Posted by dpoland at January 22, 2010 10:39 PM

... even if it's the first time I have ever seen him.

PS. Just reading that there will be no Flash support on the iPad... HUGE problem. If this is the ultimate web browsing experience and it's missing a widely used and overused element like Flash... well, it's going to be frustrating and limiting. Why make that choice, Apple?

Posted by dpoland at January 27, 2010 01:34 PM

Posted by dpoland at January 27, 2010 02:36 PM

Director Jacques Audiard & actor Tahar Rahim (and translator)

mp3 of the interview

Posted by dpoland at January 24, 2010 06:09 PM

... even if it's the first time I have ever seen him.

PS. Just reading that there will be no Flash support on the iPad... HUGE problem. If this is the ultimate web browsing experience and it's missing a widely used and overused element like Flash... well, it's going to be frustrating and limiting. Why make that choice, Apple?

Posted by dpoland at January 27, 2010 01:34 PM

Lionsgate bought Buried for $3.2m. Sounds like their hope to relive Open Water... low-budget, all performance and concept.. not really commercial, but a clever enough campaign will trick people and based on reviews, they may actually enjoy what they get suckered into seeing. Seems like a movie that has found the right home.

Larry Gross on...
Jack Goes Boating, Hesher, Winter's Bone, Four Lions
Full Disclosure
Enter The Void
A Prophet (Un Prophet)

John Wildman on...
Douchebag & The Company Men

Posted by dpoland at January 24, 2010 05:54 PM

Spike Jonze.

He is one of the great musician filmmakers of all time.

And what I mean by that is that his work, when you open yourself to it, settles on your soul more like a song than a movie. He's not infallible, but his films, no matter how unexpected, have a way of connecting directly to your feelings even as they confound your intellect.

His collaborations with Charlie Kaufman speak to this with simple clarity. Michel Gondry is a serious artist and makes beautiful things. And Charlie himself can deliver his vision, as we saw in Synedoche, NY. But somehow, Spike took the brain space of Charlie – one of the great minds in screenwriting history – and softens it so that we all can connect.

When I think of his work, I invariably think of them in a musical way… whether aurally or visually.

His new short, I'm Here, settles into much that same place. It's a long, slow contemplation on loneliness and the desire for love. It has all the kinds of structural ideas that you would expect from a story of boy and girl. The meet cute, the flirtation, the passion, the challenges to that passion…

Oh. And by the way… the lovers here happen to be robots.

He's a little square, literally. She is silly and a little reckless, all soft, rounded edges. Robots aren't allowed to drive cars in the human culture they live in… but she does… a vision of freedom as he rides the dreary bus. She comes to him as he could never come to her.

He is so very much in love, even if he isn't sure that he knows what that is. But quickly he learns, there are prices to being as free and easy as she is. And he is willing to give up virtually anything to protect her… and that freedom.

And if you walk into this film expected a word of this exposition to be spoken aloud – except that robots aren't supposed to drive – you don't know Spike Jonze's work very well… not only his ability, but his commitment to convey powerful human truths without making it as simple as words… or even using humans to express those feelings.

So… that is the beautiful first third of the film. What else is there?

Like real relationships, it takes time and it goes deeper. It is a young relationship, which reminds us old romantics of our young relationships, whether walking through the forest hand in hand, going to see her favorite band even if it's not his favorite, and what quickly becomes clear… that she is as willing to take as he is willing to give.

I have to say, though it makes me uncomfortable to do so, that the film seems to be very personal.

SPOILER WARNING

As the second and third act of the short progresses, we experience a relationship in which a man robot literally gives an arm and a leg, so committed to this woman robot… but she barely seems to notice that she is taking so much of him and leaving him crippled. Ultimately, his sacrifice of everything for her turns a corner. Not only is he, in the end, nothing but a head, but he is finally so unable to care for himself that she has to care for him, the last shot of the film reflecting parenthood more than romantic love… which perhaps is his real desire.

Does this reflect a real-life experience of Mr. Jonze or just an idea about the cycle of love and men who are drawn to women who take while the man is endlessly (in his view) willing to give? I have no way of knowing. But given the autobiographical work of his ex, it's an interesting consideration.

END SPOILER

In any case, this is a beautiful short film. There are dozens of images that stick with me. The music by Sam Spiegel and songs by Aska Matsumiya, as well as The Lost Trees is mesmerizing. The sound design by Ren Klyce is loaded with intimate surprises. Adam Kimmel's cinematography is as beautiful as always. (So looking forward to his work with Mark Romanek, Never Let Me Go.)

