Monday, April 19, 2010

The Last Schmaltz starring Miley Cyrus and Greg Kinnear (The Last Song)

I didn't want to see. I wasn't going to see it. Not even on DVD. I swear. OK, admittedly, I am a sucker for The Notebook. I have seen THAT one twice- but never in the theatre- that has got to count for something! See, I don't do Nicolas Sparks! Oh wait, was Nights in Rodante by Nicolas Sparks? Shit. OK, I need to stop promising myself things that get me in trouble later. I made a promise that I will always see everything Ryan Gosling is in. Thus, the Notebook. Then, I promised myself that I would see anything Viola Davis was in. You guessed it: Nights in Rodante- really- she's in it! She plays the coveted "best friend of the lead" role!
Anyway, my 11 year old daughter wanted to see it. I let her read the book the week before the movie opened. The book is in the Young Adult section of our public library. She LOVED it. I still was not going to see it. But then, Lisa Schwartzbaum, movie reviewer extraordinaire from Entertainment Weekly wrote a review for The Last Song. She gave it a B. It was as though she was speaking to me. She wrote of how one must forget whatever preconceived notions one might have about Miley Cyrus and her Hannah Montana persona. She said that Cyrus was a strong up and coming actress that offered something different than the other starlets of her age. I was convinced to give it a try. Convincing my 11 year old son to see a love story on the other hand was not so easy. OK, that's a lie- I said, "you are going with us to see this movie." What choice does he have? I LOVE this age!  Actually, I shared with him my trepidation about seeing the film and then how Lisa convinced me to give a try. Then I told him the whole story from beginning to end and by the time I finished we were at the theatre.
Well, wouldn't you know, my son was more enthralled and affected by the emotions and love in the movie than my daughter! He talked to me about it for days afterwards!
OK, I gotta go now. I have to finish this non-review later. I am going to go eat brownies and watch HOT TUB TIME MACHINE. Guess whose movies I promised to watch this time? Hint: Must Love Dogs sucked! And I am sure John would agree!

Saturday, March 27, 2010

The Only Slightly Interesting Movie Out There Right is One I Haven't Seen

I keep looking at my Fandango App with giddy anticipation- hoping and praying that there really is a film out there within 35 miles of my location about which I can truly get excited. Hot Tub Time Machine not withstanding, admittedly, Polanski's Ghostwriter, creates a bit of a stirring in my loins but evidently not enough to get me in the theatre the first chance I get. Is this the price I pay for living in Woodland, CA? Granted, I am mildly fascinated with the possibility of Greenberg but even as a write this I feel my eyelids getting heavy. I remember the Squid and the Whale was well written and quietly desperate and familiarly tragic in that adult child of divorce kind of a way. But then a trusted friend said to stay far far way from Margot's Wedding which I did. I am interested in Ben Stiller playing the caustically funny depressed Jew since the Woodman has been out of the pictures now for so long but still, not enough to get me off of the couch today. I have the Piano Teacher and Capitalism: A Love Story waiting to be viewed from Netflix and latest Real Time with Maher too so perhaps this will be a quiet Saturday night in front of the glow- which is just fine with me...


Anyone out there seen Justified yet? I am talking about the new FX series with the scandalously charming Timothy Olyphant and a cast of other characters who are bone chillingly and psychotically both ignorant and evil.  It is very violent and mildly (ha ha) unrealistic given the cinematic verisimilitude that the creators are  trying to achieve but it has certainly grabbed my attention. It's a good thing too considering that I am still heartbroken over the ending of Nip/Tuck.

Monday, March 22, 2010

Join me tonight in watching the return of two great Showtime offerings

I was late in coming to both Nurse Jackie and United States of Tara. But I am now all caught up thanks to Netflix and repeats on Showtime and tonight are the premieres of the second seasons of both shows. I LOVE having great, smart, flawed females in STARRING roles in the box they call the television. Mary Tyler Moore these women are not. I am in turns aghast, in awe and unsure how to understand these characters and all I can say to that is Thank god for flawed women who have agency and ownership in their lives in a very powerful way.

Monday, March 15, 2010

The Oscars are over LOST is coming to a satisfying end and Breaking Bad, Nurse Jackie and United States of Tara are finally back!

