The Star Wars universe is expanding very quickly. At D23 it was announced that entire Star Wars parks are being added to both Disneyland and Disney World, and the spinoffs are set to start coming out soon, starting with this one, which is titled Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, and set to be released December 16th, 2016. Godzilla's Gareth Edwards is directing, with The Theory of Everything's Felicity Jones starring (as you can see), but I'm more curious as to how a movie like this will actually perform, whether spinoffs will be anywhere near as popular as the nostalgia fueled Star Wars continuity movies. I'll guess we'll find out, but a movie like this is bound to be much more of its own thing than the JJ Abrams one coming out this Christmas.
REVIEW: "While We're Young" (2015) Ben Stiller, Naomi Watts. Dir. Noah Baumbach
Noah Baumbach has been on something of a roll lately, and I can't help but feel that it's tied to his lightening up. From his breakthough film The Squid and the Whale, through 2010's Greenberg, he was known for a dark, mean, somewhat menacing tone that ran through his films, infusing them with a sort of nasty, vicious, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf-inspired dialogue, which often affords its own devious yet downtrodden pleasures. But then he met his current muse and girlfriend Greta Gerwig, with whom he co-wrote Frances Ha and the upcoming Mistress America, larks filled with a breezy, funny, almost screwball sensibility, and now he comes out with While We're Young, an obviously personal rumination on generational differences that has some of the funniest, laugh out loud scenes of the year in it.
His Greenberg star Ben Stiller is back starring as Josh, a fortysomething documentarian who made one film and then never quite lived up to his potential, obsessed with the process of getting it right and too distracted by the lethargy of life to really finish it, always suffering under the shadow of his father-in-law, Charles Grodin, a filmmaker from a 60's generation who takes smug pride in his films finding the real life truth in cinema. Josh and his wife Cornelia (Naomi Watts) love each other but are in kind of a rut, struggling with the weight of unmet expectations, since Cornelia has suffered several miscarriages and the two have resigned themselves to a life without kids while having to watch their busy, middle-aged friends all coping with the new baby lifestyle. So when a mid-twentysomething couple suddenly comes into their lives via auditing one of Josh's film classes at his university, their energy, vitality and fresh perspective rejuvenates Josh and Cornelia's desire to live in the moment, instead of dwelling on their present circumstances.
The younger couple is played by Adam Driver and Amanda Seyfried, with Driver as Jamie, a wannabe documentary filmmaker himself, who presents himself as worshipful of Josh and a fan of his work, wanting the older man to imbue him with the knowledge of how to make great films to get started on his own career. The ego boost is too attractive for Josh to resist, but as the two spend more and more time together, Jamie's faux hipster douchiness reveals itself for what it really is, as intergenerational warfare proceeds at an increasingly rapidfire pace. Baumbach's script is filled with clever witticisms and observations that feel true, not so much as a blanket statement on millennials or Gen X-ers, but more as the specific natures of these characters brought about by their interactions and battles over their ideas of filmmaking and culture. Yet by being true to these characters, the revelations feel enlightened and real, with interesting points wrought from the conclusions the story comes to. For example, the natural alliance that springs forth between the millennial and baby boomer generation in their propensity for narcissism and willingness to manipulate the truth for their own benefit can't help but feel pretty accurate, leaving poor Josh out in the cold as the whiny, forever downtrodden loser who can't get his own life together enough to make a success out of it but feels plenty put upon by others to complain anyway.
This is a movie that makes you think about all these things while also making you laugh at the same time, as some lines and dialogue sparkle in such a way as to remind you of peak Woody Allen, back when he had his finger on the pulse of the zeitgeist. It's Allen as if he actually understood the world of today, where fortysomethings are just as tuned into the Internet and their phones as everybody else, but just happen to remember a world and a time when people weren't. The female characters in the movie get a bit of the short shrift, but given that it's clearly Baumbach's story and point of view, I can't fault it too much for staying with Josh's perspective on the world as it affects him. I really like this new, still witty yet relaxed and honest Baumbach- I can't wait to see what he does next.
* * * 1/2
Movie of the Day: "Before Sunrise" (1995)
Our next people on vacation are Jesse and Celine, in the first day and night they ever spent together. This is still my favorite of Richard Linklater's Before trilogy (maybe it'll continue going every nine years forever), and that's probably because it's the sweetest and most romantic. The most idealized, you could also say, but I guess it's like that for every couple when they first meet, especially in their mid-twenties, as Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy were here. But sigh, it's so romantic. The two of them meet on a train while on vacation in Europe, and impulsively decide to get off the train in Vienna and spend the day walking around and talking about everything they can. The interesting thing about this trilogy is that it deepens as you watch Jesse and Celine reunite when they're ten years older, and then another ten years older, but this first one still works absolutely perfectly on its own as the fairy tale romance every person who harbors the slightest hope to fall in love at first sight might hold deep within themselves. This is the most you'll ever love these two, even as you see them grow older and wiser.
