Opening Title Sequence: The Birdcage

Based on the French play/film La Cage aux Folles, The Birdcage was a huge hit in 1996.  (I also awkwardly utilized it as an entertaining "tool" (!) to come out to my parents.)  While it was a broad comedy that served up a bunch of yucks (and made a star out of Nathan Lane), it was also one of the first successful mainstream movies to deal with gay lead characters.  It also was one of the most popular, and arguable remains so, pieces of pop culture to stand for marriage equality and suggest that products of gay parents are essentially no different than those of straights.  The title credit sequence is quite memorable and ambitious, as it stands as another impressive example of director Mike Nichols' penchant for long, continuous opening shots when it's actually three separate pieces of footage inconspicuously strung together by the talents of Oscar-nominated DP Emmanuel Lubezki and Academy Award winning film editor Arthur Schmidt.  (While it was easy to figure out just where the first transition occurs, the segue of which is seamless, it's even more undetectable to the eye to note the second change.)

A remix of Sister Sledge's widely recognized 1970s hit "We Are Family" begins to play over the United Artists logo before the camera begins with an aerial shot speeding over the Pacific Ocean towards the Art Deco District of South Beach lit in various shades of neon.  Gliding across the beach and a sliver of grass, the speed slows down.  You might notice a shift (of some sort) around the credit for Christine Baranski.  

The helicopter speed begins to slow down

The lens lifts just a little

The camera tips down slightly

The focus centers on the Carlyle Hotel (designed by the firm Kiehel and Elliott), but, for the film's purposes, is renamed as cabaret and dance club The Birdcage.  The dissolve from the first to second shot is right after the "with Calista Flockhart, Tom McGowan" credit disappear.  If you're interested in picking out the moment, just find a person and/or car to concentrate on around that time and keep hitting and releasing the pause button.  It's kind of cool how well they did matching the shots considering the circumstances (the first and second shot were filmed a few weeks apart, logistics, timing, etc).  

The first transition

In the second shot (the one that was filmed last), a crane lowers the Steadicam operator as he begins to wade through party goers and tanned women with their breasts popping out of their bathing suits, while cars inch their way through nighttime traffic on Ocean Drive.

The Steadicam operator's feet have hit the ground

The second "transition" before the cameraman steps
onto the curb appears to involve a green screen
behind the clear club doors

Now, I could be mistaken (and correct me if I'm wrong), but I believe the third shot (filmed six weeks before the first) is actually green-screened into the second shot (or vice-verse if I'm using the terminology incorrectly).  If you watch closely, about 40% of the way through the "costumes designed by Ann Roth" credit, focus your eyes on the inside of the club on the right in the vicinity of the reservation desk.  Before it becomes clear of what you're seeing, there is some ambiguous glare taking up the entire right of what we can see inside.  Suddenly, on the right, as if by magic, there's a woman helping guests at the reservation desk and, on the left, what will be the curtains leading to the stage.  While it may have been glare from the lights and bustle of the street that hid the activity, that theory doesn't seem to hold up to the naked eye.  As the cameraman continues toward the club, the only common denominator between the second and third shot is a couple (filmed weeks apart).  The man wears a white paisley shirt and the woman a sequined party dress.  They briefly walk across the camera from left to right as they enter the club and then disappear.

The couple on the left in the second shot

The couple on the left walking past
the green screen of the third shot (?)

The cameraman walks through some curtains which reveal a stage of multicultural drag queens lip-syncing to the opening track.  A keen eye will notice that all of the solos are performed by minorities.  Discrimination!  Just kidding.  But, yeah, all the whities are backup talent for this portion of the number.  Their outfits are plenty pleated and colorful, and their makeup pretty solid.  The camera makes its way through the crowd to the stage-left wing where the visual sequence ends mid-song with stage manager Cyril (James Lally) frantically trying to get the temperamental star performer Albert Goldman aka Starina (Nathan Lane) onstage, before we continue on with the drag performance of "We Are Family."

Pretty cool, huh?  

[Source: EW]

Previous Editions:
Working Girl
Devil in a Blue Dress
The Addams Family
Beetlejuice
The Birdcage
My Best Friend's Wedding
To Die For
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo 

Two Solos Alert: Somebody knows how to kick 
five bitches out of the spotlight!  And she's wearing orange.

