Meryl Streep on Ice

LOL!!

It's Complicated - Mini-review

I saw It's Complicated last night with two girlfriends, and it had us roaring with laughter.  Nancy Meyers has done it again with this adult comedy starring Meryl Streep, Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin.   Meryl Streep and Alec Baldwin play ex-spouses who have  been divorced for 10 years, and he has remarried a much younger woman.  During the weekend when their son graduates, they rekindle their relationship.  Meryl also has a burgeoning romance with her architect played by Steve Martin.  As the movie title says, It's Complicated.

There were several scenes in the movie that has us nearly on the floor with laughter, especially the scene you've seen a bit of in the trailer, where Meryl and Steve are stoned on pot at a party.  Hilarious!!

All three actors are excellent, the writing sparkles (Leap Year writers, take notes), and it is just a great movie to see with friends.  Meryl Streep's California house will have you drooling with envy.  That's what there is to drool over -- certainly not Alec Baldwin's hairy paunch!!  John Krasinski of The Office plays Meryl Streep's son-in-law, and he was also great.

I'm not sure younger audiences would find this movie quite as hilarious.  A group of young people left our showing in the middle. 

It was just a joy to see these three fantastic actors working together in a smart funny film.  Three and a half stars!

Fantastic Mr. Fox - Mini Film Review

This Thanksgiving weekend I saw the best animated film I've seen all year - Fantastic Mr. Fox.  Yes, that includes Up.  I liked the quirky Wes Anderson humor of Fantastic Mr. Fox better, and the stop motion animation you know is all hand-done, which makes it even more amazing.

This has been an interesting year with two unique directors of adult films, with Spike Jonze doing Where the Wild Things Are with live action puppets, and Wes Anderson's amazing tour de force here with Fox.  Anderson's off-beat style seems perfect for a Roald Dahl story.  This story was not one I'd read as a child, so I came in with no preconceived notions.  But the character of Mr. Fox, who schemes the perfect squab-nabbing job at the neighbor's farm is just dead-on perfect for George Clooney, almost reprising Danny Ocean of Ocean's Eleven.  I adored Clooney in this film with his trademark click and whistle.  Everyone is fantastic.  Meryl Streep doesn't have a lot to do as his wife, but of course she's great, as always.  Bill Murray is a lawyer badger, and the "Are you cussing with me?" scene in his office with Mr. Fox where they briefly turn into their wild animal selves just slayed me.

It's most of the regular cast of actors from other Wes Anderson films.  We've got Owen Wilson as a sports coach, but Jason Swartzman as Mr. Fox's son is so like every other offbeat character he's played.  The son who's just a little different, but doesn't know it, like Rushmore, my favorite Anderson film.  Really, Rushmore was the pinnacle for me of Wes Anderson films, and until Mr. Fox none of his other films have quite measured up to that greatness.  I enjoyed them, but not the wayI adore Rushmore and now Fantastic Mr. Fox.

The animation is just superb.  Listen to Wes Anderson's interview with Terry Gross on Fresh Air to get some sense of the painstaking care that went into creating the fur-covered miniatures and stop motion animation.  The color palette is all browns and golds - autumnal colors - because Wes Anderson visited Dahl's writing hut in England at that season, and it's the setting for the book.  Wes Anderson said that animation like this, where he has control over absolutely every part of the look, including every sunset and cloud, is the closest a director can get to being God.  I loved the look of this film.  All that care was worth it.

The story is very fun, as Mr. Fox sort of has a mid-life crisis, going back to his youthful poultry stealing.  The chief mean farmer is voiced by Michael Gambon (Dumbledore), and it took me about half the film to realize that as he is so menacing sounding.  Willem Dafoe plays a Rat, one of Mr. Fox's nemesis.

Mr. Anderson, my hat's off to you. The movie was just a delight.  I give it 4 stars and an enthusiastic recommendation that you must run out and see it in a theater this holiday season.  It is a great film for the whole family.  Kids will love the basic story, and adults will love the subtle adult layers as well.  I adore the hand made feel of it, and I hope Wes Anderson does more family films.  His quirkiness works well in animation and children's stories, like Tim Burton works well for fantastical stories like Alice in Wonderland.

Here's a cool short featurette that shows some of what went into the film behind the scenes, including how they recorded the voices on location at a farm, instead of in a studio as is the case with most animated films:

Fantastic Fox Featurette

This is a cool featurette about The Fantastic Mr. Fox, but what I find most fascinating is that the voices were recorded outside on farm locations, instead of in the normal recording booths usually used for animated films.

Meryl Streep -- Where's the Masterpiece?

Popwatch led me to this hilarious mock editorial by Meryl Streep in The Onion.

