Review: "COCO" is another Pixar gem

Pixar's 19th feature has more or less been conceived as a tribute to Mexican culture. Its writer-director Lee Unkrich was the brains behind 2010's "Toy Story 3." This latest Pixar is the first, to my knowledge at least, to deal with non-Caucasian lead human characters. In fact, that's probably the most innovative part of "Coco," which is nevertheless a transporting and entertaining addition to the Pixar canon. 

The film's main protagonist is 12-year-old Miguel Rivera (Anthony Gonzalez, in fine vocal form) who was raised by his family to disavow anything having to do with music. It's been three generations since the Riveras have even heard music in the house, mostly due to Miguel's great, great grandfather abandoning the family and pursuing his dream of being a musician. Not too long after the departure, the family had to reinvent itself and got into the shoemaking business. The rules of the house are simple: NO MUSIC WHATSOEVER, not even singing.

Miguel, however, loves music and violates the Rivera rule – over the years, he has taught himself to play the guitar in the isolated family attic, which has become a shrine filled with lit candles and placarded pictures of his musical idol Ernesto de la Cruz (Benjamin Bratt). De la Cruz died young, when he was smashed by a church bell while performing, but he left countless classics in both song and musical black and white films, of which Miguel has memorized every word. Unkirch and his animators do Miguel’s finger playing on his guitar strings in marvelously rendered way, you can truly feel every fret pushed down and every string strummed.

Since there is no persuading the family to change their outlook on music, Miguel's talent for elegant guitar playing and singing is kept secret. He does put himself in a bit of heat when he announces to his family of his intention to perform at the Día de los Muertos talent show as part of the "Day of the Dead" traditional, yearly celebrations for which Mexico is well known. The family becomes suspicious; Miguel’s replica Ernesto de la Cruz skull-necked guitar is discovered and smashed by his abuelita (Renee Victor). Miguel runs away, leaving his family in a panic.

Guitarless for the competition, Miguel decides to sneak into Ernesto de la Cruz’s burial chamber, a kind of monument for the legend, and steal his exhibited guitar. The act throws down a curse on Miguel and has him sent down to the Land of the Dead, a kind of underworld where skeletal figures loom, only surviving off their living relatives' memories of them. The way Unkirch envisions this afterlife is as a candy-colored metropolis filled with inescapably surreal moments.

Miguel does reunite with his passed-on family members, in skeletal form no less, but refuses to take his great great-grandmother's blessing that can only be given by a relative and that will let him return to the land of the living. Why? Her stipulations for the blessing include never playing music again. Miguel won't have this, and sets out to look for Ernesto de la Cruz, who he thinks is the musician that abandoned his family three generations ago. He hopes that de la Cruz will be able to give him the proper blessing to return to the land of the living. 

Post-screening, as I was speaking to people who know more about the folklore depicted in "Coco" than I do, it seems that Unkrich's depiction of the "Land of the Dead" is exactly as Mexicans well-versed with the tales of the past would imagine it to look like. The colorful designs that come with the Día de los Muertos celebrations are on full glorious display in “Coco.” From the Ofrendas (altars of worship), to the brightly lit orange petals that separate the bridge between the living and the dead, all the way to the papal picados. This is a representation of Mexican traditions in as realistic and authentic a way as possible. Unkrich takes full advantage of the imagination that comes with this highly colorful holiday. Even the alebrijes, the brightly luminescent spirit animals, are there to help the dead in times of need.

Miguel is accompanied in his journey by Hector (Gael García Bernal), a street hoodlum who cannot cross over to the other side due to his family's memory of him slowly fading away and his picture not being on anyone's Ofrenda – that's what keeps the dead "alive." The placement of a picture on a shrine altar is enough to make them flourish in the land of the dead, but Hector has none of that. He’s being forgotten and might waste into the ether of nothingness if Miguel does not go back to the living and place Miguel's picture on an altar. Hector wants to cross over and he sees Miguel as his last true hop in doing so. Miguel accepts to help if Hector can bring him to de la Cruz, whom Hector claims is a good friend of his. The boy's Xoloitzcuintli sidekick dog, Dante, accompanies them and is much welcomed comedy relief. Dante's is supposedly Mexico’s oldest breed of dog, an ugly looking hairless type, with braindead eyes and a loose tongue that sticks out. This is no brainy dog, au contraire, Dante's goofy bewilderingly air-headed behavior is hilariously dead-on. 

The predictable meeting between Miguel and de la Cruz happens, but Unkrich makes sure to surprise you and lead you in a completely different direction, one that cause the film's final few scenes hit you in such a poignantly effective way. You are left with yet another Pixar film, which, cue the waterworks, brings a whole other dimension to what was seemingly a simple story of a boy trying to find his way back home.

The film is gorgeous, one of the most beautifully conceived and colorful Pixar joints to date, but gone is the originality of "Inside Out," or the Chaplin-esque poetry of "Ratatouille," or the ferocious pro-environment message of "WALL-E." Instead, "Coco" relies heavily on old-fashioned storytelling and its gloriously realized setting filled with fluorescent colors abound to tell its story, one with the universal message of never forgetting the memory of your elders. The elder here, and most important central figure to the story, is Miguel’s wrinkled, 97-year-old whose fading memory but deeply kept secrets lay down an emotional resonance for us near the tail end of the film.