Asian Angela Bassett
(Waiting to Exhale came out months before this opened)

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Casting News: Brenton Thwaites in Maleficent

Australian panty-creamer Brenton Thwaites will play the heartthrob prince in Angelina Jolie's Maleficent.  Thwaite stars in the latest Blue Lagoon rendition which will air on Lifetime television next month.  He's playing opposite professional nuisance Denise Richards, who has the role of mother of his love interest.  (I guess Brooke Shields had bigger fish to fry.)  Previous credits include Australian soap opera Home and Away and teen drama SLiDE.  It also stars Miranda Richardson, Mike Leigh girls Imelda Staunton and Lesley Manville, future troublemakers Elle Fanning and Juno Temple, and Indiana Eisley (who will play the younger version of Jolie).  The reception for Julia Robert's evil queen was so lukewarm and Snow White and the Huntsman is barely keeping its head above the 50% RT mark.  The movie won't be coming out for two years, but I really want to see how it will play out.  I'm not holding my breath quality-wise, but am more curious about Jolie's box-office pull.  Is she already doomed?  Will reviews not even figure into the movie's commercial viability?  Or, does she really have it, after all?  Obviously, I want this film to be a success, whether it's crap or otherwise ...

[Source: Deadline]

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Movie Spoiler Summary: MOONRISE KINGDOM (after capsule review)

While I thought Rushmoreback in 1998 showed promise, I often found Anderson’s characters throughout his career to be overly precious, forced, and different for "different's sake."  His visual aesthetics were designed within an inch of their lives and the emotional core always felt hallow.  If you’ve had a problem acclimatizing yourself to Wes Anderson’s quirky sensibilities as a storyteller like I did, Moonrise Kingdom may be the film for you.  Young orphan Sam has nothing to lose and decides to stake everything he has in life on his love for Suzy, sending everyone around them into a minor tailspin that culminates on the day the Black Beacon Storm hits their small Rhode Island community.  Anderson throws in a few morbid touches that nicely accentuate the innocence of the story.  The director manages to fashion a trail to his ultimately heartwarming intentions that’s very easy to follow and accessible to a mainstream audience.  This film isn’t just for Anderson fans, but everyone. 

Moonrise Kingdom opens in the Bishop household on a rainy day, in the mid-months of 1965.  The structure itself is a nautical style home painted a very distinctive red, which rests on the Rhode Island coast in the fictional neighborhood of Summer’s End.  Little rascal Lionel (Jake Ryan) plays a musicology record narrated by a young boy for him and his brothers Murry (Tanner Flood) and Rudy (Wyatt Ralff).  Older sister Suzy (Kara Hayward) looks out every window of the home through her binoculars waiting for the mail person to delivery a much anticipated letter.  The camera pans through various rooms of the home horizontally, as well as vertically, in a 360-degree style that creates the feel of looking into a dollhouse.  The parents Laura (Frances McDormand) and Walt (Bill Murray) eat, read, or complete chores.  Suzy’s correspondence arrives.  On the Island of Penzance, the film’s narrator (Bob Balaban, who is dressed like the Travelocity elf) is a weather aficionado and amateur guide who also documents his exploits via video.  He discusses the location, as well as the major upcoming Black Beacon Storm that will hit the area in three days. 

Someone pulled a Tim Robbins

Nearby, at Camp Ivanhoe, Scout Master Randy Ward (Edward Norton) of Troop #55 emerges from his tent and greets his son.  He begins his morning rounds judging various projects conducted by his troops, as well as offering his strict criticism of attire and following safety measures.  At breakfast, he realizes that the most unpopular boy under his care, Sam Shakusky (Jared Gilman), is gone.  His tent is empty and, in fact, Ward takes down a poster that comically covers a hole in the tent signifying his break ala The Shawshank Redemption.  Randy reports the missing khaki scout to island police Captain Sharp (Bruce Willis), as well as noting the various supplies on Sam’s person.  The movie shares Sam’s letter of resignation addressed to his pack.  Phone operator Becky patches a call through to Sam’s foster father Mr. Billingsley (Larry Pine), who informs the captain that after the trouble he has had with Sam, he is no longer interested in taking him back and cares little whether he is ever found.  Sharp frantically proclaims, “I’ve got an escaped khaki suit.” 

Noah's Flood

Randy preps the pack for their search and rescue mission.  He shares with the troops that he makes his living as a math teacher, before the kids arm themselves with weapons, and their dog Snoopy joins them.  They comb land and water, while the authorities interview locals, including Laura and Walter.  Suzy watches her mother Laura with her binoculars meet clandestinely with Sharp by the shore.  As Hank Williams “Kaw-Liga” plays over the soundtrack, Sam adorned in a raccoon hat treks down the Chickchaw Trail.  Suzy spots him and they unite in the meadow.

