The Snooze Button

These are the best “scene stealers” the summer could produce? Movie lovers are in tough times. 

How could this guy not steal a scene? Look at his competition in the movie!

1. I really love to see stuff like this. All life should be art, and at least a trip to the library should be.

2. Despite the devotion to the space (children’s libraries) you can’t deny there’s something at least irreverent, if not perverse (purposefully I’d guess) about the Christoph Niemann T-Rex rearing to chomp the little boy with its book teeth. I mean I’d like to say I’ve been bitten by a book or two in my life, but still. Not disparaging it though. It’s great. – W.M.

From the New York Times.

Saw “Two Lovers” today and was blown away by it. It’s by “The Yards” filmmaker James Gray and stars Joaquin Phoenix, Gwyneth Paltrow, Vinessa Shaw and Isabella Rossellini. Full of ambiguity, deep character development and, as my companion noted, more tension than a dozen spring action movies. It’s about a guy (Phoenix) living with his parents in Brighton Beach, NY, who meets a couple of interesting women around the same time and tries to juggle them. There were a couple of question marks for me, like why two hot women would be interested in a guy who lives with his parents (not in the world I know) and the main character’s action that closes the film. The last was an uncertainty in keeping with the rest of the movie, however. Part of the point seemed to be that no matter how fascinating a figure the main character is, he’s human and not reducible or definable. The title made more sense thinking about it that way, the two lovers representing the duality and ambivalence everyone feels. Thinking of it that way might give the impression that “Two Lovers” is symbolic, but it is actually refreshingly wide open, if not to interpretation than at least to feeling. It’s extremely enjoyable without having to read into it and highly recommended just for the good story. I’m going to post a review on my other blog soon.

I liked this trailer more than the standard one all over the Web, since it contains more of the music from the film, which is good. Forgive the subtitles. – W.M.

This ranks, to me (and probably only me), as the top of the heap: Getting your picture hand-drawn for The New Yorker. 

The show is HBO’s “Eastbound & Down,” starring McBride as former baseball great Kenny Powers. – W.M.

Don’t mind posting my own list.

Here’s a recent list on Yahoo with their take on the worst movies to win Best Picture at the Academy Awards.

Here’s my own list of winners that weren’t as good as other nominees — not even mentioning movies that weren’t nominated.  Looking back, I realize that the pictures that should have won delivered a better overall emotional experience.  I think that’s what really matters, not special effects or even acting or directing or writing.  It’s the effect that matters.  That’s why I’ve never been the world’s biggest fan of “Citizen Kane,” though it impresses the hell out of me. Anyway, true outrages are highlighted in black.

- Rob

2007: The Departed (vs. The Queen)

2006: Crash (vs. Brokeback Mountain)

2004: LOTR: Return of the King (vs. any of the others: Lost in Translation, Master and Commander, Mystic River, Seabiscuit)

2003: Chicago (vs. The Pianist)

2002: A Beautiful Mind (vs. Gosford Park)

2001: Gladiator (vs. Traffic)

1998: Titanic (vs. Good Will Hunting, L.A. Confidential)

1995: Forrest Gump (vs. The Shawshank Redemption)

1993: Unforgiven (vs. Howards End)

1989: Rain Man (vs. Dangerous Liaisons) Read the rest of this entry »