Category Archives: Pop culture

My Week With Marilyn—(Blonde on Blonde)

This story is supposedly true. Doesn’t matter. True or not, it’s a good story.

How big a star was Marilyn Monroe in the 1950’s? Ask your grandfather. He’ll tell you. Mainstream movies did not have nude scenes in the 50’s. But they did have Marilyn. With her blonde hair, big lips and voluptuous body, she exuded sex. She was a megastar.

Michelle Williams is not a dead ringer for Marilyn, but the hair and makeup people and the costumers give her the Marilyn look. What she does with that look is amazing. She brings the Marilyn persona to life, complete with her insecurities and fragile ego. This is an impressive performance. Award-worthy? Yes.

British actor Eddie Redmayne stars as Colin, a recent college grad who nabs a gig as third assistant director on the movie “The Prince and the Showgirl.” His duties as a “go-fer” eventually include tending to many of Marilyn’s needs, much to the dismay of her longtime support team. He provides companionship and emotional support during an uncomfortable episode in her life and career. Quite a heady experience for a 23-year-old in 1956!

“The Prince and the Showgirl” matched Marilyn with Laurence Olivier, who starred and directed. He needed her for her beauty and sex appeal; she needed him to certify her talent as an actress. Their relationship was stormy due to his being upset with her tardiness and failure to remember lines. She, meanwhile, was intimidated by his legend and strict demands. Kenneth Branagh does an excellent job portraying Olivier.

In “My Week with Marilyn,” however, as in “The Prince and the Showgirl,” the blonde bombshell upstages the British acting legend. These movies belong to Michelle/Marilyn.

Of special note in “My Week with Marilyn” is Emma Watson’s debut in a non-Hermione Granger role. She has a minor part as a costumer who competes with Marilyn for Colin’s time and attention. She picked a good movie to begin her transition.

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“The Muppets”—(TFGMOTY!)

This is the perfect fun movie for families. Gen-Xers who were kids when the Muppets weekly TV show was huge will love this movie. Boomers will dig it as well.

“The Muppets” has an old-timey feel. It is shot on back lots like you’ve seen in movies for decades. Some of the costuming looks like it came from a cartoon. The musical numbers are cleverly staged and are presented with lots of pizzazz. The music is a big part of “The Muppets” but does not dominate the film.

“The Muppets” tells the story of Gary and Mary (played by Jason Segel and Amy Adams) who live in Small Town, USA. Gary has a brother named Walter who looks very much like a Muppet. When Gary and Mary head to L.A. to visit the Muppet Studios, Walter is invited to tag along.

When they visit the rundown studios, they learn that an evil man named Tex Richman (played with panache by Chris Cooper) plans to destroy the Muppet Studios to get to the oil that lies below it. The only way they can save it is to reunite the Muppets and put on a telethon to raise $10 million.

Gary, Mary and Walter head first to Bel Air and the mansion of Kermit the Frog. They track down the rest of the Muppets who are all happy to join in the mission.  Except Miss Piggy, who is a holdout. No…wait…now she is going to join in the telethon!

You might guess the outcome of this crisis. You might be surprised at some of the cameo appearances. You might be amazed how much fun you will have at this movie.

A friend whose only child is now 21 bemoaned on Facebook the fact that she has no young kids to take to see “The Muppets.” No problem; go with another adult!

If you have been waiting for “the feel-good movie of the year,” look no further. This is it.

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Hugo—*Good News, Bad News*

Hey, it’s Martin Scorsese in the director’s chair. Is he capable of making a bad movie? Of course not! “Hugo” is good, but that judgment comes with a few caveats.

First the good news: “Hugo” is set inside an amazing Paris train station several years after World War I. The public spaces of the station and the “backstage” area where Hugo hangs out are fascinating places that have a great look on screen.

The effects in the movie are fun and entertaining, from the subjective camera shot that flies into the station at the film’s opening to the runaway train sequence. If you like 3-D, you’ll enjoy “Hugo’s” 3-D—effective, not gimmicky.

The kid actors are strong. Asa Butterfield, in the title role, resembles a baby James McAvoy with his blue eyes. Chloe Grace Moretz, who impressed in a “30 Rock” episode this year and in “Kick Ass” last year, is his friend Isabelle.

Ben Kingley’s character has a cool flashback to the early days of filmmaking, which caused me to flash back to Mr. Hartsook’s History of Cinema class at Alabama.

Now the bad news: “Hugo” has pacing issues. It starts with good energy, bogs down for a long while and then picks up steam (literally, in scenes with trains) in the last act.

“Hugo” may not be the movie you think it is if you have seen the preview trailer. The movie is not so kinetic as you might have expected and it brings in a major storyline that is barely referenced in the trailer. Jude Law’s screen time in the movie is not much more than in the preview.

