2 Days in Paris

"2 Days in Paris" is the story Marion and Jack, a French expatriate and her whiny American boyfriend, spending two days in the City of Lights at the end of a European journey where they encounter her wacky family, friends and exes.

Written and Directed by actress Julie Delpy, who also stars in the film.
Starring Delpy as Marion and Adam Goldberg as Jack.
Released: 2007

REVIEW by Cinemagirl:

"2 Days in Paris" will seem familiar to anyone who has ever spent time in a country where they could not understand the language or fully grasp the culture.

Essentially, this problem lays the groundwork for all the action in the film. Jack, played by Adam Goldberg, spends two days in Paris with his girlfriend. The entire time they are surrounded by her crazy parents, an obese cat, strange artsy types, and a host of men who once dated Marion or at least had some sort of liaison with her.

The film is rife with French and American stereotypes, but it makes for a cute date movie. Nearly all the French people in the film talk about sex and the American tourists in the film are seen wearing Bush-Cheney '04 t-shirts. I don't think the people who even voted for them would dare wear those shirts to Paris. Being the "mean New Yorker" Jack deliberately gives the tourists incorrect directions to the Louvre so he can take their cab.

Throughout the film, Jack understands very little French and has no idea what anyone is saying. He misconstrues the meaning of the frequent kisses and friendly touches abundant in the French culture and suspects Marion of being involved with various men. Also, Jack is continuously confused because Marion will have lengthy conversations, even screaming fights, with former lovers and family members and yet never let Jack in on what is being discussed. Adam Goldberg's facial expressions and line delivery are great in this role of frustrated Jack.

Julie Delpy does a good job in several long scenes where she must simultaneously converse, in many cases, argue, in two languages. She also narrates the film from time to time.

The cinematography in this film is very loose. Most of it is handheld with natural light. It makes Paris very real and welcoming and not as austere and forbidding as films of yore or textbooks make it seem.

The opening of the film pulled me in. It begins with Marion and Jack asleep on a train coming into Paris. Marion narrates and amateur travel snapshots illustrating their European journey, up to this point, are seamlessly cut into the film.

Overall, I liked it and would recommend renting this movie. It's basically a romantic comedy, only without the stilted dialogue. Besides, it's only half in French so you only have to read subtitles half the time!

STORY: 7.5 - It was cute and original.
ACTING: 8 - Delpy and Goldberg made a believable couple. The crazy parents, especially the dad that keys cars parked on the curb, was a nice treat.
LOOK: 7.5 - the more real the better
OVERALL: 7.5

Scarecrow - 1973

Max Millan and Francis "Lion" Delbuchi are two drifters that some how meet up on the open road. Max, a recent convict, invites Lion onto a journey from California to Pittsburgh where he plans to open a car-wash.

112 min - Rated R - Dir. by Jerry Schatzberg (see Panic in Needle Park), Starring Gene Hackman as Max & Al Pacino as "Lion"

Review by LEWIS

First of all I would like to say, it is absolutely shocking to me that a worm hole didn't open up and suck the universe into oblivion when Al Pacino and Gene Hackman were put together in an intimate buddy movie such as this. Wow! My god, these are two of the greatest American actors to grace the screen.

With that said, this was a great movie. And it was very much an "actor's" movie. These two characters will remind you a little of George and Lenny from Steinbeck's "Of Mice and Men". Max (Gene Hackman) is a seasoned, gruff man who proudly wears a chip on his shoulder. He has become a wise man of street smarts, but has lost his ability to laugh. That's where Francis (or "Lion" as Max decides to call him) comes in. He's a little too naive, a little too trusting, but he's the funny guy. He doesn't like things to get too serious, and as soon as they do he'll find a joke in it.

Well this makes for a great buddy movie. Each character needs the other to balance things out. So we go on a cross country journey with the pair where we wind up in dive bars, Colorado work prisons, diners and other places full of grit and grime. It's great a great ride.

As I said before, the corp of the film is the buddy story and I don't know if I've seen it done so well. The characters seem so real, and the emotional ride the two go through would be an actors dream.

I don't really want to get into the scarecrow thing, because it's a really nice part of the film that should be experience when you watch it. Just know that the title is appropriate.

I highly recommend this movie if you love either of the actors, or you're a fan of buddy flicks. Honestly, if you like things like the Lethal Weapon series you love the play between these two ruffians.


ACTING - 9.75 (I really considered a 10...it's close to being worth it)
STORY - 8.5
LOOK - 8 (some real good scenic shots, but other things are not so special)

Clean

This film follows Emily through the drug-overdose death of her rocker husband, loss of custody of her son, and her attempts to work hard, get clean, and start a new life that will allow her to have her son back.