Trailer:
Matt Damon Fights For Survival in New Trailer for 'The Martian'
As I said recently, the more I see of this, the more I think it's going to be really good. Both Matt Damon and Ridley Scott's best movie in a long time. It's obviously trying to break out as the Gravity/Interstellar of this year, and with Chris Pratt and Jennifer Lawrence's sci-fi Passengers coming out next year, it looks like fall has suddenly become to go-to season for the annual space movie. That's a bit of an odd trend I guess, but with this one based on the best-selling novel, I have a feeling it's going to be a big hit. Plus, it just looks downright exciting. The Martian comes out October 2nd.
'The Witch' Unleashes Horror On a Puritan Family
Finally! I've been hearing about this movie since it debuted at the Sundance film festival in January and won the best director prize, and now there's an actual trailer ahead of its showing at TIFF in a couple weeks. Sundance has become the place for original, genuinely scary horror movies in the last two years (The Babadook, It Follows), and this is another one that got rave reviews from the critics, who labeled it the most terrifying one yet. Set in 1635, a Puritan family is terrorized by a mysterious presence in the woods and it looks pretty damn frightening. I just wonder why A24 is saving it for next year and not releasing it in time for Halloween. Doesn't it seem like the perfect time for genuine horror movies is in October?
Movie of the Day: "Almost Famous" (2000)
Our next summer vacation movie is Almost Famous, one of my favorite movies and undoubtedly Cameron Crowe's best. In this one, Patrick Fugit plays 15-year-old William, a stand-in for Crowe himself, who was hired by Rolling Stone magazine in 1973 to go on tour with Led Zeppelin for the summer (standing in for them in the film is the fictional Stillwater) so he could write the cover story on the band. William's experiences of falling for the group and all the ways their fame, fortune and excess turns everyone around them into groupies is honest, funny, heartbreaking and feel-good all at the same time. At his peak, Crowe was always a writer who could make you cry, feel and laugh simultaneously, and he gets great, natural and authentic performances here from Kate Hudson (probably the only good movie she ever made), Billy Crudup (also his best role) and Frances McDormand as William's scene-stealing, neurotic mother. I've seen it a hundred times, but I could always watch it over and over for a million different reasons, not least of which is the music and recreation of the early 70's rock scene. It rings true because for Crowe it was, and it was something he could never forget.
Trailer:
James McAvoy and Daniel Radcliffe Star in a New Take on 'Frankenstein'
Wigs galore in this new, comedic and somewhat campy adaptation of the Frankenstein novel, as James McAvoy and Daniel Radcliffe intro the trailer here for the film coming out on November 25th. Unfortunately it kinda reminds me of that movie Van Helsing with Hugh Jackman- sometimes the contemporary "spin" on these stories doesn't work out so great. All the action stuff in the last part of this trailer doesn't really bode well either, but we'll see.
Blu-Ray Pick of the Week: "The French Lieutenant's Woman" (1981)
A year before her iconic Sophie's Choice performance, Meryl Streep was nominated for this film, a movie she was just as good in, and in a way I consider to be her quintessential performance. It's because she got to play two parts, the character in a period drama racked by torment with all the theatricality and mannered accents Streep is known for, and the present day actress playing that part, who's also having an affair with her co-star Jeremy Irons. In that role she's subtle, natural and laid-back, the opposite of the character she's playing in the film within the film. For that reason this is Meryl Streep in all the ways you know her, all on the screen at one time. This is more of a movie about acting than the story based on the actual novel, and that makes it kind of a strange film overall, different than what you'd expect. But it's worth checking out for Meryl, as it could have easily been her first Best Actress award, but of course that was coming right after this.