Katherine Bigelow wins- James Cameron loses- I do not know which one makes me happiest. I am not usually the vindictive sort but I think in this case I am happier about James Cameron and Avatar losing in pretty much every category. When a young up and coming actress who just made a Cameron film calls him "passionate" and "earnest," you know she is euphemistically pointing out that he is in fact a rageaholic, mean spirited and narcissistic. His bullshit has caught up with him and as far as I am concerned the community, his community is giving him a strong message. The question is is he listening? I do not care how rich or "technically ingenious" someone is- when you cannot be decent and good to those around you- you pay in one way or another.
OK, moving on. Yay Ms. Bigelow. Sad that it took this long for a woman to win in this category but unfortunately, even for the least cynical among us, not surprising.  She is a powerful, purely cinematic director and there was no one more deserving that she this year.


I had so many TV shows and movies in my queue upon my return from the desert but a day at home in my p.j.'s gave me the chance to finally catch up.
I have always had a "love/I am SO bored relationship" with LOST. I gave up again in this last season- the whole gathering of unrecognizable people at the temple was enough for me to turn it off. But with my fast forward button in hand I have been able to stick with it. I am loving the scenes in which we witness the intertwining of their lives if the Island hadn't gotten in the way. The strength of LOST, apart from the crazy story lines, is it's big HEART. Ultimately, love and purpose and understanding is what everyone on the island is seeking and I can relate to that.











Friday, March 5, 2010

My Predictions for the Oscars

Perhaps this comes to no surprise to those who know me but I have actually seen all ten of the best picture nominees. All TEN of the them. Well, actually, the count is really 9 1/2- my husband and I walked out of District 9 half way through. 


OK, I am going to pretend I work in one on those big unidentifiable offices with lots of cubicles- a place where people put in money to vote and win what I believe are called office "pools." As such, my predictions are pointing to who/what I think will win not what I WANT to win. (in parentheses is what I wish would win) Here goes:


Best Picture: AVATAR (The Hurt Locker)
Best Director: Katherine Bigelow
Best Actor: Jeff Bridges (Colin Firth)
Best Actress: Sandra Bullock (Gaourey Sidebe and Carey Mulligan)
Best Supporting Actor: Christoph Waltz
Best Supporting Actress: Mo'Nique
Best Original Screenplay: Inglorious Basterds 
Best Adapted: Up in the Air
Best Editing: The Hurt Locker
Best Cinematography: The Hurt Locker
Best Sound Everything: The Hurt Locker
Best Visual Effects: Avatar




Well, OK, maybe some of the choices are wishful thinking but I will be watching and I hope you do too!

Saturday, February 27, 2010

Rant and Rave- Just saying....

Every once in a while I will experience or see something in my cultural environment upon which I feel compelled to comment. Sometimes it will be a rant, sometimes a rave. 


First, a rant. I went mall shopping with my eleven year old daughter last weekend. It was a right of passage of sorts. This was the first time that she and I had a date together, by ourselves - she has a twin brother- in which we were going to the mall. Even though I have mixed feelings about using shopping as a bonding experience with my kids, gosh darn it, it works and I know that as they get older it will be something that I can utilize as a way of connecting with them. 


Anyway, my daughter and I were in pursuit of a pair of skinny jeans and a new sweat shirt. We went to Macy's, JC Penny's and Sears. I was getting more and more irritated as went through the clothes for girls 7 through 14 at these stores and was exposed to the lack of choice.  I am not exaggerating when I say (because I started keeping track) - that at least 75% of the clothing, both pants and tops had either hearts, peace signs or both on them. 


Can any one out there tell me why besides the fact that the fashion of the day is a bit retro 70's hippie?


I thought about the subtle cultural messages that this conveys to girls who are on the verge of adolescence: Don't speak up in class, be nice, keep the peace even if it is at the expense of something you feel strongly about, don't speak up, don't be "feisty," suppress your anger, keep a smile on your face no matter what.


Why don't boys have hearts and peace signs? Boys are the ones that really need to learn the lessons that these culture symbols teach us.


If boys clothing were inundated with peace signs and hearts perhaps their would be less bullying on the playgrounds, less fighting, less put downs, more true heart connections, more hugging, less homophobia.


Most importantly, if boys had peace signs and hearts on their clothing, when they grew up maybe there would be NO WAR!!!

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Crazy- if I didn't give Jeff Bridges an Oscar- or is it?

