Hannah Takes the Stairs

This film follows twenty-something Hannah through her hapless relationships and at her laidback workplace.

Directed 2007 by Joe Swanberg. Written by Swanberg and Greta Gerwig, who plays Hannah, along with the other actors in the film who improvised the dialogue.

REVIEW by Cinemagirl:

Hannah Takes the Stairs is an awkward ride, for the viewer and the characters.

Hannah is in her mid-twenties, starting a career and breaking out on her own. She lives with a female roommate and continually makes the same missteps in relationships. She is learning how to be an adult while still remaining herself.

The film follows Hannah through three relationships, which are all awkward and immature to varying degrees. I think the level of immaturity in the relationships - not just the fooling around with Slinkies but the conversation as well - is believable and accurate among characters that are all generally young, naive and just starting to spread their wings.

I found some of the dialogue annoying, or too playful and juvenile, but many times I was reminded of myself and my friends in college, doing stupid things like driving six hours to New Mexico for the day because we felt like it or walking around our city in a downpour and jumping in puddles because, well, what the hell?, we had already gotten wet.

The film is shot in digital video with a limited cast and crew. This is extremely low-budget filmmaking at its best. The crew consists of a director, camera person and boom operator, who probably also double as writer, editor and production manager. The lighting is all natural and completely motivated. The camera is handheld. Locations are real. Actual dirty dishes fill the sink. Hannah sleeps on a twin mattress on the floor. No frills here.

There are no conventional plot devices in this film, or a solid three acts for that matter. Instead, the film organically develops as a result of where the actors' dialogue has taken the director and camera guy. (Cinematographer is just too strict a word in this format.)

This film is part of the "mumblecore" or "Slackavetes" movement, so-named for the American director/writer/actor John Cassavetes who pioneered indie film with long takes, handheld shots and emotionally driven dialogue. "Mumblecore" is a rebirth of indie filmmaking in the past several years after indies started to "sell out" and command top-name actors. It embraces the punk rock ethic of DIY. ("We don't need their stinkin' money, let's get our own camera and shoot it ourselves!")

The cast and crew involved in Hannah have worked on each other's films in various capacities and continue to collaborate on new films that have been heartily embraced at the South by Southwest Film Festival in Texas. It will be interesting to see how the films develop as the filmmakers mature and go in new directions of life. This film was a refreshing change from the norm and a style I hope to see more of.

STORY: Was there a story? OK, 7 of 10. It was clever.
ACTING: 6 The "actors" do a good job, and their improvising works well for the story, but there are times some trained actors would've been helpful.
LOOK: 8 I'm a fan of shooting au naturel.
OVERALL: Worth the rent. Check out other films in this vein (incorporating the same people) such as "The Puffy Chair."

The Mist---Barely Forgiveable

The Mist (2007)
Director: Frank Darabont
Writers: Screenplay by Frank Darabont, adapted from a short story by Stephen King.
Starring: Thomas Jane, Marcia Gay Harden, Andre Braugher, Laurie Holden, William Sadler.

Review by Junior

I once convinced some friends of mine to watch The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai: Across the Eighth Dimension. Fortunately, they were good friends of mine, some of them relatives, so they eventually forgave me. Hell, I thought it was funny. I still think it's funny. I found myself in the reverse situation when my good buddy and neighbor (who will remain nameless) entrapped me into watching the Stephen King adaptation The Mist. I love my neighbors, and in time, the wounds will heal.

The Mist is of a type with some of King's previous works, such as The Stand and It! where he puts ordinary people in extraordinary situations as a kind of character study, or an examination of group dynamics, masquerading as a horror film. I have enjoyed this sub-genre of King's in the past, The Stand in particular, as I have always felt he has a terrific grasp on the Everyman, and occasionally, on a real whacko. That being said, I have to point out that that's about as far as it goes. King has no great insight into the human condition. He is incapable of creating a truly original character, and his insights into group dynamics could be found in the standard undergraduate textbook.