It’s a testament to Pixar’s creative ingenuity that they have managed to make a film that tackles a subject matter as desolate as death in ways that children could breezily process through and adults could ponder in more thought-provoking ways. This is Pixar coming back, after the disappointments of "Cars 3," and "The Good Dinosaur," and reminding us that they are just in a league of their own when it comes to animation [B+]

Tom Hanks and Meryl Streep Challenge Government in Steven Spielberg's "The Post" [Trailer]

Spielberg must be thanking the stars that he didn't cast Kevin Spacey in this.

As for the just-released footage, usually Spielberg trailers don't do it for me. They tend to not give a full picture of what to expect. They are marketed for a mainstream crowd. "Lincoln" and "Bridge of Spies" are the best recent examples.  I don't mean to sound pessimistic, but I sure hope this movie is better than the paint-by-numbers melodramatic potboiler this trailer makes this out to be. The thumping drum/bell quick cuts make this feel a bit cliche, and I definitely expect more from a soundtrack coming from the great John Williams. My fingers are still crossed, but THOSE WIGS! blech.

Official Synopsis:

"Ben Bradlee and Kay Graham of The Washington Post challenge the federal government for the right to publish classified information in 1971."

“The Post” opens on December 22nd.

As for Spielberg himself, I still maintain that he hit a career peak between 2001 and 2005 and as, more or less, been hit and miss since then with some decent highs ("Lincoln," "War Horse," "Bridge of Spies.")

Here's what I wrote a few months back-

"Now, here's where we might differ Jeff. I actually find Spielberg became a better and more mature filmmaker post-Amistad. The craft and masterful storytelling he produced between 1998 and 2006 ("Saving Private Ryan," "Munich," "Minority Report," "AI: Artificial Intelligence," "Catch Me If You Can" and "War of the Worlds") was incredibly impressive. This was some of the riskiest storytelling he'd ever given us."

"Also, his technique seemed to have changed around that time. It felt more refined and less obvious. These were also some of the darkest, most despairing films he ever made. In other words, given the 30+ years of experience he had behind the camera, he just became a better filmmaker and learned from his mistakes. The way he edited, shot, and let the scenes breathe was just masterful. He also used long shots more often, a sure sign of having more confidence in his craft. His style looked simple, yet it was incredibly complex and effective."

"I can go on and explain how he lost his way again after that, starting with the hiccup that was Indiana Jones 4, but that would have to take up another few paragraphs. Suffice to say, it seems like he's been mostly hit and miss for the last 8 years or so."

Film Critics Boycott Disney After LA Times Banned From Screening

I have heard my fair share of "Disney vs Film Critics" horror stories. It seems like if you write a negative review of one of their films they might ban you or downgrade you from their screenings, that's what happened to a few of my colleagues in the past year. Every time I write a negative review of a Marvel or Pixar film I always wonder if I'm the next victim of their boycott. Such is the way Disney operates, they royally don't give a fuck because they know they can do whatever the hell they want, their movies are cash cows, they have the power. 

The LA Times was immediately put on Disney's hitlist after the publication of the Times' two-part story: “Is Disney paying its share in Anaheim?” and “How one election changed Disneyland’s relationship with its hometown.” Suffice to say, Disney couldn't handle the fact that their business practices were being questioned and went on a full-on witch hunt, it all concluded with the LA Times taking the brunt of the punishment with reporters and critics banned from covering all their films. Yikes. 

Despite the extreme measure imposed on the newspaper, Disney went on to defend the decision, saying the Times report on their Anaheim ventures was “biased and inaccurate.” Lo and behold, a Christmas miracle happened this morning. It seems like many of the country's most important critics have had enough with Disney as well as the LA Times is getting some massive support from The Los Angeles Film Critics Association, the New York Film Critics Circle, the Boston Society of Film Critics and the National Society of Film Critics, all of whom have announced the disqualification of Disney’s films from awards consideration this year until the ban against the LA Times is lifted. That means no "Star Wars: The Last Jedi" and no "Coco" in contention for prizes. It’s a move that shows a lot of integrity and strength, bold in fact, but will Disney pay attention?

Sure, the studio launched a For Your Consideration site, for “Beauty and The Beast,” “Thor: Ragnarok,” “Coco,” “Cars 3,” and “Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2," and, of course, “Star Wars: The Last Jedi,” but despite those FYC ads being primarily targeted for Oscars and Globes, don't neglect the potential that this could in fact leak through to the Oscars as well. Disney has yet to respond, but, suffice to say, this is a battle of wits that is surely not going to end with this. 

