Review: "Lost in Translation" is Superb (Happy B'day, Bill Murray)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 22 (of 2004) by Leroy Douresseaux

Lost in Translation (2003)
Running time:  101 minutes (1 hour, 41 minutes)
MPAA – R for some sexual content
WRITER/DIRECTOR:  Sofia Coppola
PRODUCERS:  Sofia Coppola and Ross Katz
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Lance Acord (D.o.P.)
COMPOSER:  Kevin Shields
Academy Award winner

DRAMA/ROMANCE with some elements of comedy

Starring:  Scarlett Johansson, Bill Murray, Giovanni Ribisi, Anna Faris, Nancy Steiner (uncredited voice), Fumihiro Hayashi, Hiroko Kawasaki, and Akiko Takeshita

The subject of this movie review is Lost in Translation, a 2003 drama and romantic film from writer-director Sofia Coppola.  Sofia’s legendary filmmaker father, Francis Ford Coppola, is also this film’s executive producer.

In 1990, film critics howled in derision when director Francis Ford Coppola cast his daughter, Sofia, in The Godfather: Part III, when another actress had to drop out early in filming schedule.  Over a decade later, Sofia Coppola has firmly established herself as a directorial talent to watch thanks to her excellent film, Lost In Translation, the story of two displaced Americans in Tokyo who form a unique friendship of platonic love.

Bob Harris (Bill Murray) is a fading TV star who goes to Tokyo after he’s paid $2 million to appear in an ad for Suntory whiskey.  Charlotte (Scarlett Johansson) is in Tokyo with her husband, John (Giovanni Ribisi), who is photographing a rock band for a major magazine.  Bob and Charlotte spend most of their time stuck in a hotel.  Charlotte is frozen in her life, unsure of where her marriage is going and of what’s she going to do in life.  Bob’s marriage is kind of shaky as he goes through a midlife crisis.

Bob and Charlotte meet in a hotel bar and bond.  It’s that bond that helps them to deal with their feelings of confusion and loneliness, and in that special friendship, they share  the hilarity caused by the cultural and language differences they encounter in Tokyo.  They turn their time in a strange land into a wonderful and special week in Japan.

Lost in Translation was one of 2003’s best films.  It’s smartly written, beautifully photographed, and splendidly directed.  If there’s an adjective that suggests good, it belongs in descriptions of LiT.  There is a patience in the filmmaking that suggests the filmmakers allowed the film to come together in an organic fashion, each adding their talents in the correct measure.

Ms. Coppola is brilliant in the way she lets her stars carry the film.  She does her part to give LiT a unique visual look, something that suggests a documentary and an atmosphere of futurism.  If you’ve heard that Bill Murray is just doing himself in this movie, you’re hearing ignorant people.  Yes, Murray brings a lot of his personality to the role, but Bob Harris is mostly a stranger to us.  Bill builds the character before our eyes, showing us a character new and rich in possibilities, someone with whom we can sympathize.  Bill shows us just enough to know him and keeps enough hidden to make Bob mysterious and intriguing.

Ms. Johansson carries herself like a veteran actress of many films.  She’s beautiful, but she’s puts those good looks to more use than just being eye candy.  She’s subtle and crafty, and a lot of her character is revealed in her eyes, in the careful nuances of facial expressions, and in the understated movements of her slender, sexy frame.  She’s a movie star.

For people who are always looking for something different in film, this is it.  Lost in Translation is like sex, lies, and videotape or Reservoir Dogs, an early film in a director’s career that is more foreign than American, and announces the coming of a director who might just be a visionary.  Plus, it’s a great romantic movie, as good as any classic love story.

9 of 10
A+

NOTES:
2004 Academy Awards, USA:  1 win “Best Writing, Original Screenplay” (Sofia Coppola); 3 nominations “Best Actor in a Leading Role” (Bill Murray), “Best Director” (Sofia Coppola), “Best Picture” (Ross Katz and Sofia Coppola)

2004 BAFTA Awards:  3 wins: “Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role” (Bill Murray), “Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role” (Scarlett Johansson), and “Best Editing” (Sarah Flack); 5 nominations: “Best Film” (Sofia Coppola and Ross Katz), “Anthony Asquith Award for Film Music” (Kevin Shields and Brian Reitzell), “Best Cinematography” (Lance Acord), “Best Screenplay – Original” (Sofia Coppola), “David Lean Award for Direction” (Sofia Coppola)

2004 Golden Globes, USA:  3 wins: “Best Motion Picture - Comedy or Musical,” “Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Comedy or Musical” (Bill Murray), “Best Screenplay - Motion Picture” (Sofia Coppola); 2 nominations: “Best Director - Motion Picture” (Sofia Coppola) and “Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Comedy or Musical” (Scarlett Johansson)

Updated:  Saturday, September 21, 2013

The text is copyright © 2013 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this site for syndication rights and fees.