But it's not a King novel, it's a film, so let's look at the writer/director, Frank Darbont. This film proves that Frank, who previously directed The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile, both King-based movies critically acclaimed and commercially successful, finally needs to look elsewhere for inspiration for his films.

Andre Braugher, an actor whose work I have enjoyed since he starred in Homicide: Life on the Streets, is the most interesting thing to watch in this film. Unfortunately, his character disappears a third of the way in. This film also proves that winning an Academy award does not necessarily mean that you suddenly get offered great parts, as evidenced by the two-dimensional harpy played here by Marcia Gay Harden. And if your lead actor, here Thomas (The Punisher) Jane, causes viewers to query each other as to whom they would rather see playing the role ("Nathan Fillion would have read than line better...How about Christopher Lambert?...") while watching the film, you may have cast the wrong actor.

Finally, something that I usually like---the downer ending. I have always admired films which, for instance, killed the main character at the end. Movies in the 70s often ended this way. Just look at Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid or Bonnie and Clyde. These endings were satisfying because they were really the only honest way the story could end. (Never mind the fact that those were both based on true stories... ;) Now, in the age of the blockbuster, I admire even more the occasional downer ending because I know it runs contrary to audience expectations and studio desires. But here, this ending just seems mean and unjustified. It requires the characters to act stupidly, for one thing. And the "gotcha!" right after that final, drastic decision---well, it wasn't funny or clever. The film hadn't earned a moment of true sadness, because it hadn't developed the characters to point where I cared about them. So the ending was not half as clever as it thought it was, gratuitous, and just cruel, like pulling the legs off a bug. And I didn't really care about the bug to begin with.

Story: 3
Look: 3
Acting: 4

The Panic in Needle Park

This film follows doomed lovers Helen and Bobby as they steal, shoot heroin and try to survive at 72nd St and Broadway, known in '60s/'70s New York as Needle Park. Based on the book by James Mills, this film was released in 1971.
Adapted for the screen by the great American writers - a couple themselves - Joan Didion and John Gregory Dunne. Produced by Dominick Dunne.

Directed by Jerry Schatzberg, who was nominated for the Palme D'Or at Cannes for this film.
Starring a very young Al Pacino, as Bobby, and Kitty Winn, as Helen. Winn won Best Actress at Cannes for this role.


REVIEW by Cinemagirl:

This film is an insane ride. It is like watching a train wreck - eyes glued in one place, unable to look away at the carnage unfolding before you. All in all, I loved it! Here's why...

The film was completely shot cinema verite, making it feel very much like a documentary, which in turn makes the drug abuse and rough lives of the main characters all the more palpable and real. All lighting was either natural or completely motivated.

The scenery is also the real deal. The full cast of motley characters regularly congregate in Sherman Square (Needle Park) at 72nd and Broadway where they ride out their heroin usage, swap stories and try to score more drugs or money. The regular traffic flows by in the background, people pass by on the street, all in a very raw and realistic way.

Bobby and Helen's various fleabag apartments, and those of their friends, are just what would be expected of a group of addicts: sparse, dirty, no frills. Again, keeping with the reality of it all.

The "panic" in Needle Park refers to drug shortages caused by narcotics busts. When supply is low on the street, the addicts suffer and struggle to get their next fix.

The relationship between Bobby and Helen is a curious one. At first, it's hard to figure out just why a seemingly normal chick like Helen would get involved with a drug user and petty thief who, as Bobby claims, has been in jail eight times. But we begin to realize that she is a fragile woman who has a host of personal problems and has been in countless meritless relationships. Bobby is a charming, enigmatic guy. He knows how to sweet talk people, but his addiction always gets the best of him.

I know, the characters sound tormented. And honestly, who would want to watch two hours of people shooting up and going through personal trauma? BUT - the story, cinematography and acting are just soooo well done. This film is a great representation of the American New Wave of the '70s. I would totally watch it again.

STORY: 9.5
LOOK: 10
ACTING: 10

Thank You For Smoking

A Washington tobacco lobbyist gives us a look at the world through his eyes. Finding out the best way to "spin" what is good and bad about tobacco and, most importantly, how to win the argument...all the time.

