How I learned to love Magic in the Moonlight trailer

Blue Jasmine is absolutely one of my favorite 2013 movies. Not only for the huge and emotional performance from Cate Blanchett, but because it just works as a movie. It is endlessly watchable and I kept discovering gems and falling in love more as I re-watched.

With all this I was looking forward to Woody Allen's next, Magic in the Moonlight. Not to mention that it has the delightful Emma Stone. I have to say I was a bit deflated after watching the trailer. Shades of Curse of the Jade Scorpion. I wasn't expecting that. But I decided to look again and I found a lot to be excited for :

- Emma Stone is still in it and it looks like she knows how to deliver the Allen dialogue.
- it looks gorgeous, from sets to light to costumes.
- it has a lot of charm and looks like a funny zany romantic comedy.
- Jacki Weaver sighting! Yes, yes and yes again. I can't get enough of Jacki.
- Colin Firth looks OK and has nice rapport with Stone.

Bring it on I say now. I'm ready Woody. Take a look and tell us what you think in the comments.

Short Notes on 2014 Movies

Here are short notes on few films I saw in the first 4 months of 2014:

Suzanne

I saw this at Rendez-vous with French Cinema at Lincoln Center. At the screening the director, Katell Quillevere, said they had no US distribution. Whaaat? It's a fantastic film, come on distributors somebody snap up the rights. Now!

Suzanne is an episodic tale of love and familial bonds told through the life story of the title character (played by Sara Forestier) staring as a child until she's in her mid 30s. I was knocked over by it. Strong filmmaking that handles the passage of time beautifully with a huge emotional punch to the gut. Sara Forestier is fantastic, in fact all the performances are great and naturalistic.

Wiig

Hateship Loveship

I was not enamored of Kristen Wiig's post Bridesmaids choices. I was excited for Girl Most Likely but the tepid response kept me away. Walter Mitty was just awful. So with trepidation I went in to see this movie. To my surprise and delight I found that all the honesty and open wound acting she brought to her character in Bridesmaids were here in abundance.

It's a small story about a small person. Small in that you don't notice her but she's big in her emotions. A caretaker and the family she works for and the man she gets to build a life with. I don't want to say more about the specifics because the movie lives by the surprising ways this story unfolds. It is a very assured and smart directorial accomplishment for Liza Johnson. I can't wait to see what she does next. it is absolutely Wiig's film but it also finds fantastic ways to use Hailee Steinfeld, Guy Pearce, Nick Nolte, Sami Gayle and ChristineLahti. A wonderful ensemble.

Amalric and Seigner

Venus in Fur

I like Roman Polanski in general but he’s not a favorite of mine. Liked his earlier stuff better particularly Repulsion and Rosemary’s Baby although recently Ghost Writer was fantastic.

The movie is basically a director auditioning an actress for a part in his play. I saw the play this is based on and the movie doesn’t compare favorably with it. Somehow the power play and shifts within looked weird onscreen when they were provocative on stage. Both actors, Emmanuelle Seigner and Mathieu Amalric, were good and had their moments specially early on in the scenes when they first meet. The scenes at the end were a bit ridiculous and didn’t serve them well.

Said Mrini and Amin Ennaji in Salvation Army

Salvation Army

Another Rendez-vous with French cinema entry. My favorite point came in the post screening Q&A when the director Abdellah Taia, spoke of the influence of Egyptian Ciema on him while growing up in Morocco. The moderator tried to dismiss Egyptian cinema as "melodrama" and Taia praised it saying "watching Douglas Sirk is like eating sweet honey". Loved that quote. So true.

The film tells the story of Abdellah a young man growing in Morocco, his interactions with family and sexual awakening. The movie is obviously autobiographical so I was surprise at the precise, economical and unflinching way it presented its protagonist. It is a very empathetic portrayal but one that is very clear eyed too.

Pearce with Jones in shadow as she should always be

Breathe In

The plot of this movie is like the plot of 95% of porn movies: young au pair/exchange student falls for head of the household she’s staying at. Ridiculous and this movie does not give this thin well-worn plot any new shadings or perspective. Best thing is a long close up of Guy Pearce’s lips. And is Felicity Jones going to stop getting cast in movies; mediocre at best in everything she has done.


Have you seen any of these movies? What did you think? Tell all in the comments.

Most Anticipated : Carol

Blanchett as Carol

When reading The Price of Salt, the Patricia Highsmith novel on which this film is based, I imagined Carol as Marlene Dietrich if she were a 50s New York housewife. That is to say Cate Blanchett is perfect casting.

Pedigree

Todd Haynes re-teams with his I'm Not There star Cate Blanchett and enlists Lisabeth Salander herself, Rooney Mara, to film Highsmith's cult lesbian romance. TV stars turned prestige supporting players Sarah Paulson and Kyle Chandler lend support. Behind the camera it's a full on Far From Heaven reunion with lenser Ed Lachman and costume designer Sandy Powell. 

