Theatrical Review: Doctor Strange

Date: Saturday, November 5th 2016
Time: 1:30pm
Location: Pocono Movieplex
Party: 2 (my mom and I)

Director: Scott Derrickson (mainly psycho-horrors like "The Exorcism of Emily Rose"
Writers: Scott Derrickson, Jon Spaihts, C. Robert Cargill, Steve Ditko
Composer: Michael Giacchino

Cast:
Doctor Stephen Strange- Bendict Cumberbatch
"The Ancient One"- Tilda Swinton
Christine Palmer- Rachel McAdams
Mordo- Chiwetel Ejiofor
Wong- Benedict Wong
Kaecilius- Mads Mikkelsen
Jonathan Pagborn- Benjamin Bratt

Opening Remarks:

This was one of those weekends I was dying to see a movie. There were three I had in consideration and I thought for sure my dad would want to see a couple of them (the "Jack Reacher" sequel and "Inferno"). Instead, my mom and I opted for Dr. Strange simply because he's another part of the Marvel Universe. Plus, it's Benedict Cumberbatch. Kind of hard to resist and he definitely made the trip worth it.

The theater had maybe a dozen people in it. Some were families with kids between the ages of 6-13. Maybe not as lively as the "Avengers" crowd we were a part of in 2012, but pretty darn close. The movie's mix of comedy and drama was greatly appreciated if crowd participation was any indication.

That series of rhyming just came out that way... completely unintentional.

As for why it took me two weeks to write this movie review... well, a lot of stuff happened. The election for starters and the ups and downs of that (sorry, no further details on that, this isn't a political blog). Things at work have been good and busy. And simply, I just haven't felt like writing a review... not because I didn't like it. I've just been lazy about it for some odd reason.

I'm off to see "Fantastic Beasts" today so I wanted to try to hammer this out before I do. And hopefully I'll be more prompt with that review.

Trailers:

Luckily there were only three trailers because there's no way I would have remembered more two weeks after the fact. I need my ticket stub just to remember the time and whether I saw this movie on Saturday or Sunday.

First: a teaser for the newest "Pirates" movie. The one that's been delayed for ages either by Disney or Johnny Depp's personal shenanigans. And he doesn't even appear it. But there is a bounty hunter (I think?) looking for him. He has a crew that reminds me a little of Davy Jones's and he asked this of someone who looks a lot like Brenton Thewlis (it is him! everyone from the original cast is back except Keira Knightly and I'm just going by the first page on IMDB).

Next- the teaser from "Guardians of the Galaxy 2" that premiered some week my folks were away. Not much on the plot except Starlord still has the hots for Glamora but she has still that case of "Footloose" that's making things difficult. And love that shot of Rocket with a mini-Groot on his shoulder in a matching costume.

Then we have another trailer for "Rogue One"... not sure what to expect from this movie, but it is interesting to see how many roles Felicity Jones has gotten since her Oscar nomination.

The Story:

I hate to make this comparison because it sounds like a self-serving cop-out... but Dr. Stephen Strange is pretty much like Tony Stark, except that he's an exceptionally talented and rich surgeon. It's the ego that makes the comparison unavoidable, not my personal inclination for a particular actor. There's also the fact he likes to play music while he's working, but instead of ACDC, it's Earth, Wind and Fire in the one scene this comes into play. He also is a wealth of pop culture knowledge (the conversation in surgery was about when a certain song by a certain artist was recorded and released- no surprise, Strange is right).
But while he's very successful in his professional life, his personal life- not as much. He still works side-by-side with his ex-girlfriend, Christine, who entertains his personality flaws, but doesn't go much beyond that.

So naturally what happens when you have someone with a massive ego and a particular skillset... you put him into a situation where all that is stripped away and he's forced to cope with the aftermath. [There's actually a PSA at the end of the credits- as if to say "this entire story would never have happened if this person didn't do this"].

After exhausting all of his options, both medically or financially, Dr. Strange finally entertains the pseudoscience of spiritual healing and spends his final cent to Nepal in order to purse it. His inspiration comes from another case of someone who came back from a life-altering injury, whom he meets (I hadn't seen Benjamin Bratt in ages and this was a small, but interesting/different role for him) and we see again in a post-credits scene that leaves the door open for future sequels.

Needless to say, the journey he must take upon reaching his destination (where he meets Mordo, Wong, and the leader of this spiritual movement, "The Ancient One")... it is not easy. And the biggest obstacle is none other than Strange himself.