...the name Meryl Streep isn’t really synonymous with one truly unforgettable film. It’s weird to think about, but it’s undeniably true. Go ahead, try and name a classic movie I’ve starred in. Not a classic character I’ve portrayed, mind you, but an overall amazing piece of cinema. You can’t. You just can’t.

Then she starts going through her movies, including those she's won awards for, and the really hilarious thing is that it's true. She is undeniably great, the movies, meh, not always great (and Julie & Julia is just the latest example.)

Kramer vs. Kramer: “Let’s be honest, Kramer Vs. Kramer isn’t really a masterpiece in the same way that, say, The French Connection or On The Waterfront is a masterpiece.”

Sophie’s Choice: “I looked at AFI’s top 100 movies list and Sophie’s Choice was No. 91, behind Forrest Gump and The Sixth Sense. And truthfully, all I could say was, ‘That’s about right.’ “

The Deer Hunter: “[H]ow long was I in the The Deer Hunter? Three, maybe four minutes? Truthfully, I don’t really remember being in the The Deer Hunter at all.

Oh, and for those of you who want to say The Devil Wears Prada? Please. I don't need your charity.

So here we are. I'm 60 years old without a One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest or Bonnie And Clyde to my name. Meryl Streep: "Great actress, okay movies."

And by the way, The Manchurian Candidate is not a classic. Well, at least not the one I was in.

Read the whole great article here.

Julie & Julia - Mini-review

Julia Child's first cook book, Mastering the Art of French Cooking, has made it to the top of the NY Times best seller's list, almost 50 years after it was first published. All because of a little film called Julie & Julia. I'm one of 22,000 people who purchased that book last week after seeing the movie, because I've just got to try that boeuf bourguignon recipe! (And even Amazon is back ordered, so I'm still waiting.)

I remember watching Julia Child on PBS growing up, and let me tell you, Meryl Streep nailed her. She, as always, has the perfect accent, and especially her joie de vivre. I felt like she made Julia Child a real person, and we were invited to this incredibly fun dinner party during her parts of the film. Her former assistant Sarah Moulton, who has her own Food Network show now, thinks Meryl Streep really captured Julia, too:

There’s a scene in the film when Julia is being put down by the dour female director of the Cordon Bleu where Julia was taking classes in Paris. Julia has just sit down to take her final exam and the director comments, “I don’t know why you want to do this, you are a terrible cook, but if you cook for Americans, they won’t know the difference.” Julia’s response in the film? She sticks out her tongue as the director walks out the door. The real Julia might have given the finger. She was so spontaneous, and yes, at times, a little crude. If somebody pissed her off, she might shout, “Balls!”

There's not a ton of conflict in Julia's story, just whether she'll get published (Gee, ya think?). The whole film is as light as a souffle, really. But I love Stanley Tucci's portrayal of her husband Paul, and it was so great to see a happily married couple on screen, with a sex life even! They would send out sexy Valentine's Day cards to their friends, and the film recreates on they photographed in the bath tub together!

I do adore Amy Adams, but I'm not sure she was the right pick for Julie, the blogger who cooked all 524 recipes in Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking in one year. I have a feeling the real Julie swore a bit more, and was more snarky. As Amy played her, the parts where's she's being bitchy come off more whiny.

I enjoyed the film, but mostly the parts about Julia Child's life in France, based on her own memoir and letters she and Paul wrote during that time. Nora Ephron has made a nice film, but I'm glad I paid the matinee price. It's a love story to food and cooking, and as I said, drove me straight to Amazon where Julia's cook book is on sale for $22.

The film is 2 and a half to three stars. Enjoyable especially for Meryl as Julia, but you could wait to rent it.

A Woman of a Thousand Voices

The many accents of the amazing Meryl Streep!

It's Complicated-Trailer

Oh, man this looks like fun.

Meryl Streep with Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin in a romantic triangle? Bliss!

FANTASTIC MR. FOX - Official Theatrical Trailer

We always knew George Clooney was a fox....

Seriously, Wes Anderson and madcap stop motion animation seem a marriage made in heaven. Can't wait!

Julie & Julia Trailer!

Meryl Streep NAILS it!

Doubt Trailer

Doubt stars Meryl Streep, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Amy Adams and the play that the film is based on, centering around a molestation accusation in a Catholic boarding school, won the Drama Desk, the Tony Award, and the Pulitzer Prize for drama in 2005.

With the play’s original writer, John Patrick Stanley, also adapting the screenplay as well as handling directing duties, this should be fantastic, and a movie people will be talking about.

Set against the backdrop of a Catholic school in 1964, DOUBT is the story of a strong-minded woman faced with a difficult decision. Should she voice concerns about one of her male colleagues...even if she's not entirely certain of the truth?