Oscar Talk:
At this point it seems to be all about Jeff Bridges needing to get that OSCAR in his hands and finally put to rest the "most underrated American actor" moniker to rest. I thought that he was a shoe in after seeing Crazy Heart- the "it almost went straight to DVD, low budget with BIG acting chops and GREAT music, little film" that could movie. But then I saw Colin Firth in A Single Man. More on that later. 
In Crazy Heart, starring Jeff Bridges, Maggie Gyllenhal, Colin Farrell, and Robert Duval, we are at our most voyeuristic in that we are "forced" to follow Jeff Bridges' "Bad" character around as he drinks, throws up, smokes, looks like death warmed over and in between, sings some fantastic songs at broken down, end of the line joints. "Bad," as he calls himself and claims as his name until the writing on his tombstone proves otherwise, is a master song writer and massively charming alcoholic. (Don't we all know a few of those- at least the charming alcoholic part...:)
His character was utterly believable and yet I was always aware that this is Jeff Bridges, my favorite actor, playing a f**ked up, washed up alcoholic. 
 I do not think this is necessarily a drawback to enjoying and appreciating an actor's performance. Often it is WHY we go see a particular movie- to see an actor do what s/he does very well. In this case though it was a problem- a big problem. I could not get past a young beautiful smart sexy woman falling for Bad- except for the fact that it was Bad played by the stunning Jeff Bridges. Is it cynical? Perhaps, but as I became a spectator to the sport of falling for baddies, all I could think of was, "heck ya, I'd do him too if he was in fact Jeff Bridges!" And that kind of took away from the overall effectiveness for me. That, and the phone booth in the middle of the desert on the side of an empty road. Oh and yes, not enough screen time for Mr. Farrell. Mr. Bridges- you rock but if I had to pick between you and Mr. Firth... I don't know. Its close. Very close. Are you going to be watching the Oscars? But it's all about being honored just to be nominated with and by your peers, right? Go Ms. Bigelow!

Friday, February 5, 2010

Crazy Heart No One Says No to JB (and I don't mean Jim Beam) or Do They

Stay tuned- review is forthcoming. Must say though that my absolutely favorite thing to do is go the movies by myself, on a weekday. Preferably starting before noon. What a privilege...

Question: What is the Ultimate Road Movie? Answer: Seriously? What a dumb question.

     My husband and I are going away for five precious days next week. Alone. No kids. Just us. We haven't been away for more than one night since we moved to California two and a half years ago. This is a big deal. 
   One thing that you  may not know about me is that I am a BIG planner.  I like to know where I am going and where I have been. Controlling? Perhaps. Comforting, albeit falsely? You bet. I have planned every one of our trips together over the last 15 years. And I was set to plan this one. We were going to drive to Palm Springs and stay in a mid century modern hotel- The Viceroy- sleep in, get couple massages, go on hikes in the desert, and eat fine foods. 
    I don't know what came over me but I asked Graydon (the husband), hey, if we were to put that big foam pad in the back of the van, would I be able to have a great night's sleep? Oh, besides being a planner, I MUST have my sleep. And I MUST have a comfortable bed to do so. I am envious of those who can sleep anywhere (and I am surrounded by such people). I asked also if he would love it if we would just take off and sleep in the van and go where the wind take takes us. Yes, he said he would love it except that he would be worried about me not being OK with it. "Oh," I said, don't worry about me. It will be great.      Well guess what? I lied! You better start worrying. I am already starting to get a pain in my neck for the anticipated bad night's sleep and the not knowing where I am going- I am going to the chiropractor today as a preventative measure for the crick in my neck that I know I am going to get...
    Where am I going to get the courage, how will I build up the mental stamina, and how will I best relax into this new place of not knowing, not planning and grandiose sense of freedom?  At the movies of course. In order to best create the attitude adjustment needed to embrace the the excitement and seduction of the unknown I am revisiting... the ultimate road movie. The following, in order from first to last, is not the normal alphabetical or by year. No, this list represents a continium of romance, fantasy, hope, love, promise, liberation, sociopathy, freedom, apocalypse, adrenaline, action and horror.  I will leave it to you, dear reader to label each according to your own life experiences. All available on DVD through Netflix.
It Happened One Night 
Badlands
Bonnie and Clyde
Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore
Easy Rider
Thelma and Louise
Motorcycle Diaries
The Road Warrior
Paris, Texas
Borat

Damsels in Distress, Bozos in Heat

Check out this well written and entertaining article about the gender-fication of two cable television channels:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/31/arts/television/31sexes.htm



Thursday, January 28, 2010

500 Days of Summer

Remember my post in which I mention the 20 minute rule? (See review of The Hurt Locker) Well 500 Days of Summer got axed at 22 minutes. Sexist bullshit. Don't call a woman a bitch. It's not funny. Ever. Especially when it is written on the screen in the first five minutes of the film. By itself. Alone.