The film's two stars, Andrew Garfield and Sienna Guillory are almost unimaginable playing these roles in their real guises. But they get the tone of their two characters just right.

You may have noticed that I am not terribly interested in celebrating the effects. Well, they are terrific. And the design of the robots, by Sonny Gerasimowicz, who also worked on Where The Wild Things Are, is sublime… almost natural. And that is why it is the last thing I consider on this film. They use a similar technique here as they did on Where The Wild Things Are, though much simpler. Here, only eye and mouths are really animated.

It's a lovely film… paid for, it seems, by Absolut. I'm not sure why, exactly. But bless them, they allowed some art to be made.

Posted by dpoland at January 24, 2010 11:10 PM

1. Roman Polanski directing God of Carnage - Rarely has a great director seemed more wrong for great material. This is a dark social satire of people exposing themselves bit by bit... a comic variation on the disastrous Polanski take on Death And The Maiden. Really, Mike Nichols should direct it. Nora Ephron would be a fascinating choice. But Polanski? No.

2. Vulture Exclusive: Fox's Planet of the Apes Reboot of the Reboot Is Back On - Thank GOD! Another outlet mistaking spin and S.O.B. for not only news, but for EXCLUSIVE news. Apes is not Spider-Man, demanding a reboot before the rights run out. It is a franchise that Fox would love to see come back to profitable life... and which they spent nearly a decade not making the last time around. I don't care which writer is on it or if Pete Chernin has it to toy with... it's not anything close to a "go" project until there's a script, a budget, a director, and a cast. The soonest start date, from the looks of things, is 2 years. There's no news in that. Fox could be shooting an Avatar sequel, another Die Hard, 2 Chipmunks, and an Alien reboot by then. Zzzzzz...

Posted by dpoland at January 22, 2010 03:38 PM

Lionsgate bought Buried for $3.2m. Sounds like their hope to relive Open Water... low-budget, all performance and concept.. not really commercial, but a clever enough campaign will trick people and based on reviews, they may actually enjoy what they get suckered into seeing. Seems like a movie that has found the right home.

Larry Gross on...
Jack Goes Boating, Hesher, Winter's Bone, Four Lions
Full Disclosure
Enter The Void
A Prophet (Un Prophet)

John Wildman on...
Douchebag & The Company Men

Posted by dpoland at January 24, 2010 05:54 PM

Spike Jonze.

He is one of the great musician filmmakers of all time.

And what I mean by that is that his work, when you open yourself to it, settles on your soul more like a song than a movie. He's not infallible, but his films, no matter how unexpected, have a way of connecting directly to your feelings even as they confound your intellect.

His collaborations with Charlie Kaufman speak to this with simple clarity. Michel Gondry is a serious artist and makes beautiful things. And Charlie himself can deliver his vision, as we saw in Synedoche, NY. But somehow, Spike took the brain space of Charlie – one of the great minds in screenwriting history – and softens it so that we all can connect.

When I think of his work, I invariably think of them in a musical way… whether aurally or visually.

His new short, I'm Here, settles into much that same place. It's a long, slow contemplation on loneliness and the desire for love. It has all the kinds of structural ideas that you would expect from a story of boy and girl. The meet cute, the flirtation, the passion, the challenges to that passion…

Oh. And by the way… the lovers here happen to be robots.

He's a little square, literally. She is silly and a little reckless, all soft, rounded edges. Robots aren't allowed to drive cars in the human culture they live in… but she does… a vision of freedom as he rides the dreary bus. She comes to him as he could never come to her.

He is so very much in love, even if he isn't sure that he knows what that is. But quickly he learns, there are prices to being as free and easy as she is. And he is willing to give up virtually anything to protect her… and that freedom.

And if you walk into this film expected a word of this exposition to be spoken aloud – except that robots aren't supposed to drive – you don't know Spike Jonze's work very well… not only his ability, but his commitment to convey powerful human truths without making it as simple as words… or even using humans to express those feelings.

So… that is the beautiful first third of the film. What else is there?

Like real relationships, it takes time and it goes deeper. It is a young relationship, which reminds us old romantics of our young relationships, whether walking through the forest hand in hand, going to see her favorite band even if it's not his favorite, and what quickly becomes clear… that she is as willing to take as he is willing to give.

I have to say, though it makes me uncomfortable to do so, that the film seems to be very personal.