Mamma Mia - mini-review

The bottom line of this film is that I laughed my ASS off. And I cried. Meryl Streep singing Winner Takes It All made me tear up. She was so amazing in this film. She just threw herself into this part, and sang and danced her heart out. Yes, what you've heard is true -- Pierce Brosnan cannot sing, but no matter. He gives it his all, too.

I saw this film with a group of girl friends and we just had the best time. Stellan Skarsgard showing off his tattooed ass had me on the floor. Stay for the full credits too see the cast in full 70's Abba regalia, spandex, high heeled boots, fringe and all.

Three and a half stars of sheer fun and good times.

Mamma Mia Most Fun EVER!

Yippee!! I've been holding my breath, hoping that this one would be good. And now, an absolutely RAVE review has come from London, where Mamma Mia has its world premiere today. We get it in the US July 18.
The Hollywood Reporter:

No matter how many blockbusters there are, Universal Pictures' screen version of the global hit stage musical "Mamma Mia!" is the most fun to be had at the movies this or any other recent summer.

Teenage boys may be glued to the latest action adventure, but the rest of the family will be having a rollicking good time and dancing in the aisles to Swedish pop group ABBA's irresistible songs. It's a delightful piece of filmmaking with a marvelous cast topped by Meryl Streep in one of her smartest and most entertaining performances ever.

Read the rest here!

Mamma Meryl!

Great article in the TimesOnline about the upcoming Mamma Mia! I didn't recognize that Stellan Skarsgard of Beowulf is in Mamma Mia!!

Reports from early test screenings are universally positive - the audiences who have seen it at a secret showing in San Diego came out raving about the transfer of the musical to the big screen.

The surprise?

That Meryl Streep, at 58, is athletic, has a big voice - clear, true and strong - and delivers the goods on Abba's classics without a trace of embarrassment. It is, obviously, her first musical, and the deep thinkers in Hollywood are amazed by the way she is apparently happy to demolish her reputation as a serious-minded Oscar-winning grande dame.

And yet Streep, who is known for her hard-to-live-with perfectionism and love of tricky bits of acting technique and odd accents, emerges from this film as a woman who is accomplished at physical comedy and actually funny when the occasion demands.

'Meryl is very good - it's a revelation,' says one who has seen the film, in which she plays Donna, the mother of a bride-to-be who is confronted by three potential fathers on the eve of her nuptials.

It transpires that Streep saw the stage show in New York with her daughter as a birthday treat and wrote a fan letter to the producers afterwards.

When it came to casting the movie, the letter was remembered and she was approached.
They called and said: "You probably won't be interested, but…"

I said: "Are you crazy? I would love to do this." It was a done deal,' said Streep.

There seems to have been a little on-set rivalry and tension between the men - not to mention anxiety - about how they were doing so far out of their usual leading-man comfort zones. It's a long way from playing Darcy to belting out Dancing Queen.

Brosnan, who, of course, played James Bond, was discomfited to be filming musical numbers at Pinewood directly after Daniel Craig's Casino Royale wrapped.

'I looked in the mirror and there was 007, and he was getting ready to expose himself to possible ridicule.
'One of my fears was that I'd be strutting across the carpark in sequined tights and I would bump into Daniel looking very Bond-like. It never happened, I'm pleased to say, but it was a recurring nightmare.'

Firth, though, seems to be the most embarrassed of all of them by the undignified performance he has given.

Firth said his singing voice was 'somewhere between a drunken apology and a plumbing problem'.

He added that the scene in which the three men appear in Lycra catsuits was particularly mortifying.

'There are bulges where there should not be bulges and no bulges where you wish there were.'

Read the rest here!

Meryl Streep reaches new heights

Perez posted this picture of Meryl Streep in costume as Julia Child. Look at those platform shoes! Julia was 6' 2" so Meryl has big shoes to fill - literally!

Meryl Streep stars as Julia Child

Just Jared posted this first pic of Meryl Streep as Julia Child from the upcoming film Julie & Julia.

Frustrated temp secretary Julie Powell (Amy Adams) embarks on a yearlong culinary quest to cook all 524 recipes in Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking. She chronicles her trials and tribulations in a blog that catches on with the food crowd. The film also covers the years Julia Child and her husband Paul (Stanley Tucci) spent in Paris during the 1940s and ’50s, when Paul was a foreign diplomat who was eventually investigated by Sen. Joseph McCarthy for alleged communist ties.

Julie & Julia is currently filming and is slated to be released in 2009. The film is based on Julie Powell’s memoir Julie and Julia: 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen. Directing is Nora Ephron, whose film credits include Sleepless in Seattle, You’ve Got Mail and Bewitched. Dave Annable (Brothers & Sisters) and Mary Lynn Rajskub (24) also costar.