"What kind of bird are YOU?"

Flashback to one year earlier, when Sam and Suzy first meet.  She’s part of a church production of Noah’s Flood and Sam is in the audience.  He finds her sitting in the dressing room with other girls in avian-themed costumes.  “What kind of bird are you?” Sam asks her.  “I’m a raven.”  Later, he boards the bus with a note she left him.

"I'm a raven."

Back to present tense, Sam utilizes his scouting skills to cross the river.  They hike the old Chickchaw Trail, eat, and make their way through the rain from Summer’s End to the Island of Penzance.  He catches a turtle with the name “Albert” ingrained into its shell in red lettering and then fries a fish for Suzy.  She reveals her secret that she stole a bunch of library books.  She also has a copy of Coping with a Troubled Child, prompting Sam to laugh.  He apologizes to her when his reaction hurts her feelings.  She reads The Francine Odysseys.  

A motley crew

At the Bishop home, Laura informs Walt via megaphone that their daughter is now AWOL.  While looking for Suzy, Sharp tries to console Walt.  He asks about Laura and then plays the Hank Williams song.  At the Bishop home, Laura uncovers Sam’s artwork and describes it, “He does water colors, mostly landscapes, but a few nudes.”  She also found correspondence between Sam and their daughter, which are reenacted via voice-over and flashback.  We learn that Suzy has a hilariously and unexpectedly vicious temper.  At the meadow where Sam and Suzy reunited, the search party looks for the kids.  Laura and Sharp talk.  Walt has been incurring black eyes from accidental falls.  Sharp begins ordering everyone to certain tasks. 

Sam and Suzy realize that they’re being followed.  The pack, led by Sam’s main rival Redford (Lucas Hedges), find the two.  Sam warns Redford, “Do not cross this stick.”  He disobeys him, charging towards the couple.  An arrow is shot.  The next things we know the pack flees.  As it turns out, Redford rode his bike into a tree (think the fate of the sports car belonging to Cameron’s dad in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off), Suzy stabbed him with her left-handed scissors, and one of the pack killed Snoopy with the arrow during the scuffle.  The scouts debrief in the car.

At the dock, the injured Redford is carried away on a gurney.  The Bishops confront Randy, before the narrator surfaces and informs everyone that he thinks he knows where the kids are.  At a discrete cove that becomes very special to Sam and Suzy, they play and swim in the water.  He paints her and fashions some earrings for her out of fishhooks and beetles.  He pierces her virgin ears with one of them.  “It’s pretty, do the other one,” she says enamored, as blood drips down her neck.  Suzy tells him that she thinks orphans are special.  He responds, “I love you, but you don’t know what you’re talking about.”  They slow dance (at arm’s length, of course) in their underwear.  They kiss and Sam spits sand out of his mouth.  Then, they French kiss and engage in innocent heavy petting.  French music plays.  She reads Disappearance of Sixth Grader, while Sam mouths his pipe. 

The next morning, they wake up surrounded by everyone.  Walt lifts their tent from over them, Laura grabs Suzy, and Randy informs Sam that he is now homeless.  On the boat ride back, Lionel informs his sister, “You’re a traitor to our family.”  Suzy responds defiantly, “Good, I want to be.”  On a separate boat, Randy comforts Sam.  At the station, Captain Sharp puts in a call for Social Services (the always fabulous Tilda Swinton).  At the Bishop home, the boys play a board game.  Walt grabs an axe to go chop down a tree.  Laura bathes Suzy.  At his home, Sharp cooks Sam a meal.  He shares with the boy, “Even smart kids stick their fingers in electric sockets.”  A clear connection is made between the young lovers who are just beginning their journey, and their older counterparts, whose proverbial ship has sailed. 

Randy conducts his nightly log.  The troops gossip.  With Redford temporarily out of the picture, Skotak (Gabriel Rush) stands up for Sam and rallies the pack around his best interests.  Laura meets with Sharp.  The troops secretly pick Suzy up from her home.  Laura breaks up with Sharp.  The camera lingers on McDormand in one of the film’s bittersweet images, as she nurses her emotions with a sign in the background declaring, “No Swimming.”  As Sam and Suzy enjoyed their very first swim together not too long ago, the chapter was closing on their older counterparts that lost out to time and opportunity.  The pack make their way to Sharp’s, where they pick up Sam.   My favorite image of this entire film, from a purely aesthetic point of view, is of Sam and Suzy bundled together on a canoe at sunrise with the stunning red of the sky behind them, as they make their way through the deep blue waters.  Unbeknownst to him, after the narrator sets up a shot for his video log detailing the approaching storm, the kids arrive on land and into the frame of his footage.  Laura and Walt talk while lying in their separate beds.  Laura: “Stop feeling sorry for yourself.”  Walt: “Why?”  Laura: “We’re all they’ve got, Walt.”  Walt: “That’s not enough.” 