Dir. by Jason Reitman, Starring Aaron Eckhart
92 mins. - Rated R

Review by LEWIS

This is a fantastic satire film full of cleverness that'll keep you giggling. The main character, Nick Naylor, is a truly deplorable human being. He feels that his duty in life is to help the underdog (IE big tobacco) get a fair chance at having a good public appearance. Through his charm and good looks he spins words around until cancer patients are shaking his hand.

Of course this lifestyle proves to be more difficult when he's trying to reach out to his son from a divorced marriage. So what's the solution...take him on the job with you! Let him see what dad does for a living.

I don't know how I found myself liking this character, but by the end you'll be rooting for him like he's Mr. Smith. And that, my friends, is the lesson about K Street.

I really recommend this if you enjoy political humor/satire. It was worth the rent.

Acting - 7
Story - 8.5
Look - 7

Overall - 7.5

Flash from the Past: Look Back in Anger

Look Back in Anger tells the story of young and disgruntled Jimmy Porter. He shares a crummy apartment with his down-trodden wife, Allison, and his best pal, Cliff. He struggles to earn a living at the local market. His one outlet in life is playing jazz trumpet in the local clubs.

Director: Tony Richardson, in his film debut. Released 1959.
Starring: Who else, but the enthralling Richard Burton as Jimmy.
Running Time: 100 minutes. Not rated. B&W

Review by Cinemagirl.

I love the late 50's/early 60's British film genre of frustrated and disgruntled young people existing in a classist society. Burton, who continually played angry, confused, emotional men, suits this ideal very well.

The character of Jimmy Porter comes from an impoverished background, but somehow he was able to get a college education. However, he has not been able to utilize it, so he works selling candy at a stall in the street market. Jimmy became angry early in life with the loss of his father. This rage, which he has obvsiouly never dealt with, carries him throughout the film, as he torments his poor, defeated wife.

I particularly love these meaty old dramas that examine the roots of human emotions and the complex webs of personal relationships. At times, you can tell that Look Back in Anger was originally a stage play, by John Osborne, with its limited locations and dialogue set up to come back around in the Third Act and whack you on the head with the point it intends to make. The real enjoyment of this film is watching Burton. Damn, can he act! If he wasn't cast in this film it would likely be a flop. If only we had more actors like him these days...

The cinematography in this old black and white flick is great. There are clever shots using mirrors and silhouettes that drive the emotion of the story without revealing too much or being cheesy.

I highly recommend this film if you like being sucked into dramas that don't necessarily turn out very pretty. For further reference, I also recommend renting "This Sporting Life" and "The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner" to round out the film trifecta of young British men struggling to find their way in a world that does not belong to them.

STORY: 9
LOOK: 9
ACTING: 10 for Burton

Iron Man Lives Up to Expectations

Iron Man is a big summer adaptation of the classic Marvel Comics character. Iron Man, a.k.a. Tony Stark, a wealthy industrialist, receives a life-changing lesson about his life's work of arms manufacturing and has a turnabout of conscience, becoming a mechanized defender of the powerless...or something like that.
Director: Jon Favreau
Starring: Robert Downey, Jr., Terrence Howard, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jeff Bridges.

Review by Junior.

When I heard that Robert Downey, Jr. was to play Iron Man I was psyched. Despite his substance abuse problems, reported gleefully in the media the past couple of decades, I considered him an outstanding actor and had seen him do good work recently in such films as Fur: An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus. Coming fast on the heels of the news that Ed Norton was going to assay the character of the Hulk in the upcoming re-boot, I connected the two films in my mind, counted my blessings but still wondered at these two, seemingly serious actors, signing on to these crowd-pleasing but kind of silly roles. Then it quickly occurred to me that these actors are people, like me, a similar age to me, and even if they take their craft seriously how can they deny the impulse to play these characters that they---we---grew up with? Perhaps not coincidentally, Downey plays Stark in a cameo in the upcoming Hulk movie. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

The film opens to the immortal strains of AC/DC's "Back in Black." This was a good sign, because I wondered if the people that marketed the movie were the only ones who realized how good that footage played to rock and roll. I shouldn't have worried. The soundtrack is peppered with it throughout, culminating in Black Sabbath's classic "Iron Man," heard in the ads. The movie doesn't have a lot of surprises if you've watched the trailer---the popularity of which, BTW, is parodied to hilarious effect on at theonion.com --- let me just say that it's the film the trailer promises, probably the best film you could make out of the material. The film's success is largely due to the casting. The actors are all first rate: Downey, Bridges, Howard, and Paltrow in particular make the film work.

