Photo Courtesy © IFC Films

4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days

Written and directed by: Cristian Mungiu

Starring: Anamaria Marinca, Laura Vasiliu, Vlad Ivanov, Alexandru Potocean

I had a film teacher in college who believed that the only good films ever made were either independent or foreign, arguing, essentially, that only art films were worth watching. Holding The Back to the Future and the Indiana Jones trilogies on my list of favorite films, I would try and counter this point incessantly having—even with only 20-or-so-years under my belt—seen plenty of mediocre not to mention terrible “art films.” But I knew what she was getting at, and I also knew that she wasn’t alone in her opinion let alone wrong. Independent and foreign films tend to be better than most Hollywood films simply because they put stories and characters at the forefront rather than snazzy action sequences or special effects—a film like Linklater’s Slacker or Jim Jarmusch’s Night on Earth or even Erick Zonca’s The Dreamlife of Angels could never have been made within the Hollywood studio system.

These were the thoughts that kept running through my head after I saw Cristian Mungiu’s 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days. This shocking, grim and unforgettable Romanian film about an illegal abortion that changes two college friends’ lives could never have been made in the U.S. When it comes to abortion, we make films that shy away from actually discussing the topic, that only skim the surface. Ex: The Cider House Rules, Citizen Ruth, and, although not American, even Mike Leigh’s Vera Drake. Which is just one of the things that makes 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days so shocking—you see the abortion take place; you see the dead fetus once it is removed. And once all of this has taken place, you see the repercussions that this act has on the two women involved. 

Mungiu’s film is so painfully direct and bare that it chances are you will find yourself cringing at several scenes in the film, and not just the ones that I mentioned above. The suspense that this writer-director builds from the very beginning of the movie is remarkable—all throughout the film you fear for what lies ahead at the next turn and for what will happen to our two female leads, Gabita and Otilia, played beautifully by Laura Vasiliu and Anamaria Marinca, respectively. The film is in many ways what I believe a Hitchcock movie about abortion would have been like, had he ever touched upon such social issues so directly in his films (although he would have never shown us the dead fetus).

The film won the Golden Palm at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival, the festival’s most prestigious honor and was on many a film critic’s Top 10 List last year. It is not difficult to see why, just as it is not hard to see why the Academy ignored it entirely when it came time to nominate foreign films this year. It is not an easy film to watch, but it is definitely and amazing one…one that serves as yet another example of what foreign films often do right.

Lily@picturesandframesmagazine.com

Photo Courtesy © Fox Searchlight Pictures

La misma luna/Under the Same Moon

Directed by: Patricia Riggen

Written by: Ligiah Villalobos

Starring: Adrian Alonso, Kate del Castillo, Eugenio Derbez

At the end of 2005’s Devils & Dust tour, Bruce Springsteen would always close the night by playing a solo-organ version of Suicide’s “Dream Baby Dream.” It would usually last anywhere from 7 to 8 minutes, with Springsteen repeating the words, “C’mon on baby dry your eyes, Yeah, I just want to see you smile, Now, I just want to see you smile, C’mon keep on dreaming, C’mon keep on dreaming, C’mon dream baby dream, C’mon on baby dream baby dream…” over and over again. It was hypnotic, moving and unforgettable, a moment so poignant and brimming with emotion and intensity that it knocked the breath right out of you. (Thanks to fandom and YouTube, you can actually see him perform it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i4EzcBL1yDY&feature=related)

This song, and Springsteen’s cover in particular, kept coming to mind as I watched first-time feature director Patricia Riggen’s La misma luna/Under the Same Moon. The film tells the story of a young boy named Carlitos, played gracefully by Adrian Alonso, a veteran Mexican soap actor, and his quest to be reunited with his mother, Rosario, played by Kate del Castillo, yet another Mexican soap star. The problem is that Carlitos is in Mexico and his mother is in East L.A., working as a housekeeper to try and better her family’s life in the hope that one day she will bring her son over to the States. Rosario dreams of a better life for herself and Carlitos, and Carlitos dreams only of being with his mother. These two different dreams are at the very core of the film and serve as the key to understand it’s not-so-subtle message: the American dream of success and prosperity is useless if it means being separated from your family.

I am full aware of how cheesy this sounds and sadly, the film often ventures into soap-opera-Lifetime-drama territory. I think this has more to do with the script itself than the fact that it is cast almost entirely with Mexican soap opera actors (although I do think that certainly helped), but in spite of it’s “heart warming” intentions, the movie is still really moving, and I would argue, important. There are not nearly enough films being made about the tortuous journey that many Mexican immigrants endure in crossing over to the States, and it speaks volumes about the immigrant experience overall with its honest depiction of their daily U.S. lives and dreams in contrast with their Mexican ones. It is in the moments where Carlito’s makes his journey over the border, the moments when Rosario loses one of her jobs and is forced to literally go from house to house begging for work, that the film really shines about it’s own sentimentality. Much like Ken Loach’s superb 2000 film Bread and Roses, Under the Same Moon is at its best when it sticks to the realities of the immigrant experience in this country (something that makes sense when you consider Riggen’s previous films, all documentaries). Living in this country, we often forget that we are all immigrants, and that we all made it over on the backs of our families’ dreams.