Schwartzman taps into his fagalicious side

Suzy reads to the boys.  Lionel discovers Suzy is missing.  Randy wakes up to an AWOL pack.  He telegraphs Commander Pierce (Harvey Keitel) at Fort Lebanon.  While chewing wads of gum provided by a fellow scout, Sam and the pack approach Cousin Ben (Jason Schwartzman in a fiercely realized part) about performing a marriage ceremony between him and Suzy.   He’s reluctant, but agrees.  Afterwards, he tells the pack, “That’s my fee; I’m keeping the nickels.”  Feeling sorry for the kids, he pushes the tennis ball can forward and lets them keep their money.  “Take the carbon, leave the Bible.”  He places the kids in a sail boat, but Sam has to retrieve Suzy’s binoculars.  Low and behold, they’re on Redford’s person when Sam arrives at the infirmary at Camp Lebanon.  He attacks his arch rival, takes back the equipment, and flees. 

All hail her majesty, bitches

A slew of kids chase after Sam.  He swipes a flag from the ground and plants himself on a nearby pyre declaring, “I condemn you bastards.”  Instantaneously, lightning strikes him.  He survives and his team climb a tree.  Everyone, including Sharp, Randy, the Bishops, Social Services, are on their way to Fort Lebanon.  The torrential rain causes the Black Beacon Reservoir damn to break.  Sam and his pack run past the church he and Suzy first met.  Commander Pierce strips Randy of his command for losing his troops.  The flood sends  a falling totem pole into Pierce’s cabin, starting a fire.  Randy saves him and everyone makes their way to the church where Sam and his friends are incognito.  Sharp and the Bishops are there when Social Services arrives.  There is a standoff between the Captain and the government official.  Sam and Suzy disappear on the roof.  Sharp climbs after them up the steeple.  The young lovers share their last words and kiss.  Sharp offers Sam his home and he accepts.  The steeple crashes and Sharp and the kids hang on for dear life in a memorable image. 

In calmer times, the narrator shares more information about the Black Beacon Storm.  Randy starts camp for the day.  The narrator carries on with more of his business.  Suzy reads The Return of Auntie Lorraine by the bay window as her brothers play a musicology record.  When the kids are called to the dining room, we see Sam leaving his painting and escaping from the window, where Sharp assists him in his getaway at the foot of the house.  The final image is Sam’s depiction of the magical cove he and Suzy spent the night and created a fantasy world for themselves together.  It dissolves into the actual place before the very colorful, creative, and endearing credits begin. 

Box-Office Potential

Considering the record-setting amount on only four screens, Kingdom has a long life ahead of itself, which may last through the "Summer's End."  It should have no problem reaching into the $20 - $40M range.  Wes Anderson’s highest grossing film to date is The Royal Tenenbaums at $52.3M.  It doesn’t seem unheard of for the film to beat that record, but my guess is that it will fall short by at least $10M or so, still making its final take quite an achievement.  Frankly, if this film grosses anything over $25M, it's a hit, IMO.  

Oscar Prospects

Screenplay, screenplay, screenplay!  Anderson was nominated for the category once ten years ago with Owen Wilson for Tenenbaums.  Fantastic Mr. Fox was also nominated for best animated feature two years previously.  I loved the art direction, but perhaps it's too quaint for the AMPAS and not pedigreed enough.  

[Image via Collider]

Click here for photographic magic

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Oscar Outlook 2012: The Paperboy

John Cusack isn’t the greatest actor.  In fact, I often find the 1980s pop culture icon quite difficult to watch in anything past his heyday.  I could say the same about Matthew McConaughey except he does have some appeal when he plays unapologetically slimy roles.  So, their presence in this film should have been the first two indications that the casting department might have fallen asleep on the job.  But, then, you have to consider this stars Nicole Kidman (albeit in seemingly full Ann-Margaret-like form) in the follow-up to Lee Daniels’ Precious.  So, you have two different extremes on the surface and, as the Cannes reviews have suggested, you have one huge mess on your hands.  Depending on your taste, that could either be a good or bad thing.  I try not to be bothered by the spoiler that everyone and their mother made no bones about revealing.  I mean really?  You couldn’t keep it to yourselves, folks.  Not to say that the film or at least even part of it is ruined for virgin eyes, it just strikes me as bad form.  What say you?  Perhaps I’ll change my tune once I see it.  Until then, I'll pretend that it doesn't matter or, if possible, that I never heard it.  After the jump, a sampling of reviews ...