What's It About

Set in New York in the early 1950s the movie will tell the story of Therese Belivet (Mara) a department store assistant and her infatuation and eventual romance with the mysterious and beautiful Carol Aird (Blanchett). We can also think of it as a love quartet since the story involves Carol's husband (Chandler) who she's trying to divorce while keeping custody of their daughter, and her best friend and ex (Paulson). 

Why I'm Excited

Any movie with Blanchett is a most anticipated event around these parts. That she is working with Haynes again for which she gave one of her most astonishing performances is reason to cheer. That Haynes is working again in the 1950s milieu that he explored so well before in Far From Heaven raises the anticipation to fever pitch. That it is an adaptation of Highsmith's beautiful and moving novel, which defied conventions and stereotypes about LGBT stories and characters early on, raises our expectations to pure joy and giddiness.

Really?

Nothing. This might be my most anticipated movie EVER!

Review - Under the Skin

I think I might have a new favorite film. I am astonished by how much I liked Jonathan Glazer's Under the Skin. It seeped into me and a week after seeing it I'm still lost in a haze of its brilliant images and inventive storytelling. Glazer proves yet again how singular his vision is.

The film is told from the point of view of an alien (played by Scarlet Johansson in their human form) who comes to Earth on a vague mission. She lands in Glasgow and proceeds to pick up men and lure them to her dungeon-like place where they vanish in a big black liquid like pit. Why she needs them is never explained. She might have a handler or a supervisor who sometimes follows her; we are not sure. And the movie doesn't care to explain. It's more interested in the alien learning about being human and discovering emotions that didn't exist before. Strictly sticking to her POV the movie never wavers or tries to explain its plot. No exposition just methodically exploring this particular entity's story. This might be infuriating if you were looking for a cohesive plot.

The images are eerily stark, not exactly conventionally beautiful. The camera explores Earth from this very alien view. Even the streets and people look slightly off, as if I was seeing such shapes for the very first time. One of the reasons why the movie is so brilliant. I don't think I have seen anything like this before. It's a movie that I suspect will reward on multiple viewings and I can't wait to see it again.

First Impression - Suite Francaise

Williams and Schoenaerts in a tender moment

I feel sheepish writing about Suite Francaise since I saw it at a test screening. I don't know the etiquette involved in such a situation but I didn't sign anything that said I shouldn't. However I will speculate on its awards potential as opposed to writing a review as the film could possibly change before being released. The movie tells the story of French village during German occupation in 1940 and in particular Lucille (Michelle Williams), a French woman whose husband is away fighting in the war and her relationships with her disapproving mother-in-law (Kristin Scott Thomas) and  with the German officer (Matthias Schoenaerts) who gets to live at their home by law.

While this movie isn't in my 2014 most anticipated, I'm still interested because of Michelle Williams. She has knocked me over with her transcendent performance in Blue Valentine and became one of my favorites. She has three nominations already which means she might be considered due a win and this had the potential to be a big fat juicy role that could get her there. I'm sad to report I do not see it as an Oscar wining performance. She is of course great : emotional and open and without question the movie is her story. She gets to be repressed and timid, then open as she falls in love. She gets to be courageous and willful and gets lots of loving close ups showing all these feelings she's feeling. But she's also saddled with an irksome narration, and the tone of the movie is all over the place. Is it a big weepy romance a la The English Patient? Is it a wartime at home story a la Hope and Glory? Is it a story about the French Resistance a la The Last Metro? It tries to be all and never settles on a winning tone.

The tone is important in that it doesn't give the performance the space to build and really hit the emotional spot. And for that I think she might be nominated because 1) she's good and 2) she has a strong history with awards. But I don't see this movie and performance riding a wave of critical accolades and cinephile love to an Oscar win.

Schoenaerts amid the German tanks

Matthias Schoenaerts in my mind was the standout performance. But it is a very recessive subtle one that is unlikely to get noticed. Kristin Scott Thomas is her usual funny brittleness and could get carried in Williams' coattails if the movie resonates. Costumes and cinematography are possibilities. But ultimately this is a very good production that is not inventive or particularly original to stand out.

Most Anticipated : Macbeth

Will cinema screens combust from the heat off the lethal combination of Fassy and Marion coming at each other? That is the question, my friends.

Pedigree

Shakespeare needs no introduction and I can't remember if there was ever a major film adaptation of his Scottish play. Michael Fassbender, coming off his first Oscar nomination for 12 Years A Slave,  and Marion Cotillard, coming off two transcendent performances in Rust and Bone and The Immigrant, are the leads with Snowtown's Justin Kurzel directing. The supporting cast includes David Thewlis, Paddy Considine and The Great Gatsby standout Elizabeth Debicki.

What's It About
You know it. Ambition gone astray. Bravado run amok. And out out damn spot. It's a straight adaptation of the play set in 11th century Scotland with original Shakespearean language. 