"We're the Millers" Crosses $200 Million Mark in Worldwide Box Office

New Line Cinema’s “We’re the Millers” Drives Past $200 Million at the Worldwide Box Office

BURBANK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Continuing its successful run at the box office, New Line Cinema’s smash hit comedy “We’re the Millers” has surpassed $200 million at the worldwide box office. The announcement was made by Dan Fellman, President, Domestic Distribution, and Veronika Kwan Vandenberg, President, International Distribution, Warner Bros. Pictures. The film has grossed an estimated $206 million globally, and still climbing.

“We’re the Millers” has taken in an estimated $132.6 million domestically and is still going strong. Internationally, the film has grossed $73.4 million, opening at #1 in key European markets such as Germany and breaking records in Russia, where it has become the highest grossing R-rated comedy of all time. Major markets set to release in the coming weeks include Spain, France and Brazil.

Fellman stated, “‘We’re the Millers’ has demonstrated terrific playability from coast to coast, and the phenomenal word of mouth has kept the weekly drops notably low and the attendance consistently high. We congratulate our partners at New Line, as well as director Rawson Marshall Thurber and the terrific cast, led by the tremendously talented Jason Sudeikis and Jennifer Aniston.”

Kwan Vandenberg noted, “The international rollout has been fantastic, with number one openings and powerful holds. International audiences have responded in a big way to the film’s outrageous humor, and the chemistry of Jennifer and Jason and the entire cast. We join New Line in congratulating Rawson and his cast and crew on crossing this exciting benchmark.”

From New Line Cinema comes the action comedy “We’re the Millers,” starring Jennifer Aniston and Jason Sudeikis under the direction of Rawson Marshall Thurber.

David Clark (Sudeikis) is a small-time pot dealer whose clientele includes chefs and soccer moms, but no kids—after all, he has his scruples. So what could go wrong? Plenty. Preferring to keep a low profile for obvious reasons, he learns the hard way that no good deed goes unpunished when he tries to help out some local teens and winds up getting jumped by a trio of gutter punks. Stealing his stash and his cash, they leave him in major debt to his supplier, Brad (Ed Helms).

In order to wipe the slate clean—and maintain a clean bill of health—David must now become a big-time drug smuggler by bringing Brad’s latest shipment in from Mexico. Twisting the arms of his neighbors, cynical stripper Rose (Aniston) and wannabe customer Kenny (Will Poulter), as well as streetwise teen Casey (Emma Roberts), he devises a foolproof plan. One fake wife, two pretend kids and a huge, shiny RV later, the “Millers” are headed south of the border for a Fourth of July weekend that is sure to end with a bang.

The film also stars Emma Roberts, Nick Offerman, Kathryn Hahn, Will Poulter and Ed Helms.

Thurber directed “We’re the Millers” from a screenplay by Bob Fisher & Steve Faber and Sean Anders & John Morris, story by Fisher & Faber. Vincent Newman, Tucker Tooley, Happy Walters and Chris Bender produced, with David Heyman, J.C. Spink, Marcus Viscidi, Toby Emmerich, Richard Brener and David Neustadter serving as executive producers.

Thurber’s behind-the-scenes creative team included director of photography Barry Peterson; production designer Clayton Hartley; editor Mike Sale; and costume designer Shay Cunliffe. The music is by Theodore Shapiro and Ludwig Goransson.

New Line Cinema presents a Newman/Tooley Films, Slap Happy Productions/Heyday Films and Benderspink production, “We’re the Millers.” The film is distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.

