Tag Archives: Olivia Thirlby

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MOV124: “I Am The Law”

In this reel of COL Movies, the boys head back to 80s to resurrect “Breakin’ 2: Electric Boogaloo”. From there, it’s off to the theater for the new take on the comic character “Dredd”. In the category of coming soon, we hit the GLBT Film Festival circuit’s “Gayby”. It’s a slow news week, so we just say hi to Facebookers and hit the show. It’s the 124th Reel of COL Movies…”I Am The Law“

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News:

  • Nada!

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The Past: Breakin 2: Electric Boogaloo (1984)
Rotten Tomatoes No Critic Score ; 63% Audience

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Director: Sam Firstenberg

Starring: Lucinda Dickey, Adolfo Quinones, Michael Chambers

Trivia:

  • To film a scene where dancers breakdance on walls, the makers borrowed the rotating room from Nightmare On Elm Street, A (1984). To show thanks, a picture of Freddy’s glove is hanging on the wall.
  • The phrase “Electric Boogaloo” has passed into common usage as the sub-title for any facetious sequel. The usual connotation suggests a sequel that is ridiculous, absurd, unwanted, unnecessary, formulaic, or obscure.
  • Sabrina García actually did not speak Spanish so all of her lines were dubbed by another actor.
  • Movie was inspired by true events. The Radio-Tron was a youth center located in the MacArthur Park area and faced demolition. Youth director, Carmelo Alvarez, rallied the youth and community to march to Los Angeles City Hall in the effort to save the Radio-Tron.
  • Lela Rochon, who was Adolfo Quinones’ wife at the time once again has a small role in this film in which she plays one of Brenda’s friends. Just as she did in her role prior to the last film, she has no dialogue.
  • Christopher McDonald was offered the chance to reprise his role of James from Breakin’ but he turned it down.
  • Though most critics rated the film poorly, New York Press film critic Armond White considered it to be “superb” and Roger Ebert gave the film a three-star rating.
  • Like its predecessor, much of the film’s soundtrack was provided by Ollie & Jerry, comprising the duo Ollie E. Brown and Jerry Knight. The title track, “Electric Boogaloo,” did not appear in pop charts and reached place #45 on the R&B chart.

Talking Points:

  • Acting – or lack thereof (girl who spoke no English…for example)
  • Perfect movie for a Mystery Science Theater 3000 type treatment
  • Interesting to see some moves that are still out there today
  • Soundtrack
  • Rays Electric Boogaloo Story

What We Learned:

  • Gotta have the honey if you wanna make the money.
  • Mimes are scary, but mimes in super-tight jeans are scarier!
  • Girls are whacked
  • In Hollywood, everybody sues everybody.

Trailer:

Recommendations:
Jeff: This movie is the epitome of the 1980s. It was definitely not a good movie, the acting was poor, the story wasn’t that interesting. The music, dancing and hair was a very 80s flash back which gave it at least a little bit of charm. It was an okay movie. Something to MST3K with some friends or if you just want to watch something stupid. It’s ok.
Ray: Some call it the best worst movie ever.. It is pretty bad, I guess it would be a fun movie to watch with a buncha people if you were gonna go all Rifftrax or Mystery Science Theater on it.
Steve: Wow…just wow. I just didn’t get off to this jive movie. Quite honestly, could have lived without ever seeing it…now or back in the 80s.

The Present: Dredd
Rotten Tomatoes 77% Fresh; 85% Audience

Director: Pete Travis

Starring: Karl Urban, Olivia Thirlby, Lena Headey

Trivia:

