Film Review: Funny People (2009)

Liars.

Warning. * denotes a possible spoiler alert

When one of my sisters was four years old, she and her friends entered a school dance competition. Their entry, a choreographed Spice Girls song, consisted of about thirty seconds of actual dancing, then four minutes of them just walking around in a circle, filling in time. It was poorly executed, indulgent and embarrassing to all those who witnessed the fiasco.

I mention this because after leaving Funny People, I felt exactly the same way.

In this instance, Adam Sandler plays a lonely, selfish, rich comedian whose outlook on life is turned around when he is struck down by an incurable disease*. In the ensuing agonising 136 minutes of film, a substantial and largely unnecessary assortment of characters is mushed together to produce a sad excuse for a movie, which was sort of promising for the first minute or two, but rapidly descended into a rambling, directionless piece of pap.

To be fair, there were occasional glimpses of brilliance. However they were few and far between and were more often than not overshadowed by the abundance of lame pee pee and wee wee jokes that only urban cavemen seem to find funny. Eric Bana is notable for a cringeworthy appearance where he regresses back to his Full Frontal days, Judd Apatow proves nepotism is alive and well by employing both his wife and daughters, and Aubrey Plaza plays a Daria-like character that annoyed the hell out of me.

If you liked The Hangover or were dropped on your head at birth, Funny People will probably appeal to you.

2 Stars

* Seemingly incurable. This turned out to be the biggest disappointment of the whole film. Can’t you just make him die, you bastards.

Virginia Mannering

–>Sydney Morning Herald review (***1/2) {link}

–>The Guardian review (****)

“…one of the most enjoyable films of the year.”

–>Interview with creator Judd Apatow {link}

“JA: For me, it’s very simple. I test the movies a lot, and if the audience says they love the movie, we know we’re on the right track. And if they tell me they hate it, I try to figure out what I’ve done wrong. But every time out, the audience wants me to go deeper, they want to know more about the characters, and they don’t want these movies to be shallow.”

–> Official Website {link}

Liars.

Heaven’s Gate (1980): Minute by minute: part 15

Well welcome to part 15, our special No Picture Edition of Heaven’s Gate. But have no fear Mr Godfrey’s magical words will weave a picture of photorealistic such proportions that you’ll believe that you were part of that minute. And you shared a sweaty, spinning minute with Kris Kristofferson. Over to you… Simon!

15 of 229

Here’s a prediction – this waltzing sequence goes on for a while yet. Call it instinct, call it an educated guess, call it a safe bet – but call it something for goodness sake. So people are spinning, while some continue to throw junk in the air, while invisible people hold invisible placards brandishing slogans urging the plot along. These people are known as the audience and have been ignored thus far. Kristofferson calls a broad beautiful and she reciprocates the compliment. It would have been more interesting if she’d cogently discussed quantum mechanics instead, but clearly Cimino is sexist. I’m not going to qualify that slanderous comment further. John Hurt too is dancing, swinging his partner round like a coat hanger on a clothesline. I hope she dries soon.

He’s done it again, read the previous 14 parts here to get an insight in to the previous 14 parts.

The dance of Lye

You can read about film and motion in the art of New Zealand artist Len Lye in Anna Sutton’s piece here.

Film Review: The September Issue (2009)

As predicted, the audience for this film doesn’t disappoint. A clutch of suburban tweenagers teeters in to the cinema at Chadstone (it’s the fashion capital), their ‘pleather’ Louis Vuitton bags carried in the crooks of their arms (in the manner of Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onasis), their inane chatter and giggling only welcomed when it drowns out the feminine hygiene ads that dominate the previews.

The film starts terrifyingly, with an extreme close up of Anna Wintour’s face, stitched and puckered like a baseball. The Vogue editor’s skin stretches and contorts around pockets of collagen as she spits out directions and icy criticisms in an indeterminable accent that at once sounds regal and businesslike, with vowels that manage to transcend both sides of the Atlantic. As the magazine staff busy themselves preparing for their largest ever issue, differences of opinion abound. Tempers barely flare (that would be uncouth), but hearts are ripped out and trodden on, the fatties of the world are maligned, grown men are reduced to babbling, dithering messes and Sienna Miller’s hair is hung out to dry like Jesus on the cross.

Undoubtedly the hero of the documentary is Grace Coddington, Vogue’s creative director, whose pleasingly wild and unrefined appearance is more reminiscent of a harried high-school drama teacher than a fashion prodigy. We share her pain as we witness her constant battles with the caffeine-soaked skeleton and her entourage of spineless and vapid flunkies, and we admire her frank and unassuming reflections on the industry.

why so sad?

While The September Issue hardly covers any new ground, and lacks the wit and drama of other fashion documentaries (such as the funtastic Signe Chanel), this film’s magic lies in its ability to sensitively document the ordinary dramas of an extraordinary workplace.

Virginia Mannering once fancied herself as the editor of a top flight magazine, unfortunately 2 kids, a house in Caroline Springs, and an addiction to Cheezos intervened.

Heaven’s Gate (1980): Minute by minute: part 14

Here it is, Part 14, from Mr Godfrey. I feel emotional knowing we have come this far. I feel angry but hopeful knowing how far we have to go…and that’s a weird emotional combination.

14 of 229

Waltzing – so much waltzing. But are the hats waltzing, or the people underneath them? Hmm, a bit too metaphysical for my liking.

As far as dance sequences go, this is pretty good. Could have used a few more wizards. But I feel that most film dance sequences lack wizards. The 12 seconds Cimino directed of Footloose, before he was fired, contains numerous wizards. Some would say too many, but it’s a fine line when it comes to including wizards in dance numbers. They have such terrific beards, you see. They flop around in time with the music, with their grey colour contrasting perfectly against the bright robes. It’s ideal if they use staffs as part of the choreography, but can be tricky if the wizard is inexperienced or drunk. I suppose most directors avoid employing wizards as their tall pointy hats make them rather hard to frame. But there are top hats-a-plenty in this scene and the lack of wizards is a missed opportunity if you ask me.