Why I'm Excited
Snowtown was such a visceral punch to the gut. A excellent film debut for Kurzel that makes him the perfect choice to bring this to the screen. Fassbender is arguably the most exciting actor working today. Cotillard is at the top of her game with her recent performances - we can all try to forget the Talia al Ghul/Miranda Tate debacle. Plus I'm so excited to see where Debicki's career will go, based on evidence provided so far she has the talent and screen presence to become the next ACTRESS from down under to rule our screens.

Fassbender on set (JustJared)

Really?

Apparently Cotillard is keeping her French accent which is a strange choice for "the Scottish play". However if it means that this frees her to create a believable, emotional performance it might be a stroke of genius. 

There has never been an entirely successful straight adaptation of the Bard so I'm trying to temper my expectations. The only recent one that I liked was Baz Luhrman's Romeo and Juliet and that was a whole new interpretation. 

Most Anticipated : Far From the Madding Crowd

Mulligan and Schoenaerts

After Blanchett and Chastain, it is time to consider what's next for another actress we admire, Carey Mulligan.

Pedigree

Celebrated Danish director Thomas Vinterberg has assembled a pretty good European cast to surround Mulligan; Matthias Schoenaerts, Michael Sheen, Tom Sturridge and Juno Temple. Novelist and screenwriter David Nicholls of One Day fame wrote the adaptation from Thomas Hardy's novel. They shot on location in Dorset, England preserving the novel's original setting.

What's It About
An adaptation of Hardy's novel about an independent young woman Bathsheba Everdene (Mulligan) in 1750s England and the three men courting her. The handsome rascal who's clearly trouble (Sturridge), the older dependable but slightly crazy and depressed guy (Sheen) and her neighbour who becomes her employee, who's always around when needed and clearly the one she should choose (Schoenaerts). The novel is considered by some to be an early example of feminist literature. 

Why I'm Excited

Mulligan appeared in two of my favorite 2013 films The Great Gatsby and Inside Llewyn Davis. She was exceptional and distinctive in both showing a lot of range. And the woman can do wonders with her voice, controlling it to convey a million emotions. If Marion Cotillard's face launches a thousand differing and moving emotions; Mulligan's voice tells our hearts exactly what she's feeling at any time. 

Schoenaerts' sexy alive performance in Rust and Bone finally made me understand what people mean when they say Brando-esque. Plus the man is SEXY and of all his many upcoming movies this promises to be the one where he can at his broodiest, sexiest self. 

Vinterberg with his DP Charlotte Bruus during filming 

Really?

I guess I could quibble with Temple's casting since she has never impressed me or say that Sturridge is an unknown factor since I don't remember seeing him in anything. But who am I kidding? The combination of Mulligan, Schoenaerts and Vinterberg is more than enough to get me giddy with excitement. 60s purists might complain Julie Christie already played Bathsheba alongside Alan Bates, Peter Finch and Terrence Stamp but I'm excited for this new adaptation.

Most Anticipated : Miss Julie

Chastain as Julie

Yesterday we talked about Carol, today is Miss Julie's turn. Another woman centered movie that has me so excited with anticipation.

Pedigree
Liv Ullmann directs Jessica Chastain in a Strindberg adaptation. Just wow, a legit screen goddess directing one of the most exciting current actors in a movie adaptation of a classic play. Ullmann needs no introduction; Chastain can go from The Help to Zero Dark Thirty within a year so you know she's the definition of range. And the play is considered a classic. Colin Farrell and  Samantha Morton co-star.

What's It About
A tale fraught with sex, class struggle and power dynamics between the sexes. The titular character (Chastain) is drawn to a well travelled and well read servant (Farrell) in her father's household. That servant's fiance (Morton) is also part of the plot.


Why I'm Excited
Ullmann's collaboration with Cate Blanchett to interpret a classic - A Streetcar Named Desire - was a theatrical marvel. This is on film but still it's a collaboration worth getting excited about. Also Morton, who was so shafted in Her, is in this and it's been a while since we've seen this wonderful actor on screen.

Chastain with Farrell

Really?
Collin Farrell's casting gives me pause. He has never excited me on screen. In fact he was recently terrible in Saving Mr Banks. The movie was so much better when I watched a second time and fast forwarded through all his scenes. Still let's hope Chastain excites him and he rises to her level.

First Pictures of Cate as Carol

My most anticipated film in a long time is Carol; based on a Patricia Highsmith novel, directed by Todd Haynes and starring Cate the Great. It's a gay man's heaven : ACTRESS, queer writer and director, an impossible forbidden love story. It also has a killer supporting cast with Rooney Mara, Sarah Paulson and Kyle Chandler. All the ingredients that make me giddy and excited.

Here are the first pictures from the first day of shooting. And we will give the movie the "most anticipated" treatment soon.

Cate

Sandy Powell is serving some 50s coat realness

Even her back looks alluring.......

Mara and Paulson