Oscar Watch: True Grit earns its name

Image courtesy of Paramount Pictures.




When I get tired of looking out my window at the frozen tundra of snow the Northeastern portion of the U.S. brings this time of year, I long for the West. And since I have neither the time nor the means to go out there, I do the next best thing: see True Grit.

First off, is there nothing that Jeff Bridges can't do? He's the rare breed of actor who chooses his parts carefully and once chosen, becomes them. Bridges plays the trigger-happy U.S. Marshal Reuben J. "Rooster" Cogburn, and under his cowboy hat and eyepatch, I could barely recognize him, which is ideally the spell you want to cast on the audience. Too many actors just play themselves in films, but the sign of a true professional is when you can be watching them for about 15 minutes and suddenly say to yourself, "Oh, right! That's Jeff Bridges."

The Coen Brothers have had their ups and downs in my book, and often the sort of films I've enjoyed by them have been the least popular in the eyes of critics, such as The Ladykillers (still one of my absolute FAVORITE roles Tom Hanks has ever done), whereas O Brother, Where Art Thou?, which was lauded profusely, is still only so-so in my book. But something about True Grit really touched my spirit in a way that no other Coen Brothers film has been able to do.

This is probably due in a large part to Hailee Steinfeld, playing 14-year-0ld Mattie Ross who hires Rooster to hunt down her father's killer. Steinfeld is the right combination of persistent and headstrong without managing to be a total bitch. Some of the female pride in me, and perhaps the fact I love my own father very much, caused me to become very much taken with Mattie. Maybe it was also the fact she didn't lose her accent or any of her character's attributes at any point in time, which, I hate to say, couldn't be said for some of her co-stars.

There were parts of the film that I thought were a little sloppy in terms of consistency. For instance, Matt Damon, playing a fully-outfitted, fringes and all, Texas ranger named LaBoeuf (pronounced "LaBEEF," extra drawl included) gets seriously injured at one point by being hogtied and dragged through the ground. His chin is cut and bloodied and supposedly his tongue has been mangled, but the next day there is not a trace of a cut on his face and his speech impediment, caused by the tongue injury, comes and goes. That was disappointing because beyond that Damon does a pretty solid job with the role.

The film moves fast in a sun-baked, dusty haze relieved only by occassional flurries. By the time you get to the end it's hard to believe it's actually over. And yet the evolution of the relationships between the main characters, particularly between Rooster and Mattie, are not rushed at all. Through tough times and hard experiences, both Rooster and LaBoeuf come to respect Mattie despite her youth - not unlike what might happen in the real world. And seeing Rooster's drunken, fat, bloodthirsty self turn a new, fatherly corner is one of the finest movie-going experiences I've ever seen. That's really what the story is about -the retribution plot is just the vehicle. The Coen Brothers have learned a tough technique in film storytelling - how to create a believable, evolving relationship between two hearts in a limited period of time.

In the end, you realize that the term "True Grit" is really earned by Rooster, LaBoeuf, and Mattie, as justice is served the only way it can be in the old Wild West - at the end of a pistol.

Also, if you check out the movie's website you can enjoy a rather well-done rendition of the folk tune, "God's Gonna Cut You Down."

Tron Legacy: Never has cyberspace been so much fun

Image courtesy of Disney Studios.



Doing follow-ups to films made almost 30 years ago is always a challenge, so when I first saw the trailers for Tron: Legacy, I was a little nervous. This was a film that I grew up with as a child since every time I turned on the Disney channel it was either Tron, The Neverending Story, Honey I Shrunk the Kids, or The Flight of the Navigator playing. I had not seen the original in perhaps 12 years, and I made it a point to not see it again before seeing Legacy because I did not want this review to be a comparison piece - I wanted to view this in its own right.