It is a shame because it’s the wizards who lose out in the end.

If you look closely, you'll notice the women aren't wearing hats. Disappointing.

He’s done it again, read the previous 13 parts here to get an insight in to the previous 13 parts.

Heaven’s Gate (1980): Minute by minute: part 13

More.

13 of 229

Finally, John Hurt moves off that effing lectern. It’s taken a while and I have no idea what he said, but I’m sure it was a stunning oration. But as he descends the podium something miraculous happens. It rains paper! A4 sheets fall from the sky as the students rejoice. This raises several questions: a) How did the paper clouds form indoors? and b) why didn’t anyone think to bring a paper umbrella? All the students and faculty are completely at the mercy of paper precipitation. Poor planning Harvard University; poor planning. The pouring vellum forces everyone outside, where they gleefully waltz to classical music. How they were able construct a stereo to play the piece, I have no clue.

To read parts 1-12 of Simon’s Heaven’s Gate review (you know you must) click here. No, sorry here.

Film review: Up (2009).

Up is the latest feature film from Pixar Studios, directed by Pete Docter (Monster’s Inc) and Bob Peterson (a Pixar stalwart). It tells the whimsical tale of Carl, a cranky, recently-widowed, balloon salesman who escapes the clutches of a dreaded retirement home by tying a million colourful balloons to his house and sailing away to Paradise Falls. But, oh no! 8 year old, Russell has come along for the adventure and I don’t think Carl is too pleased! Russell is a happy-go-lucky, bumbling child on a mission to assist Carl wherever he can, because Russell is an earnest Wilderness Explorer and that’s what they do (think Boy Scouts… shudder).

And so begins an unlikely adventure shared by two unlikely people.

The film opens some seventy years earlier with Carl running around the suburban playground dreaming of being an explorer and meeting his future wife, the adventurous Ellie. A memorable (though slightly squeamish) life-montage ensues of Carl and Ellie sharing those archetypal special moments together, ending with Ellie’s expiration. We see the transformation of Carl – from a naive, pudgey faced boy to a frumpled, bitter, square-headed old man – providing us with a revealing contrast to young Russell.

As the film carries on with all it’s cute or scary little characters and beautiful animation, the underlying emotions of Carl and Russell become clearer. We begin to understand why Russell so desperately wants to graduate to Senior Wilderness Explorer, and we go on a journey with Carl to discover that reaching Paradise Falls is not the only thing that matters. However, writer and director Pete Docter chose not to overload us with this information at the start, preferring to ascribe to Simplexity. [Don’t worry if you haven’t heard of Simplexity before – it didn’t exist until Pete Docter coined it during the making of this film: “Simplexity, the art of simplifying an image down to its essence”.]

And it worked… sort of.

I was very happy to connect with Carl and Russell, despite both of them being a bit irritating at times. Unlike Pixar’s last film, Wall-E, in which the robots were difficult to befriend and the humans were devoid of any admirable traits, Up goes back to the days of Monster’s Inc and The Incredibles where the characters you meet are instantly recognisable and generally likeable. I succumbed to the cutey-shakes numerous times, I stared disbelievingly at the animation, and the colours that filtered through the balloons as it flew through the city were stunning. Whilst Up is by no means the best in the best Pixar box, it’s still worth a watch.

Note: Up contains scenes of a severe tropical storm. I attended this film with two friends and we three as meteorologists agreed that the storm was accurately represented. However, there was a neglect of turbulence from the Zeppelin’s propellers, identified by a lack of erratic movement from the house-balloon in its lee.

The Other State (Film news etcetera from New Zealand) – August 2009

The Export

This is more Kiwis do good outside of New Zealand – Jemaine Clement stars in the new film from Jared Hess (Napoleon Dynamite) – Gentlemen Broncos. I had to add it. Flight of the Conchords is one of NZ’s most successful cultural exports. So watch as Jemaine channels Patrick Stewart. Plus frightened leaping ocelot.

The Big Picture

District 9 becomes a massive success in New Zealand, as predicted.

A gigantic success in the US with a $37 million opening weekend.

And Australia? Not so much. Australian crowds preferred to see the critically panned rom-com The Ugly Truth. Good taste guys.

The Talent

Armagan Ballantyne – director of the Strength of Water (really good – I will look into Australian release dates for you) gets some attention for her feature debut. Deservedly so.

Lily and Ra is a short Ballantyne created as a part of Art for the World, to mark the 60^th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

The Ticket

The filmmakers of The Insatiable Moon have seemingly launched an appeal for lotto tickets to fund the production. The idea is that the public donates lotto tickets, and the production gets to keep any winnings. Interesting. Though the smart cookies at Flicks have pointed out that the filmmakers haven’t supplied any contacts to send your lotto tickets to… perhaps then just an ineffective stunt?

The Future Films

Predicament –Jemaine Clement (again), Aussie comedian Heath Franklin (Chopper – Harden The Fuck Up), Rose McIver (The Lovely Bones) and musician Tim Finn were recently announced as the cast of upcoming film Predicament. The film is described as a crime comedy involving black mail, adultery and murder. And I bet a fair amount of wacky hijinks. Read the press release at the NZ Film Commission site.

Under The Mountain is new adaptation of a classic New Zealand children’s favourite. This is not going to help my fear of volcanoes.

From Book... to TV... to Film

The Expansion Pack

One of my favourite music sites Cheese On Toast has expanded into film reviews. Sure, go ahead and read them, but just remember we’re your favourite film review site.

Until next time!

- Morgan Stewart