Here's this morning's press release:

"The Los Angeles Film Critics Association below: Nov. 7, 2017 — The members of the Los Angeles Film Critics Association, the New York Film Critics Circle, the Boston Society of Film Critics and the National Society of Film Critics jointly denounce the Walt Disney Company’s media blackout of the Los Angeles Times. Furthermore, all four critics’ organizations have voted to disqualify Disney’s films from year-end awards consideration until said blackout is publicly rescinded. On Nov. 3, The Times published a statement that its writers and editors had been blocked from attending advance screenings of Disney films, in response to The Times’ news coverage of Disney’s business arrangements with the City of Anaheim. Disney’s actions, which include an indefinite ban on any interaction with The Times, are antithetical to the principles of a free press and set a dangerous precedent in a time of already heightened hostility toward journalists. It is admittedly extraordinary for a critics’ group, let alone four critics’ groups, to take any action that might penalize film artists for decisions beyond their control. But Disney brought forth this action when it chose to punish The Times’ journalists rather than express its disagreement with a business story via ongoing public discussion. Disney’s response should gravely concern all who believe in the importance of a free press, artists included."

Stephen Chbosky's "Wonder" is a surprise crowd-pleaser

I wrote to a friend about the film, which I saw last week due to an interviewed scheduled with its director Stephen Chbosky next week:

"It was better than expected, I was actually surprised at how likable it was. And it doesn’t just focus on Auggie, the disfigured kid (Jacob Tremblay). At some point, the film starts to shift toward other characters linked to Auggie and tells their own stories, with each chapter titled after them. There must have been around three chapters dedicated to three separate characters. It seems as if critics are already shooting darts at it, mostly because of that misguided trailer, so who knows how the reviews will turn out? But all the child actors are really good in this, all of them delivering in a very believable way. I bought the story of the kid as well. It never felt maudlin or sugar-coated. (Julia) Roberts was also excellent, probably her best work since…what, "Duplicity"? We shouldn’t be so surprised that Wonder has turned out to be a good movie. Chbosky, who brought a sensitive and delicate touch to "The Perks of Being a Wallflower," is no slouch. The ending is a bit flat, but most of the movie works. It definitely had the audience I was with all teary-eyed by the finale"

Review to come once the embargo is lifted on the 12th.

Christopher Nolan Consulted Steven Spielberg While Making "Dunkirk" and Screened "Saving Private Ryan" To His Cast

The biggest achievement of "Saving Private Ryan" was the first few minutes of the Normandy landing. It communicated a reality of war that had never been shown on film before: That it's totally random and meaningless who dies. That it's utter chaos without any kind of sane structure. All prior war films had imposed a sentimental narrative. Certain characters are destined to die to prove some point about war, or about the particular struggle of the protagonist. But in "Saving Private Ryan," it is what it really was - a bunch of people playing dodgeball with machine gun fire. Everyone is expendable. It's all just a roll of the dice.

To say that every war movie after "Saving Private Ryan" would owe a great debt of gratitude to Spielberg's masterpiece would be an understatement, just look at the best war films released since that landmark film: "Black Hawk Down," "The Hurt Locker," "Fury," "Hacksaw Ridge," "Lone Survivor," all have Spielberg's imprint on them and, curiously enough, Janusz Kamisnki's influential cinematography is ripped off in all of them.

Speaking to Variety, no doubt in an awards push for "Dunkirk," Christopher Nolan has more or less confirmed just how influential Spielberg's film was to his own World War II film.

"Before embarking on his mission to dramatize the saga of how middle-aged citizens formed an armada of motorboats and yachts, traveled across the English Channel and ferried their army back home to safety, Nolan turned to his friend Steven Spielberg for advice and aid. He asked the director to lend him a pristine print of “Saving Private Ryan” that had only been run a half dozen times, so that he could show his crew how Spielberg had orchestrated the battle at Omaha Beach. Spielberg did more for Nolan than give him his print." “Knowing and respecting that Chris is one of the world’s most imaginative filmmakers, my advice to him was to leave his imagination, as I did on ‘Ryan,’ in second position to the research he was doing to authentically acquit this historical drama,” recalls Spielberg." "Viewing “Saving Private Ryan” helped Nolan understand how to differentiate “Dunkirk.” “The film has lost none of its power,” he says. “It’s a truly horrific opening, and there are later sequences that are horrible to sit through. We didn’t want to compete with that because it is such an achievement. I realized I was looking for a different type of tension.” "Spielberg’s memorable nearly 30-minute opening to “Saving Private Ryan,” with its blood-spurting bodies, torn limbs and cries of agony, remains a virtuosic display of battlefield carnage. Nolan knew he couldn’t match what his friend had done, so he ratcheted down the gore. “Dunkirk,” for all its relentlessness, is nearly bloodless." “I needed suspense, and the language of suspense is one where you can’t take your eyes from the screen,” he says. “The language of horror is one where you hide your eyes. You’re looking away. It’s a different form of tension. We constructed our set-pieces not around violence, not around blood, but around physical jeopardy.”

Box Office Week: Thor: Ragnarok opens to #1 with an excellent $122.7M, pushing the total gross of the MCU past $5B domestic and $13B worldwide. Meanwhile, A Bad Moms Christmas opens to a solid $16.7M while Lady Bird has the best indie opening of the year with $375K in just four theaters.