And wow, was it a whole lot of fun. First off, this is one film where it is definitely worth shelling out the extra cash to see in 3D. It fits the Tron universe so perfectly it's a shame the technology wasn't around for the first. From the motorcycle races on the nefarious "Grid", set in a new-age Colosseum-type atmosphere, to the high-speed jet chase, the film takes every possible opportunity to swing it's way out at you and make you part of the cyberscape.

The first 15 minutes of the film are not the best. The opening is left with much to be desired, however Garrett Headlund, who plays Flynn's son Sam (Flynn is the creator of the world Tron, played by the inemitable and timeless Jeff Bridges) strikes the right chord between being the cocksure hero and the relatable decidedly human trait of not really knowing what the hell is going on. Too often in action/scifi adventures, the hero character can become really bland and is only colored by the characters he interacts with (I'm looking at you, Luke Skywalker.) But Sam is really likeable. He's not the prodigy like his Dad, but he's got enough street smarts to be the only one who can take care of business. Perhaps I can relate more because Sam is probably supposed to be my age - a kid that understands the 80s from a child's perspective, when videogames were the new kid on the block and Journey ruled the airwaves. Once in the world of Tron, the film starts getting its sea legs. There is a moment when Sam first enters his father's old store right before getting sucked in that literally sent a rush of anticipation down my spine. It was at that moment I knew the film really had me locked into its world.

That is the biggest success of the film - immersing you into the world of Tron. It's a pale, sleek, stark landscape that suggests a cleaned-up Matrix - indeed, some of the action sequences purposefully give a nod to it. And the cerebral, synth-cyber music of Daft Punk is the perfect accompaniment that finds its way into your blood stream. It would be so easy for the actors to cave in and give performances as cold and shallow as the filaments of light on their body suits but instead, everyone - down to the all-too-brief performance of Michael Sheen as the urbane Zuse- takes their roles to their maximum potential.

There are flaws of course - those not having seen the first Tron might get a little confused as to the relationships between the "users" and the "programs", and the digitized younger Jeff Bridges still looks a little...off. It is scary to see how close they are getting with merging the digital with the real in films. Also, there could have been more development on how the world of Tron has evolved since the rise of a little thing called the Internet.

But I always evaluate my movie experience by how I feel at the end of it, whether it be indifferent or angry that a film did not achieve its full potential. Tron Legacy left me feeling like I just got off Space Mountain-exhilarated and addled, my heartbeat pumping to the electonica bass and my inner 80s child grinning from ear to ear.

I also highly recommend downloading the Tron: Legacy soundtrack. Daft Punk pays the film the ultimate tribute by incorporating the latest in electronica while maintaining the very 80s-esque tunes.

Now, where can I get one of those cool light-striped suits??!

First runs: Due Date misses the deadline

Image courtesy of Warner Bros. Studios.










This is one of these films where I came out of the theater, went home, sat in front my laptop and ran my fingers through my hair because I really don't know where to start with this one. It's not as bad as the Clash of the Titans remake, of course watching bread rise is better than that.

Due Date, simply put, is a weird film. It actually made me nervous. Like, oh my god, oh my god, what horrible thing is going to happen next kind of nervous. I'm not sure that's really how you are supposed to feel during a comedy. Director Todd Phillips, who did amazing work with The Hangover, is known for his extreme, over-the-top gags. But in that film, you had four, fine comedic actors (not to mention the ever-foxy Bradley Cooper) that each brought something fresh to each scene and to one another. Having a full-force of Zach Galifianakis, trotting out again his weirdo-loser persona from The Hangover, is just a bit too much, thank you very much.

The premise is a clear riff on the "buddy" comedies of old featuring Dean Martin (sexy straight man) and Jerry Lewis (doofy goofball) carrying on together through wacky hijinx and despite being polar opposites, learning to love one another in the end. Or at least mostly tolerate. This time around, Robert Downey Jr. plays the Dean Martin type whereas Galifianakis is Jerry Lewis, but both are on a far more dangerous and yes, on occasion, actually SCARY road trip after they are thrown together under the most unusual circumstances.