Lily@picturesandframesmagazine.com

DVD'S:

Photo Courtesy © Sony Pictures

30 Days Of Night: There Will be Blood

“Just because something stopped Bela Lugosi doesn’t mean it can stop these things.”

I love vampire flicks. I love Josh Hartnett. I was one of the apparent few who loved director David Slade’s film Hard Candy. It was a cold winter’s night here in Brooklyn (I started watching it at 2:30 in the morning, snow still melting outside my window, bundled up to keep warm) and 30 Days of Night is set in Alaska. All signs pointed to: Yes, you’ll like this movie and you need to watch it right now.

I have to admit that I hadn’t read the comics that inspired the film, but I think that the idea of vampires in Alaska, where night can sometimes stretch over weeks or months, is an idea that struck me as brilliant. The film begins with the last day of sunlight in the small and isolated town of Barrow, Alaska. Sheriff Josh Hartnett is juggling everything from a pile of mysteriously-burnt stolen cell phones to a pile of mysteriously-slaughtered sled dogs. Not to mention that his estranged fire marshal wife (Melissa George of TV’s “Alias” and “In Treatment”) has missed the last plane out of the city before the titular 30 days. Enter the dark stranger, played by Ben Foster, oozing creepiness and speaking in an odd accent punctuated with whimpers and squeaks.

Before long the power has disappeared, the phone lines are dead and so are some of the townsfolk. What’s interesting is that when the vampires (led by Danny Huston) finally step out of the shadows, I was originally a bit turned off for some reason. (Which is the exact opposite of the way I typically react to Danny Huston, rawr!) That didn’t last for very long, however, because the vampires in this film are truly scary creatures: Fast, strong and literally drenched with dark stains of blood—they aren’t your sissified Anne Rice vampires, but they’re not exactly Spike or Angel, either. There are some pretty horrifying scenes of Vampires tormenting Alaskans here, kids. I don’t even mean in terms of gore (although, yes), but awful, emotionally wrenching acts of violence. None of these victims are cradled in the arms of Count Dracula, dying in his dark embrace. They are getting eaten the fuck up. Savagely.

It’s a dark, disturbing ride that is ultimately worth it. Even when I felt, during the set-up for the final confrontation, that I’d wind up disappointed, the film’s final moments threw me for a loop. In fact, I haven’t been able to open my bedroom door and venture out into the darkness of my apartment because I’m pretty sure that there are vampires lying in wait. I really need some water and maybe a chamber pot.

I’ve always thought that Hartnett has a commanding presence. I’ve really enjoyed these sort of low-key offbeat films that he’s made over the last few years like Wicker Park and Lucky Number Slevin. They make me trust that whatever he’s in, even if it looks like your typical genre film, will surprise you by not being what it originally seems. As the sheriff, his resemblance to Tommy Lee Jones has never been more apparent. (Random Fun Fact: According to the film’s commentary, Hartnett had mono during the shoot!) Melissa George is just as compelling as she was on “Alias,” despite having to look Hartnett in the eye and say the line “I’m coming with you” at least a hundred times. And I’m officially afraid of Ben Foster after seeing him in this and 3:10 to Yuma in the same month. If I see him on the street, I’m running the hell away.

Director David Slade brings some fantastic style to the film, which is visually amazing. Plus, his Hard Candy screenwriter contributed to the screenplay. So if you like vampire flicks, Hartnett, or always dreamed of a movie that’s like Insomnia meets 28 Days Later/Dawn of the Dead, this is the one for you. If you are particularly sensitive to seeing dead Huskies/Alaskans however, rent Balto instead.

Rick@picturesandframesmagazine.com

Photo Courtesy © Lions Gate Films

The Weight of Water

There’s always a good chance that the title might be the best thing about a movie, which is just one more reason why you shouldn’t watch a movie solely based on a cool title. Kathryn Bigelow’s murder mystery film The Weight of Water is a good example of good movie titles gone bad.

The Weight of Water is a modern day exploration into a brutal crime committed back in 1873. Based on the bestselling novel by Anita Shreve, half of the novel is fiction and the other half deals with the true events of the Smuttynose Island murders of 1873. I kept seeing this movie being played on both Showtime and HBO as of late, and since both the title and the cast seemed to spark my interest I thought, ‘Hey why not?’ Well, after seeing it I wish I hadn’t.

The Smuttynose Island murders took place on one of the Isles of Shoals, located six miles off the coast of New Hampshire but which are actually in the state of Maine. On March 6, 1873, two Norwegian women, Karen and Anethe Christensen, were strangled and one struck with a hatchet. A third woman, Maren Hontvet, escaped and hid on the island at a place now called "Maren's Rock." Maren, the only witness to the murders, identified a German fisherman, Louis Wagner, as the killer. Wagner was tried, convicted and, although he maintained his innocence, was hanged.

As you can see, there is potential to be found, but unfortunately the parallel story formula did not work for me. Honestly, I could have lived without the present day tale of four individuals in search of drama. The actual events of the Smuttynose Island murders provide more than enough material to make a very interesting film. But the use of present-day-characters-that-search-through-historical-evidence-and-at-the-same-time-learn-something-about-themselves bit is just cheap melodrama. I haven’t read the novel so I can’t say if the director fucked up the story but what I can say is that the film is slow, melodramatic and depressing. The director is not exactly a newcomer to feature films, with movies like Point Break, Strange Days and K-19: The Widowmaker, Kathryn Bigelow has shown that she can handle action but I’m afraid she has much to learn when it comes to drama and suspense.

