The House Bunny - A Movie Review-

Okay, here's me gloating at the top of my... uh, ...gloating...  -ness. ANNA FARIS!

Anna Faris has proved over and over that she can carry a movie, even if it sucks. I LOVE ANNA FARIS!!! The girl is funny, charming, and as the choice for lead in The House Bunny (from, ironically, the writers of Legally Blonde) she proves once and for all that she is the new Reese Witherspoon. Faris has done great unsung work in some big dramatic films (Brokeback Mountain, Lost In Translation), great charmingly funny work in some forgettable, shitty movies (The Scary Movie franchise, The Hot Chick), and a fine comedic performance in a particularly good indy comedy (Smiley Face). 

This time she does the big budget summer romance/comedy/feel-good role and as usual whenever she's on the screen you can't take your eyes off her! She just does something right whenever she steps in front of the camera. This is why I drew the Reese comparison; not because I think Reese is no longer relevant (as long as she's dating Jake Gylenhaal she'll be relevant to me!), but because she always delivers a quality performance no matter what the twisted, misogynistic studios put her in. Sometimes her films sell, sometimes they don't, but Faris is ALWAYS the best thing about whatever she's in, and thats a huge compliment!

Okay, The Poop:

Anna Faris plays Shelley, a Playboy bunny living the luxe life in the Playboy Mansion with Hef (obviously played as more than a cameo by the man himself!) and dreaming of being the next centerfold. Her whole life has come to her twenty-seventh birthday at which she expects to be awarded the coveted title of Miss November. After an incredible (and incredibly sanitized version of a) Playboy party she wakes the next day to a letter from Hef demanding she leave the mansion immediately. She leaves, making herself homeless, and soon stumbles upon a group of loser sorority girls without a house mother and about to lose their chapter due to lack of pledges. Reluctantly they take her on and learn the finer points of fitting in, with some moral lessons along the way. 

Or something like that. 

Shelley teaches the brainy, grim-looking (mostly) girls of the Zeta House how to be cool and popular, with some very funny moments including a Forrest Gump tribute that was perhaps too heavily edited but still funny. Under her Playboy Bunny tuteledge they go from fugly to fab in just under two songs. Most of the girls are resistant except for the desperate and nerdy Natalie (Superbad's Jules) who helps rally the girls to save the sorority which if it doesn't receive at least thirty new pledges will be kaput. 

We know where this is going. Everyone, somehow, is gonna be happy at the end. So I'll float a few scenarios;

1) Shelley fails but they learn the true meaning of sisterhood and start their own sorority

2) Shelley succeeds, the girls become popular and those girls from the competing sorority are jealous and make those seething "ussshhhhh" noises with clenched fists as the Zeta girls party at the end

3) Shelley goes back to the Playboy Mansion and fulfills her dream of being a centerfold

Any and all of these lame endings are possible, and they don't even address the possible romantic sub-plots. But who the fuck cares?!

Shelley's journey is made fun to watch thanks to Faris and despite some questionable plot points is ultimately satisfying and enjoyable. 

Natalie (Emma Stone) is equally watchable and if I didn't predict it from Superbad I'll predict it here; Emma Stone is gonna be big... after some time. She's a quality actress with the unfortunate curse of being waay good-looking. This will limit her parts for awhile until the studios wake up; as with Faris, as with Witherspoon!

Stone has a funny, if somewhat affected-by-Superbad delivery and a charm which exudes that so called 'it' factor. She's already working on other projects, as is Faris. 

Just you wait!

An oddly underused cameo came from Beverley D'Angelo who, although good in all her scenes was almost unrecognizable thanks to bad angles. I saw her name in the opening credits but forgot about her until I saw her much later and said to myself, "Holy shit! That's Beverley D'Angelo! She looks amazing!". It's true, I said that to myself. The problem is she wasn't focused on enough during her scenes as the cunty house mother of the competing sorority for me to recognize her. Shame on the director. A few memories from the Vacation movies might've solicited more laughs.