Original 1981 Trailer:
Movie of the Day: "Mr. Hulot's Holiday" (1953)
Our Movie of the Day series is back this week for a final batch of summer travels, as August is rapidly winding down and fall approaches. But before that happens it's time to spend one last week with people on summer vacation, which means, traveling in the summer in a place that is not their home. That might be a weirdly specific theme, but I think it's appropriate for these final days when it's the last chance for any kind of vacation. The choice today is the French film Mr. Hulot's Holiday (the American title), in which Monsieur Hulot (Jacques Tati, who also directed) goes to the beach and causes relatively harmless havoc to the vacationers around him. This movie was made almost entirely without dialogue, so the fact that it's French is really incidental- Tati was kind of a throwback to the silent comedians and his style of humor replicated some of them, while also being entirely his own (his emotionless style probably mimics Buster Keaton most). This will probably be kind of an oddity to some people, but it grows on you as you watch it- the subtle, not overt slapstick isn't really Chaplin-esque, but Mr. Hulot's distinct, somewhat charmless charm becomes its own unique persona as the film goes along. It's worth checking out.
Original Trailer:
Jennifer Lawrence Covers the Poster for 'Joy'
In what will undoubtedly be the better of her two movies coming out this fall (after Hunger Games, which is finally, mercifully over), Jennifer Lawrence is finally the unabashed lead of a David O. Russell movie, although this poster gives you no more sense of what it's about. He's also reuniting much of his steady crew of actors here, with Bradley Cooper (of course) and Robert DeNiro billed alongside his star. Who knows though, it may be time for him to have a miss, since nobody stays on a hot streak forever.
Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara Shine in the First Teaser for 'Carol'
Todd Haynes's Carol, which premiered at the Cannes film festival to stellar reviews, is expected to be one of the heavy-hitters this fall season, and with the Weinstein Co. behind it, you can at least expect it to get as big a push as possible. Rooney Mara won the Best Actress prize at Cannes for her performance here, in which she and Cate Blanchett share screentime equally as the lead. Based on a Patricia Highsmith novel from the 1950's about a lesbian romance, and from Haynes, who directed Velvet Goldmine, Far From Heaven and I'm Not There (also with Blanchett), I think this is definitely one of the ones to watch out for.
'Furious 7,' Paul Walker and 'Pitch Perfect 2' Win Big at Teen Choice Awards
The nicest part of the Teen Choice Awards tonight was the Fast & Furious cast's tribute to the late Paul Walker, who won his last surfboard, along with the movie. The rest of the winners included Hunger Games of course, lots of prizes for Pitch Perfect 2, and also Paper Towns, which I'm surprised to see is apparently so popular with teens, considering they didn't go see it. Like, at all. Seriously, that movie was one of the biggest bombs of the summer, but then again, If I Stay didn't exactly light up the box office back in January either. Jane the Virgin's Gina Rodriguez hosted and Taylor Swift performed, but not a lot of note happened at this event. Still, I guess the winners this year weren't too offensive overall. It is interesting to see that the two biggest movies of the year, Jurassic World and Avengers: Age of Ultron were essentially shut out- are we in a time when the sheer amount of money a movie makes no longer means that the film has any cultural impact whatsoever? That should be enough to tell you what's actually popular, but if the two biggest movies of the year can't even muster up the fan-based votes, you know they're really nobody's favorite, despite the box office receipts.
2015 TEEN CHOICE AWARD MOVIE WINNERS
Choice Action Movie: Furious 7
Choice Drama Movie: If I Stay
Choice Comedy Movie: Pitch Perfect 2
Choice Summer Movie: Paper Towns
Choice Sci-Fi/Fantasy Movie: The Hunger Games: Mockingjay- Part 1
Choice Action Movie Actor: Paul Walker, Furious 7
Choice Action Movie Actress: Shailene Woodley, Insurgent
Choice Drama Movie Actress: Chloe Grace Moretz, If It Stay
Choice Drama Movie Actor: Scott Eastwood, The Longest Ride
Choice Sci-Fi/Fantasy Movie Actor: Josh Hutcherson, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay- Part 1
Choice Sci-Fi/Fantasy Movie Actress: Jennifer Lawrence, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay- Part 1
Choice Comedy Movie Actor: Skylar Astin, Pitch Perfect 2
Choice Comedy Movie Actress: Anna Kendrick, Pitch Perfect 2
Choice Summer Movie Star, Male: Channing Tatum, Magic Mike XXL
Choice Summer Movie Star, Female: Cara Delevingne, Paper Towns
Choice Movie Villain: Bella Thorne, The Duff
Choice Movie Chemistry: Anna Kendrick & Brittany Snow, Pitch Perfect 2
Choice Movie Liplock: Shailene Woodley & Theo James, Insurgent
Choice Movie Hissy Fit: Anna Kendrick, Pitch Perfect 2
Choice Movie Scene-Stealer: Chris Evans, Avengers: Age of Ultron
Choice Movie Breakout Star: Cara Delevingne, Paper Towns