The gist: Peter (Downey) ends up losing his wallet and getting kicked off a plane with Tremblay (Galifianakis) and Peter needs to make it home, doing whatever it takes, to witness the birth of his first child. The film did have some very funny moments. But it also had some moments that were supposed to be funny and just ended up being close to frightening. There was not much you had to tweak about this film to make it some kind of psycho thriller because basically, Tremblay is the devil incarnate. Props for Galifianakis for trying so hard to make this completely awful human being a poor, well-meaning dope, but every time you start to get warm fuzzies for this guy, he does something so hideous, so unbelievable, and so insanely selfish that you are just as happy when SPOILER poor Peter finally loses it and decks him.

It reminds me of an even worse film that came out years ago with Ellen DeGeneres and Bill Pullman called Mr. Wrong. Touted as a comedy, it is actually an extremely disturbing film about a woman who falls in love with a guy and then finds out he's actually a possessive wacko who ends up kidnapping her and taking her to Mexico. And this is supposed to be funny?

SPOILERS AHEAD just FYI, in case you actually want to pay money to see this. (For reals yo? Believe me, wait and Netflix it.)

For instance, there is a touching moment near the end when Tremblay spreads his father's ashes across the Grand Canyon, which Peter is generously taking time out to let him do even though the clock is ticking. Immediately afterwards, there is a jaw-dropping revelation that Tremblay has had Peter's wallet, with all the IDs, money, EVERYTHING in it, in his pocket the whole time. The lack of a proper ID and money is, of course, one of the reasons why Peter is stuck on this road trip from hell with this guy. Tremblay's excuse for putting this poor, decent man through hell? He's lonely.

And yet, after all this, they end up being the best of friends and everything works out. No consequences, no worries, just a nice, happy ending. I'm not sure what kind of message this film is putting out. So we should be kind to the people that treat us like total shit and put us through unimaginable anguish for days on end because they have "issues" and are "lonely?"

Nice try, Mr. Phillips, but I think I'll hold out for Hangover II to come out on Netflix next time. I think I've had enough Tremblay for a long while to come.

A Rare beauty is found in Sita Sings the Blues

Image downloaded courtesy of www.sitasingstheblues.com












Every once in awhile one gets a chance to experience a film that's truly rare and compelling. I had such an experience this past weekend while attending MangaNEXT, a Japanese anime convention held in East Brunswick, N.J.

There are several things that are downright awesome about Sita Sings the Blues. First off, New York City resident Nina Paley created this movie on her home computer over the course of five years. Secondly, this film is free for anyone to watch by clicking here. My advice: go watch it now and have the next hour and a half of your life illuminated. Read the rest of this review afterwards. This is the stuff that Disney wishes it could aspire to. I found myself in tears at the end of the viewing because due to the fact that for reasons I will get to later, this film has never had a commercial release and therefore will never be able to win an Oscar, although it is utterly deserving of one.

The movie is based on the tales about Rama and Sita from the Ramayana (all Indian folklore, fyi). Sita is at first embraced by her husband, but after a series of misfortunes, is shunned, and then ultimately redeemed by the gods (and goddesses). Woven within the story is Nina's own tale of how her marriage dissolved but ultimately led to her doing this very film. What is so captivating is Nina uses four different animation styles to tell various parts of her stories. The funniest parts of the film go to the three narrators of the stories of Rama and Sita, whom Nina recorded and then animated based on their conversations, which often involve them arguing about "what really happened."

What you get is an exquisite tapestry of color, animation, and humor, as well as music! Sita indeed does sing the blues (1930s and 40s blues sung by Annette Hanshaw, in fact, to add a twist) in various montages that reflect her current situation.

Having Nina actually there to answer questions about her fabulous work was a real treat. She's an incredibly kind and patient person who also happens to be a super genius when it comes to animation. In Nina's own words: "I'm just an ordinary human, who also can't make her marriage work. And the way that it fails is uncannily similar to the way Rama and Sita's [relationship fails]. Inexplicable yet so familiar. And the question that I asked and the question people still ask is, "Why"? Why did Rama reject Sita? Why did my husband reject me? We don't know why, and we didn't know 3,000 years ago. I like that there's really no way to answer the question, that you have to accept that this is something that happens to a lot of humans." (quoted from the movie website with permission.)