  • Duncan Jones was offered the film, but turned it down, not because he didn’t like the Alex Garland script (Jones said it was great), but because he had such a strong idea of what he wanted to do with a Dredd movie, that he felt he could not bring himself to take it on and not do it his way.
  • Unlike the previous Judge Dredd movie, Karl Urban has confirmed that the helmet will never come off to keep true to the comic book character.
  • The Peach Tree block is named after a restaurant in Shrewsbury, the place where screenwriter Alex Garland and Judge Dredd creator John Wagner first met to discuss the film.
  • Judge Joe Dredd is a fictional character whose comic strip in the British science fiction anthology 2000 AD is the magazine’s longest running, having been featured there since its second issue in 1977. Dredd is a law enforcement officer in a violent North American city of the future where uniformed Judges combine the powers of police, judge, jury and executioner. Dredd and his fellow Judges are empowered to arrest, sentence, and even execute criminals on the spot. The character was created by writer John Wagner and artist Carlos Ezquerra, although editor Pat Mills also deserves some credit for early development.
  • The graffiti throughout Peach Trees contains the names of characters that appear in the Judge Dredd strip, such as Chopper and Kenny Who?
  • With the exception of Peach Trees, the city blocks are named after notable 2000ad creators and characters.
  • In the Judge Dredd comic strip, all blocks are given names relevant to some form of connection to the creators, the inspiration for the characters/story or current affairs at the time of writing. The nearest block to Peach Trees, where the film is set, is ‘Sternhammer’- which is visible in the opening scenes and at the end of the film. It is also referred to as being where one of the Ma-Ma clan’s rivals are based. Wulf Sternhammer was a popular recurring character in the Strontium Dog comic strip in 200AD, which shared many writers to Judge Dredd and has even had cross over stories.
  • Karl Urban’s voice for Dredd is comparable to that of Clint Eastwood. Judge Dredd is in fact partly based on Eastwood’s character in the TV series Rawhide, and to reference this the Block in which Dredd lives is called Rowdy Yates.
  • The Chief Judge is not referred to by name in the film. In appearance she is a combination of Chief Judges MacGruder and Silver, and the setting (the boundary wall and the Fergee memorials are both referred to) would place the time of the film in Mega City history as Macgruder’s first period in office.
  • Judge Dredd creator John Wagner had been critical of the 1995 adaptation, but positively received Dredd. He said: “I liked the movie. It was, unlike the first film, a true representation of Judge Dredd… Karl Urban was a fine Dredd and I’d be more than happy to see him in the follow-up. Olivia Thirlby excelled as Anderson… The character and storyline are pure Dredd.”

Talking Points:

  • 3D or not? Hard to find a non-3D screening here in Chicago.
  • Violence & gore
  • The “voice” again
  • The Look of the movie
  • “Slo-Mo” and slo-mo
  • Intentional Comedy or no?
  • Ma-Ma = Channeling Sandra Bernhardt?

Critic Notes:

  • Positives: Gorey, Action-packed, Gritty, Pure Entertainment; Sets the atmosphere perfectly; Irreverently humorous; A solid adaptation of the comic
  • Negatives: We’ve seen all this before; “Shoot bad guy” movie; 3-D was unnecessary and muddy; Too late – the story is old; At least Stallone wore the helmet – but Urban let the helmet wear him

What We Learned:

  • The perps were uncooperative.
  • It’s all the deep end.

Trailer:

Recommendations :
Jeff: This was definitely better then that Sly Stallone piece of crap. Nice being a basic story and Dredd doing his “I Am The Law” thing. Just not as melodramatically as Sly. It’s a decent watch. Sound was great in the theater that I was in so I recommend seeing it in a theater with good sound.
Ray: I can appreciate this movie, but it feels like it’s definitely been made with the Hard Core fan’s in mind. Don’t expect much back story or a complicated plot, but there are some amazing visuals during the slo-mo scenes. 3D was ok, And you get your money’s worth.
Steve: I thought it was OK. I wasn’t wow’ed by anything and perhaps it was a lack of knowing the source material and only having the 1995 movie to reference. However, it had a video game movie feel, some strong, memorable characters and lots of action. Worth a look, but don’t feel obligated to rush out and see it.

