Jackson works in a record store and he lusts after Billy who he met at an orgy. Billy, however, likes it rough and prefers being beaten. Then cousin Jed arrives and Jackson shouldn’t really fall for his cousin, should he? Now a customer at the record store falls for Jackson (but he’s too clean cut for the poet/songwriter). There’s plenty of sex, a rock-star who feeds off the talents of others (and administers some of the beatings), a lesbian who also finds Jed intoxicating, and, ultimately, a more-or-less predictable ending.

Justin Herwick as Jackson is reasonably good and Jonah Blechman is cute (he also has an underwear design company!) but, sadly, the film doesn’t engage quite as much as it could. It’s enjoyable but not brilliant. You can see the Clerks influences!

On this day…

Leaving Metropolis

Sometimes I get a block when trying to write about the films I have seen. Usually, that just means I end up with quite a short entry. However, with Leaving Metropolis I am going to sum up the film in the world of a reviewer at the IMDB:

This film is basically a gay love triangle. David is a famous painter with “painter’s block.” He has a live-in, HIV-positive, pre-op transsexual black live-in friend, Shannon. He has a famous-newspaper-columnist fag-hag friend, Kryla. To get his muse back, David decides to become a waiter again. He ends up waiting tables at a small diner owned by Matt and Violet, a married couple (recently married? it’s not clear). David is immediately attracted to Matt. Soon, as David encourages Matt’s secret talent for drawing comic-book characters and boosting Matt’s self-esteem, Matt begins to fall for David. David then paints a series of erotic images of Matt. The film ends predictably enough: Lots of tragedy (divorce, death, friends falling out, etc.) but also a “hopeful ending” (everyone starts over anew).[Source]

It’s an enjoyable fantasy ride of a film, well made with interesting characters, Matt (Vince Corazza) holds the screen well and is certainly worth seeing.

On this day…

2006: A New Man Of The Moment
2004: Dinner On The Lightship
2003: Summer Lunch
2003: The Store for Ladies Who Lunch

I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect from The Recruit except that I would probably fall for Colin Farrell.

Al Pacino plays, what turns out to be, a very strange CIA recruiter. He recruits James Clayton, a talented computer science graduate played by Farrell, to the CIA training facility (aka The Farm) where he is put through a series of challenging tasks with his fellow recruits. Upon leaving The Farm his first assignment is to follow fellow trainee Layla (Bridget Moynahan) who is accused of being a double agent.

Of course James must fall for Layla and he must question his loyalty to Pacino (who adopts a surrogate father role). Sadly we rarely see anything about the work of the CIA itself – after The Farm we are kept in the character’s sealed world. It is, however, a thriller with a series of twists and turns that makes for a great evening out.

UPDATE: 30 March: Colin Farrell is Man of the Moment.

On this day…

2004: Recommend TV To Me

Far from Heaven is a strange film set in a place called Hartford in 1957 and it really does look like it. It’s melodramatic – as all 1950s movies should be – and it’s got that feeling (you could say retro as the look is very in at the moment) which makes you think, for some reason, that Formica is the path to happiness for us all.

Cathy and Frank are a successful couple living in a well-to-do house with successful friends and the appearance of a respectable, 50s suburban family life. She lunches and hosts parties, the maid looks after the children and he is a top salesman. The family, however, is rocked when Cathy (Julianne Moore) catches Frank (Dennis Quaid) in a passionate embrace with another man. This repressed homosexuality eventually wrecks their marriage and Cathy finds comfort in the friendship of Raymond Deagan (Dennis Haysbert) – a black man in a time when white men and black men could not ride in the same part of the bus.

The film is certainly moving and there are some scenes where you see and feel the emotional trauma that the pair of them go through. The reaction of the middle-classes is an insight into what, for me, seems like a different world. It’s played well and the three leads should all be praised for their performances. Far and Heaven addresses difficult issues in an interesting way but the 50s styling allows you to distance yourself from the feelings and opinions of the characters. I suspect, that some of the fear and prejudice still lies beneath many and this film won’t make people address them.

Some of the scenes seem too forced, stylised or stereotypical to be carried off with believability. Having said that, it’s an enjoyable film and one I would recommend.

UPDATE 24 MARCH: Sadly, Julianne Moore, didn’t win for this or The Hours. However, Michael Moore did win Best Documentary Feature for Bowling For Columbine.

On this day…

2006: Links For 17th March 2006
2005: Birthday Boy

It’s wowed audiences and received Oscar nominations (for Nicolas Cage, Chris Cooper, Meryl Streep and for Charlie Kaufman’s writing) but it didn’t do very much for me. Sadly, I was almost asleep, which I guess isn’t a good review.

In theory, it’s an interesting movie. Instead of being able to write a screenplay based on Susan Orlean’s bestselling novel “The Orchid Thief“, Charlie Kaufman (and his twin brother, Donald – more about him later) write a movie telling the tale that the film can not be written. We suffer with the author as he faces writer’s block and is tormented by false starts. Of course, during this process, we also get to see something of The Orchid Thief itself as characters within the novel have to face their own torments.