Overall the casting is good but there are some questionable performances from both periods. Personally, I’m not really a fan of Sarah Polley and I feel that she should stay away from doing any more depressing roles. Elizabeth Hurley as a desperate and mysterious bimbo also does not work for me. As for everyone else, the lousy script brings their performances down.

So there you go. Now you know the story, and you won’t have to see the film.

Juanmarcos@picturesandframesmagazine.com

Photo Courtesy © Rhombus Media

Slings And Arrows: The Complete Collection

Why can’t I be Canadian? I love Sarah Polley, Joni Mitchell and Nathan Fillion. I’m possibly the only Pictures & Frames person who loved The Sweet Hereafter. And sometimes, when I say “sorry,” I say “sore-y.” Now it turns out that they have brilliant television, too? Pack my bags.

The series Slings and Arrows is the brilliant show I’m referring to. In three seasons (18 episodes), it manages to win your heart completely and leave you wishing for more. The story begins with Geoffrey Tennant (Tales of the City’s Paul Gross), former Shakespearean actor/mental patient, chaining himself to the doors of his ramshackle theatre, which is about to be shut down. Then there’s the famed New Burbage Shakespeare Festival, where artistic director Oliver Welles (Stephen Ouimette) is going through the motions on the opening night of A Midsummer Night’s Dream: corporate sponsors advertised on the tickets, and gift shop open for business.

At one time Oliver was a talent to be admired, having directed a legendary production of Hamlet starring Geoffrey. After a handful of performances, Geoffrey suffered a mental breakdown on stage and the two went their separate ways. When surprising events lead to Geoffrey taking over for Oliver, the entire festival gets turned on its head. He has to contend with his ex-lover (Martha Burns) who has become the theatre’s resident diva, Ellen Fanshaw, as Gertrude. His Hamlet is an untested American action movie star (Luke Kirby) who’s been handed the role by the festival’s business manager (Mark McKinney) in a bid to sell more tickets. Not to mention a flaky director Darren Nichols (Don McKellar), a fresh-faced ingénue Kate McNab (Rachel McAdams) and scheming corporate liaison Holly Day (the fantastic Jennifer Irwin). And this is all just in the first season.

Season two features Darren’s ridiculous faux-arty staging of Romeo & Juliet and Geoffrey’s attempt to stage a bold Macbeth. The final season finds Geoffrey contending with his very difficult King Lear, played by William Hutt, who is actually a well-known Shakespearean actor who spent several seasons at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival, which was the inspiration for the show’s New Burbage Festival. Sarah Polley actually appears in this season as an actress playing Cordelia, who spends her time offstage conspiring with her costar Paul (Aaron Abrams) to torment the cast of Darren’s contemporary heroin-addicted-hooker-with-a-heart-of-gold musical. It’s a nice change to see Polley having fun in something and the scene involving a stink bomb is hysterical. But the real heart and soul of Slings and Arrows comes from the central story involving Geoffrey and Ellen (and Oliver, in a way). As Geoffrey, Paul Gross is never less than enthralling and Burns is blisteringly funny and incredibly touching as Ellen. Something this smart, funny and moving is hard to pull off (I compared it to Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, without the constant feeling of hard-sell preachiness), but the creators did a wonderful job. Watch it!

Rick@picturesandframesmagazine.com

Photo Courtesy © Sony Pictures

The Nines

Ryan Reynolds: Hey, so check this out, I made this movie. Look, I’m making a friendship bracelet. You know this shit is going to be good.

Brooklyn Gang: What?

RR: Now I’m putting a bunch of toys into a grill and lighting them on fire, something that won’t be acknowledged until like, 20 minutes later, and even then, given only a cursory explanation.

BG: What’s going on?

RR: I’m driving down the freeway now. You can tell it’s Los Angeles, because I’m totally taking giant gulps from a bottle of Wild Turkey while I’m driving and everybody does that here. Oh, check this out, guys. I’m stopped at a traffic light and there’s a bus behind me with a billboard for some crime drama on it—STARRING ME!

BG: I guess he’s an actor. Is he having a Lindsay moment?

RR: Now I’m driving up to some random dudes on the street—I don’t even know these people!—and I’m asking them if they have any crack for sale. Seriously! They don’t even look like crack dealers!

BG: Crack isn’t for celebrities, Ryan Reynolds! Whitney Houston said so.

RR: They actually GIVE ME CRACK. Holy shit, anything is possible in L.A. I am so glad I moved from Canada to this place. Now I’m driving up to an overweight hooker and I’m gonna ask her if what I bought is crack or not. I don’t even know! I guess I’ve never done crack before. This is very strange for us all.

BG: Oh no, what are you going to—

RR: Check it out! I’m in a hotel room, stoned outta my fucking mind, jumping up and down on a bed with a fat hooker! She’s really not very attractive, but that’s why we’ve got our clothes on. I don’t know what I’m doing! We’re just jumping and laughing! What’s going on?

BG: What the fuck is going on?

