The Center Seat

Lately I've been whining to anyone who would listen that Hollywood seems to be incapable of portraying human relationships, specifically romantic relationships. I alluded to that a little bit on this blog last week.

But I'm good now. Late last Tuesday night, in a deserted parking lot, I lost myself in Before Sunrise. I had seen it ages ago when it was relatively new, but my reacquaintance with this masterpiece was long overdue.

If you're unfamiliar, Before Sunrise is an extremely unique movie: it follows two strangers (played by Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy) who meet on a train and impulsively decide to spend an evening together in Vienna. The whole movie is dialogue. Just talking. No chase scenes, no gratuitous sex, no washed-up comedians playing multiple obese characters. I know, it's revolutionary, right?

What Before Sunrise did so well for me was that it perfectly captured the dynamic of a brand-new relationship. You know, how it's all awkward when you know he's looking at you and you just can't meet his gaze or you'll turn tomato-red... or when you're not sure if it's ok to touch him... or that breathtaking moment when you know for sure he's about to kiss you. And at first you have this weird guardedness, but after a few hours you're suddenly telling him stuff you don't usually admit to family.


Another fantastic thing about this movie is that it was made in 1995... but it's not dated. It feels like it could be happening right now. Before Sunrise effectively ignores all the easy tricks that films use to convince us of their cleverness; it just portrays real humans, behaving in a realistic fashion, in a real city, in a situation that is absolutely believable. But for all this realism, the movie is still entirely magical.

Before Sunrise is one of those films that is entirely loved by those of us who love movies... and unappreciated by everyone else. It has a 100% Tomatometer rating... and it grossed only 5.5 million in the U.S. But this brings me to one of the things I love about independent filmmakers: they made the sequel, Before Sunset, anyway.

Granted, it did come nine years later, but it was so cool to see those two characters still alive and doing what they do. It did provide a bit of closure, although the ending of Sunset was nearly as maddening as the ending of the original movie...

But to find out what I mean by that, you've gotta watch 'em. ...Click here for the rest of this tasty post.

Remember when Star Wars used to be cool? Groundbreaking, even. But that was like 25 years ago. I was a cute little cherub in pigtails.

I've moved on, and so should George Lucas. MSN critic Jim Emerson agrees.

On the Tomatometer: 23%. It's not pretty.

Update: Click the link for another great reason NOT to see this one, presented by the brilliant Piper of Lazy Eye Theater.

Well, it looks like the Vali-Hi Drive In really will open this Friday. The good news: they haven't raised the price. It's still $7.50 for a triple feature, such as it is. That brings me to the bad news.....

Ugh.

This is what they're showing this weekend, in this order:

• The Forbidden Kingdom - 73% Tomatometer - All right, it might be fun to see Jackie Chan sporting sick dreadies like mine.
• Superhero Movie! - 15% Tomatometer - Yeah. The Leslie Nielsen one. Ick.
• Never Back Down - 26% Tomatometer - They should be paying me to watch this dreck.

OK, yeah, it's a crap selection. Whatever. I'm going for the hot dogs, potato salad, and large quantities of chilled wine. I may lobby Captain Crash for us to leave right after the first feature anyway.

I was really hoping for Forgetting Sarah Marshall. Why, Vali-Hi, why???

But it's in the 60's today, and I can smell summer. Even a night of trash cinema can't bring me down. ...Click here for the rest of this tasty post.

***DISCLAIMER***
If you failed history as a kid (or were surprised in Titanic when the boat sank), there could be spoilers ahead for you.


Even though The Other Boleyn Girl received less-than-stellar reviews (the Tomatometer gives it a 39%), I went to see it because I'm a huge fan of the novel. I still am, by the way. Philippa Gregory is a talented storyteller, and I highly suggest you check it out. (The book, I mean.)

In Ms. Gregory's novel, the story is laid out in intricate detail, with two sisters competing for the affections of England's King Henry VIII. We all know it ends badly, but that doesn't matter while you're reading the book--the ups and downs are gripping, and the ending is heartstopping.

Here's the problem: it's quite a monumental task for a movie to capture all that stuff, and still clock in at under two hours. Unfortunately, director Justin Chadwick and screenwriter Peter Morgan just weren't up to the task. In the end, all we get from the movie are things we learned in fourth grade:

1. Henry VIII was a complete tool.
2. Girls can be really mean to each other.
3. Anne Boleyn got her head chopped off.
4. They wore funny hats back in "olden times".
5. Anne Boleyn's daughter Elizabeth grew up to be a great queen (surprise!)

Yeah... they really did present that last tidbit as an AMAZING TWIST, as though anyone interested enough in English history to spend two hours of their lives watching this film wouldn't already know that.

You don't really need to see this thing... but please do read the book. ...Click here for the rest of this tasty post.

I'm a very naughty girl. I have The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford sitting in its Netflix envelope on my coffee table, untouched. I caucussed yesterday, so maybe I have an excuse? I'll try to get to it tomorrow; tonight, Captain Crash and I are catching an advance screening of Taxi to the Dark Side.

I did see No End In Sight this weekend, though. The critics all seemed to love it (a rare "A" rating from Entertainment Weekly and a 94% on the Tomatometer), and Mark Harris of EW's back page feature wrote a full column just on why this movie was a must-see. That's generally more than enough to get me to throw it on my Netflix queue, but then it got its very own Oscar nod for Best Documentary Feature. OK, done deal.



I don't know what I was expecting. This was the year I saw Sicko and Ghosts of Abu Ghraib... so I was braced for another angry documentary, bellowing for political change. Instead, it was more like a cool-headed History Channel presentation. No End In Sight walks the viewer carefully, methodically, almost dispassionately, through the myriad mistakes that transformed the liberation of Iraq into a violent insurgency, and then civil war. There was no political posturing, just a cold recounting of events. Of course it made me angry (how could it not?), but the facts were presented in such a calm, matter-of-fact way that the anger came from inside me, not from the words of the filmmakers.

Even if you have what Mark Harris calls "outrage fatigue", you've got to see this movie. It's not outrage ... It's just chilling, distilled truth.

P.S. The press are reporting that Heath Ledger died of an accidental overdose from prescription medication. We all knew he wouldn't have left his little girl on purpose, but it's nice to have it confirmed. Such a devastating tragedy... there will always be a Heath-shaped hole in American cinema. Rest in peace. ...Click here for the rest of this tasty post.