SPOILER WARNING

As the second and third act of the short progresses, we experience a relationship in which a man robot literally gives an arm and a leg, so committed to this woman robot… but she barely seems to notice that she is taking so much of him and leaving him crippled. Ultimately, his sacrifice of everything for her turns a corner. Not only is he, in the end, nothing but a head, but he is finally so unable to care for himself that she has to care for him, the last shot of the film reflecting parenthood more than romantic love… which perhaps is his real desire.

Does this reflect a real-life experience of Mr. Jonze or just an idea about the cycle of love and men who are drawn to women who take while the man is endlessly (in his view) willing to give? I have no way of knowing. But given the autobiographical work of his ex, it's an interesting consideration.

END SPOILER

In any case, this is a beautiful short film. There are dozens of images that stick with me. The music by Sam Spiegel and songs by Aska Matsumiya, as well as The Lost Trees is mesmerizing. The sound design by Ren Klyce is loaded with intimate surprises. Adam Kimmel's cinematography is as beautiful as always. (So looking forward to his work with Mark Romanek, Never Let Me Go.)

The film's two stars, Andrew Garfield and Sienna Guillory are almost unimaginable playing these roles in their real guises. But they get the tone of their two characters just right.

You may have noticed that I am not terribly interested in celebrating the effects. Well, they are terrific. And the design of the robots, by Sonny Gerasimowicz, who also worked on Where The Wild Things Are, is sublime… almost natural. And that is why it is the last thing I consider on this film. They use a similar technique here as they did on Where The Wild Things Are, though much simpler. Here, only eye and mouths are really animated.

It's a lovely film… paid for, it seems, by Absolut. I'm not sure why, exactly. But bless them, they allowed some art to be made.

Posted by dpoland at January 24, 2010 11:10 PM

Another strong start for a Joel Silver production after a bit of a rough run. This start is running a bit hotter than Denzel's previous #2 opener, Inside Man, though while this reminds us that Denzel is a true movie star (meaning, he can open movies on his own), it is a concept piece that has the strongest action appeal since Avatar and then Sherlock Holmes opened last month.

it seems like that we'll see a Cloverfield-like trajectory on the film... maybe a little less harsh. Look for a 3-day of just under $30 million... a 4-day of $33m - $35m.

Avatar will lose a day for the third time in its run (opening days for Sherlock and Chippys 2 were the other two), but like the last two times, it looks like a one day long event. Saturday rises have been erratic, in part because of the film playing through the holidays. Last weekend, it went up a crazy 60%, Fri-Sat. Let's say it ends up off 25% for the 3-day... $37.5m for the 3-day... $43m for the 4-day, crossing the $500m domestic threshold on Monday, in 32 days, passing TDK's 45 days to becomes the fastest film to ever hit $500m.

I am personally stunned to say, it now looks like Avatar will pass The Dark Knight's domestic #2 position by the end of next weekend. The film is already over $1 billion overseas. With over $1.5 billion by the end of this weekend, Avatar will be the #2 box office grosser of all time with or without the "3D bump." Sorry haters... another scoreboard to suffer.

Paramount's marketing reboot of The Lovely Bones will show itself more today, as teen girls are the target. Will the movie go up to $7m or $8m today, ending up with a $20m+ 4-day or will it roll with a more traditional trajectory and end up with $17m or so? We shall see.

The Spy Next Door felt a bit dumped... which won't look so good when Sony's The Karate Kid becomes a significant hit this summer. This is one of those cases when the studio should have just waited for another movie to rebrand their star. Jackie Chan and kids will be a real draw after "jacket on... jacket off."

Who would have expected The Blind Side to outgross both Sherlock Holmes and The Squeakquel domestically? It looks like Sherlock will come up just short of $200m and Chippys 2 will just pass the mark.

Up In The Air is a bit confounding. $70m domestic is quite good for a dramedy with a message. But it's, somehow, not exciting. Odd.

Posted by dpoland at January 16, 2010 10:18 AM

Klady is going to do a 4-day tomorrow.

Nothing really surprising since yesterday from my perspective.

The Lovely Bones, by studio estimate, had a nice 10% bump on Saturday... which probably means that a younger audience is finding the film, as was the marketing intent.

One thing that has caught my eye is that Brothers has quietly grossed over $28 million, which puts Oscar chasers An Education, Nine, A Serious Man, and The Messenger in the financial rear view. I am pretty well convinced that had Lionsgate treated this movie as an equal to Precious instead of as an afterthought (I finally got a screener... 4 days ago... and not from Lionsgate, but from Relativity Media), it would have outgrossed Precious and would have had a real shot at a nomination... and Tobey Maguire would have been a lock for a Best Actor nod.