On the other side of things, we have an ex-disciple of this movement, Kaecilius (who I thought for sure was Viggo Mortenson- who I saw in commercials doing press- but is actually the "Casino Royale" Bond villain), threatening to change the fabric of the world this movement was meant to protect.

Characters and Comments:

I thought for sure with this movie, Benedict Cumberbatch would be a shoe-in for "Sexiest Man Alive"... but then again, PEOPLE still hasn't given that honor to RDJ, so I really shouldn't have gotten my hopes up about them getting it right for once.
But even without his British accent, he was amazing in this. He's not very likeable, but he does grow on you. His sense of humor serves him well.
There's also the matter of the cape he attains halfway through the movie. Maybe the best "inanimate" object scene-stealer since the Magic Carpet in Aladdin.

Rachel McAdams is one of my favorite actresses and another great addition to the Marvel universe. She tries to help Strange through his difficult period, but even she has her limits. But when they next meet, after Strange goes through some training with his new mentor, it's fraught with excitement, drama and humor.

Chiwetel Ejofor, whom most people know as the "12 years a slave" Best Actor Oscar nominee has a great opportunity with this role and if the future is any indication, it's going to be used to its full potential. The events of the film have a profound impact on him and how he evolves a person.

Tilda Swinton is completely unrecognizable as "The Ancient One," but another amazing character.
Wong, who minds the library where all the books of this "religion's" teachings are kept. I read a review that said he was a scene-stealer and I agree. Especially when Strange's pop culture knowledge comes into play. Hilarious stuff.

Our villain, Kaecilius, while powerful, he does present an interesting challenge for our protagonist. When they finally meet and have a conversation, Strange is left to reconsider, yet again, all the things he thought he knew about the life he leads.

What sets this movie apart from other Marvel movies- the effects are BEYOND amazing. They're meant to be seen on a large movie screen. As for them being in 3D IMAX... I'm not sure if I'd recommend or engage in it personally. I did sustain a little bit of a headache afterwards from the 2D version.
One scene in particular was enamoring and dizzying like a rollercoaster. I didn't want it to end, but once it did, it was almost a relief. My stomach needed to catch up with the rest of my body.
My initial impression from the trailers held up rather well: this was Marvel universe meets Inception, but without the dreaming aspect.

Maybe the only downside of the movie overall... the head villain that Kaecilius reports to... Doctor Strange faces him. The way he was defeating was a little gimmicky and lacked imagination, Not to mention a little too repetitive...

Also: stick around for the credits. There're two scenes. One that may help usher Dr. Strange into the next Avengers movie. And another that leaves the door open for a sequel. One is more humorous and the other is more dramatic. Take a wild guess which is which.

Grade: A (93%- a notch above an A-)

25. Sherlock Holmes (2009)

Code-name: 1890's bromance

Director: Guy Ritchie

Type: book-to-movie, mystery, thriller, drama, action/adventure

Music: Hans Zimmer
(I had, unknowingly, been a fan of Hans Zimmer for years and this movie is why he's become one of my favorite movie composers, second only to John Williams).

Cast:
Sherlock Holmes- Robert Downey Jr.
Dr. Watson- Jude Law
Lord Blackwood- Mark Strong
Irene Adler- Rachel McAdams
Mary Morstan- Kelly Reilly 
Mrs. Hudson- Geraldine James
Inspector Lestrade- Eddie Marsan
Clarkey- William Huston
[Honorable Mention]
Dredger- Robert Maillet

Notable Awards and Nominations:

Golden Globe-

Best Actor (comedy/musical)-

Robert Downey Jr.

...yeah, it's kind of a big deal 8-)

nomination-OSCAR- Best Art Direction (lost to "Avatar")
nomination-OSCAR- Best Original Score- Hans Zimmer (lost to "Up")

...btw, where was his freaking Oscar nomination for this? :-P

nomination- Grammy- Best Original Score- Hans Zimmer

Write-up:

First Impressions [both of Sherlock and this movie]

I knew nothing about Sherlock Holmes before this movie. The closest I got to it was when we read "The Speckled Band" in 7th grade.

It was announced a few months after Robert impressed me in "Tropic Thunder" that he'd play the title role in this new adaptation. This was a couple years before I became the crazy super fan I am now, so my intentions were just to see another great performance.
I want to say that I saw the movie before he won the Golden Globe. The timing of both things were pretty close. The same weekend I saw it and "Avatar" (the 2nd time, this time in 3D) was the weekend he won...