The Future: Gayby

Release: Unknown – on Film Festival Circuit

Director: Jonathan Lisecki

Starring: Jenn Harris, Matthew Wilkas, Charlie Barnett

Summary:

Jenn and Matt are best friends from college who are now in their thirties. Single by choice, Jenn spends her days teaching hot yoga and running errands for her boss. Matt suffers from comic-book writer’s block and can’t get over his ex-boyfriend. They decide to fulfill a youthful promise to have a child together… the old fashioned way. Can they navigate the serious and unexpected snags they hit as they attempt to get their careers and dating lives back on track in preparation for parenthood?

Talking Points:

  • Could you do it?
  • Would you do it?

Trailer:

Excitement:
Jeff: Okay, so the title was the only reason why I pick this one. This doesn’t even look interesting at all to me. Total pass for me.
Ray: Seems like a cute little rom-com. Yes I’m calling it a Rom-com. This would be a netflixer for me though.. unless I was going on a date and they wanted to see it.
Steve: Interesting take on the child bearing issue. Seems cute. I’d see it if it’s at the Tampa Film Festival – otherwise it’s one that will eventually show up on Netflix that I’ll watch.

The Past: The Shining (1980)

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The Present: Looper

The Future: Red Dawn

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MOV080: “If you weren’t such a goddamn puff, we could all be happy!”

Join us on this brand new reel of COL: Movies as we step back to look at 2009’s “A Single Man” A Sad but beautifully poetic film based on the 1964 novel of the same name. Some feel its beautiful, some feel its depressing. Will we enjoy it or feel like throwing ourselves off a bridge? Next we Jump into the present to watch “Immortals” a movie helmed by “The Cell” Director Tarsem Singh, and “300” Producers Gianni Nunnari and Mark Canton. Does it live up to its predecessor? Or do we wish it was buried under Mount Tartarus? Finally we look at the upcoming “The Darkest Hour” This Alien invasion Film is set to invade theaters on Christmas day, will we be rushing out to see it? All this plus movie news and more so grab your kleenex and your xiphos and join us for this reel of COL: Movies “If you weren’t such a goddamn puff, we could all be happy!”

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News:

The Past: A Single Man (2009)
Rotten Tomatoes: 85% Fresh, 78% Audience

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Director: Tom Ford

Starring: Colin Firth, Julianne Moore, Matthew Goode

Trivia:

