attorneys soliloquize in the manner of Oedipus Rex. Today sees the release of <em>The Lincoln Lawyer</em>, based on the Michael Connelly book of the same name, and we're happy to see a good ol' fashioned legal drama back on the big screen (even though we'll just wait to watch it when it's on TV). The film follows L.A. D.A. (hehe) Mickey Haller (Matthew McConaughey), who usually represents petty criminals out of the back of his <em>Lincoln</em> sedan (ooooh), but catches a big break representing a playboy accused of murder. In the fashion of most of these movies, things probably go awry, the audience is led to believe the playboy is either innocent or guilty every fifteen minutes or so, and the lawyer's life is probably put in danger. If only jury duty was this entertaining, we wouldn't have two different billing addresses to get out of it.</p><p></p>Reviews have been fairly positive, with an entertaining review from Roger Ebert at <a href="http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20110316/REVIEWS/110319985/1023">The Chicago Sun-Times</a> who says: "I like movies about smart guys who are wise asses, and think their way out of tangles with criminals. I like courtroom scenes. I like big old cars. I like <em>The Lincoln Lawyer</em> because it involves all three, and because it matches Matthew McConaughey with a first-rate supporting cast, while so many thrillers these days are about a lone hero surrounded by special effects. People have words they actually say in this movie. After <em>Battle: Los Angeles</em>, that is a great relief.<p></p>"All of this comes together in a satisfactory way. It isn't brilliant, it's far from foolproof, and the second appearance of the motorcycle gang technically qualifies, I think, as a miracle. The Law of Seemingly Unnecessary Characters comes nicely into play as events from the present turn out to be connected to the past. I did feel undercut by the movie's final revelation â which is, let's face it, completely arbitrary. The plotting seems like half-realized stabs in various directions made familiar by other crime stories. But for what it is, <em>The Lincoln Lawyer</em> is workmanlike, engagingly acted and entertaining."
<p>Also opening today is the newest Paul Giamatti indie depressa-comedy <em>Win Win</em>, also starring Amy Ryan and Jeffrey Tambor. The film tells the story of disheartened attorney Mike Flaherty, who takes a second job as a high school wrestling coach. Through some shady business practices he stumbles across a potential champion wrestler who could save him from his miserable existence when the said wrestler's mother throws a wrench in the works. We're not sure about the theater audience for Giamatti dramadies, but we're sure some of you might feel inclined to go.</p><p></p>Reviews have been positive, with A.O. Scott from <a href="http://movies.nytimes.com/2011/03/18/movies/win-win-with-paul-giamatti-review.html?ref=movies">The New York Times</a> saying: "There are actors who suffer nobly, with tragic and stoical reserve. Then there is Paul Giamatti. Squirrel cheeked and beetle browed, with rounded shoulders and a scratchy voice, he is a virtuoso of exasperation, a maestro of disappointment, an intrepid navigator through squalls of frustration and failure. Who else could have played John Adams, the most misunderestimated of the founding fathers, a great man and also a petty one, possessed of an outsize sense of grievance? Or Harvey Pekar, the Cleveland file clerk who wrung deadpan, misanthropic comic-book masterpieces from the grind of daily existence?<p></p>"<em>Win Win</em> does not leave that cozy realm, but it finds enough to work with there. It is in no way challenging or provocative, but it is never dull or obvious. Itâs a good movie about trying to be good."
<p>In the vein of <em>Public Speaking</em>, the Fran Lebowitz documentary from a month back, comes another documentary on an NYC icon: <em>Bill Cunningham New York</em>. The doc follows New York Times Style photographer Bill Cunningham and his almost cultural anthropological obsession with New Yorkers, both uptown fixtures and downtown eccentrics. Cunningham is considered a friend by almost everyone he's come in contact with over his decades long career, and the documentary should be an interesting look into one of our most interesting characters. As New Yorkers, this doc is not to be missed, so check it out.</p><p></p>Reviews have been very good, with Scott Tobias from <a href="http://www.avclub.com/articles/bill-cunningham-new-york,53313/">The A.V. Club</a> saying: "Itâs no insult to say that the fine documentary <em>Bill Cunningham New York</em> resembles one of those minor profiles found in The New Yorkerâs 'Talk Of The Town' section: a slight, glancing, yet subtly wrought slice of New York life. And it seems likely that the exceedingly modest Cunningham would want it that way. It reportedly took director Richard Press eight years to convince the reticent New York Times fashion photographer to crawl out of his shellâand even then, he just comes out for a peek. A New York institution, Cunningham not only embodies the cityâs spirit, heâs spent a lifetime reflecting it, practicing a form of street-level anthropology around what people wear.<p></p>"Press honors Cunningham by giving his work the fullest possible appreciation, both in charting his career evolution (and the cityâs fashion as a byproduct) and the day-to-day grind of putting his columns together. Thatâs where the joy in Cunninghamâs life resides, and in spite of appearances, it doesnât seem lacking."