1. “Thor: Ragnarok” — $121 million
2. “A Bad Moms Christmas” — $17 million
3. “Jigsaw” — $6.7 million ($28.8 mil.)
4. “Boo 2! A Made Halloween” — $4.6 million ($42.9 mil.)
5. “Geostorm” — $3 million ($28.7 mil.)
6. “Happy Death Day” — $2.8 million ($52.9 mil.)
7. “Thank You For Your Service” — $2.26 million ($7.3 mil.)
8. “Blade Runner 2049” — $2.23 million ($85.4 mil.)
9. “Only The Brave” — $1.9 million ($15.2 mil.)
10. “The Foreigner” — $1.5 million ($31.9 mil.)

Thanks to Reddit, The Playlist and /Film.

How can "Blade Runner 2049" be a financial failure when looking at its worldwide gross against its budget?

How can Blade Runner 2049 be a financial failure when it has grossed $223,133,333 worldwide against it's $150 million budget? I understand that foreign dist. companies get their cut and that there are advertising costs on top of the production budget, but I still feel like many movies that have similar numbers (perhaps smaller budgets) are know to be least mildly successful at the box office.

Earlier last month I wrote:

"Folks, sometimes the stars don't align for a smartly crafted blockbuster. "Blade Runner 2049," despite incredible reviews, crashed and burned at the weekend movie Box-Office. A $31.5M opening was not enough given the budget of the film, depending on who you speak to, was anywhere between $150-$170 Million. The film is on pace to not even make half that amount back domestically. It might break even We will see what will happen next weekend, maybe solid word of mouth and repeat viewings will give it some kind of staying power, it did garner an A- CinemaScore grade, but what we're looking at right now is a risk that didn't pay off for Warner Brothers. A $150M arthouse sequel to a cult film with a running time stretching close to the three-hour mark. How did we not expect this?"

However, now it does look like the worldwide tally has been better than expected for the film. Good for them, making a risky blockbuster is never a sure-thing for success, but European audiences seemed to have really been taken by "Blade Runner 2049."

[Reddit]

"Star Wars: The Last Jedi" International Poster

Another Pathetic Reddit Poll, Based on 16K votes, says "Reservoir Dogs" is Best Directorial Debut of All-Time

Every once in a while Reddit conducts these movie polls that gather lots of votes from mainstream moviegoers, and most of the time, the end result is mixed at best, such as in last week's poll where Denis Villeneuve was voted as today's best working director. 

This time around Redditor voters have compiled over 16,000 votes in a poll on the best directorial debut of all-time. I mean, most sane, well-informed, cinematically well-brushed film enthusiasts would say it's Orson Welles' "Citizen Kane," no contest, with maybe "Night of the Hunter" at a close second. But not the folks over at Reddit. Welles' 1941 landmark finished second in favor of ... Quentin Tarantino's "Reservoir Dogs." Yikes. This begs me to ask the question, how fucked is the future of cinema if millennials can't even vote for the most obvious choice in a poll? This poll should not have even existed. It's "Kane" by a landslide if you ask any well-seasoned cinephile. Even worse, the top 15 includes the likes of "John Wick," "Deadpool," "District 9," "Nightcrawler," "Get Out," and "Ex-Machina." All good to great movies, I won't argue with that, but clearly these voters have not been well-read with film history pre-1990s.

My own list would include:

(1) Citizen Kane (Orson Welles), (2) Night of the Hunter (Charles Laughton), (3) Breathless (Jean-Luc Godard) (4) The Maltese Falcon (John Huston), (5) 12 Angry Men (Sidney Lumet), (6) Badlands (Terrence Malick), (7) Hiroshima, Mon Amour (Alain Resnais), (8) Erasherhead (David Lynch),  (9) Reservoir Dogs (Quentin Tarantino) (10) Night of the Living Dead (George Romero (10) The 400 Blows (Francois Truffault) (11) Son of Saul (Lazlo Nemes) (12) Being John Malkovich (Spike Jonze) (13) Blood Simple (Joel Coen) (14) The Producers (Mel Brooks) (15) Blue Collar (Paul Schrader)

‘Detroit’ Trailer: Kathryn Bigelow & Annapurna Take Aim At Oscar Season

I wrote about the intense campaign happening for Kathryn Bigelow's "Detroit." The film's studio Annapurna is heavily pushing its FYC ads for the film and has also decided to re-release it. All this to say, why not? I dug "Detroit," it was a ferocious and provoking indictment of current race relations in America DESPITE the film taking place more than 50 years ago. Will Annapurna's campaign push work? Who knows, but its been a weak year for the "Oscar" movie, so you never know, especially with Bigelow being a favorite of the industry, I can see "Detroit" nabbing the final Best Picture slot, but its got a lengthy road ahead if it wants to do that. According to Deadline, “The reissue will encompass 10 cities and 20-25 screens in markets that will include New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Palm Springs, Maui and Aspen” and Annapurna has just released the above FYC ad for the film.

More on this at The Playlist.

Kevin Spacey Likely Out Of ‘House Of Cards’ Season 6

“They shut it down to figure out how to write him out,” a source close to the show told THR

While writing this article for The Playlist, I happened to stumble upon the fact that Spacey's character, Frank Underwood, is actually killed off in the Michael Dobbs book on which this series is based. This could be a heaven sent solution for the series' creators.Regardless, it'll hopefully give Robin Wright's Claire, the show's true MVP, the final say in the final season.