Having the film completely free to watch was something that Nina decided after she found out how expensive it would be to buy the rights to use the music in a commercial setting, and that it would take her years to earn back the money. As it is, Nina explained at her panel she is making more money having the film - and everything about it - free and open to the public. In a sense, we are all giving her free publicity, myself included, and I'm proud of that because it's a damn good movie.

There is a light at the end of the tunnel, and that light is is Sita. And I dare you to find a more exhilarating and soul-filling moment than the sequence that comes at the end of the "intermission", which is a treat all by itself. Look for Ravana wandering off with several cokes for each of his several heads.

Well, what are you waiting for? Be inspired!

Critic BOOK Special: SNL vet Jim Breuer comes clean in "I'm Not High"

Jim Breuer is known for a lot of things: Joe Pesci, Goat Boy, that stoner guy in the movie Half-Baked. I was ready for a lot of silly comedy in his latest book, "I'm Not High". What I wasn't ready for was the deep spirituality that resides in the man and comes through in the pages.

This is by far one of the most compelling memoirs I've read lately - I simply could not put it down. Breuer writes with a kind of raw honesty that makes you want to cry and laugh all at the same time. Being a writer, there is nothing more frustrating to me than a memoir that is poorly written, or spends a lot of time trashing other people, or worse yet, is begging the reader to be uber-sympathetic to him or her for all their foibles and mishaps.

Breuer comes completely clean in his book. He's really not high, although he's been high in the past, multiple times, and certainly LOOKS high. But he's also just a really decent guy who uses laughter as a tool for healing.

This book is a lot of things. A collection of funny stories, a case for the power of prayer, a confessional, a diary. It's definitely never boring. Breuer takes us through the highs and lows of his childhood, the long road of breaking into fame and all the heartbreaking disappointments and temptations that come with it. But the message Breuer comes through with time and time again is to never lose yourself in success. Never think you are invincible, or that fame and fortune can replace love and family.

What is most impressive about Breuer's book is how he can talk about his faith in God so freely and not make the reader uncomfortable or make himself sound like some sort of evangelist. It's clear the writing comes from the heart, and that's what makes Breuer so likeable, even when some of his experiences could be speculated to have just been coincidence rather than divine intervention. This book made me think a lot about my own life and what I should be grateful for.

The Insatiable Critic meets Jim Breuer

I would like to mention that seeing Breuer live in New Haven earlier this month is an experience I will never forget. The man is freakin' hilarious. Even the way he laughs is hilarious - I always thought it was just part of his characters but that's actually just the way he is. And having heard him tell some of the tales in the book live, while doing voices people such as Dave Chappelle, it made the book all the more enjoyable because I could hear his impressions in my head as I read through the chapters.

And honest to God, he's just a great guy. After his stand-up routine, we all lined up to have a copy of our book signed. When I came to him, I told him how much I had loved him on Saturday Night Live back in the 90s. He said to me, "Wow, that really means a lot to me. Also, I saw you laughing so hard in the second row there. I'm glad you were really enjoying yourself." And I could tell by the look on his face that he really meant it.

If you are looking for straight-up, honest and funny writing, look no further than "I'm Not High."
Come for the humor, but stay for the heart.

For more about Jim and his upcoming tour dates, click here.

DVD Spotlight: Clash of the Titans remake needs to get over itself

Image courtesy of Warner Bros. and downloaded here.


A few weeks ago, my beloved and I did a back-to-back marathon of Clash of the Titans, the remake and the original, in that order. I can safely say that the original, in all its cheesy glory, was way, WAY better.