RR: I must have fallen asleep. I seem very regretful. That whore is now asleep on the bed, snoring like one of the Wild Things. I think I’d better take a shower. I feel dirty.

BG: Aww yeah. John August, not lettin’ the gays down.

RR: Yeah, you like this, don’t you? I am totally in the shower. I am lathering up my muscular chest and arms. This is awesome.

BG: This is awesome.

RR: GOTCHA! I’m taking a shower in my JEANS. Haha. You don’t even get to see my sweet ass. This movie is just going to fuck you over and over again. You may as well just bend over now and get used to it.

BG: Oh, fuck you, John August.

RR: Oh fuck, I am still so high, guys. I can’t find my belly button. Seriously, my belly button is not there. It’s gone, like that “Kyle XY” dude. I am freaking out here. I am seriously freaking out. I’m calling the cops. This cannot stand.

BG: What.

RR: You know, this is not an emergency. I’m sure my belly button is somewhere. I will drive myself to the hospital and seek assistance in this matter. Holy shit, I am so high. Seriously. Oh man.

BG: Whose idea was this?

RR: I’m driving around again now, except I’m not the only one in the car. Guess what! THERE’S THREE OF ME! Hey, who’s that in the rear-view mirror? It’s me, Ryan Reynolds, and also me, Ryan Reynolds. Adjust it a bit, and guess what? Another me, Ryan Reynolds! I don’t know what the fuck! 

BG: This is like that Alanis video. Only not nearly as good.

RR: You know what’s funny about that? I totally fucked Alanis. TONS of times. We were even engaged and shit! Oh boy, I shouldn’t be driving in this condition. This weird montage and bad CGI isn’t helping, either. Ohhhh, fuck, I totally crashed my car. I don’t think my insurance will cover this, guys. I am really screwed.

BG: Totally having a Lindsay moment.

RR: Okay, there’s seriously another hour and a half of this. None of it really makes sense. I’m really confused and you’ll be confused too and I just don’t want anybody to get hurt if they don’t need to…

BG: Yeah, this does seem pretty bad.

RR: Okay, I’ll let you in on the secret, then. Here’s the thing. I’m God. That’s what the Nines are. Gods. People are Sevens. Koala bears are Eights if you can fucking believe that! It’s kind of like World of Warcraft. You’re all players and I’m the programmer. I’m a fucking God. Can you believe that shit?

BG: That is… so fucking stupid.

The Saturday Night Itinerant Brooklyn Gang is:

Jeanne Lopez, Cookie Monster

Rick Sayre, Pop-Culture Critic

Christopher Wilson, Vampire Hunter

BrooklynGang@picturesandframesmagazine.com

MUSIC:

The 2008 release schedule for new music continues to fill up with promising releases. I don’t know about you, but I’m beginning to find it hard to keep up. With lackluster releases and the overall quality of music declining in recent years, I guess that’s a good thing. As some will admit, the music industry needs all the hype and help it can get.

Lizz Wright – The Orchard

On February 26^th, vocal chanteuse Lizz Wright returns with The Orchard, the follow-up to 2005’s acclaimed Dreaming Wide Awake. While Dreaming had a folk leaning, The Orchard finds Wright letting lose with a soulful set of tunes. Wright re-teams with producer Craig Street and collaborates with singer-songwriter Toshi Reagon on several tracks. The first single is a bluesy take on Ike & Tina’s “I Idolize You.” Wright co-wrote eight songs and puts her spin on Patsy Cline’s “Strange,” Led Zepplin’s “Thank You,” and Sweet Honey and the Rock’s “Hey Mann.”

Goldfrapp – Seventh Tree

Goldfrapp’s name may not ring any bells but if you’re familiar with Target’s 2006 holiday commercials and previous seasons of the hit FX show Nip/Tuck, you’ve heard their music. The British due releases their fourth album Seventh Tree on February 26^th. Seventh Tree is the follow-up to 2005’s Grammy® - nominated album Supernature. Fans will immediately notice a departure from the electronic, trip-hop, and glam-rock infused sound of earlier releases. The first single, “A&E,” showcases a stripped down, acoustic sound with psychedelic and pop-like elements. Goldfrapp is one of electronica’s most promising bands. Hopefully fans will stay on their bandwagon as they continue to grow and challenge themselves musically.

U2 – TBA

U2 will return later this year with the yet-to-be-titled follow-up to 2004’s hit How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb. U2 re-unites with longtime producers Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois for their latest release. New material has been recorded in France, Morocco, and Ireland. In a February 2008 Billboard.com article, producer Daniel Lanois said, “We’re going to try and break some new ground and deliver a masterpiece.” If word is bond, bank on U2 garnering several Grammy® nominations (and wins) next year.

Coldplay – Prospekt

Amidst the media reports of ongoing changes with their record label EMI, Coldplay has remained focused on creating new music. The new album, entitled Prospekt, is the follow-up to 2005’s massive hit X&Y. Coldplay enlists producer Brian Eno to helm their latest effort. Though no date has been confirmed, some retailers are reporting a May 19^th release date. Whatever the date, I’m sure fans and critics-alike are expecting a triumphant return.