Kidman gracing us with her little Kelly ala Sharon Stone

The "Pros":

Hollywood Reporter >> Loved how trashy it was

Guardian >> “Smart, entertaining with an excellent performance from Kidman”

Cynicritics >>”beautifully shot mess that (kind of) works”

Film School Rejects >> Pretty much enjoyed the story

Time >> Enjoyed it, especially Kidman

Digital Spy >> Daniels doesn’t seem to know what he’s doing, but liked the trash

Scene Creek >> Unusually introspective reaction

The "Cons" and/or Mixed:
Hit Fix >> You’re either gonna love or hate it

Huffington Post >> Daniels’ inconsistent tone is distracting, but the trash will find an audience

Variety >> “Not unenjoyable” that will likely be a rental for most

Telegraph >> Excused the actors, especially Kidman, but called the film “just a dismally bad job”

EW >> Doesn’t lambast the film, but cautions Daniels to pull himself back and perhaps exercise greater assiduity in choosing scripts. 

IndieWire >> “Oddly self-aware mess”

The Playlist >> Boldly suggests that Hollywood Reporter and its ilk cannot be trusted.  Oh really?

Attack of the Third Lip!

There is probably little Oscar potential for this film.  In fact, after its screening at Cannes, it sounds like a rental waiting to happen.  From what can be understood, Daniels has experimented with exaggerated filming styles to create a campy atmosphere to revel in.  Very little is said about any emotional connection to the character (outside of Scene Creek); in fact, quite the contrary.  It’s a wild ride and either you’ll want to be a passenger or wait for the next vehicle.  But not all trash is created equal and it appears that one has to watch this film with their own eyes to judge.  I tried watching Fellini Satyricon recently and I couldn’t wait for that stinking pile to be over.

The screenplay is based on the novel by Peter Dexter.  It also features Zac Efron, who you definitely have to give props to for trying different things.  Joe Klotz has edited Precious and Rabbit Hole.  Roberto Schaefer lensed the crazy visuals.  He’s been a trusted cinematographer for Marc Forster and the Christopher Guest mockumentaries.  The production design team includes members who have worked on the The Big Easyand Treme.  Caroline Eselin did the costumes.  There was a makeup crew, but Kidman said she did her own.  She may have been referring to that one time there was no artist on set.  Daniels’ used his go-to composer Mario Grigorov for the score.

Millennium set the release date for The Paperboy (October 5th), which was filmed in New Orleans and LA last summer.  It marks one of Kidman's first independent productions to come out after she fired her manager and publicist and signed on with Geyer Kosinski, who has turned Angelina Jolie into an truly bankable international star.  Is it too late for Kidman?  Or is that even a question they're interested in?  

poll by twiigs.com

Also on the Radar:

Anna Karenina     Argo     Beasts of the Southern Wild     The Bourne Legacy     The Dark Knight Rises     Dark Shadows     Django Unchained     Gangster Squad     Great Expectations     The Great Gatsby     The Hobbit     Hope Springs     The Hunger Games     Hyde Park on the Hudson     Killing Them Softly     Lawless     Lincoln     Lola Versus     Lovelace     Low Life     Magic Mike     The Master     Les Misérables     Life of Pi     Moonrise Kingdom     The Paperboy     People Like Us     Prometheus     To Rome with Love     Ruby Sparks     Savages     Seeking a Friend for the End of the World     The Silver Linings Playbook     Smashed     The Surrogate     Trouble with the Curve     Won't Back Down 


The Avengers     The Amazing Spider-Man     Men in Black III

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Happy Birthday Suit: Annette Bening

"Why don't you run outside 
and jerk yourself a soda."