“We’re the Millers” is rated R for “crude sexual content, pervasive language, drug material and brief graphic nudity.”

www.werethemillers.com

Review: "Office Space" is Still a Classic (Happy B'day, Gary Cole)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 183 (of 2004) by Leroy Douresseaux

Office Space (1999)
Running time:  89 minutes (1 hour, 29 minutes)
MPAA – R for language and brief sexuality
DIRECTOR:  Mike Judge
WRITER:  Mike Judge (based upon his animated short films, Milton)
PRODUCERS:  Daniel Rappaport and Michael Rotenberg with Mike Judge
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Tim Suhrstedt
EDITOR:  David Rennie
COMPOSER:  John Frizzell

COMEDY

Starring:  Ron Livingston, Jennifer Aniston, Ajay Naidu, David Herman, Gary Cole, Stephen Root, Richard Riehle, Joe Bays, John C. McGinley, Paul Wilson, Diedrich Bader, Kinna McInroe, Todd Duffey, Greg Pitts, Orlando Jones, and Kyle Scott Jackson

The subject of this movie review is Office Space, a 1999 workplace comedy from writer-producer-director, Mike Judge.  The film follows a group of workers at a software company who hate their jobs and decide to rebel against their greedy boss.

In 1999, 20th Century Fox released a comedy by “Beavis and Butt-head” creator Mike Judge that quickly disappeared from theatres.  This is, however, one of the instances since the advent of widespread home video entertainment that videocassettes and DVD’s have saved a great film from obscurity, and thankfully so.  Anyone who has ever worked as a drone in a thankless job will thrill at the outrageous and dead-on comedy of Judge’s film, Office Space.

Peter Gibbons (Ron Livingston) is a software engineer at the company Initech.  Peter is a cog at the company, writing code in an ultimately thankless job, but the job is only one portion of a seemingly meaningless life.  His difficult girlfriend takes him one Friday evening to a hypno-therapist who promptly dies after putting Peter in a state of total bliss.  From then on, Peter takes a new look at his life, and his new dismissive attitude about his job catches the attention of efficiency experts hired by Initech to fire extraneous employees.

The efficiency dudes get Peter a promotion, but get his co-workers, Michael Bolton (David Herman) and Samir Nagheenanajar (Ajay Naidu), fired.  The trio then hatches a plan to steal money from an Initech corporate account using a computer virus.  But a coding error may get the guys caught and in a federal “pound me in the ass” prison, and Peter may not be able to win back his new girlfriend, Joanna (Jennifer Aniston).

All props to Judge for getting the most traction out of many of the film elements.  The script has an uncanny sense of verisimilitude about the workplace, especially the corporate cubicle world of white-collar labor, but the humor and themes capture the dead spirit of most workaday jobs.  Judge’s direction is light, breezy, and quick, and he still manages to capture the right moods in which to communicate particular messages, ideas, and themes to the audience.  Also, his use of music, he particularly 80’s, old school, gangsta and hardcore rap somehow really works for this film.

What especially makes Office Space memorable is its cast.  Ron Livingston sells himself as both the everyday working man and the frustrated white-collar worker.  Gary Cole is slimy, smooth, and cool as Peter Gibbons' do-nothing, pencil-pushing boss, Bill Lumbergh.  However, the star-making turn in the film is Stephen Root’s nerd, percolating psychopath, Milton Waddams.  I don’t know if viewers recognize Milton in themselves or their co-workers, but maybe we all just find him so funny.

If it has one major flaw, it is that Office Space is a riot of laughs almost to the halfway point until it slips on a subplot.  When the script takes the film deeply into the genre plot about the money scam, the film seems to lose focus of the fact that it’s the workers versus their workplace annoyances that really make Office Space a gem, not some half-assed sub-plot.  Thankfully, the film returns to the workers’ trials and tribulations before it closes.

8 of 10
A

Updated:  Friday, September 20, 2013

The text is copyright © 2013 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this site for syndication rights and fees.

Review: "Sky High" is Not That High (Happy B'day, Danielle Panabaker)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 131 (of 2005) by Leroy Douresseaux

Sky High (2005)
Running time:  102 minutes (1 hour, 42 minutes)
MPAA – PG for action violence and some mild language
DIRECTOR:  Mike Mitchell
WRITERS:  Paul Hernandez and Bob Schooley & Mark McCorkle
PRODUCER:  Andrew Gunn
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Shelly Johnson
EDITOR:  Peter Amundson
COMPOSER:  Michael Giacchino

FAMILY/FANTASY/SUPERHERO/ACTION/COMEDY

Starring:  Michael Angarano, Kelly Preston, Lynda Carter, Danielle Panabaker, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Bruce Campbell, Dave Foley, Steven Strait, Kevin McDonald, Cloris Leachman, and Kurt Russell, Khadijah (Haqq) and Malika (Haqq), Patrick Warburton (voice), Dee-Jay Daniels, and Kevin Heffernan

The subject of this movie review is Sky High, a 2005 superhero family film from Walt Disney Pictures.  Set in a world where superheroes are a common thing, Sky High follows a young superhero who struggles with being a normal teenager and with following in the footsteps of his parents, the world’s greatest superhero duo.