  • Tom Ford’s directorial debut.
  • Despite having produced many movies, this is the first time Chris Weitz has worked as a producer on a feature film, without his brother Paul Weitz’s involvement.
  • Victoria Silvstedt auditioned for a role.
  • Colin Firth was originally not available for the role and someone else was cast. Then there was a shift in the movie schedule and Firth was eventually able to take the part.
  • Tom Ford revealed in an interview that the role of Kenny was originally given to a more famous actor (an article with E! Online states the original casting choice was Jamie Bell) who then didn’t show up to the costume fitting five days prior to shooting. Ford then remembered an audition tape by Nicholas Hoult.
  • Don Bachardy, the long-time partner of Christopher Isherwood (on whose novel this film is based) makes a cameo appearance. According to Tom Ford, in a December 14 2009 interview with Terry Gross, Bachardy was a huge help all through the writing of the film and, in the scene, is wearing a pair of lucky red socks that belonged to Isherwood.
  • Tom Ford explained in a Fresh Air interview that he created a back story for George’s suit based on the George character. He decided that George would have had his suit custom made on Saville Row on a trip home to England, which informed its cut and color. He also decided that, since ‘old-school’ British people of wealth tend to be thrifty with clothing, that his suit was a few years old. Ford even went as far as putting a label on the inside of the suit with his name and the date that it was made for him (1957).
  • Tom Ford financed the film himself.
  • The film was shot in just 21 days.
  • In the original novel, George is only known by his first name. The original screenplay gives him a full name: George Carlyle Falconer. “Carlyle” is also director Tom Ford’s middle name while “Falconer” is both the surname of Ford’s first lover – illustrator Ian Falconer – and the name of a brand of sunglasses Ford’s company makes.
  • In his acceptance speech when he won a BAFTA for Best Actor on 21 February 2010, Colin Firth revealed that he had been on the point of turning down the part and had the email to director Tom Ford in his outbox, waiting to be sent. Then a man arrived to repair his refrigerator and Firth reconsidered. He thanked “the fridge guy” in his speech.
  • A scene in the film shows a large drawing by the artist Don Bachardy, the longtime companion of Christopher Isherwood.
  • The scenes set at the college where George teaches were filmed on the grounds of what was once Ambassador College in Pasadena. Ambassador College was founded during the 1940s by then-famous radio preacher Herbert W. Armstrong to groom students for lives of service to their churches. Throughout the 1960s and ’70s, enrollment rose enough that other branches of the school were opened in the UK and Texas, but by 1990, enrollment had fallen so much that the Pasadena campus was closed (all campuses had closed by 1997). Since 1990, the former Ambassador Pasadena campus buildings have been periodically used by a high school, for church services, and by the A Single Man film crew, and the property has been the subject of a long-stymied mixed-use apartment and commercial development attempt called “Westgate Pasadena.”
  • “India”, the dog that George sees in the car, belongs to Tom Ford.
  • The glass-and-wood home that George and Jim shared is a real house in Glendale, California: The Schaffer Residence, built in 1949 by the mid-century Modernist architect John Lautner (1911-1994).
  • During the DVD commentary, Tom Ford says that when Jennifer (the little neighbor girl) speaks to George in the bank, some of what she says is based on Ford’s own childhood. For instance, she has a pet scorpion because Ford and his sister also had a pet scorpion when they were little; her older brother is named “Tom” because Ford’s own first name is Tom; she speaks of her brother Tom giving her hair treatments with eggs because that was something Ford did for his own sister many times; and she obliviously says that her brother Tom is “light in his loafers” (a slightly derogatory euphemism for being gay) because Ford is himself gay.
  • While reading on the couch, Jim shows that he is reading ‘Breakfast at Tiffany’s’ by Truman Capote. Cast member Lee Pace appeared in Infamous, which chronicles Capote’s life during the writing of In Cold Blood.
  • Colin Firth is the only British actor playing a British character. His American partner and student are played by British actors Matthew Goode and Nicholas Hoult, respectively, while his British friend Charlotte is played by American actress Julianne Moore.
  • Several times, George and other characters refer to their “invisibility” as a minority (in their cases, as gay men in early 1960s American society). George is referring here to the concept of social “invisibility” of black people put forth by Ralph Ellison in his classic novel ‘The Invisible Man’, which was first published about ten years before the events of this movie take place.
  • Contrary to popular belief, Tom Ford did not design the costumes of the film. Arianne Phillips did.
  • Tom Ford had Colin Firth wear Creed’s Bois du Portugal aftershave during the shooting of the film as Ford believed it would help Firth get into the character of George Falconer.
  • Colin Firth’s character George mentions in a conversation with Nicholas Hoult that he once took mescaline and ended up shaving off one of his eyebrows. This actually happened to director Tom Ford; he was taking the drug with Stephen Spender when he went home, looked in the mirror and “thought it was taking over his face”.
  • George’s pistol is a Webley revolver, which was a standard firearm issued to British and Commonwealth troops for three-quarters of a century, from 1887 to 1963 (the year after the movie takes place). Firing the .455 caliber Webley cartridge, it was one of the most powerful handguns ever made.

Talking Points:

  • Wait, did they actually sleep together?
  • Depressing, Beautiful, or both?
  • Julianne Moore gave us a mix of Patsy and Edina
  • Mr. Potter – lol
  • Steve – I hate Fuzz for picking this movie this week…I’ll explain why.