Like Cate Blanchett, as discussed earlier this month, Glenn Close, and the recent Jessica Chastain, Annette Bening was one of those rare actresses working nowadays who actually got a "late" start in Hollywood.  Then, again, for her generation, breaking into films in one's late 20s, was still not quite yet a rarity.  One of her contemporaries who signaled the return to early debuts was Sharon Stone (but not early by today's standards).  But, both embodied a glamour that was a throwback to the 1940s.  They each had a toughness and confidence about them that the men in their life found fascinating and irresistible.  Stone built a career on her breakout role as Catherine Tramell in Basic Instinct, where Bening tended to drift to characters who were more neurotic.  But, the way she seduced future husband Warren Beatty (and became the woman who "tamed" the infamous playboy) as Virginia Hill in Bugsy was a mesmerizing example of how she could effortlessly conjure up old Hollywood with an Ida Lupino exotic, yet simple beauty and sultry, husky voice.

"The lady or the loot?"

A good part of Bening's 20s were spent in the theatre.  She graduated from ACT in San Francisco and earned a Tony nomination for Coastal Disturbances.  She also dealt with an eating disorder.  Having confronted and sorted out such a major issue in her life before the limelight is a testament to how well she negotiated through the movie business.  Here's a woman who reached success fairly quickly at an accelerated age, but then chose marriage and family over career just when things were getting hotter.  She infamously backed out as Catwoman (Michelle Pfeiffer was purfect, but I imagine Bening would have been equally memorable), and also left the just-add-water-hit Disclosure due to separate pregnancies.  Yet, despite what might have been, Bening's talent and extraordinary patience perhaps gave her the career she had in her 40s and 50s that she might not otherwise have had if she had peaked too soon.

The Bening Attacks!

Bening has been nominated four times for Oscar.  A strong argument has been made that two of those times she not only lost to Hilary Swank, but was probably runner-up.  A fictional "rivalry" was concocted the year Swank narrowly missed out on a third nomination when Bening was recognized for The Kids Are All Right.  She also narrowly missed the award against Natalie Portman.  One might consider that she would have two additional nominations were it not for 1991 and 2006 being extremely competitive years.  Noting Bugsy had pulled in a hefty ten nominations, Bening scored a Golden Globe drama nod (always a notable precursor), and she delivered the goods, one might imagine that Bette Midler stepped in her way to join the company of Clarice Sterling, Thelma & Louise.  She also hosted Saturday Night Live around the release of the then highly anticipated Running with Scissors, but its poor showing at the box-office wouldn't help amongst the tough competition which included an unnominated Maggie Gyllenhaal (Sherrybaby) and Beyoncé (for the multiple-nominated Dreamgirls).

Why so glum Bening?  You're a standout in a sub-par film? 

Bening continues to plug away.  This year she has supporting roles in Ruby Sparks (from the team that brought us Little Miss Sunshine) and Kristen Wiig's Imogene, playing a Jersey Shore-type mother.  She also has a bit role in a Sally Potter movie due out next year, as well as the lead opposite Ed Harris and Robin Williams in the romantic comedy drama The Look of Love.  Other possible projects include Lullaby, another one of Ernest Hemingway's lovers, and Catherine The Great.  Today, one of my favorite actresses turns 54.  For a really great recent writeup on Bening, check out Nat's eloquent valentine to her over at The Film Experience.

Check Out Other Happy Birthday Suit(lesses):

Jennifer Aniston     Ellen Barkin     Drew Barrymore     Annette Bening     Jessica Biel     Juliette Binoche     Cate Blanchett     Helena Bonham Carter     Cher     Glenn Close     Claires Danes     Geena Davis     Kirsten Dunst     Jennifer Garner     Jennifer Grey     Kate Hudson     Holly Hunter     Angelina Jolie     Ashley Judd     Keira Knightley     Jessica Lange     Andie MacDowell     Eva Mendes     Rosie O'Donnell     Lena Olin     Michelle Pfeiffer     Natalie Portman     Emma Thompson     Uma Thurman     Rachel Weisz     Debra Winger     Renée Zellweger

Jennifer Aniston #1     Nicole Kidman #1     Rachel McAdams     Julia Roberts     Winona Ryder     

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Review: La otra familia (The Other Family)

The line went around the block at the Ricardo Montalbán Theatre Sunday night for the premiere of La otra familia (The Other Family) at the 2012 Hola Mexico Film Festival.  Gustavo Loza’s crowd-pleaser is about Hendrix (Bruno Loza), a 7-year-old in search of a place he can call home.  Through a series of random associations, he drifts from his crack-addict mother to an affluent gay couple, who, of course, never planned on being parents.