Its pretty sad when filmmakers can't make a decent remake with all the access they have nowadays to computer graphics. This new film really should've been called "Clash of the Poorly Laid Out Plot and Underdeveloped Characters" because it was barely recognizable to the original movie.

Keep in mind I had not seen the original so I was trying to appreciate this film in its own right without getting caught in the critic quicksand of "Weelllll they didn't do this like they did in the FIRST movie...."Guess what kiddies: it was still crap.

How do I even begin to dissect this deplorable mish-mosh of Lord of the Rings meets 300 only both done shoddier? Well, let's start with Liam Neeson as Zeus. I'm sorry, but the last time I cracked "Mythology" by Edith Hamilton, Zeus was supposed to be a bad ass. Neeson plays Zeus like a sympathetic father who only wants the best for his world, and yeah, humans are flawed, but that doesn't mean we should kill the little buggers off. Plus, Greek women are just too damn hot. But he lets Hades, played by Ralph Fiennes, who I'm sorry to say is given John Travolta's hairdo from Battlefield Earth, push him around and convince him to start a war between humans and gods. Both actors do their damndest with the sad lot they are given, but when you've got a bad script and a bad plot, it's hard to rise above that no matter how good you are.

Also, the gods of greek mythology did not wander around wearing clunky, 12th century European armor that somehow sparkles of its own accord because uh, THEY'RE GODS. THEY DON'T NEED ARMOR. They wear helmets because it makes them look that much cooler, and that's about it.

Meanwhile, our hero of the hour Perseus, played by Sam Worthington (of James Cameron's Avatar fame) spends an inordinate amount of time whining about having to be half god and half man. Damn buddy, if I had the abilities of a god and my Dad was Zeus, I'd be pretty stoked about it. Also, the sword his Dad leaves for him looks way too much like a light saber for my measure.

From there, the plot gets more and more incomprehensible. There's some stone guy who helps them out but I'm not even really sure what he's doing there, and a woman named Io who follows Perseus around being somewhat supportive but why her character even exists is pretty much beyond me. We finally get to something that makes sense: Hades is going to release the Kraken, a big ugly beastie that's going to lay waste to everything and Perseus has to cut off the head of Medusa in order to turn the Kraken into stone. Medusa's character design was pretty well done. It was nice to show her as being attractive - considering the reason they claim for her existence in the film is a jealous goddess punishing her for being too beautiful.

But one character being well done does not a movie make, although if you are going to do one thing right, it might as well be Medusa. The director Louis Leterrier, whose credits include The Incredible Hulk, overloads the plot with too many characters that he doesn't have time to develop meaningfully and thus, kills them off or just lets them hang. Plus, he takes non-sensical liberties such as making Pegasus, who is classically white and pure, black. Why? To make him look cooler? We'll never know. And really, by the end, you don't really care.

Watching the original was like having the scales fall from my eyes. So THIS is what this movie is supposed to be about! Other than the plotline with Medusa and the Kraken, the movies are completely different. Yes, the special effects are pretty campy, but I'll take a decent plot that makes an ounce of sense over the previous mess I just watched. Laurence Olivier -now there's a Zeus. He's rude, pompous, and is looking out for his own, a far cry from the sniffling pushover that Neeson portrayed. Also, we actually get a look at the power of the goddesses, who are hardly given a nod in the remake. Perseus, played by Harry Hamlin, is elated to discover he has the powers of a god and proceeds to go on an awesome quest to find an awesome babe. No Hades, no war between the gods, no politics. Just a good solid adventure story that doesn't take itself too seriously. And let me tell you ladies, some of the outfits they put Perseus in don't leave much to the imagination, which is an awesome plus.

This is a classic case of a director trying to take a fun-loving, semi-campy adventure story and making it into "SRS BZNS EPIC TALE," when that's not what it is, nor what it ever will be. The presence of Bubo, a quirky mechanical owl that Athena makes in defiance of Zeus when she refuses to give up her own owl, embodies the fun-loving aspect of the film. But sorry folks, this remake is just too serious to have a character as silly as Bubo in it for more than just a mere scrap of a reference to appease the die-hard fans of the film, provided they had not left the theater already. Even though we've got giant scorpions and winged horses and a Jedi knight-type sword. Yeah.