Alanis Morissette – Flavors of Entanglement

After a long hiatus, Alanis Morissette will return with her seventh album, Flavors of Entanglement. Morissette collaborates with producer Guy Sigsworth (Frou Frou, Madonna) on the 11-track set. The singer, whose last album was 2004’s So-Called Chaos, released the video to the first single “Underneath” in January. The material will reflect her experiences over the last four years. If you’re dying to hear some of her new music, you can catch Morissette on tour with Matchbox 20.

Gnarls Barkley – The Odd Couple

It was virtually impossible to turn on the radio during the summer and fall of 2006 without hearing Gnarls Barkley’s debut single “Crazy.” The single (and album St. Elsewhere) was one of the year’s most eclectic and distinctive hits. Well, Cee-Lo Green and Danger Mouse return to form with the April 8^th release of The Odd Couple. The genre-bending duo’s first single “Run” was released digitally on February 5^th. Gnarls Barkley will be touring in support of the effort this summer.

Portishead - Third

On April 28^th, Portishead will release their aptly titled album Third, their first studio album in 11 years. (And I thought Sade made fans wait forever for new music!) Third will feature 11 tracks and will be the British trip-hop band’s follow-up to 1997’s Portishead (singles included “All Mine,” “Over,” and “Cowboys”). If you’re unfamiliar with their music, I suggest checking out their now classic debut Dummy, which featured the hit singles “Numb,” “Glory Box,” and “Sour Times.” These Mercury Music Prize winners definitely won’t disappoint. Portishead will be the co-headliner at the Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival in April.

N.E.R.D. – N3RD

One of the hottest songs circulating the Internet now has to be “Everyone Nose” by the alt-rock band N.E.R.D. The potential first single (about cocaine use) is said to be from the band’s third release entitled N3RD, the follow-up to 2004’s well-received Fly or Die. I’ll admit that I, like everyone else, was surprised (yet happy) to hear a new song after reading several reports some years back detailing the bands alleged hiatus/break-up. N.E.R.D. hopes to recapture the sound that put them on the map. N3RD is expected this spring.

Update: The title to Mariah Carey’s highly anticipated new album was changed from That Chick to E=MC. The release date of April 15^th remains the same.

Stay tuned for Part III of the 2008 New Music Preview next month!

Markell@picturesandframesmagazine.com

Lenny Kravitz – It Is Time for a Love Revolution

He’s back ladies and gentlemen, the great champion of psychedelic rock, the man that brought funk into my life. Nine albums later, Lenny Kravitz has returned with an R&B/Funk/Rock-inspired album that’s politically, spiritually and emotionally charged.

A collection of soulful ballads and rocking tunes, It Is Time for a Love Revolution is a return to what I consider to be Kravitz at his best. Even though his last three albums, Greatest Hits, Lenny and Baptism, were all commercially successful, they disappointed me as a fan. I feel that something was lost in Kravitz’s last two albums: a sense of musical direction or the need for something important to say. I consider the first five albums of Kravitz’s career musical masterpieces. One after another the man that did it all on his own showed me and the world why he deserved to carry the Olympic torch of rock and roll. Finally, after nearly 10 years of waiting for the true follow up to his two-time Platinum album 5, I can sit back, relax, listen and enjoy a new masterpiece by Lenny Kravitz.

It Is Time for a Love Revolution reminds me a lot of Circus, Lenny’s themed fourth album about the life of a rock star. Full of spirituality and catchy guitar licks, you can feel the music and lyrics overflowing with love and soul. If you listen carefully you can also hear the influence of some of the best work he has done—past and present—re-worked into the new album. After more than a decade it feels nice to be right back were we left off. So far my favorite tracks from the album are: “Bring It On,” “Love Love Love,” “If You Want It,” “I’ll Be Waiting,” “Will You Marry Me,” “I Love the Rain,” “Dancing Til Dawn,” “This Moment Is All There Is,” “A New Door” and “I Want To Go Home.” Which, considering the fact that the album has 14 tracks and I’ve just named 10 of them, says it all.

Juanmarcos@picturesandframesmagazine.com

Across The Universe (Deluxe Edition Soundtrack)

Part of the reason I felt so receptive to Julie Taymor’s Across the Universe was because, although I love and admire the music of The Beatles, I wasn’t married to the classic recordings of these songs. I love covers. I welcome covers. I don’t understand people who want to just “leave the originals alone!” The originals are there and will always be a part of our lives. (This is also probably why I thought Gus Van Sant’s remake of Psycho wasn’t such a deadly sin.) I love nothing more than when another artist takes a known song and turns it on its side.

Oddly enough, the reason I’m disappointed with the film’s soundtrack is mostly due to the fact that I had completely fallen in love with the versions of the songs that appear in the film. What surprised me upon first listening to the soundtrack is that the producers have given us polished versions of the songs, in many cases cutting out the very elements that made them so unique and charming in the movie. The absence of Jude’s Liverpool girlfriend in “Hold me tight” and Max’s rambunctious Princeton friends in “With a little help from my friends” leaves both songs feeling flat. “Come together” is no longer a song performed by a schizophrenic homeless guy, a pimp (with whores!) and a hippie—it’s simply Joe Cocker himself singing “Come together.” Additionally, two songs, “Why don’t we do it in the road?” and my favorite song from the film, “I want you,” are completely missing—from The Deluxe Edition no less! Both are available on iTunes. But still.