You can further read my article for The Playlist.

Franics Ford Coppola on the current state of cinema and Keanu Reeves' terrible accent in "Bram Stoker's Dracula"

"We knew that it was tough for him to affect an English accent. He tried so hard. That was the problem, actually — he wanted to do it perfectly and in trying to do it perfectly it came off as stilted. I tried to get him to just relax with it and not do it so fastidiously. So maybe I wasn’t as critical of him, but that’s because I like him personally so much. To this day he’s a prince in my eyes."

"People always lament the state of American movies because the studio pictures are so much all the same. But the independent American film tradition with Steven Soderberg and Wes Anderson and Paul Thomas Anderson and Tamara Jenkins — there’s just one great director after another. David O. Russell, Alexander Payne, James Gray. And, with them, all these wonderful actors. We’re living in a bounty. People are always lamenting the old restaurant that closed after 50 years, but they don’t realize that at the same time it closes, five more restaurants have opened that are going to be around for 30 years."

[EW]

Will Ferrell Reveals Elements Of The ‘Step Brothers’ Sequel Idea

I 

I wrote more about this for The Playlist.

Back in 2008 Will Ferrell was coming off back-to-back critical and box-office disappointments with "Semi Pro" and "Blades of Glory." Never one to be counted out, the popular comedian decided to re-team with with John C. Reilly for his next movie. There were clearly comedic sparks happening between the two of them, what with the infectious chemistry they showcased in 2006's "Talladega Nights: the Ballad of Ricky Bobby." It was inevitable that they would team up again for another comedy. 

In Adam McKay's "Step Brothers," Ferrell and Reilly played two grown-up man-children being forced to live together as brothers in the same house. Greeted with mixed reviews (55% on Rotten Tomatoes, 53 on Metacritic), the film nevertheless garnered top box-office money ($100M domestically). Still, the way critics beat up on the film, with Roger Ebert giving it 1.5 stars and  famously saying "When did comedies get so mean?" nobody in their right mind foreshadowed the inevitable fanfare the film would garner on home video and TV.

The repetitive cable airings have proven to be very beneficial for "Step Brothers,"  Rolling Stone had a famous re-evaluation of the film , The AV Club had it as the 21st best comedy of the aughts, Complex ranked it as the 13th best comedy of ALL TIME, but, most impressively, a BBC poll of 177 critics had it ranked as 64th greatest comedy of all-time and 7th best of the aughts. Not too shabby for a film that was the whipping boy of the critical community during the summer of 2008. Talk of a sequel has been happening each ensuing year and, yet, it remains to be seen if we will ever have that desired follow-up. 

Despite all that,  Ferrell recently told The New York Daily News that he and McKay have been discussing a potential story for a sequel and it sounds like a potentially  promising idea.

Underrated movie of the week: CHRISTINE

This week contributor Vjekoslav Rosandić looks at a film that was unfairly shunned last year, despite receiving rave reviews from Sundance: Antonio Campos' "Christine." I spoke last year to Rebecca Hall about her impressive transformation as Christine Chubbuck [HERE] Suffice to say, I was just as smitten by the film as Vjekoslav was. 

By Vjekoslav Rosandić

"Christine" is a one of a kind film. It's a film that deals with mental illness in compassionate, emphatic and yet, the most matter of fact way I've ever seen. It's a very important film, one that transcends its cinematic boundaries and actually has the power to heal. 

In order to properly discuss "Christine, I need to let you know what happens to the main character. Christine Chubbuck was a news reporter for a local Florida based news station in the early 1970's. She was fighting depression caused by different circumstances in her life and she ended up committing suicide on live television in 1974. The event is known as one of the most notorious pieces of pop culture and legend has it that Paddy Chayefsky based his celebrated screenplay for "Network" on Christine's suicide.

"Christine" is a film that easily could have been exploitative, focusing on the tragic event itself. And even though we do get to see the moment, director Antonio Campos and star Rebecca Hall are, thankfully more interested in the circumstances that brought Christine to her ultimate decision.

Rebecca Hall is nothing short of miraculous in this film. As with the plot, it would have been very easy for her to go overboard with her performance, as often happens in films that deal with mental illness. Every single note she hits is pitch perfect, balancing Christine's instability with care and grace, making it simultaneously tender and scary but always relatable for someone who is watching and possibly going through the same thing.

It's very important to say that "Christine" doesn't offer comfort and it's going to be OK type of answers, and I'm not just saying this because if Christine's ultimate fate, but because it very clearly shows that not everybody is able to deal with the cards that life has dealt, even though those closest to us often (with the best intentions) tells us that we have to or we'll go insane. Christine's cards were not great: she lived with her hippie mother who loved her in her own way but took advantage of her, she was stuck in a workplace where her gender made it impossible for her to get ahead in her career, she had a benign cyst in her uterus that would make it difficult for her to have children. But for her, the two most painful aspects were that she was approaching 30 and still a virgin and was in love with a colleague (Michael C. Hall) who was always nice to her, but when she decides to act on her feelings it doesn't go the way she wanted. She seeks help and basically is confirmed that her life is shit.