Anvil! The Story of Anvil- Available on DVD

 What's the difference between leading an extraordinary life and an ordinary one? What are the shades of grey in between? How many of us even dare to dream of what we want? Who among us has the tenacity to never give up on a dream even if it never becomes real? 

Anvil! The Story of Anvil is a documentary about what failure to reach one's dreams of making it big in the music business looks like. Or is it?

When shown a story of success or failure, it is natural to look for clues as if there is a secret formula to follow, or not. No such luck in finding the answers to the "whys" of success or failure in Anvil! The Story of Anvil. It is a postmodern tale in that the thing that has finally given them the break they wanted was a movie that documents their years and years of never catching a break. I have no idea if they actually have any talent. This seems beyond the point. Two nice Jewish boys trying to make it in death metal- who knew? But now, they are not boys anymore. They are grown men holding on to a dream. 



Strangely, the movie is inspiring even while we watch them crash and burn on their latest "tour," and fight with one another- one yelling and the other passively taking the verbal abuse. They are best friends with a dream that binds them to one another. They are kind of pathetic but lovingly so.

Saturday, January 23, 2010

Paul Haggis and Michael Chabon: the screenwriting dream team

Nothing more to say here except that these two men whose screen writing credits include, Casino Royale and Spiderman 2 write leading men the way I like to see them- tortured, sensitive, romantic, loyal yet able to kick some serious ass when the moment calls for it. Get together men and make me a movie!

Thursday, January 21, 2010

Crazy Heart- No review yet because I live in Sacramento, CA- 'Nuf Said

Reviews in the hopper, available on Netflix: The Girlfriend Experience, CHE and Anvil: The Story of Anvil. 


Just HAD to give a shout out to Jeff Bridges in Crazy Heart for winning the Golden Globe for his portrayal of a washed up alcoholic singer.  Already know I am going to love it- but as usual my patience is tried- first for living in Santa Fe, NM for 14 years where there were SERIOUS delays of major run motion pictures and now experiencing the same filmic delayed gratification by living in Sacramento, CA. One would think that would have been the FIRST thing at the top of the Govenator's agenda. Oh well. Stay tuned...

New show premiering tonight  on TV called  The Deep End.  It is set to record and I will begin watching 20 minutes after in order to avoid commercials. But I made myself promise that I would drop another show if I were to take on a new one! A deal with the devil if ever there was one! So I am trying to decide which to drop Castle or Chuck..... Yeah, I know, "Get a Life!"


Just started reading Jonathan Safran Foer's, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. Thanks Jamie for convincing me to give this book a second chance!

Monday, January 18, 2010

The Golden Globe Awards

I obsess. I admit it. For about the next week I will be thinking over and over again about all the images that came across my screen last night at the Golden Globe Awards ceremony; the more laid back, liquor infused, down to earth counterpart to the Oscars which will air Sunday, March 7, 2010.




Did anyone else feel the hardly restrained animosity toward James Cameron? The man that people glob onto because they know it will mean fame and money (and more money) for themselves but they know they have to make a deal with the devil first? I trust my intuition, even through the airwaves, and I was so embarrassed for the man. Yes, a technical genius but not exactly a people person. And when he tried to get the already most overly self aggrandizing group of people in the world to clap for themselves? Oy vey. As I said: embarrassing.


Yet Cameron's wins were hardly all there was to this award ceremony. I think I need to watch it again and end with the montage of Scorsese clips and his speech and pretend that the program ended there. Meryl Streep's honest assessment of herself and her place in the world order was refreshing and humble. Halle Berry was visually STUNNING. Thank god Mo'nique won and Lee Daniels was recognized for his direction of Precious. 


I LOVE Ryan Murphy, genius creator of GLEE (and Nip/Tuck) and I loved what he said about the importance of Arts Education. I am so wrapped up in the soap operatic plot of Glee and it's ground breaking stereotype bashing representations of gay teens and Jews as athletes that I did not even think about the Art Ed piece. Like I said: Brilliant.