All said I enjoyed this movie. Anna Faris is ALWAYS a joy to watch (do you finally get it?!), and the story, though flawed and perhaps mis-edited is fun and will be appreciated by teenaged girls, homos, and the fat women who love them along with anyone else who enjoys a good airhed-with-heart comedy. This is going to be a Sunday afternoon movie on TBS that you switch to right before leaving the house and instead have to sit and watch for the simple fact that it's on and you want to see it. But that won't be for a while! 

And if you're in Toronto, as of, er, Blog-time, The House Bunny is still playing at the AMC Interchange 30, so check your local listings. Hehe. 

The DVD is dropping on Dec. 19. 

Red -A Film Review-

Red is a great example of a 'Revenge Thriller'. Man is wronged, man seeks his own form of justice, man wreaks revenge.
The difference this time is a sweet and unexpectedly wise twist; the victim is the man's dog.
Switching the context from a husband or wife being killed to a treasured pet more keenly focuses the viewer onto the theme which makes films like these so compellingly watchable; the justice!
When transit refuses your valid transfer or your boss tells you to apologize to the asshole customer you feel denied.
This film will make you feel better. Here justice is served... unexpectedly...

THE POOP:
Trygve Allister Diesen and Lucky McKee direct a screenplay by Stephen Susco based on a novel by Jack Ketchum about a reclusive man who goes fishing with his best friend; a dog named Red. Circumstance sees his dog killed and Avery is left to pursue whatever legal channels are available. The law proves flaccid and Avery tries, in his old-fashioned, upstanding way to make things right through alternative proper channels, but, well, things don't go so well for poor Avery.
What he does is what I love about this film.

If you have ever loved a pet you'll appreciate this film, but if you've ever loved a person, or even just loved the idea of justice you'll love this film. The story and the acting by Cox are so understated and powerful that you become riveted, as I was, by the sense of 'what comes next', edge-of-your-seat enthrall that you're pulled into.
I was emotionally connected to this film from about ten minutes in and I was held by the throat by it until the end. Themes of loss, remorse, guilt, personal weakness and most importantly love and the belief in cosmic justice pervade this film and elevate it from seediness to must-see status.

One story in the film is told by a hunter who, mistakenly, forgets to engage the safety on his shotgun while hunting. His faithful dog by his side he trips over a bush and shoots his leg off. Close to blacking out he hears the dog bark and wakes up to see the dog walk a few feet away and bark again. Encouraged by the dog he pulls himself toward the dog and the animal barks again and moves a few feet further. Eventually the man says he credits the dog with giving him the where-with-all to drag himself a mile to salvation.
It's a beautiful story told well and by writers gifted in the art of storytelling. If you aren't moved by this moment then you're a wall.

Red is a beautiful, simple film told in a very straightforward manner. I have a lot of respect for the lack of complication with which the makers brought this film to us.
It's like, they respect us as thinking people and not just faceless audiences. It's true, full, honest.
It devastated me on a few levels.
Hey! See it to find out what devastates me!

No DVD details are currently available, and after it's early '08 release no show times are current, but keep Red on your radar for excellent films worth seeing.
Red (I repeat the title so somehow subliminally it'll hit you when you see it in the video store) is definitely worth your time. See it!

In the meantime I'll leave you with this; I don't have a dog, I have a cat. His name is Wally. If, while sitting casually in my living room someone walked up and shot him in the head I'd be devastated.
Were it not for Wally I can almost safely guarantee I wouldn't be alive today. Loneliness is a bitch of an affliction. I understand Avery 100 percent, and I think you will too.

Irreversible -A Retro Review- Beware Spoilers!

I did a quick search on my own blog and I know I reviewed this film before, but I watched it with new eyes tonight.

This is Gaspar Noe's Irreversible. 

This is a difficult film to watch. For many reasons. 

I'm uncomfortable thinking about it, I'd better get right to...

The Poop:

A man is dragged from a gay bar beaten to a bloody pulp! Why was he there? The question is answered swiftly... he went there looking for someone... why? Because the cab he stole took him there... what cab?! And so it begins. 