Luis R. Guzman and Bruno Loza clowning around in one
of the film's many heart-melting moments

When Hendrix ends up in the hands of Jean Paul (Jorge Salinas) and Chema (Luis R. Guzmán), everyone including their gardener Gabino (Silverio Palacios) and maid Doña Chuy (Carmen Salinas) brings their own baggage-clouded perspective on what is best for the boy.  The unflinching portrayal puts those with reservations in their place, as it displays the slow bending of Catholic culture as the times change.  Loza examines our misplaced concern for the protection of children, which gets lost in unfounded degrees of paranoia about pedophilia in the context of two men raising a male child and the awareness of the human body. 

Luis Gerardo Méndez
plays photographer George

The director expertly handles the heart-warming family comedy-drama, striking a balance between poking fun at the idiosyncrasies of Chema’s newfound parenting style or the overly cautious nature of all the people in Hendrix’ life, and the tragically dire environment where the boy springs from.  From a hilariously passionate kiss concluding a commitment ceremony (love, indeed was “in the air” of their nuptials) to the carefully chosen expletives accentuating the unrelenting pounding at an ultimate wrestling match, the director is adept at several humorous styles.  If the audience’s reaction was any indication, one might wonder if he’s too good, undermining some of the film’s more unfortunate moments. 

The model good-looks of
Luis R. Guzman

The discussions dealing with defining parenthood are ample and rather seamlessly incorporated into Hendrix’ journey, at first.  Loza covers everything from non-traditional guardians, natural birth verses adoption (nature verses nurture), the idea of passing on genetics, surrogacy (egg verses gestation), etc.  As well, there is talk about society’s perceptions regarding skin color and masculine verses feminine.  Everyone has their role in a relationship, regardless of gender or sexual identity; it’s the personality and skill-set that dictates their role in a relationship more than their gender or sexuality identity.

The first half is sublimely edited, that is, until Loza kneels before the ambitions of his script.  The agenda is to present a successful model gay couple.  They are professional, attractive, and loving.  One half even stays home.  The socioeconomic gap between the have’s and have not’s is apparent, as here, if you’re not driving around an expensive car or living a comfortable life as an artist, you are a servant and/or living in the slums.  This surprisingly works, even though it paints the straights in the film an unflattering color with a broad brush.  The treatment is negligible up until a point.

But, the desperation to be loved and accepted becomes too thick.  A pop montage promises a denouement, but the plot presses on.  The involved storyline is determined to tie up all of its loose ends and give every last character their full arc.  The movie runs thirty minutes long and its formula collapses underneath its own weight.  The whole affair becomes maudlin when impressing upon points already clearly made: a gay couple can provide just as good of a home as any and some people aren’t fit to be parents, regardless of their sexual orientation.  The film also touches on the unifying effect a child can have on a community and how government can step in the way.  Expertly cast, Jorge Salinas’ pensive eyes lead the cast as the patriarch, of sorts.  I dare you not to fall in love with the first half of this tearjerker.  And I dare you not to place a pair of editing clippers in Loza’s hands as you patiently wait for the credits during the latter.  

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Movie Spoiler A LONELY PLACE TO DIE (after capsule review)

The action film A Lonely Place to Die answers the ever pressing question of what happens when experienced rock climbers accidentally find themselves in the middle of a ransom situation.  Writers Julian and Will Gilbey try to tap into the emotional plight of its athletic heroes, but fail to turn them into three-dimensional characters as they try to protect a little girl from danger.  Some of the acting is passable (Melissa George carries most of the burden), but often lacking.  Heavy on shock, many of the reactions are lean on raw feeling.  And the screenplay leaves unanswered qualms in every plot-hole which litters the film.  It doesn’t help that the director hasn't enough confidence in the audience, nor that the music and sound effects unintentionally make a mockery of the earnest tone, complete with a few growling sounds a couple of times to accentuate the relentlessness of a killer dressed in a scary and intimidating pig mask.  The camera work is also sometimes thickly produced, except when the director steps away and offers the magnificence of the Scottish Highlands, including Glen Coe, a popular filming location.  But there is only so much tension the filmmakers can squeeze out of a rock-climbing film that spends little time hanging off cliffs.

Movie Spoiler Summary

A Lonely Place to Dieopens with a beautifully lensed rock-climbing scene with some fucking breathtaking landscape photography (from a low-budget of $4M).  Even being shot on a Red One Camera, the Scottish Highlands look gorgeous.  And the opening scene is a real nail-biter.  Alison (Melissa George) and Ed (Ed Speleers) prepare a leg of the climb with Rob (Alec Newman) waiting ahead.  Distracted, Ed falls when Rob draws the rope.  They eventually save Ed from dangling off a cliff and continue on their journey.  Cut to the opening credits playing over ballad “The Burning of Achindoun” while the camera features the Highlands in all of their long-shot natural glory.      