Saturday, January 16, 2010

The Hurt Locker- No funny subtitle for this grave and intense piece of film making

       Overall: A. Direction: A. Acting: A.
    In an attempt to see all the movies that are possibly up for best picture either on the Golden Globes or the Oscars, I watched the Hurt Locker last night. It was released on DVD January 12, 2010. My husband and I give every movie we see 20 minutes to bring us into the story and capture our imagination- this is one of the advantages of being an armchair critic- I don't have to watch what I deem unworthy of my attention! If it doesn't grab within 20 minutes, we are on to the next one. Every once in a while, especially if it is a director I follow, I allow more lattitude regarding the 20 minute rule,  like when we watched Public Enemies last week directed by the immensely talented Michael Mann. But there it was- 2 hours and some minutes later it ended and Graydon and I looked at each other and said "that is 2 hours wasted that we will never get back!" The movie was HORRIBLE. I allowed my blind commitment to auteurism to steal two hours of my life away. Well, I will often tell myself that it is important to see mediocrity in action to help better identify greatness.


OK, back to the 20 minute rule. We begin watching The Hurt Locker. I am pulled in right away with the hand held cameras, the grainy, documentary style colors and filters and of course, the subject matter at hand: a man dressed in a bomb suit investigating a possible detonation because the remote investigator broke down. The tension was building and I am thinking, "OK, he will survive- that is Guy Pearce for pete's sake! No way will they have a major actor die right away!" And then, kablooey! Huge explosion, blood in the helmet, slow motion camera. Pearce's character is dead and the first scene is over: 12 minutes. Holy Shit. One of the most intense, well composed opening scenes of a war/action film ever.
Katherine Bigelow got something so right here. A perfect combination of men at their most vulnerable and at their toughest. The tale tells many things: young men's struggles during wartime, the illogical and frightening nature of terrorism and the nihilism that takes over war zones. I know nothing of the plausibility of the stories but whether it is realistic seems beyond the point; Bigelow tells the tale with pure cinematic acuity and with her talent she gets right to the heart of the matter: the war in Iraq is illogical, unjustified and does a lot more damage than good. Pure narrative cinema is 98% visual and 2% dialogue. In other words, when a story is told "right" - show don't tell, then the impact is just as strong without the dialogue. Bigelow is a master at visual storytelling, in the tradition o.f Sergei Eisenstein and Kurosawa. Right on Sister!

Monday, January 11, 2010

Nip/Tuck: Think biting your nails is bad: Oy vey you have no idea!

I will not say much about the latest episode of my beloved Nip/Tuck for fear of spoilers but thank god I did not have to wait long until it was on again. If you missed it or have no idea about this remarkably staged, impeccably stylized and very well acted night time soap opera, then I highly recommend you start at the beginning, six seasons ago. I envy those who will begin this journey anew because the experience is gruesomely (the details of the operating scenes), sexually and deviantly sublime. And if there are some out there that I still haven't convinced, it is the brainchild of Ryan Murphy the creator of the current pop cultural phenomenon, GLEE!
BTW you can catch the latest installment of Nip/Tuck on www.hulu.com

FOOD INC. "You Are What You Eat And For Most of Us, that's NOT a good thing...


Overall: A. Direction: A. Featured Individuals in the film: A: Special Shout out to all the hard working and dedicated farmers, activists and journalists both in this film and beyond for doing your best and doing what's right for all of human and animal kind and our planet. You have inspired me to do better in my own small way.