Charlie Kaufman is, of course, a real screenwriter (he wrote Being John Malkovich), and the tale appears somewhat autobiographical. Donald Kaufman, who shares the writing credit and is – I imagine – also nominated for The Oscar, is fictitious: a plot device to add to Charlie’s trauma and help finish the film.

I’ve heard great things about this film – and that made me want to see it. I read a great feature on it in a recent edition of Empire which also made it sound interesting and people have raved about it. I was looking forward to seeing it and, sadly, I left the cinema bitterly disappointed. You can’t fault the film on originality, story-telling or acting (Streep is fantastic, Cage superb as both twins) but something didn’t work for me. It’s terrible when that happens in a film, but this time it didn’t work. It would be an interesting take to see if I could watch it again and if I could get more out of it.

Unfortunately, I do think that while it’s clever it’s also confusing. Those who understand more about the screenwriting process or the struggles of the author may get more out of it.

On this day…

I went to the BFI London IMAX cinema last night to see Haunted Castle: it’s presented in 3D and was superb.

Firstly, the 3D effects were excellent. There are several scenes (one on a roller coaster-style ride) where you really could be part of the action. It’s very, very well done. Of course, like many of these films there are some ropy bits but, on the whole, it’s believable 3D throughout. I found myself closing my eyes at some points because I really felt some of the action was leaping from the screen.

Haunted Castle is the story of Johnny, whose mother – and aging rock star – has died and passed on her secluded castle home to her son. Upon arrival, Johnny finds that the castle is more than an empty stone building for it’s alive with ghosts and evil doers. As he stimbles around the castle, Johnny discovers his mother had done a deal with Mr D in which she had to to give up her soul for fame and fortune.

We are taken on a ride through the castle to hear the music in the burning pits, meeting the ghouls and spooks that inhabit the Haunted Castle along the way. We ride the cable car and ferris wheel into the fires and visit the strange dungeons where the Opera singers are spending their days – will Johnny surrender his soul and give into the temptation of the spooks? Finally, Johnny confronts Mr D again as the castle falls around him.

The stunning effects in this film really to surround you. It really was a superb experience and reminds me that I should go to the IMAX more often.

On this day…

2005: More Politics
2004: St David's Day
2003: Ben Affleck In Tight Leather

I have never been the biggest fan of Jack Nicholson’s movies but I am not sure why. It’s not his acting that I have a problem so it must be his movies. Well, About Schmidt is a film I thoroughly enjoyed. Jack plays Warren R. Schmidt who has just retired from his job and doesn’t quite know what to do with his life nor why it has lead him to this point. He sponsors a African child as a way of settling his conscience and his letters are very telling.

When his wife dies, Schmidt sets of across America. His journey is partly to find the places of his childhood but mainly to sabotage his daughter’s wedding who he things should be achieving more.

If you have lost your way and can’t quite see why you are stuck all day in a dead-end job then this is a movie for you. It’s not action-packed and lacks a thrilling ending but it is about real people and real human pains and Jack Nicholson’s performance is wonderful – capturing his sense of loss (over his job rather than his wife) superbly.

On this day…

2004: Missing
2004: Pankcakes Anyone?
2004: Where Should I Send It?
2003: Catch Me If You Can

If it wasn’t true, nobody would believe it. He scammed over $2 million dollars before he reached the age of 21 while coning airlines and banks out of money and seats. He’s played as a stylish, handsome dude in a film that’s almost as cool to watch as Ocean’s Eleven. He was Frank Abagnale Jr. and he’s played by brilliantly by Leonardo DiCaprio in the superb movie, Catch Me If You Can. It’s not what you would expect as it can be quite dark and it is hard to believe that FBI Special Agent Carl Hanratty (Tom Hanks) becomes so obsessed with chasing him. Be warned, the movie is longer than you would expect but there are some good performances (Christopher Walken stands out) and so it’s an ideal movie to pass a Saturday night.

On this day…

2004: Missing
2004: Pankcakes Anyone?
2004: Where Should I Send It?
2003: About Schmidt

I came out of The Hours somewhat stunned. This is a remarkable film and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Nicole Kidman, Meryl Streep and Julianne Moore are all superb and utterly believable. The link between the three (Kidman as Virginia Woolf, Moore as a 1950s depressed housewife and Streep as a confident modern woman) are seemingly only linked by a book – Mrs Dalloway.

The lives of the three are crumbling in various ways and this conveyed well on screen. Kidman –hardly recognisable thanks to great make-up –is superb and going slowly mad in 1920s Richmond. Moore’’s character appears to have feelings of worthlessness while Streep is coping with modern day New York while her relationship seems to be going nowhere and a good friends suffers with AIDS.

This isn’t a happy film. Many of the scenarios are quite sad but it isn’t really a depressing film either. It’s engrossing and engaging and even the supporting characters are played brilliantly.

On this day…

2003: The Mobile Blog