Posted by dpoland at January 17, 2010 11:30 AM

Another strong start for a Joel Silver production after a bit of a rough run. This start is running a bit hotter than Denzel's previous #2 opener, Inside Man, though while this reminds us that Denzel is a true movie star (meaning, he can open movies on his own), it is a concept piece that has the strongest action appeal since Avatar and then Sherlock Holmes opened last month.

it seems like that we'll see a Cloverfield-like trajectory on the film... maybe a little less harsh. Look for a 3-day of just under $30 million... a 4-day of $33m - $35m.

Avatar will lose a day for the third time in its run (opening days for Sherlock and Chippys 2 were the other two), but like the last two times, it looks like a one day long event. Saturday rises have been erratic, in part because of the film playing through the holidays. Last weekend, it went up a crazy 60%, Fri-Sat. Let's say it ends up off 25% for the 3-day... $37.5m for the 3-day... $43m for the 4-day, crossing the $500m domestic threshold on Monday, in 32 days, passing TDK's 45 days to becomes the fastest film to ever hit $500m.

I am personally stunned to say, it now looks like Avatar will pass The Dark Knight's domestic #2 position by the end of next weekend. The film is already over $1 billion overseas. With over $1.5 billion by the end of this weekend, Avatar will be the #2 box office grosser of all time with or without the "3D bump." Sorry haters... another scoreboard to suffer.

Paramount's marketing reboot of The Lovely Bones will show itself more today, as teen girls are the target. Will the movie go up to $7m or $8m today, ending up with a $20m+ 4-day or will it roll with a more traditional trajectory and end up with $17m or so? We shall see.

The Spy Next Door felt a bit dumped... which won't look so good when Sony's The Karate Kid becomes a significant hit this summer. This is one of those cases when the studio should have just waited for another movie to rebrand their star. Jackie Chan and kids will be a real draw after "jacket on... jacket off."

Who would have expected The Blind Side to outgross both Sherlock Holmes and The Squeakquel domestically? It looks like Sherlock will come up just short of $200m and Chippys 2 will just pass the mark.

Up In The Air is a bit confounding. $70m domestic is quite good for a dramedy with a message. But it's, somehow, not exciting. Odd.

Posted by dpoland at January 16, 2010 10:18 AM

Have at it if you like... not much for live blogging...

Posted by dpoland at January 17, 2010 05:02 PM

I have to say, i was shocked when both of these pieces about LenO'Brien were balanced and didn't really bash either Jay Leno or Conan O'Brien more than the other. NBC got smacked, but no surprise there. Remember, Lorne Michaels exec produced and owned a piece of the Conan show at 12:35a... he gave Conan the job. And Conan wrote at SNL before that.

What SNL got in the faux Larry King piece was that they are all locked into their images and somewhat unaware of how their behaviors play... and that failure was behind these choices, not some moral issue. And if you want to pretend that the humorless Conan is a positive portrayal or that calling Leno at 10 a "colossal failure" sticks, but Conan being called a "colossal failure" at 11:35p doesn't... well...

And Seth Meyers, who took his shot at NBC, also got his shots in at Leno and Conan, who walks away with more money than Seth Meyers will make if he were to do SNL for three decades. The "two wives" comparison is pretty apt. The part than Leno bashers want to pretend is not there is how good "the first wife" looked and looks.

(Note: The NBC embeds -now after the jump - don't seem to be working... trying to get them going...)

Posted by dpoland at January 17, 2010 01:27 PM

I have to say, i was shocked when both of these pieces about LenO'Brien were balanced and didn't really bash either Jay Leno or Conan O'Brien more than the other. NBC got smacked, but no surprise there. Remember, Lorne Michaels exec produced and owned a piece of the Conan show at 12:35a... he gave Conan the job. And Conan wrote at SNL before that.

What SNL got in the faux Larry King piece was that they are all locked into their images and somewhat unaware of how their behaviors play... and that failure was behind these choices, not some moral issue. And if you want to pretend that the humorless Conan is a positive portrayal or that calling Leno at 10 a "colossal failure" sticks, but Conan being called a "colossal failure" at 11:35p doesn't... well...

And Seth Meyers, who took his shot at NBC, also got his shots in at Leno and Conan, who walks away with more money than Seth Meyers will make if he were to do SNL for three decades. The "two wives" comparison is pretty apt. The part than Leno bashers want to pretend is not there is how good "the first wife" looked and looks.