All of this isn’t to say that the album isn’t worthwhile. The cast all have their moments—the ladies in particular: T.V. Carpino sings “I want to hold your hand” beautifully; Dana Fuchs rocks “Helter Skelter;” and Evan Rachel Wood provides some of the most lovely moments with “If I fell” and “Blackbird.” In fact, listening to the soundtrack even changed my mind about Bono’s performance of “I am the walrus,” a moment that I hated in the movie because I felt that the presence of Bono was such a gigantic, it-took-me-out-of-the-movie distraction. On the album, it’s fantastic and I realized that he was the perfect person to sing it.

Despite the non-film versions, I like the album. But I don’t 100% LOVE it, either. Not with the same affection I expected to have when I clicked “buy” five minutes after I finished watching the movie twice. Which left me wondering, funnily enough, ‘Why couldn’t they just leave the original remakes alone?’

Rick@picturesandframesmagazine.com

BOOKS:

Whispered Messages: Mark Harris Pictures at a Revolution: Five Movies and the Birth of the New Hollywood, Charles Webb's The Graduate, Christine Vachon's Shooting to Kill and Benjamin Kunkel's Indecision.

Mark Harris Pictures at a Revolution: Five Movies and the Birth of the New Hollywood

Within one month, Mark Harris gave me history and perspective; Charles Webb uncertainty; Christine Vachon facts and fears about the film industry; Benjamin Kunkel innocence and notes on social justice. From each author, those things taken accumulate to a mindful of whispered messages, each of them vying for a primacy in my thoughts. It's perhaps what all good books—both fiction and nonfiction—achieve; that seduction of the reader's concentration for a space of time that well extends beyond simply the reading.

With Pictures at a Revolution: Five Movies and the Birth of the New Hollywood, Mark Harris casts an impartial but compassionate eye on the film industry just on its brink of great artistic evolution. Through his study of 1967 Best Picture nominees The Graduate, Bonnie & Clyde, Doctor Doolittle, In the Heat of the Night and Guess Who's Coming to Dinner? he's able to conjure with great ease the genesis of the American era of auteurist cinema while also contrasting it with the old school studio extravagance. Attention to detail showcases self-absorbed, irrational but always charming Doolittle star Rex Harrison drunkenly arguing with his equally alcoholic and depressive wife; Sidney Poitier quietly teaching a little girl how to tap-dance in the midst of a raucous Fourth of July party; and, director Mike Nichols ribbing first time lead Dustin Hoffman for his rather large schnoz. Deftly transitioning from one production's story to the others, Pictures at a Revolution harkens to the craft of Peter Biskind's Easy Riders, Raging Bulls but skirts that book’s biting commentary on its subject. Both marvelously entertaining and informative, Harris' work is the type that spotlights the past without judging it, chronicles without romanticizing, and finally, remembers as if forty years of memory were only a yesterday.

Charles Webb's The Graduate

As a logical follow-up to Harris' work, Charles Webb's The Graduate is a slim, sparsely written study of the uncertainty of youth on the verge of adulthood. Much like the character portrayal in Nichols' film version, the novel's Benjamin Braddock is brilliant, awkward and severely distressed. He's plagued, he continually repeats, about his future. Where the film and novel diverge, however, is the extent to which Benjamin is truly misanthropic, hateful and repugnant as a character. While Buck Henry's screenplay and Hoffman's performance invest a bit of empathy in his nature, Webb's Benjamin is unabashedly critical, loathsome and prickly, his only redeeming qualities are his sense of self and his misplaced righteousness. Immediately, this Benjamin has much more in common with Mrs. Robinson than Elaine, and in fact, that relationship in the novel is far better developed. Where the film at least quietly justifies Benjamin's love for Elaine, the book, exploring most of these themes directly in dialogue, never manages to capture a moment of that purity, silliness or romance. His love here really feels like a lark, a "One day I got up and decided I was in love." Consequently, the book's ending has none of the sweet sadness associated with the film's ending. It's much more pointed, almost brutal, and while some of the passages of the novel are ripe with dry humor, the last sentences are indications of a bitter triumph.

Christine Vachon's Shooting to Kill

On another strange note of bitter triumph, Christine Vachon's Shooting to Kill, despite its publication more than ten years ago, is still, sometimes sadly, relevant today. By no means a natural writer or storyteller, Vachon does little more structurally than compose diary entries, and yet, oh, how simple to read and how enlightening some of these dry passages are. From talking about the harrowing production cycle on Todd Haynes' Velvet Goldmine to explaining her work on Kids, Vachon step-by-steps hopeful producers through the ringer that is the independent film industry. She even includes for the truly research-ready-at-heart full copies of script budgets, pointing out line-by-line where a production saved and lost money. A fast, enjoyable read, Shooting to Kill is the sort of been there, done that journey, you're glad never to have been around for or done yourself—which ultimately is Vachon's point in the first place.