I mention Gwyneth Paltrow in particular because she has the least to work with. Hers is a role, as the unrequited love interest, that could easily be tedious or boring in the hands of a lesser actor, but she plays it with just the right mixture of spunk, longing, intelligence and sex to make it interesting.

Howard is good as Downey's military liaison/best friend. There is foreshadowing that he will don the iron suit in a sequel, which would be consistent with the comics as well.

Jeff Bridges, always a terrific actor, does an unusual turn as a villain here and sports an impressive new look.

And Robert Downey Jr., who strikes just the right notes of humor, sarcasm, seriousness---he creates a unique persona in Tony Stark, someone who's not a perfect person, but with whom we, as an audience, sympathize. It will be fun to watch that character develop in the upcoming films.

And films, coming up---there are. Marvel has announced a sequel in the works for 2010. Later in the summer of '10 will be a Thor movie. Following that, in 2011, will be the first Captain America movie. Later that summer they hope to pull them all together in an Avengers movie. But you already saw that coming 'cause you sat through the closing credits of Iron Man.

Aside from the acting, the movie has a good balance of romance, humor, and terrific CG action sequences. In addition, I must commend the design work on the suit, which is both cool, detailed and believable. This is the first release from Marvel Studios, apparently having grown tired of sharing so much of their profits with other production companies, and if this is an indication of the kind of quality production we can expect from them---well---we will be enjoying a lot of terrific comic book films in the years to come, unlike, oh...Ghost Rider, Daredevil, Elektra, The Punisher, Man Thing... Anyone for Werewolf by Night or Moon Knight?

Story---7
Acting---9
Look---9

The Big Lebowski

A classic detective plot goes awry in the hands of peaceknick-pothead-bowler, a fiery vietnam vet, a crippled millionaire and his cerebral artist daughter with a severe haircut, a group of nihilists, one mid-western tramp with green nail polish...and a rug.

Written & Directed by Joel & Ethan Coen
Starring: Jeff Bridges, John Goodman, Julianne Moore, Steve Buscemi, Phillip Seymore Hoffman, John Turturro, Tara Reid, Sam Elliott
1998 - 1hr 58min - Rated R

Review by LEWIS

It was only a matter of time before "The Big Lebowski" made it's way onto this blog. The DVD sits on the shelf and comes out about once every three months or so. It is one of those movies you can watch over and over and never get tired of it or stop laughing. I'm told there is quite a cult following for this moive, and that somewhere in Kentucky they even have some kind of Bowling Festival centered around "the dude" himself.

I love this movie for many reasons. But it's mostly for the character the Coen's so cleverly create. I'm not sure if any of their movies, whether it be comedy or drama, has a cast of characters this large with strong enough personalities to hold their own. I promsie that at some point in watching this film you will point to the screen and say "That's just like (place name of friend, family member or co-worker here) !!!"

The story is very old fasioned in nature, with twist and turns, kidnappings, money laundry-ing, and all the other things you would find in a old 40's-50's American noir. But the Coen's cleverly set it in early 90's LA, which is best explained by the Sam Elliott voice over in the begining of the film.

Cinematogopher Roger Deakins, who has shot most of the Coen's films, single handled took such care in shooting the game of bowling that I think it can never be done again, and anyone who attempts to out do him is a fool.

I hope you have the opportunity to join the club of this cult classic. You'll find yourself quoting the movie and giggling with another co-worker across the boardroom and you'll know...they've seen "The Big Lebowski" as well.

STORY - 9
ACTING - 9.5
LOOK - 10 (thanks to the rug)

OVERALL - 9.5