Weekend Movie Forecast: Nic Cage Vs. Farrelly Brothers
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<p>Another month, another Nic Cage bravura performance! This time we find our scraggly leading man in the film <em>Driving Angry</em> and boy does this sound like a hoot! Nic Cage plays an hardened felon (of course) with one last shot at redemption (ditto) who must stop a vicious cult of fanatics, the ones who killed his daughter, from killing his granddaughter too. We couldn't make this last line of the summary up if we tried: "Milton must use his anger to go beyond all human limits in order to save his last connection with humanity." Eat your heart out William Shakespeare.</p><p></p>In the great tradition of unbelievably awesome movies, the powers that be decided they didn't need the approval of those elitist and snarky critics to tell them how awesome <em>Driving Angry 3D</em> is, so they didn't have any press screenings. You'll just have to go with your gut, the 30 second TV spots and your love of Nic Cage to get your ass in the seat.
<p>Bad comedies are a tricky thing. Some "bad" comedies, despite their juvenile and or raunchy sense of humor, can be really funny and quotable. Other bad comedies are just bad and make you feel dumber for having sat through it. The line between these two is very thin and the Farrelly brothers have been walking it their entire career. Unlike say, <em>There's Something About Mary, Stuck On You, Kingpin</em> and <em>Dumb and Dumber</em>... actually, those probably all fall on one side of the line depending on who you ask, but at least they all have heart. The brothers' most recent raunchcom is the movie <em>Hall Pass</em> and follows two oafs who are granted a week "hall pass" by their respective wives to do whatever they want, no questions asked. We're not sure what this has to say about our culture's idea of marriage but that's probably looking too far into it.</p><p></p>Reviews have been very mixed, with some positivity coming from Joshua Rothkopf at <a href="http://newyork.timeout.com/arts-culture/film/954303/hall-pass">Time Out New York</a> who says: "Gently, after a four-year absence, the Farrelly brothers return to a comedy field they once dominated with sticky-sweet gross-outs like 1998âs <em>Thereâs Something About Mary</em>. And wouldnât you know it? Theyâve become elder statesmen: <em>Hall Pass</em>, a largely sexless sex romp, has such a winning sense of middle-aged exhaustion to it that you might want to add a star or two, especially if youâre familiar with the banalities of matrimonial bliss.<p></p>"<em>Hall Pass</em> is a hilariously unnaughty movie; you know exactly where itâs going. Desperately, it brings on too many sirens in its last act, and reaches back to the Farrellysâ scatological roots with an explosive sneeze thatâs beyond gross. But mainly, the chemistry is nuanced andâet tu, Peter and Bobby?âsafely mature."
<p>And for those of you who love feel good geriatric films in the mode of <em>Young at Heart, Calender Girls</em> etc... then put down that Centrum Silver and pull up those Depends because you're heading to the theater to see <em>The Over the Hill Band</em>! The film follows proud AARP member Claire (70!) who decides to reconnect with her down and out R&B musician son after her beau dies, by getting her old girl group back together. Only catch is her son wants them to sing only his hip young people music! Heavens to Betsy!</p><p></p>Reviews have been pretty decent for a film whose summary reads like a straight to video BBC movie, with Jeannette Catsoulis from <a href="http://movies.nytimes.com/2011/02/25/movies/25over.html?ref=movies">The New York Times</a> saying: "Following three Belgian septuagenarians as they attempt to resurrect their singing group from half a century earlier, this drippy dramedy embraces every inappropriate-oldster cliché with depressing calculation.<p></p>"More grating than any of these shenanigans, however, is the singing, though I suspect even Celine Dion would balk at a mash-up of Technotronic and Jacques Brel."
<p>Judd Hirsch's second cousin, a.k.a. Dorothy Parker the Revenge, a.k.a., Smoking New Yorker Renegade, a.k.a. Fran Lebowitz, is the subject of a new documentary (directed by fellow New Yorker Marty Scorsese) <em>Public Speaking</em>. For cultured New Yorkers, this is a must see (whether it's now in theaters, two months ago on HBO, or two months from now on Netflix is up to you). Lebowitz arrived at the Port Authority Bus Terminal in 1969 from New Jersey and was discovered by Andy Warhol to write a column for Interview magazine. Things escalated from there and now she is one of the quintessential New Yorkers, in addition to being an uber-hip, sassy dame.</p><p></p>Reviews have been very positive (well, the two reviews, both from New York City publications), with Melissa Anderson from <a href="http://www.villagevoice.com/2011-02-23/film/fran-lebowitz-remembers-everything-in-public-speaking/">The Village Voice</a> saying: "Though the gilded, Condé Nast clubbiness of <em>Public Speaking</em> is slightly off-putting at firstâMartin Scorsese films Lebowitz during a sit-down at her booth at the Waverly Inn, the restaurant owned by <em>Vanity Fair</em>âs Graydon Carter (who also produced)âonce the critic starts talking, the setting no longer matters.<p></p>"The quick-witted malcontent, a Morristown, New Jersey, refugee who arrived at Port Authority in 1969, is the best kind of New Yorker: one with a long memory whoâs averse to nostalgia."