<p>Also opening today is the film <em>The Music Never Stopped</em> which is a drama based on a case study done by the wonderfully interesting Dr. Oliver Sacks about a father and son adjusting to cerebral trauma and a lifetime of missed opportunities through the music of the 1960s. The film features music by Bob Dylan, The Beatles, and the Grateful Dead, which is no slim pickins'. Let's hope it at least makes enough money to break even after licensing those artists.</p><p></p>Reviews have been mixed, with David Fear from <a href="http://newyork.timeout.com/arts-culture/film/1018003/the-music-never-stopped">Time Out New York</a> saying: "Music not only soothes the savage beast, it can heal all generation-gap rifts as well. (That this takes place during the Reagan era, when â50s conservatism and â60s nostalgia duked it out for cultural supremacy, is doubly ironic. Apparently everyone could have just, like, bonded over 'Truckinââ'!)<p></p>"These kinds of disease-fueled dramas already tend to be soap-operatic, but Kohlberg isnât taking any chances; by the time father and son end up at a Dead show in matching tie-dyed outfits, the director has aggressively, insistently overplayed audience heartstrings like Jerry Garcia in a long-winded solo. The music eventually winds down; the movieâs mawkishness, however, goes on and on and on."
<p>For those who like to live vicariously through catty, rich, bitches in the vein of <em>Gossip Girl</em>, then head on down to the theater for your latest hit of materialistic drama and excess with the movie <em>Cracks</em>. The film follows a clique of obnoxious girls who hate on everyone while looking fine, who also happen to be on a swim team. Their main concern is pleasing the ultra glam Miss G, who feeds off the attention that the girls give her. Their parasitic relationship continues until a hot young Spanish thing comes into the all-girl school and knocks things out of whack. How will the girls take down the new jewel of Miss G's eye? You'll just have to go and see. One thing is for certain, it'll surely be glamorous.</p><p></p>Reviews have been mixed, with Ella Taylor from <a href="http://www.villagevoice.com/2011-03-16/film/heavy-breathing-fun-in-girls-school-drama-cracks/">The Village Voice</a> saying: "As boarding-school bodice-rippers go, this assured debut by British director and girlsâ-school alumna Jordan Scott fairly bursts with pent-up carnality trying to ripen under rigid autocracy laden with lesbian denial. Shot in a lushly wild corner of Ireland, <em>Cracks</em> looks as lovely as a colorized old postcard, all vibrant vermilions and deep blues to set off the ethereal beauty of <em>Casino Royale</em> Bond girl Eva Green. Alas, the hopelessly miscast Green is too darn French, lacking the voraciously loony brio it takes to play Miss G, a glamorous but increasingly unhinged teacher who lives for her pubescent maidens while dreaming of foreign travel.<p></p>"Much of the pleasure comes instead from the erotic symbiosis of the <em>mädchen</em> in school uniform, topped off by a sharply intelligent performance from Juno Temple (<em>Kaboom</em>) as a smart but unfinished head-girl type whose perch as teacherâs pet is toppled by the arrival of a pneumatic Spanish blueblood (MarÃa Valverde) who catches Miss Gâs roving eye. Copious diving into lakes, scads of Jean Brodie dialogue ('Do you have desire, gehls?'), and midnight feasting in drag follow. All of which is heavy-breathing fun until an ill-judged lapse into <em>Lord of the Flies</em> territory and a Jean Rhysâian climax all but bury the message about the evils of repression."
<p>Now this should be a very interesting retrospective: Starting today at <a href="http://anthologyfilmarchives.org/film_screenings/series/36952">The Anthology Film Archives</a> is the Program <em>Auto-Remakes</em>, which explores the phenomena of a great filmmaker remaking his own movie. There is a lot of theory that we could delve into here, but it's probably best to go and see one of these pairings yourself. Films by Hitchcock, Ford, Hawks, Lubitsch, and more will be shown in pairs for the next few weeks, all ending with Trent Harris' brilliant <em>The Beaver Trilogy</em>. For those of you who live outside of Utah or haven't heard of Harris' cult classic <em>Rubin and Ed</em>, <em>The Beaver Trilogy</em> is an extremely hard-to-find trilogy of short films based around the same character Groovin' Gary. </p><p></p>The first segment is a documentary by Harris on a chance encounter with a Salt Lake City impersonator of Olivia Newton John named Groovin' Gary, as he prepares for a mall talent show. Gary comes across as earnest but his manner of acting and speaking is a haunting mix of caricature and sincerity. It seems like he doesn't know whether or not he's acting or not himself. The second film is a video remake of the first part, starring Sean Penn as Groovin' Gary, although it's probably the weakest segment of the trilogy, it's still worth watching for Sean Penn's performance. The whole thing ends with an out-of-control TV movie remake starring the always interesting Crispin Glover as Gary. Filmed and written as if it were going to be shown on Lifetime, the film goes into the imagined background of Gary and presupposes how he could have ever developed into such a strange character. Unless you want to see a shitty bootleg, this is your only chance at seeing one of the most interesting experiment in modern cinema, so don't miss!
<em>How's everything in the pimp business?</em><p></p>Starting today at <a href="http://www.filmforum.org/films/taxidriver.html">The Film Forum</a> is the 35th Anniversary screening of Martin Scorsese's classic film <em>Taxi Driver</em> in a new 35mm Print. The film is a portrait of one of the worst times in this city's history, and is an artful exploration of the psyche of one of cinemas greatest anti-heroes. Time Out New York says: "You haven't truly seen Martin Scorsese's NYC nightmare until you settle in for this jaw-dropping restoration!" If you haven't seen this, or even if you have, you have two weeks to take in one of the landmark films in American cinema.
<em>Goonies never say die!</em><p></p>This weekend at <a href="http://www.landmarktheatres.com/Market/NewYork/NewYork_frameset.htm">Landmark Theater</a> Sunshine at Midnight proudly present the '80s classic <em>The Goonies</em>. This movie holds a special place in the lives of many millennials (hate that term), and should make for a fun, nostalgic night out. Go do the truffle shuffle and head on down to the Lower East Side for one of the best family films of the last three decades. Don't miss!