Benjamin Kunkel's Indecision

As the indie film rumor mill has it, Funny Ha Ha and Mutual Appreciation helmer Andrew Bujalski is currently adapting for screen Benjamin Kunkel's 2005 romantic slacker hit Indecision. For a filmmaker who captures with intelligence and wit the awkward paradigm of romance, Indecision seems a fitting project. The novel opens on wandering, disenchanted boyish philosopher Dwight Wilmerding as he flies to Ecuador, with cock-eyed romantic aspirations in tow, to meet a lady friend from high school. Fighting a debilitating medical case of what chalks up to simple indecision, ever-innocent Dwight lands in the lap of not his former classmate but a socially-savvy Belgium beauty. As the two bond over moral, religious and political talk, Dwight slowly comes to find himself, loosing from his emotional baggage an odd, incestuous attachment to his sister Alice and detachment with his negligent and narcissistic father.

When the novel premiered to rave reviews, particularly from The New York Times' book critic Michiko Kakutani, the concept of the novel's appeal as a generational statement began in critical conversations. Comparisons were drawn to the work of Douglas Coupland and Richard Linklater. The moments, however, in which Kunkel attempts to define generational concern come off merely as clunky, and this is particularly true of the September 11 sequence. Rather than the event existing organically, it felt thrown in for showiness á la: "Hey, everyone has a story of this morning, and here's mine!" Its lack of authenticity distracts from the much more universal concern of confusion in a rapid pace, multiple option society. The strength of the book is in its execution, its lack of cuteness and playful conceit. It's simply a book about a good guy whom it's nice to see good things happen to. Purposefully dual parts colloquial and eloquent, Indecision is a fun read that hopefully, in Bujalski's hands, will make for a fun watch.

Noralil@picturesandframesmagazine.com

FICTION:

Photo Courtesy © Jeanne Lopez

Love Real & True

Somewhere along the way

I found love

But it didn’t happen the way

I thought it would be

It was quite different

From my dreams

Wasn’t always so nice and pretty

It was quite different

From my fantasies

Was sometimes better than I could

Ever imagine

Was not always what I expected

In love, if you just have to have expectations – expect

The unexpected

In my experiences with love and relationships

I realized

That love doesn’t always happen

Or arrive the way you want it to

Or the way you dreamed it to

Love comes in the way

You need it most

And you may not realize it

You’re often blind to this mystical,

Magical thing

And maybe that’s why

I was afraid

Maybe that’s why I was scared and ran away

Because it didn’t come in the “right” package

Because it didn’t meet all of my requirements

On “the list”

But once you get past want

And arrive at need

It’s like a new world

You feel complete

You are fulfilled in ways never known before

You desire nothing more

Because you got a love that’s

Real and true

© 2008 Markell D. Williams

Markell@picturesandframesmagazine.com

SPOTLIGHT:

Photo Courtesy © Lee-Pace.org

Lee Pace

(March 25, 1979- )

I have a big old crush on Lee Pace.

Which is odd, considering that the first time I laid eyes on him, he was decked out in a dress, wearing artificial breasts and lip-syncing to Peggy Lee’s “Fever.” The occasion was my first viewing of the film Soldier’s Girl (2003). The film tells the true story of Barry Winchell, a young American soldier who met and fell in love with transgendered showgirl Calpernia Addams and the tragedy that ensued, brought on by homophobia. As Calpernia, Pace (looking a bit like Jennifer Love Hewitt) gives a graceful and flawless performance that truly stands out, despite equally amazing work from co-stars Troy Garity and Shawn Hatosy. Soldier’s Girl is certainly devastating, but the scenes between Garity and Pace are some of the most beautiful depictions of a blossoming romance I have ever seen. Pace’s performance garnered him a Golden Globe nomination, as well as the Gotham Award for Breakthrough Actor. Watching the behind-the-scenes footage from the film, it’s surprising now to see Lee Pace as he was then: a very thin, soft-spoken, feminine young man. (I also see why the aforementioned ‘Big Old Crush’ didn’t kick in.)

Like a lot of people, I totally missed Lee’s next project, the short-lived television series “Wonderfalls.” The Fox Network aired four episodes of the show in early 2004, but abruptly cancelled it. Fortunately, the entire 13-episode series was released on DVD (and eventually aired on the LOGO channel). The show, created by Bryan Fuller, revolved around Jaye Tyler, an overeducated retail employee who suddenly begins to hear voices coming from inanimate objects. Inevitably, these cryptic messages lead her to helping her fellow man, but that never stops her from being annoyed by them. Pace played Jaye’s brother, Aaron, who eventually starts to suspect that things like a cow-shaped creamer and monkey bookends are speaking to his sister. Aaron was played in the series’ original pilot by Adam Scott, but his scenes were re-shot when the roles of Aaron and Jaye’s friend Mahandra were recast with Pace and his Julliard schoolmate, Tracie Thoms (who replaced Kerry Washington) in the roles. Pace is perfectly cast as the charming and funny Aaron. Which is where the Big Old Crush started. Shortly thereafter I decided I had to learn more about this guy.

That was kind of difficult at the time. “Born in Oklahoma, raised in Texas, spent some time living in the Middle East. Attended Julliard.” That was pretty much the extent of information one could find. And believe me, I tried. Sadly, with one cancelled television show and a 2 year-old film, Lee Pace remained a mystery.

In late 2005, he resurfaced in the Merchant & Ivory film, The White Countess. A romantic drama set during the 1930s, The White Countess starred Ralph Fiennes as a blind man building the nightclub of his dreams and falling in love with Natasha Richardson. Pace only appeared in two scenes, but managed to hold his own alongside Fiennes, indisputably one of our greatest living actors.