<p>Also opening today is the film <em>Of Gods and Men</em> which follows 8 French Christian monks who live peacefully in 1990s North Africa with their Muslim brothers until an Islamic fundamentalist massacre nearby foreign workers and challenge the monks faith and tolerance. Even after being offered protection by the army, the monks decide to stay put and live with the values they've been practicing. We know, although it's pretty topical it sounds like a one way ticket to yawnsville, but reviews have been really positive.</p><p></p>A.O. Scott from <a href="http://movies.nytimes.com/2011/02/25/movies/25gods.html?ref=movies">The New York Times</a> says: "Though it takes place in the recent past, <em>Of Gods and Men</em> has an unmistakably timely resonance, evoking as it does both the messy wars on terror and the rebellions currently convulsing North Africa and the Middle East. And yet while it takes pains to be historically authentic, the film, closely based on the true story of a group of French Cistercian Trappist monks caught up (and ultimately killed) in the violence, also keeps an eye on less worldly, temporal concerns.<p></p>"The theme may be piety, but Mr. Beauvois and his cast do not address it piously. <em>Of Gods and Men</em> is supple and suspenseful, appropriately austere without being overly harsh, and without forgoing the customary pleasures of cinema. The performances are strong, the narrative gathers momentum as it progresses, and the camera is alive to the beauty of the Algerian countryside."
<p>Xavier Dolan, director and star of <em>I Killed My Mother</em>, is back with is latest Canadian import <em>Heartbeats</em>, which is a-boot two besties who fall for the same guy. The plot is simple enough, so what Dolan does with it is really what matters.</p><p></p>Reviews have been pretty positive, with Scott Tobias from <a href="http://www.avclub.com/articles/heartbeats,52354/">The A.V. Club</a> saying: "Having a filmmaker this good this early can be exciting, but thereâs also the worry of the Tenenbaum Effect, when precocious artists peak too soon, without growing into their talent first. Produced just one year later, Dolanâs beautiful second feature, <em>Heartbeats</em>, goes a long way toward assuaging those fears. It contains all the passion and drama that animated <em>I Killed My Mother</em>, but carried across with greater assurance and technique. Far from being a liability, Dolanâs youthfulness gives it unmistakable vibrancy: This is a love-crazy, movie-crazy affair, laying bare its emotions just as plainly as its influences.<p></p>"<em>Heartbeats</em> is a little too neatly drawn, but Dolanâs enthusiasm and vitality compensate for more than they rationally should; this is a film even easier to love than to like."
<p>Coming out today is the documentary <em>A Good Man</em>, which follows the interesting story of Chris and Rachel Rohrlach. When Rachel was 21 she became pregnant with Chris's baby and had a stroke that left her a quadriplegic. Chris manned up and took care of his invalid wife, newborn baby and sheep on his Australian farm. 14 years later, a drought threatens his farm just as a new baby is on the way. With nowhere else to turn, Chris decides to open up a brothel on his property in order to save his family from poverty. You really couldn't write this if you tried.</p><p></p>Reviews have been decent, with Michelle Orange from <a href="http://www.villagevoice.com/2011-02-23/film/a-good-man-s-title-subject-could-prop-up-three-documentaries/">The Voice</a> saying: "Director Safina Uberoi struck gold with her title subject, a congenital joker with an implacable will whose load-bearing personality could prop up at least three documentaries. Supported by their families but facing community protest, Chris and his partners (two fellow farmers) fail to imagine that a well-built brothel with 'nice, clean sex workers' could be construed as anything other than a foolproof business plan.<p></p>"The story of their disillusionment gets away from Uberoi, as well it might: Each potential stand-alone narrative gets tangled with the next, with none of them emerging to form a satisfying arc."
<em>Everything Strange and New</em> follows a tradesmen who is trying to balance his faltering marriage, fatherhood, and submerged mortgage with the problems of a friend in need. It's kind of like when your dad's friend would come and sleep on your couch for a week, much to your mother's chagrin.<p></p>Reviews have been middle of the road, with Stephen Holden from <a href="http://movies.nytimes.com/2011/02/25/movies/25every.html?ref=movies">The Times</a> saying: "Frazer Bradshawâs eerie, melancholy film <em>Everything Strange and New</em> captures a sensation that can suddenly overtake you: that everyday life is as weird as any piece of science fiction. If there are no aliens or spaceships to be seen, the strangeness consists of jolts of information and confusion that seem to arrive from out of the blue.<p></p>"In any case, this intriguing, sometimes frustrating, in some ways amateurish movie is a work of vaulting artistic ambition. The production notes compare the style of Mr. Bradshaw, a cinematographer making his directorial debut, to Andrei Tarkovsky, Robert Bresson and the young Zhang Yimou. By the end of the film, you feel as though the characters had just awakened into a scary new world in which there were no signposts signaling any direction of where to go or what to do."
<em>He's a maniac! He's an ARTIST!</em><p></p>This weekend at <a href="http://www.landmarktheatres.com/Market/NewYork/NewYork_frameset.htm">Landmark Theater</a>, Sunshine at Midnight is presenting <em>Pink Floyd: The Wall</em>. Even if you're not a fan of Roger Waters's bloated, behemoth of a concept album, the always interesting Alan Parker directed quite an interesting film adaptation, with some surreal, wonderful animation. The film is a headtrip and definitely one worth checking out, under the influence or sober, you'll feel inebriated either way. If you're going to watch it, definitely go and see it on the big screen this weekend.