Anyway, my reaction was mixed. I gave "Sherlock Holmes" a B+
and my first review went something like this:

Overall, I’d say my rating is generous. Of course, I am very generous to my current favorite actor. There was one part towards the end before the climax where I think I was starting to fall asleep. It’s the sort of movie where your paying attention is rewarded at the end where everything is explained. But at times, it's very hard to pick out individual words and phrases from Downey’s British accent. One scene aside (featuring McAdams in men’s clothing and mulitple explosions in slow motion), there are some moments that only RDJ’s charisma make special"

Aside from running a little too long, my first impression wasn't great because I didn't know what to expect coming into it. I expected the typical pensive Sherlock Holmes we're all accustomed to seeing or, in my case, just knowing of. Instead, this was an action/adventure with emphasis on action. It took me a while to get used to the fact that this was a more active version of this character.

As it turns out, this was actually the closest adaptation there's been to the source material.
Aside from the dead-on accent, the comedic aspect and, obviously, Robert's overall performance, the coolest thing about it for me the first time was the final act. When Sherlock reveals to Lord Blackwood how he solved the case and discredited him as a practitioner of dark magic.

My dad's mentioned a few times with a couple movies he'd seen in-flight how it helps to pay attention because it comes together in the end. This was my first experience with this personally and naturally that helped me fall slowly in love with the film.
Unless you're British or have a good ear for accents, on those grounds alone, I'd recommend seeing this movie more than once. Not just catching the dialogue, but also all the tiny details that come together in Blackwood's grand scheme.

Plot
We open up in the middle of the action. Sherlock and Watson are pursing a killer responsible for the deaths of four girls and if not for them, would have killed a fifth in yet another ritualistic sacrifice. Lord Blackwood is apprehended and taken to jail to await his execution.

Three months later, he's to be hanged and Sherlock's biggest concern, aside from lack of cases, is losing Watson to marriage. In this portion, there's a lot of great character development between the two roommates, which helps if you're unfamiliar with the stories. Mostly in the form of witty banter and one-liners from Sherlock.

We get back to the main plot where Lord Blackwood tells Sherlock about the next part of his plan, just moments before he is hanged.
Then reentering his life for, according to dialogue, the third time is Irene Adler. She asks Sherlock to find someone for her and he purses her (in disguise of course) to find more. Particularly a little about her employer.

He does find her missing "ginger midget" (his words), but in the coffin of Lord Blackwood. Scotland Yard had been called to the graveyard initially on reports that he had risen from the grave. And so the game is afoot...

Watson tries his best to break ties with Holmes, but gets roped into one last case with him where they try to discern Lord Blackwood's plan. This is done with some assistance, as well as some hindrance, from Irene Adler.

The Actors and The Acting

Oddly enough, I have a very hard time imagining where I had seen Jude Law before Sherlock Holmes. I'm starting to think that the only place I'd seen him was in entertainment news and as People magazine's Sexiest Man Alive.
After this movie and seeing the amazing chemistry he has with Robert, I'd wanted to see more of him. Plus, he's a good looking guy, so that goes without saying. Sadly, the only other positive venture I got out of it was "The Holiday." I stuck with him and defended him throughout "Closer" until the final moments. And "The Talented Mr. Ripley"... let's say he did deserve what he got.

Between "Mean Girls" and "The Vow," I'd seen so much of Rachel McAdams lately that the illusion I always had of her as Irene Adler was temporarily shattered. She is so into this role and so good at it that I usually see her as the character, not as one of my favorite actresses.

Everyone else, I'm getting to know for the first time. I'd seen Eddie Marsan once or twice since out of pure coincidence. Mark Strong, the only other time I'd seen him was a cameo he had on a Jaguar SuperBowl commercial with Tom Hiddelston and Ben Kingsley (note: all three had worked with RDJ... the only other common link is that they're Brits who play helluva good villains).

Just recently, I've started watching Kelly Reilly's new show "Black Box" and the results have been great so far. There could be an Emmy in it for her ;) assuming it avoids cancellation

As far as the acting goes, this is definitely among Robert's finest performances. The Golden Globe was well deserved. He always has this magnetism on screen. When he's at his best, I feel like he becomes his character and I forget he's playing a role.
Having said all that, I have other roles I prefer him in per my personal tastes. Sometimes it's more about the emotional intangibles than grade A execution. Also, as much as I think he pulls off a great accent here (thanks to his dialect coach Andrew Jack, whom he worked with on "Chaplin"), I find his normal speaking voice much more attractive.

Credits to the Director and Producers

Except for Mel Brooks back in the day, I didn't really pay attention to directors until I watched Robert Inside The Actor's Studio. He spoke so highly of the directors and writers he'd worked with that I couldn't help but want to learn more.