Something really fucked up happens and some guy wants revenge, but we have to watch the film unfold to understand why because it's told in a reverse-linear style a la Memento. 'Cept it's french and, believe it or not, better done!

Gaspar Noe wrote, directed, edited and brought the bagels for the cast of Irreversible, his second feature film (though his first of note). He did an amazing job of penning an incredibly engrossing thriller and then rendering it on film! Thriller? For some reason that feels wrong... although I could be wrong. Everything about this movie pushes someones buttons.

And then theres the rape scene.

-------SPOILERS------- we'll let you know when it ends!

When the rape begins it feels cheesy, almost B-movie. But then it happens, and it doesn't end. 

Watching the rape scene in this film was heartbreaking for me. I cried and I'm tearing up thinking about it. The most brutal, horiffic, inhuman act... not 'act', RAPE is the only word! A woman is raped in this film in the most violent way, and in the grand scheme of the film it actually makes sense. Trust me, as I tear up just thinking about it. Allow Gaspe Noe to wash you with this film and you'll thank me in the end. If you actually have the stomach to ride this one to the end you'll be glad you did. 

-SPOILERS OVER-

All you afraid I'd ruin it can read from here. Yes, the film is about rape, but it's about more than that. 

Maybe it's about what we invest in people. Maybe it's about the boundaries we put up to protect ourselves. Maybe it's about how far we'd go to secure the ideal we keep about someone, and all the things we ignore while idealising them. 

And just maybe we want to see our ideal as flawless and so we take a slight fall, hoping they'll soon swoop in and save us. 

Irreversible is available for rent where all good artsy-rape films are sold.

Tropic Thunder -A Review-

Dear readers, as you know this blog is dedicated to bringing you only the good films, the great films, the films you need to see. I know some reviewers revel in trashing the bad films and thats fun to read but I don't do that. I only write about the good ones cos I wanna guide you to the good films; the 'right' films so to speak. 

Now, forgiving any of my tendencies to hyperbole in the past I will say that Tropic Thunder is one of the BEST comedy films of recent memory! Juno, Knocked Up, Superbad, and Tropic Thunder. Same echelon. Ben Stiller scored an A-plus with this one! He co-wrote the script with Justin Theroux (actor: Mulholland Drive, Writer: the upcoming Iron Man 2!), and Ethan Cohen. I'm not gonna offend by listing his credits!!

Here's the poop:

Director Damien Cockburn (Steve Coogan) is making a Viet Nam war movie that looks to be headed for the Flop Bin. To save the production he decides to send the actors to an actual war zone and try to film guerilla-style to make it more life-like. 

His stars are Tugg Speedman (Ben Stiller), and Kirk Lazarus (Robert Downey Jr.). 

Supporting are... well, the supporting list is a who's who of Hollywood... Jack Black, Jay Baruchel, Tyra Banks, Maria Menounous, Nick Nolte, Jason Bateman, Lance Bass, Alicia Silverstone, Jon Voight, Mickey Rooney, Toby MacGuire... the list goes on! It was fun recognizing people, but NEVER did it take away from the story.

One cameo was wrong. There was a cameo performance in Tropic Thunder that felt ill advised! You'll notice it in the first half-hour. Matthew McConaughey's hairpiece! If it was wackier I'd think it was on purpose, but the humour of the film is so broad I knew it was MM's attempt to have... hair.

Memo to whoever does Matthew McConaughey's hair; go simple. His wig should have a co-starring credit! "Matthew McConaughey as Rick Peck, and Bad Hairpiece as his Hair!"

To MM; Dude, you're balding, that sucks. You're a ripped Hollywood actor and every picture that appears in People shows you on a beach shirtless and you're flawless. Well done. Guess what? When you wear wigs... we NOTICE!!!!

They look SILLY!

Kay, I'm done. 

Basically, Tropic Thunder is a wicked, character-driven, story-driven comedy that hits all the action points it wants to well still being smart. Some of the lines written in here are hysterical! 

Ben Stiller is really coming into his own. With a little help from his friends. 

Tropic Thunder is a huge hit and you MUST see it! It comes to DVD November 18.