What We’ve Learned:

  • Only Fools greet the day with a smile, and only fools could possibly escape the truth that now isn’t simply now.
  • When living in a glass house… Curtains can be REALLY important.
  • You can’t live in Los Angeles and be afraid of cars.
  • Sometimes awful things have their own kind of beauty
  • Lovers are like buses, sometimes you just have to wait a little while and another one comes along.
  • Most things don’t work out the way people plan.
  • One must always appreciate life’s little gifts.
  • Experience is not what happens to a man, but what a man does with what happens to him.

Trailer:

Recommendations:
Jeff: Kinda depressing but tugged at my heartstrings. I have mixed feelings, but still think it’s a worth see.
Ray: I found this film to be one of the most beautiful and sadly poetic things I have seen in quite some time. I can see how some people perceive it as being depressing, but really it has the opposite effect on me.
Steve: Definitely shows that people who think they’re at the end of their rope should open up their eyes to everything that is around them before giving in. If it were only that easy… Well acted movie, even though it was on the depressing side.

The Present: Immortals
Rotten Tomatoes: 36% Rotten, 75% Audience

Director: Tarsem Singh

Starring: Henry Cavill, Mickey Rourke, John Hurt

Trivia:

  • The film was previously named Dawn of War and War of the Gods before being officially named Immortals, and is loosely based on the Greek myths of Theseus and the Minotaur and the Titanomachy.
  • Director Tarsem Singh said that he is planned the action film using Renaissance painting styles. He then went on to say that the film is “Basically, Caravaggio meets Fight Club. It’s a really hardcore action film done in Renaissance painting style. I want to see how that goes; it’s turned into something really cool. I’m going for a very contemporary look on top of that so I’m kind of going with, you know, Renaissance time with electricity. So it’s a bit like Baz Luhrman doing Romeo + Juliet in Mexico; it’s just taking a particular Greek tale and half (make it contemporary) and telling it.”
  • The film had a production budget of $80 million ($75 million after tax rebates) to $120 million and cost “at least” $50 million to market.

Talking Points:

  • mmmm…Kellan Lutz (aka Posieden)
  • The Cinematography of the Action scenes vs Everything else. “Renaissance time with electricity”
  • What did you think of the movie’s telling of the myths?

What We Learned:

  • The Gods wear a lot of crazy jewelry and head pieces.
  • Mickey Rourke is truly typecast as Mickey Rourke in every movie he’s in.
  • That bull shaped oven is a crappy way to go.
  • Reminder ladies…you can get pregnant the one and only time you have sex.
  • Leave the titans be!

Trailer:

Recommendations :
Jeff: THIS IS SPARTA! All over again. I agree with both ratings of this movie. The critics are right and so is the audience, this was a fun action movie to watch, but they could have used the bow more and developed the story more.
Ray: Action Scenes.. Yay… Almost everything else… Booo.. unfortunately the Boo To Yay Ratio was much too High.
Steve: Solid mix of 300 and Clash of the Titans. Mickey Rourke was a surprise, but all in all I enjoyed it. Definitely has an epic feel and the 3D was well done.

The Future: The Darkest Hour

Director: Chris Gorak

Starring: Emile Hirsch, Olivia Thirlby, Max Minghella

Summary:

The story tells of a group of five young people who fight to survive in Russia after an alien invasion, the catch being that the aliens are invisible energy lifeforms.

Trivia:

  • Production was suspended for a planned two weeks due to the extraordinary air pollution caused by heavy smoke from the wild fires surrounding Moscow in August 2010. It eventually resumed three weeks later

Talking Points:

  • Another Skyline?
  • New TV spot and picture gallery – http://www.cinemablend.com/new/TV-Spot-Stills-Sci-Fi-Thriller-Darkest-Hour-28029.html

Trailer:

Excitement:
Jeff: Meh, another sci-fi invasion movie. Neat concept for the invading aliens but feeling this will be a bad movie.
Ray: Cautiously optimistic……Timur can be hit (9,Wanted) or miss (Apollo 18, XXX Watch) with me…
Steve: Has the potential to be good. I like what I see from the trailer. Invisible predators are always creepy.

Coming Attractions

The Past

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The Present

The Future

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