At the very beginning of the film, she drives her car while listening to John Denver's "Annie's Song," a song about someone who desperately needs to be loved, and it's a song whose presence looms very hard through the movie. Christine is someone who on the surface is very much loved, surrounded by friends who appreciate her and love her, but sometimes that just isn't enough. "Christine" is a warning to everybody who thinks depression is something that is trivial and can be explained. It's a necessary film, one that, as I've said before, has the power to help, draw attention to something often trivialized.

The decision to show the tragic moment should be applauded because Antonio Campos decided not to pull any punches and while I understand some may find the moment gratuitous, it's necessary and in spirit to what we had seen before. To do it any differently would be disrespectful to Christine's memory, her struggle and the struggle millions of people go through every day.

As someone struggling with depression for a while now, I found strange comfort watching "Christine" It made me feel less alone and despite the tragedy of it, hopeful. What else could we want from cinema?

Paul Thomas Anderson says he was inspired by Hitchcock's "Rebecca" for his upcoming "Phantom Thread."

We are less than two months away from Paul Thomas Anderson's "Phantom Thread" being released and, yet, we still find ourselves in need of many answers to some of the film's hidden mysteries, mostly revolving around the plot.

PTA gave his first official interview for the film to Entertainment Weekly yesterday and it  seems like more questions have indeed been filled in. First off, he mentions fashion designer Cristóbal Balenciaga as his muse for the creation of Daniel Day-Lewis' Reynolds Woodcock: 

"He led very monastic life, completely consumed with his work — sometimes at the expense of other things in his life. Our characters become something very different. Our story focuses on if you have a character like that, what would it take to disrupt his life. Usually, it’s love that does that."

He then mentions that it's not your standard love story and that Alfred Hitchcock's "Rebecca" was his inspiration:

"It’s not your standard love story. It’s more peculiar for sure. A lot of directors have tried and failed to make Rebecca. I’m probably next in line, but it’s a different story. I’m a large aficionado of those large Gothic romance movies as the old masters might do them. What I like about those kinds of love stories is that they’re very suspenseful. A good dollop of suspense with a love story is a nice combination."

"Rebecca" was Alfred Hitchcock early-career gothic-romance. It dealt with the director's masterful use of suspense but also had an invigorating "love story" at its central core. Joan Fontaine's character, filled with youthful innocence and abundant clumsiness in fitting into the bourgeois world, was a simple working-class woman that felt like the outsider. She shacked up with millionaire Maxim De Winter (Laurence Olivier,) but he was still haunted by his deceased wife Rebecca and struggling to move on. That wasn't the only problem for Fontaine's character, she also has to contend with Olvier's housekeepr Mrs. Danvers (Judith Anderson) who seemed to be in denial mode in regards to Rebecca's death and saw De Winter's new wife as a threat. This only scratches the surface and the film was basically a fight between these two women for the attention and love of their millionaire husband, who had his own demons to contend with. Great film.

Suffice to say, I don't buy that PTA will go full-on Hitchcock here, he's more likely been seduced by the three-way affair. in "Rebecca" than by the gothic love story. In the "Phantom Thread" synopsis it states that dressmaker Reynolds Woodcock (Daniel Day-Lewis) falls for "strong-willed" Alma (Vicky Krieps), who "soon becomes a fixture in his life as his muse and lover." The problem is that his sister Cyril (Lesley Manville)  is his business partner and sees "his carefully tailored life disrupted by love." The synopsis concludes by saying that the film is about "the women who keep his world running." Intriguing to say the least, but could this be PTA's most classical film in terms of narrative?

Earlier last month I wrote:

"Looks like Daniel Day-Lewis is going out swinging. This appears to be less esoteric than PTA's last couple of films and he is serving as his own DP. At the very least, 35mm is very much alive and on full display here. If any other director (and lead actor) made this, I probably wouldn't give two sh*ts about seeing it (I've never found any movie about rich people's problems interesting in any way), but with P.T. Anderson... I'll be first in line. If any other director (and lead actor) made this, I probably wouldn't give a damn about seeing it (I've never found any movie about rich people's problems interesting in any way), but with P.T. Anderson... I'll be first in line."

I wrote a little somethin' for The Playlist about this [Read HERE]

“Phantom Thread” will be released on December 25th.

"Downsizing" Trailer: Alexander Payne's latest disappoints

Here are some excerpts from my review:

"Downsizing" which, like all of Payne's movies, is also a satire, and follows Paul and his wife (played by Matt Damon and Kristen Wiig) who believe their lives would be better if they were to use the newest technology of Downsizing. What is Downsizing? It's a scientific process which has people shrink themselves and be transferred to Lesiureland,  a new tiny world. It's all in part to save the environment and planet earth from mass consumption. If you're downsized you won't need much food or utilities to survive and the planet will benefit from that."

"Throughout the first act, I found myself immersed which, thanks to some incredible special effects, have you discovering a whole new world, unlike anything I have seen before. However, the film's second half is another story. The political and religious take over Payne's story, Wiig completely disappears, a love story is developed and off-beat, quirky humor is infused into the screenplay. Of note, Matt Damon's Yolo partying neighbor as played by Christophe Waltz. It doesn't work."