*** More Movie Spoilers ***

On their way to camp, Alison informs Ed that “complacency is a killer out here,” meaning he needs to pay more attention on their next ascent.  They meet up with Jenny (Kate Magowan) and Alex (Gary Sweeney) and settle for a bit at a chateau.  Alison has a nightmarish flashback to the accident while taking a bath.  Later, the group plays cards.  The next day, on their way to a climb, they discover an air pipe sticking out of the ground.  After digging, they find little Serbian girl Anna (Holly Boyd) buried alive in a small confined space.  Rob decides to take Alison to scale a dangerous face in order to get help as quickly as possible.  He instructs the others to take a longer trail to the closest village.  During the climb down, a stranger cuts Rob’s rope mid-climb and he plummets to his death.  A minor avalanche also causes Alison to fall, but branches and a river landing save her.   

Ed Speleers

She has a nightmare about waking up in the confined area they found the girl.  Two hunters (Douglas Russell, Alan Steele) watch the hiking group.  The two kidnappers Mr. Kidd (Sean Harris) and Mr. McRae (Stephen McCole) stumble across and murder the hunters, absconding with their weapons.  Andy (Eamonn Walker) drives Darko (Karel Roden) and Chris (Paul Anderson) to meet with the kidnappers.  The climbing team find Alison across a loud river and they experience trouble communicating.  The kidnappers start picking off the climbers.  Jenny is the first to go and she inadvertently drags Anna down with her into the river.  Alison receives a minor hit, knocking her into the water, but she manages to save Anna in the process.  They lose each other, but are reunited again when Ed grabs Anna to escape the kidnappers.  They also meet up with Alex, who chooses to run off with a decoy doll bundled up to look like Anna (where they found this doll is beyond me).  They shoot him like an animal.  As Alex slowly dies, Mr. Kidd enjoys his suffering for fooling them.  “Do you feel that?  That’s the price of your nobility.  It hurts, doesn’t it?” 

Alison and Ed scale a small face with Anna.  Ed figures out that she is probably in the middle of a ransom situation.  Andy coaches Darko on how to conduct himself during the negotiations with Mr. Kidd.  When Darko expresses his doubts about receiving proper backup, Chris gets cheeky and chimes in, “We’re English, Darko.  We leave friendly fire to the Yanks."  During carnival (of all things) in the small town of Dingwall (?), Alison and Ed find a local police station.  But, there aren’t any officers available to help them, because they’re all on patrol at the festival.  Darko sits down with Mr. Kidd and refuses to pay until he sees Anna.  Mr. Kidd goes on to explain a botched kidnapping that occurred, because the parents tried to outsmart him.  The threatening scene is unnecessary for the characters, but the back-and-fourth bluffing between the two gentlemen buys Mr. McRae time to find Anna.   

*** More Movie Spoilers ***

Ed convinces Alison to leave, because the officer doesn’t appear to be of much help, but the authority insists the pair must leave the girl in his custody.  Mr. McRae shoots the officer dead from outside the building and the electricity goes out.  The group escapes into the revelry and loudness of the fireworks.  A backup officer has been killed.  Mr. McRae emerges wearing a pig mask and shoots Ed, as well as another officer.  The females disperse and Mr. McRae continues to kill people, including innocent festival goers.  Andy finds the dying Ed and leaves him a gun to protect himself.  Alison and Anna find a house owner (Jamie Edgell) willing to let them in to his home.  Unfortunately, Alison doesn’t lock the door to even buy them a little time.  Mr. McRae shoots the man and takes off his piggy mask.  The house begins to burn.  After a few scuffles, Alison kills Mr. McRae and helps Anna escape from an upstairs window.  Fireman save the injured Alison.  Apparently, Mr. Kidd makes off with the money, though we never see how things ended with Darko.  Andy crashes through Mr. Kidd’s vehicle and beats the living shit out of him.  Darko observes Alison being wheeled off to the hospital with Anna at her side and a police officer (Gillian MacGregor) in attendance.

Darko and Andy meet with some Serbs, one of which is Anna’s father Mr. Rakovic (Mathew Zajac).  Mr. Kidd is brought to his feet and ordered to die.  Mr. Rakovic informs Andy that he wired a payment to his account.  The Serbs begin to bury Mr. Kidd.  Roll End Credits. 

[Images via Clatto Verata, Imp Awards, Khakis Gay Life]

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Eden Lake

A Lonely Place to Die

Perfect Sense

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