Will Stronghold (Michael Angarano) is the teenaged-son of Steve (Kurt Russell) and Josie Stronghold (Kelly Preston), who also happen to be the world’s greatest superhero duo, The Commander (Russell) and Jetstream (Ms. Preston).  Will is about to enter the freshmen class of Sky High, the first and only high school for kids with super powers.  The problem for Will is that puberty has not brought about the onset of any powers, so not only does he have to deal with the typical high school problems:  bullies, cliques, and teachers, but he also has to deal his father Steve, who has very high expectations for his son – a son who has no super powers.

The superhero teaching method at Sky High divides the students into two groups, “Heroes” and “Sidekicks.”  Not having any powers gets Will into the latter group, but he fits right in because his loyal childhood friend, Layla (Danielle Panabaker), is also a Sidekick.  However, Will still has to deal with his intimidating gym teacher, Coach Boomer (Bruce Campbell), and Warren Peace (Steven Strait), the son of a villain his father locked up long ago, and Peace, who can generate fire, plans on taking out his frustration about his father on Will.

Will does eventually find his powers, but it goes to his head.  His ego is much inflated when Gwen Grayson (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), a popular senior and head of the senior prom committee, chooses him as her prom date.  A dark villain, however, lurks somewhere in the shadows, seeking revenge against The Commander and Sky High, and Will just may be the key to the villain’s success or the savior of Sky High.

Sky High is in the tradition of the Walt Disney family films situated in fantastic settings or featuring characters that unwittingly encounter magic or the fantastic – films like 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and The Shaggy Dog, or even Disney’s My Favorite Martian, their mid-90’s film version of the fondly remembered TV show.  In fact, Sky High’s special effects are still on the level of My Favorite Martian.  Both Sky High’s concept and final product are basically the kind of thing we’d get from The Disney Channel, but with a bigger budget and with the cast made of actors best known for their film roles, even if most of them are character actors, cult figures, and B and C-list stars.

That is much of the film’s charm – it’s cast.  Some critics and the Walt Disney Company’s publicity has described this as a cross between the Harry Potter series and the Disney/Pixar animated film, The Incredibles, but Sky High lacks the engaging characters and enthralling storytelling of the former and the spectacularly genuine superhero fantasy of the latter.  Basically, Sky High is a cheapie version of superheroes; it lacks the grandeur of classic superhero comics like the Fantastic Four, X-Men, Superman, and Spider-Man (which is something The Incredibles had), all of which have themes similar to Sky High.  The script doesn’t pave any new paths in the sub-genre of high school films, but instead follows the same road as most pedestrian fare set in high schools.  The plot is so predictable that you can see the happy ending and discover who the villains are before the midway point of the film.

However, Sky High (as stated earlier) has a good cast, and it has a good player in its lead character, Will Stronghold, superbly played by Michael Angarano in the teen-angst/awkward teen mode that dominates Disney Channel TV shows and television movies.  Angarano can play it all:  awkward, shy, bold, confident, jerk, hero, loyal son, and friend; he gives Will Stronghold the kind of dimension a lead character needs to sell a film to an audience.  Look for small, but nicely comic roles by “The Kids in the Hall” alums Dave Foley as The Commander’s old sidekick, All American Boy, and Kevin McDonald as Mr. Medulla, the science teacher with the big head that holds a giant and super smart brain.  On the other hand, Kurt Russell and Kelly Preston as Will’s parents are cardboard cutouts with only a few moments where they seem like real parents.

Overall, Sky High is a light, funny fantasy film in the tradition of G and PG-rated family fare that Disney does so well – perfect for the kiddies and grown folks who take this light-hearted fare for what it is.

6 of 10
B

Updated:  Thursday, September 19, 2013

The text is copyright © 2013 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this site for syndication rights and fees.