"Another problem is that many of the newly introduced characters of the second half just aren't that interesting and bring nothing of interest to the film. Worst of all is Ngoc (Hong Chau), whom Paul meets and starts to fall for, yes they have great chemistry together, but the love story that is developed is cliched and makes you feel let-down given that the movie promised in the first half, with relevant themes connected to today's socio-political world, is squandered in favor of a more pedantic storyline. It doesn't help that Ngoc is a racist caricature of Asian stereotypes. Every word she says is cringing and, yet, Damon, the ever brave actor that he is, puts on a straight face throughout. "

“Downsizing” opens on December 22nd.

Quentin Tarantino wants Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt and Samuel L. Jackson for his Charles Manson murders movie

Deadline is reporting that Quentin Tarantino's Charles Manson movie will be a drama set in late 1960s and early 1970s Los Angeles, with sources telling the outlet that this is "as much a Charles Manson movie as Inglourious Basterds would be an Adolf Hitler movie." So, I would presume, this would take place in the same time frame as the Manson murders but would not exclusively be about just him. The most interesting point I gathered from the Deadline article is that the film is comparable to Pulp Fiction in terms of structure and style. 

As previously reported,  Margot Robbie was offered the role of Sharon Tate, Roman Polanski's then wife murdered by Manson’s cult, and Tarantino has also written roles for Brad Pitt, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Samuel L. Jackson. None of the aforementioned have confirmed their presence, but, suffice to say, most actors who are offered a role in a QT movie rarely deny the invite.
On 10/30/17 I wrote:

"Harvey Weinstein has produced every single movie Quentin Tarantino has directed since his 1992 debut "Reservoir Dogs." Recent "developments" have made QT homeless in terms of a production company, but word is that he is shopping around his based on the infamous Manson Family murders screenplay to numerous potential buyers. WARNING to streaming sites, he has been vocal in his disinterest with Amazon and Netflix."

"The Wrap is reporting that the filmmaker is  not making it easy for studio executives, having them  "go through a complex process in order to bid for the rights." So far, Warner Bros., Universal and Paramount have been invited to QT's offices, where they have put down their bid for the rights to the film."

"QT's last film, the highly underrated "Hateful Eight," was deemed a box-office "failure" and was met with mixed reviews. I loved it. It hearkened back to some of the talkier fare he was known for back in the '90s."

Tarantino has  a few screenplays finished up, but this seems to be the next movie. The film is actually meant to be Sharon Tate's story. Tate was dating Roman Polanski at the time of her morose death and that tragedy has spanned the decades since as the stuff of Hollywood doom. Will QT be giving us a more serious affair by tackling this story or is he going to go for the same over-the-top style (Django, Basterds, Kill Bill) of his last few films? I'm told this is a more "low-key, subtle affair." 

Impressions on "Star Wars: The Last Jedi" AWAKE Trailer -- Rey inching towards the "dark side"? Is Luke's death an imminent thing?

My impression, after watching this trailer, is that Luke stands no chance at coming out of this movie alive. Solo was axed in "The Force Awakens" and I believe Solo is the next to go here. They probably figured Carrie Fisher would survive in the third installment and be the "mother" of the future Jedi movement, but that, sadly, backfired on them ... They're also pushing the Rey turns evil angle and, I would guess, that could go either way. It could just be Disney messing with us. Rey is the main character, having her go down the dark path would be a risky endeavor for Disney and it just doesn't make any sense commercially as well, especially since they usually tend to play their artistic risks \on the safe side and having Rey turn evil would be a drastic change, think of the all the little girls that bought her figurines!  We see her chasing down Kylo and trying to kill him or something and Luke is warning her not to. Kylo is just an angry dude doing his own thing. Luke is scared of the force so Kylo kicked him to the curb and joined the First Order so he could get some sort of actual training.

First image of Ryan Gosling in Damien Chazelle's "First Man", a biopic about Neil Armstrong and moon landing

Here's what I wrote about "First Man" on 12.29.16:

"According to Variety, Damien Chazelle has just inked a deal to direct the Neil Armstrong Biopic "First Man." Ryan Gosling, his "La La Land" star, will take part in the project, most probably playing Armstrong himself. "

 "Spotlight" scribe Josh Singer will write the screenplay which, again according to Variety,  will be based on "James Hansen’s biography “First Man: A Life Of Neil A. Armstrong” and tells the story of NASA’s mission to land a man on the moon, focusing on Neil Armstrong and the years 1961-1969."

"Good idea? I'm mixed on this being Chazelle's follow-up to "La La Land." He's built himself up a solid reputation as a director that tackles musical topics as he did in "Whiplash" and "La La Land," but, I guess, he wants to prove to the industry that he's more than just that. What made his first two films so great was the way he shot the musical sequences in such exciting, new ways. A Neil Armstrong biopic sounds bland, but, if done right, would prove he's the real deal and can tackle stuff outside his safe zone."