Preteens and teens will, I think, like it. Grades from grownups may be mixed. Small children could get restless during segments of the movie, so leave your 5-year-old squirmer with the sitter.

“Hugo” is good. I had hoped it would be better.

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“The Descendants”=This Year’s Best Movie (So Far)

The storytelling and the acting make “The Descendants” a title you may hear mentioned many times on February 26 (Oscar night).

“The Descendants” has it all.  Good characters.  Good story.  Most important: the story is told in an entertaining way.

The acting is superb.  George Clooney is at this best.  Lesser-known Shailene Woodley brings a performance that will lead to bigger roles.

“The Descendants” has parallel story lines which, ungeometrically, do intersect. The plotlines could occur anywhere in the US, but the story is set in Hawaii. (The screenplay is adapted from a novel by Hawaii native Kaui Hart Hemmings, who has a small role in the film.) The beauty of the islands and the attitudes of its residents give the movie a different flavor than it would have were it set in one of the states on the continent.

The main story focuses on Clooney as a workaholic lawyer whose wife has a boating accident. Doctors prepare to disconnect her from life support. Clooney has to inform his family, including two daughters, and friends about her fate. He learns from his older daughter, played by Woodley, that his wife had been cheating on him. His actions and reactions are the core of the movie.

The other plotline involves Clooney’s character’s extended family of cousins, all of whom are direct descendants of King Kamehameha. They are prepared to cash in on the sale of a huge tract of land on one of the islands. Among the cousins is Beau Bridges as an aging hippie bar owner. The collision of the two plotlines results in the some of the movie’s best scenes.

Alexander Payne is the director and co-writer of “The Descendants.” His storytelling skills have been shown in “Sideways,” “About Schmidt” and “Election.” He has, again, delivered a good story and has obtained excellent work from his actors. (In “The Descendants,” which is rated R, Payne has dialed back the raunch a bit from his previous films.)

Will “The Descendants” bring Clooney a nomination for best actor?  Book it.  Might Woodley win an award nomination?  Wouldn’t be surprised. Should you go see this movie now? Yes, definitely!

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“Melancholia”—–/Tedious, Weird, Pointless/

“Melancholia” is a movie that I strongly dislike. Some people may tell you that it is a brilliant work of art representing the great themes of life. I would agree that it does demonstrate “man’s inhumanity to man,” specifically the filmmaker’s inhumanity to moviegoers.

Lars von Trier, a Dane, is the guy who wrote and directed the movie. Blame him for this mess.

The title has two meanings. It is the name of a form of clinical depression, which Kirsten’s Dunst’s character suffers from. It is also the name of a planet in the movie, which is on a collision course with earth. The collision results in the end of the world. It takes so long to get to that conclusion that I found myself thinking of the old Meatloaf lyric “now I’m praying for the end of time.”

“Melancholia” will gain notoriety for its shots of a nude Kirsten Dunst. Her gratuitous nudity, like the entire movie, is tedious, weird and pointless.

In its favor, the movie has a nice opening montage, some beautiful images and an interesting assortment of characters. Sadly, what happens to these characters is not interesting.

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Breaking Dawn, Part 1—(The Newlyweds Get Busy!)

In the Twilight books and movies, the Cullens are “good” vampires. They dress nice, have a great house and respect humans. Edward Cullen nobly chooses to refrain from sexual activity with Bella until they get married.

In “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Part 1,” they get married. (Beautiful wedding, by the way.) So now here comes the skinny dipping and the rough sex. Nothing too graphic is shown, but there may be enough to cause concern among moms of young girls.

Up to now, their romance has been relatively chaste. In “TTSBDP1,” Bella wakes up on the morning after with bruises. You’ve allowed your 12 or 13-year-old daughter to see what came before. Will you allow her to see this? Or will you take her with you? Women of all ages are among those who love this whole saga.

Apparently Edward’s family never taught him about contraception. Which is actually a good thing. Had he used a condom, we wouldn’t have the main part of this story, which is Bella’s pregnancy.

Without spoiling too much, let’s just say that the birth of this child is not a neat and easy delivery. No, it’s bloody, messy and violent. After they clean her up, she’s a good-looking baby. Sadly, she is saddled with the horrible first name Renesmee. (Good luck surviving grade school with that name, kid!)

If you are deeply involved in the books and movies, you will appreciate the film depiction of Jacob’s “imprinting” on Renesmee. You will also appreciate the final shot before the credits roll.

If you’ve seen the other three Twilight movies, you are pretty much obliged to see this one, right? Should you go on opening weekend, be aware that many showings are already sold out.

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