The next spring, I saw an ad for a play by Peter Morris called “Guardians,” accompanied by a picture of Pace. There was no question that I was going to see the play, simply because of its star. Inspired by the Abu Ghraib scandal, “Guardians” is told in alternating monologues by two characters, The English Boy and The American Girl. The American Girl, played by “The L Word’s” Katherine Moening, was a soldier who had been photographed abusing Iraqi prisoners, while Lee Pace played The English Boy—a sleazy journalist selling photos of British soldiers doing the same. For every minute that he was on stage, Pace proved nothing less than charismatic. Watching him occupy this character, you would have been hard-pressed to accept that this was the same person who played the lovely Calpernia or the irreverent Aaron Tyler. This is the biggest reason that I’m impressed with Lee: He seems to inhabit every character he plays almost effortlessly. The best actors are those who can lose themselves in each character they play, those who make you believe completely that they absolutely are a transsexual nightclub entertainer or a sadistic British tabloid writer. For this performance, Lee was nominated for a Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Actor. (His second, after an earlier nomination for the Craig Lucas play, “Small Tragedy.”)

Lee appeared next in Infamous, the other Truman Capote biopic. This one starred Toby Jones as Capote and Sandra Bullock as Harper Lee. Pace and Daniel Craig play killers Dick Hickock and Perry Smith. Once again, Lee Pace has transformed, this time into a greasy redneck criminal, exhibiting a strong sense of menace you’d never have imagined coming from sweet and cuddly Ned, of “Pushing Daisies”-fame. Infamous is worth your time. It’s not as starkly beautiful as Capote, but Jones gives Philip Seymour Hoffman a run for his money. It’s almost as if Truman returned from the grave. In 2006, Lee Pace also had a supporting role in Robert De Niro’s CIA film, The Good Shepherd. Despite its slow pacing, the film is filled with solid performances from several well-known actors and Pace stands shoulder to shoulder among them. (However, it’s Angelina Jolie’s breathtaking and under-rated performance that surprised me the most about this film. I haven’t considered her as much more than an action-movie babe since Girl, Interrupted, but her work in Shepherd is more subtle and moving than anything I’ve ever seen her do.)

Then, suddenly, last summer: Lee Pace’s face is everywhere you go. In New York, the trains, buses and phone booths were all decorated with ads for a new television show called “Pushing Daisies.” There was even a subway station (which happened to be the one right outside of the theatre where “Guardians” played), in which every wall was plastered and banners were hung to promote the show. (I have dubbed it “The Lee Station” since.) Created by “Wonderfalls” genius Bryan Fuller, “Pushing Daisies” follows the life of Ned, a young man who can bring back the dead with the touch of his hand. The second touch, however, sends them back to the grave. Which is all well and good (and profitable!) until he brings back his first love, a girl named Chuck. She’s back from the dead to stay! Of course, they can never touch again. It’s a whimsical romantic comedy that has managed to bring Lee Pace into the spotlight he deserves. He earned his second Golden Globe nomination for his work as Ned, a role that Fuller created with Pace in mind.

In fact, Lee Pace is having a career explosion lately. This spring he will appear in three new films. Well, two new films and one that is finally seeing the light of day. In Miss Pettigrew Lives For a Day, he plays a British piano player, one of three men who are trying to woo Amy Adams. Characteristically, he plays quite the opposite in the Sarah Michelle Gellar thriller, Possession. This time around, Lee is the badass (and heavily tattooed!) brother-in-law. Not for long, though, because after being in a car accident related coma, he wakes up possessed by his kinder, gentler brother, causing SMG some serious confusion. The final film is The Fall. Directed by Tarsem, The Fall has been sitting on the shelf for a while, now, but is finally due to be released in March. In it, Pace stars as a Hollywood stunt man who has been hospitalized. When a young girl befriends him, he tells her fantastical stories about a group of adventurers, including a masked bandit, also played by Pace.

It is the wide range of roles that he chooses that I think will make Lee Pace stand out in Hollywood. A handsome face in this business is pretty easy to find, but few actors are so apt to completely inhabit a character. Which he undeniably does: Witness his sweetness and elegance as Calpernia, as well as her heartbroken disappointment after Barry makes his first move, only to chicken out and run away. Imagine the way in which he prowled the stage like a panther, boasting about his sadistic control over his lover, “the boif.” Watch Infamous and see how, as Dick, he tries to intimidate Capote (sexually), thinking he’s sized up the diminutive author. Tune in as Ned falls more and more hopelessly in love with Chuck every week on “Pushing Daisies.” Each one of these characters is made utterly unique in his hands. That is what Lee Pace brings to a role. That’s what makes him so special. That is why I will flock to watch him play anything again and again. Because I absolutely believe that he can.

Rick@picturesandframesmagazine.com

Photo Courtesy © Lee-Pace.org

Select Lee Pace Filmography:

Possession (2008)

Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day (2008)

"Pushing Daisies" (2007)

The Good Shepherd (2006)

The Fall (2006)

Infamous (2006)

The White Countess (2005)

"Wonderfalls" (2004)

Soldier's Girl (2003)