Leterrier, just a small piece of advice for the future - if you don't want to continue to make spectacularly awful films, get over yourself.

On that note, I leave you with this charming and incredibly well-filmed snippet about what Bubo has been doing with his time since the original Clash of the Titans you can see here.

Toby sez: Clash of the Titans remake:




Vs. the Original:

A curve in the road

First of all to all my loyal readers I am sorry for not having updated this in a long time. Things have been busy. And by busy I mean....I lost my job.

It wasn't a total surprise, gentle readers, but it was hard to deal with and on some level, heartbreaking. Many of us grow up with the concept that if we work really hard and try our best, that things will turn out all right in the end. The bitter pill that life makes you swallow on occasion is that your best isn't enough. Sometimes it has nothing to do with you. And then you find yourself on a path you never dreamed you'd be on, trying to make the best of it all.

After the axe came down last Friday, I dived right into the job hunt and have been busier in this past week than I ever thought I'd be. Some people need time to collect, to lick wounds, etc. For me, the way I deal with a bad situation is I start working as fast as I can to fix it, and with every click of the button on my laptop that sends off my resume to a possible job opportunity my heart and soul feels a little bit better.

One thing I am infinitely grateful for is the parting of the ways from my previous employer was very civil and there is no bad blood between us. My bosses told me they have no problem with me using them as references. I don't think anyone really wanted it to happen, but it is what it is and they did their best to help me out by giving me a very decent severance package.

I have been humbled and awed by the unbelievable amount of support my friends and family have sent my way. They always say in times of crisis you find out who your real friends are - boy, do I have a lot of them. To those people who have offered me food, lodging, job opportunities, or even just notes of encouragement and love in the digital realm as well as over the phone and in person, I can't thank you enough.

During this time, I have had some very powerful signs come to me. Yes, as hokey as it sounds, I believe in signs. Recently my friend gave me a purse charm that is a moth in lucite; a few days later my Dad had a dream that he was in my apartment with my mother and moths were coming out of cocoons, drying their wings and getting ready to fly. Our dear family friend Janie tells me that in Native American lore, moths are symbols of transformation and new beginnings.

Sign number two came today at a job interview for a part-time position at an audio books company. One of my all-time favorite blogs is The Daily Coyote, written by a woman named Shreve who left her fast-paced city life behind her to live in Wyoming and raise her ever-expanding "farmily", which includes a coyote, Charlie. She is an amazing writer, photographer, and woman and I have had the great opportunity to talk with her not only over the phone but over email as well. Although I hardly know her personally, she is very dear to me. She came out with a book called "The Daily Coyote: A Story of Love, Survival and Trust in the Wilds of Wyoming" in 2008 and I have an autographed copy of it. During my interview today, they showed me one of their most recent audio book covers that had one of the employee's dogs on the front of it. The dog looked so much like Charlie I started talking about Shreve and the site, and they said to me, "Oh actually, we've produced her audio book!" I couldn't believe it. They handed me a copy and told me to keep it.

Now of all the thousands of books in the world and the numerous audio book companies out there, what were the chances, really?

As I drove home, I popped in the first disc, and a clear voice read out the first line of the book. "The jewels in this life are the events we do not plan; at least that is how it has always been for me."
I felt my eyes fill with tears. It was exactly what I needed to hear. And in that moment, in my car driving down 95 on my way back home, there was this cosmic sensation that all of this has been woven into the fabric of my life forever. That I really am exactly where I need to be right now. People always say things happen for a reason, but it wasn't until I heard and felt what I did that I really believed it.

I promise that there will be a real movie review blog coming soon, but I felt that you all deserved to know what the hell was going on. Thank you for your patience and stay with me - after all, I am insatiable!