First Poster for Alexander Payne's "Nebraska" Released

NEBRASKA

Director: Alexander Payne

Cast:  Bruce Dern, Will Forte, Stacy Keach, June Squibb, Bob Odenkirk

After receiving a sweepstakes letter in the mail, a cantankerous father (Bruce Dern) thinks he’s struck it rich, and wrangles his son (Will Forte) into taking a road trip to claim the fortune.  Shot in black and white across four states, Nebraska tells the stories of family life in the heartland of America.

MPAA rated R — Restricted

IN THEATERS NOVEMBER 15th

Official Site: NebraskaMovie.com

Facebook: Facebook.com/NebraskaMovie

Twitter: Twitter.com/ParamountPics

Winner- Cannes Film Festival 2013- Best Actor Award (Bruce Dern)

Review: "Phantom Lady" is for Fans of the Genre (Remembering Franchot Tone)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 79 (of 2004) by Leroy Douresseaux

Phantom Lady (1944) – Black and White
Running time:  87 minutes (1 hour, 27 minutes)
DIRECTOR:  Robert Soidmak
WRITER:  Bernard C. Schoenfeld (from a novel by William Irish)
PRODUCER:  Joan Harrison (associate producer)
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Woody Bredell
EDITOR:  Arthur Hilton
COMPOSER:  Hans J. Salter

CRIME/FILM-NOIR/MYSTERY with elements of a drama, romance, and thriller

Starring:  Franchot Tone, Ella Raines, Alan Curtis, Aurora, Thomas Gomez, Fay Helm, and Elisha Cook, Jr.

The subject of this movie review is Phantom Lady, a 1944 film noir and crime and mystery film from director Robert Soidmak.  This film is based on the 1942 crime novel, Phantom Lady, which was written by author Cornell Woolrich and published under his pseudonym, William Irish.  Phantom Lady the film follows a secretary who risks her life trying to find an elusive woman that may be able to prove that her boss did not murder his selfish wife.

Although photographing a film in black and white was not an artistic choice but a matter of being the only choice for many directors during Hollywood’s Golden Era of the 1930’s and 40’s, some directors took advantage of black and white cinematography to create some of the most compelling and beautiful looking films in movie history.  Case in point:  German-born director Robert Soidmak took a Universal Studios B film, Phantom Lady, and turned it into a work of black and white movie art.

In the film, unhappily married Scott Henderson (Alan Curtis) takes a woman wearing a strange hat for a night on the town, but the woman insists that the two remain on a no-name basis for this one-night only date.  However, Scott’s wife is found strangled in their apartment, and Scott takes the rap for it because he has no alibi.  No matter how hard he and the police look, they can’t find the mysterious woman with whom he spent an anonymous date, and everyone whom Scott claims saw him and the woman together only remembers Scott being alone.

When Scott is convicted of the murder and sent to death row, his loyal secretary, Carol Richman (Ella Raines), and Inspector Burgess (Thomas Gomez), the policeman who has a change of heart about Scott, begin another search to find the mystery woman.  Someone, however, doesn’t want them to find the woman and actively interferes in the case with deadly consequences.

Phantom Lady is mostly a curiosity; it has a few good moments, and while it falls far short of being forgettable, it’s not really memorable.  Siodmak and his cinematography Woody Bredell compose countless exquisite black and white shots, staging the first three quarters of the film as if it were a series of artsy photographs.  While the look is classic film noir, the meat of the story is low rent noir.  The story stumbles towards an end, and the hammy killer, replete with pseudo psychological reasons for his killer tendencies, doesn’t help.  The cast is strikingly B movie, being made of character actors – most of them solid, except for Ella Raines’ wildly inconsistent performance.  Look for a nice sequence featuring Elisha Cook, Jr. (the "gunsel" from The Maltese Falcon) and Ms. Raines that is rife with overt and almost raw sexual energy.  Overall, this is mainly for those who love film-noir mysteries and crime dramas, but there’s little else for the average-Joe film fan.

6 of 10
B

Updated:  Wednesday, September 18, 2013

The text is copyright © 2013 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this site for syndication rights and fees.

Happy Birthday, Cale

It is shocking and a little hard to accept, but you're 21 now!  You weren't even two-years-old when I first met you.  Have a Happy Birthday and a great day.