Tyrese Gibson says he won't do 'Fast 9' if The Rock is in it

Dwayne Johnson AKA "The Rock" seems to have rubbed "Fast and the Furious" co-star, Tyrese Gibson the wrong way, at least as far I we can tell from his cryptic, poorly written Instagram post in which Gibson blasts Johnson for having signed up to a spin-off movie without his consent:

"All I asked you to do “privately” was NOT accept a role that would deeply effect us all....... You are simply NOT the people’s champ..... you are a selfish champ." His reasoning is that he had asked Johnson privately you to not accept a role that would "deeply effect us all," he went on to say his co-star was "selfish" and "not the people's champ." 

Gibson claims that he is broke, due to legal fees, and that his ex-wife "killed " his reputation.  The 38-year-old is facing child abuse charges and has been given a restraining, order as requested by his wife. Now, it seems, his new target is Johnson, to which I say, gimme a break.  Spin offs are inevitable. Where is it written that they all have to appear in movies together? I'd see a Rock/Statham spin-off any day over a future installment of the series or the, supposed, Tyrese-Ludacris spinoff movie, that Gibson actually turned down. I mean, seriously, who would want to watch that movie?  The "Fast and the Furious" franchise was dead before The Rock joined "Fast Five" some six years ago and reinvigorated it. An additional 3 sequels followed suit. The franchise has become a sure box-office hit with every subsequent installment since.


Soon after his initial Instagram post, Gibson posted another scrambled English classic in which he accusedThe Rock of lacking "integrity" because he signed a deal for the solo movie.  Also, to make matters worse, he accused The Rock of being on steroids and that he messed with his "daughter's survival." What is that supposed to mean? Dude, if you're hard on cash just toughen up and sign up for FF9, whcih he has been threatening to boycott ever since hearing of The Rock's spinoff flick. He concludes his message by telling The Rock to "Spin off these nuts selfish champ," whatever that means.

It seems like Gibson's beef extends to last year when rumors were swirling of a spinoff movie for Johnson's Hobbes character which consequentally pushed the released date of Fast 9 from 2019 to 2020. A whole extra year without a paycheck for Gibson and to which he posted, again on Insta:

"I have never and will never have a problem with this major movie star he's my brother. I'm simply trying to reach him cause he won't call me back about this solo #HobbsMovie I want you to shoot it just not right now cause the #Fast9 release date has already been announced and we can't let our loyal fans #FastFamily or our loyal fast and furious FANS down on any level from pushing the date…….. Didn't you see how HUGE #Fast8 was? It's because we announced and KEPT our release date bro."

Hello world.......... hello loyal fans and loved ones from OUR fast universe........ I’m sorry to announce that if Dewayne is in Fast9 there will no more Roman Peirce - You mess with family and my daughters survival I mess with yours......... close your eyes dude you’re a “Clown”...... #CandyAssBitchMade All my real one.... Men on integrity... my real ones out here stand UP...... folks that GP to the gym and get big naturally #NoJuice #NoOJ spin off huh? Spin off these nuts selfish champ...... pause notice who’s got his arms around my shoulder and who’s standing alone - #OurChildrenMatter

A post shared by TYRESE (@tyrese) on Nov 1, 2017 at 9:46am PDT

Father God I see you and I finally get it............... Life is confusing at times when you’re moving along and your “role” or “purpose” isn’t revealed to you.......... Proudly I’m a Capricorn born Dec 30th 1978 Dr King was taken away from us April 4th 1968 and when I found out Dr King WALKED the streets of WATTS during the WATTS RIOTS it changed my life forever!!!!!! The King family it’s random but I just wanna thank you for love and thank you for your sacrifice and thank you for what your mother and “FATHER” selflessly did for us all........... #VoltronStudiosHollywood coming soon....... I repeat coming soon.... Ok? Take care guys......God bless you..... ps Lee Daniels dude you’re a fellow Capricorn please listen to me don’t you EVER wear your facial hairs like that ever again Ok? And FYI I was never mad at The Rock - I was just mad that he was “pitched” an idea privately and said yes to it without thinking of what I’m dealing with personally I’m almost broke paying legal fees and is doing what we committed to doing for the #FastFans and #FastFamily cause the fast is tradition it’s not just another Movie Fast was created to COUNTER images of racism to counter that WE ARE NOT ONE RACE...... So the rock how does it feel bro?.... going home to your daughter every night.... it’s was 60 days before I seen my baby..... and all I asked you to do “privately” was NOT accept a role that would deeply effect us all....... You are simply NOT the people’s champ..... you are a selfish champ..... I’m almost broke swimming in legal fees CAA tried but couldn’t book me anything cause my ex wife killed my reputation so no one wants to hire me.. It’s not about I know I know I know right?? Says the man on the Forbes list.. Make sure you kiss your 2 daughters when you get home I wish I could but I can’t afford to fight for my baby anymore so they’re likely going to take her away....... Thanks Dewayne see you guys in 2020 and I will not delete this post cause the TRUTH of selfish people in Hollywood needs to be mentioned.................. to this day Dewayne has NOT called me back as u see me crying every 3 hours over my baby know #ShaylaRocks

A post shared by TYRESE (@tyrese) on Nov 1, 2017 at 6:55am PDT