Food Inc. has made many critics' year end Best of 2009 list so I was curious. Rented it on Netflix. It gives a brief history of the food industry while at the same time goes into detail about where we stand now as producers and consumers in light of the monopolization of food production in this country. Even if you are a well informed and relatively healthy consumer, I still highly recommend you watch this movie. While I agree with my husband that we did not really learn anything new (if you have read Fast Food Nation, Omnivore's Dilemma or watched Super Size Me I think you will agree), it is essential to be reminded of what is going on out there in the big bad corporate world o' food. I make an effort NOT to be sanctimonious when it comes to talking about the evils of corporations and monopolies and capitalism especially because I am not an activist against these particular entities BUT when it comes to MONSANTO, I have no problem saying outright that this company is seriously EVIL, NASTY and most of all SCARY. They are a more powerful version of those heading the Salem witch trials and their tactics parallel HUAC especially with regard to blacklisting and forcing friends/business partners to rat each other out. This is some scary stuff and it is real and happening right now. 
Yes, the movie does have its bleak moments and I found myself shaking my head many times in disbelief at the way animals are treated and abused through mass production tactics but what the director and producers of the film do best and most effectively is to show the parallels between how big business treats its crops and animals and how it treats its workers and contractors. The full on egregious way that employees and farmers are treated now in this business as opposed to the the 1950's/60's and 1970's, is by far the most shocking and enlightening thing about the film.
But don't worry, the film is not all doom and gloom. There are chinks in the armor of corporate avarice, especially in the saintly image of Joel Salatin of Polyface Farms in Virginia. His courage, determination and confidence radiated on the screen when he spoke about his perspective regarding what success looks like, what humane killing looks like and how "small" farmers do indeed have a place in this country. He created a sense of hope that each person based on her/his buying and growing choices can and will make a difference. Tonight's menu for my family: Locally raised and grassfed beef, locally grown vegetables and a loaf of gluten free bread from a local bread store. Yes it takes extra time but after seeing this movie I hope you will be inspired to take the time too!
To read more about Joel Salatin and his values and philosophy go to: www.polyfacefarms.com
See you at the Farmer's Market!

Friday, January 1, 2010

Its Not that Complicated-Eat the croissants-don't be the croissants!




Overall: B. Direction: B . Streep: A. Baldwin: A
The chemistry between Meryl Streep and Alec Baldwin in Nancy Meyer's movie, It's Complicated is hotter, sweeter and stickier than a proof box full of chocolate croissants! The message here? If you are over 50, have some fun, but not too much, get high, but only every 27 years, (but go ahead and drink fine wine- a LOT of it) and EAT the croissants don't BE the croissants! Play it safe- don't open up Pandora's box that holds the key to your sexuality because then all hell done broke loose!


Nothing new of note to say here about Streep's flawless performance but Baldwin- he is a revelation and Meyers knows it. I have never seen so much camera stroking of a male actor's face- except perhaps in gay male porn (mom- don't ask!) Alec Baldwin's facial expressions and subtle, serious and comedic timing, carried the emotional notes of the movie.






Up In The Air- Oxygen masks required

Up In the Air: Overall: B- . Direction: A. Female Leads: A. Male Lead: C.
I watched the movie unfold with giddy anticipation- it had been a long time since I had seen a film for adults by adults- the last one was An Education. I am nervous. This movie is making all sorts of "best of 2009" lists. What is wrong with me? I am usually pretty forgiving especially considering that at this point, I will see everything that Jason Reitman directs. I know Clooney received a GG nomination already. I wanted to like it, I really did. Anthony Lane (The New Yorker review) convinced me that I would. An adult movie- a female that could keep up with George Clooney in the gorgeous form of Vera Farmiga. A timely piece about the down sizing of American companies. The quirky and likeable Anna Kendrick. But here was my problem- I did not for one minute believe that the gorgeous form that is George Clooney, was a single, lonely man living in Omaha, NE, flying over America, firing people and losing his soul along the way. HE IS WAY TOO, how do you say it, GEORGE CLOONEY. Not enough of the "every man" in him by a long shot. It is clear why he attached himself to the project- I would have said yes to any opportunity to work with Reitman too - but I could not get passed his overall worldliness and yumminess. Leave a comment and tell me who you think would have been a better male lead...


Now, the women on the other hand- wow! Of course I have heard of "chewing up the scenery" before, but the expression took on a whole new meaning with Farmiga and Kendrick thrown into the mix. Every time they were on the screen, it was as though the movie woke up, lit a match, and set the screen on fire.


Jason Reitman knows how to direct women. Strong and fiery without being domineering (Farmiga). Naive and droll without being a pushover (Anna Kendrick). Smart, quirky and confident without being marginalized (Emily Page in Juno) and stiff, preppy and uptight without being a bitch (Jennifer Garner in Juno).


Yes, I know that the female characters have much to do with the writing but there is something refreshingly both old(think Kate Hepurn in any of her roles) and new in the way that Jason Reitman directs his female characters. More on this later.


Now speaking of female characters, I am going to see It's Complicated today. Lisa Schwartzbaum already wrote a great review of the movie in Entertainment Weekly. Nancy Myers is also a director who I follow and will see everything she directs but I am already intuiting some problems with this one.... Tune in for my impressions...