Directed by Olivier Assayas, Frenchman who most recently directed a short in Paris Je t'aime and directed Irma Vep.
Stars Maggie Cheung as Emily and Nick Nolte as her father-in-law Albrecht.
Released 2004. In English, Chinese and French (with subtitles).

Clean begins in Canada at a grimy music club where we first meet the heroin addicted Emily and her rocker hubby Lee. Lee soon dies of an overdose and Emily is sent to prison. She emerges from jail with a new perspective and a drive to reclaim her son, who has been living with Lee's parents for the past few years in Canada since Emily and Lee were too incompetent to care for him.

As rosy, feel-good and cheesy as this plot may sound, it is not. The film is very realistic is it follows Emily's struggles: her relapse into drug abuse, her inability to hold a job or unwillingness to behave on the job, her struggle to create music again - which is her passion. However imperfect she may be, she keeps trying to get it right. That's what's so nice about this story. It is believable.

Also, the cinema verite shooting style makes it feel all the more real and makes London, Paris and towns in Canada look all the more accessible, and less polished than we are used to seeing them in films.

Nick Nolte is a nice surprise in this picture. He plays the grandpa, who along with grandma, is raising Emily and Lee's little boy. He is a strong, practical person who very fairly sets the bar for Emily and constantly keeps the boy's well being in mind.

I liked that the film did not end on some glossy high note with mother and son riding off into the sunset. It left it on a very even keel, not dismal, but with hope that everything would be all right.

STORY: 7.5
LOOK: 8
ACTING: 8.5 (Maggie Cheung is excellent.)

I recommend renting this film.

This docu-drama follows five-time Mr. Olympia bodybuilding champ Arnold Schwarzenegger, Mr. Universe Lou Ferrigno and a cast of motley musclemen on their quest to win world titles at the championship competition in South Africa.

Released 1977. Recent 25th Anniversary DVD released for rental. Directed by George Butler and Robert Fiore. Stars "The Arnold" (future Conan the Barbarian and The Terminator) and Lou Ferrigno (future Incredible Hulk).

REVIEW by Cinemagirl:

If you want to understand the sport of bodybuilding or see a bunch of dudes traipse about in little briefs sporting glistening uber-muscles, this film is for you.

Pumping Iron is the original docu-drama, blurring the lines of reality and fiction. Arnold is portrayed as the Golden Boy, the charming Austrian who has won the biggest bodybuilding event five years in a row and, with his cocky attitude, has returned to slay the competition one last time before retirement.

Lou Ferrigno, at 6'5" and 275 lbs. is no slouch. He is the homegrown Italian kid from Brooklyn. He is mostly deaf. His father is his trainer. His mom makes his 6-egg omelets. While Louie is bigger than Arnold, he does not have the posing skills nor the finesse that the Austrian has.

The film is loaded with tons of great shots of the musclemen honing their craft. Arnold pumps at Gold's Gym in Venice Beach, California, with a whole crew of beefcakes and Louie pumps at a local gym in Brooklyn with his dad by his side. It is awesome to see these brutes hoisting 500 pound barbells and doing push-ups with people astride their backs like ponies.

The competition in the film and all the training is entirely real, but the tension in the subplot - Arnold being the cocky jerk, Lou being the young newcomer out to best his idol - is fabricated for drama's sake. However, none of these scenes feel fake. Arnold tries to play head games with Louie before the big Mr. Olympia competition in South Africa. Lou's dad is convinced that his son can take down the Austrian champ.

The film also features bodybuilders Mike Katz, a former pro football player-turned-teacher who has always strived to be the best; Franco Columbu, the tiny Italian who is so ripped he can lift Fiats out of their parking spots; and Ken Waller, the self-assured Mr. Universe of 1975.

This film made a lasting impact on the public. Americans were never so interested in bulking up until after this film hit the street.

The 25th Anniversary DVD contains plenty of extras, from an interview with a modern Arnold to a new doc, produced for Cinemax, called Raw Iron - The Making of Pumping Iron. This extra doc contains never before seen footage of the bodybuilders partying at Arnold's pad, hanging at an amusement park, and Arnold attempting to train a scrawny TV actor to lift weights. Luckily, these phony-feeling scenarios were cut from the film and the focus remained on the competition and working out.

STORY: 8
LOOK: 9

Definitely worth the rent. How many cool '70s films can inspire you to get in shape?

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