(Note: The NBC embeds -now after the jump - don't seem to be working... trying to get them going...)

Posted by dpoland at January 17, 2010 01:27 PM

I have to say, i was shocked when both of these pieces about LenO'Brien were balanced and didn't really bash either Jay Leno or Conan O'Brien more than the other. NBC got smacked, but no surprise there. Remember, Lorne Michaels exec produced and owned a piece of the Conan show at 12:35a... he gave Conan the job. And Conan wrote at SNL before that.

What SNL got in the faux Larry King piece was that they are all locked into their images and somewhat unaware of how their behaviors play... and that failure was behind these choices, not some moral issue. And if you want to pretend that the humorless Conan is a positive portrayal or that calling Leno at 10 a "colossal failure" sticks, but Conan being called a "colossal failure" at 11:35p doesn't... well...

And Seth Meyers, who took his shot at NBC, also got his shots in at Leno and Conan, who walks away with more money than Seth Meyers will make if he were to do SNL for three decades. The "two wives" comparison is pretty apt. The part than Leno bashers want to pretend is not there is how good "the first wife" looked and looks.

(Note: The NBC embeds -now after the jump - don't seem to be working... trying to get them going...)

Posted by dpoland at January 17, 2010 01:27 PM

Another strong start for a Joel Silver production after a bit of a rough run. This start is running a bit hotter than Denzel's previous #2 opener, Inside Man, though while this reminds us that Denzel is a true movie star (meaning, he can open movies on his own), it is a concept piece that has the strongest action appeal since Avatar and then Sherlock Holmes opened last month.

it seems like that we'll see a Cloverfield-like trajectory on the film... maybe a little less harsh. Look for a 3-day of just under $30 million... a 4-day of $33m - $35m.

Avatar will lose a day for the third time in its run (opening days for Sherlock and Chippys 2 were the other two), but like the last two times, it looks like a one day long event. Saturday rises have been erratic, in part because of the film playing through the holidays. Last weekend, it went up a crazy 60%, Fri-Sat. Let's say it ends up off 25% for the 3-day... $37.5m for the 3-day... $43m for the 4-day, crossing the $500m domestic threshold on Monday, in 32 days, passing TDK's 45 days to becomes the fastest film to ever hit $500m.

I am personally stunned to say, it now looks like Avatar will pass The Dark Knight's domestic #2 position by the end of next weekend. The film is already over $1 billion overseas. With over $1.5 billion by the end of this weekend, Avatar will be the #2 box office grosser of all time with or without the "3D bump." Sorry haters... another scoreboard to suffer.

Paramount's marketing reboot of The Lovely Bones will show itself more today, as teen girls are the target. Will the movie go up to $7m or $8m today, ending up with a $20m+ 4-day or will it roll with a more traditional trajectory and end up with $17m or so? We shall see.

The Spy Next Door felt a bit dumped... which won't look so good when Sony's The Karate Kid becomes a significant hit this summer. This is one of those cases when the studio should have just waited for another movie to rebrand their star. Jackie Chan and kids will be a real draw after "jacket on... jacket off."

Who would have expected The Blind Side to outgross both Sherlock Holmes and The Squeakquel domestically? It looks like Sherlock will come up just short of $200m and Chippys 2 will just pass the mark.

Up In The Air is a bit confounding. $70m domestic is quite good for a dramedy with a message. But it's, somehow, not exciting. Odd.

Posted by dpoland at January 16, 2010 10:18 AM

Have at it if you like... not much for live blogging...

Posted by dpoland at January 17, 2010 05:02 PM

Klady is going to do a 4-day tomorrow.

Nothing really surprising since yesterday from my perspective.

The Lovely Bones, by studio estimate, had a nice 10% bump on Saturday... which probably means that a younger audience is finding the film, as was the marketing intent.

One thing that has caught my eye is that Brothers has quietly grossed over $28 million, which puts Oscar chasers An Education, Nine, A Serious Man, and The Messenger in the financial rear view. I am pretty well convinced that had Lionsgate treated this movie as an equal to Precious instead of as an afterthought (I finally got a screener... 4 days ago... and not from Lionsgate, but from Relativity Media), it would have outgrossed Precious and would have had a real shot at a nomination... and Tobey Maguire would have been a lock for a Best Actor nod.

Posted by dpoland at January 17, 2010 11:30 AM