Guy Ritchie is a very hands-on director. Behind the scenes, you'd see him up close with the actors going over the choreography with them step by step.

After Sherlock Holmes, I checked into "Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels" and "Snatch"... just to see the types of movies he'd been known for doing beforehand.
So far, for me, the results have been mixed. I think I needed subtitles for LS2SB because I could not understand 80% of the dialogue. I don't remember much else except there were no big names in it and the last half hour was actually good. As for "Snatch," I could understand it better but not by much. It starred Brad Pitt and he was rather good in it. It had some comedic moments, but the pacing was slow on numerous occasions.
But I'm not giving up. It might just take multiple viewings for me to wrap my head around this man's style. One thing's for sure: Sherlock Holmes speaks on a grander scale with a much sharper picture, probably thanks to having more resources from WB studios. And kick-ass producers like Joel Silver ("Lethal Weapon" and "Weird Science" to name a few), Susan Downey (yes, Robert's amazing wife 8-) ), and Lionel Wigram (all of David Yates' directed Harry Potter films).

[Just found this out: WB approached Guy Ritchie to direct this movie. Rather fittingly, Guy grew up on the stories and had wanted to bring them to the big screen.
WB wanted him to make it more like the films he'd done in the past and he wanted to do it on a broader, more accessible picture and the result was a compromise of that... fascinating stuff...]

All the Details
Overall, this movie is very cerebral. The dialogue is fast-paced, often with a lot of technical details, so you have to be on your toes. Or better yet, relax the first couple times and you'll absorb the details via osmosis :-P

If you have extra time, I'd recommend just searching the many interviews on YouTube Robert and Jude gave promoting this film. I have four of them saved under my YouTube favorites, but I'd probably seen this one the most out of all of them. They talk about how they go along almost instantly, their chemistry, how the characters relate to one another. Lots of juicy details.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VAIHw55aeWM
In another interview, director Guy Ritchie said how he liked the idea of an American playing Sherlock. Then Jude coming on board came down to Robert saying "only Jude would do" and this epic bromance is born.

I've seen so much footage from interviews to Guy Ritchie's Maximum Movie Mode on the Blu-ray extras that I've learned so much about this movie, what happens in it, how certain scenes were shot, where some of the inspiration came from (actual dialogue in the actual stories!)... whether that makes me an obsessed fan girl or movie nerd is your choice.
I just found it all very fascinating, which makes the overall experience even more fun.

Seeing the movie more, going past the obvious things that keep me coming back, I came to love how detail-oriented it is. Every article in each setting belongs there and has some merit and bearing on the overall story. Some more obvious than others.
One thing Guy Ritchie pointed out in Maximum Movie Mode is a post in Baker Street Sherlock likely used to practice his martial arts on.

Like I said, this is a very physical film. Once I got used to that new element, I couldn't help but marvel at the fight scenes. Guy Ritchie worked with a lot of slow motion, especially in key fights where we see the slowed down version and it's sped up to normal speed after all the explanations.
The only scene where I felt this didn't work was during the slaughterhouse explosions... it was just overdone for me. Then again, the following scene where the police find Sherlock, wouldn't have worked if it was all filmed in normal speed.

Of course while doing their research, the guys read all of the stories. Robert went the extra mile by spending time with Leslie Clinger, a tax lawyer who lives in Malibu who happens to be an expert in all things Sherlock Holmes.

Researching The Brand

Part of it is because I'm a sucker for useless trivia and part of it is also living up to the fact this man researches his roles so well that he knows them backwards and forwards. I wanted in on that action. Actually, I think some of that has filtered into the novel I'd been working on for the past several months, wanting to know my characters as well as he does.

Sometime in early 2011, I bought myself the first volume (of two) of Sherlock Holmes and started reading the stories. I finished it within a month and shortly after got the second volume.
Makes me go back to one interview he did with Jimmy Kimmel. Robert asked the audience who read the books and Jimmy discounts the cheering saying they're all liars.
It'd been a year or two after the movie came out, but yeah, I READ THE STORIES, JIMMY KIMMEL!

Did I make that loud enough? :-P

I don't remember which ones, but there were only a handful of stories I didn't get into. One of them was the "Sign of Four," which I found overlong and boring.

With the first story, "A Study in Scarlet," I was impressed by chapter 2 where Holmes goes through his process, talking about how he only keeps the most important knowledge at his disposal (not caring that the Earth revolves around the sun, stuff like that), and at the crime scene where he measured a man's height by the stride of his footprints.

Extraordinary stuff...
it's also great reading Watson's engaging narrative and getting to know him, not as the bumbling old man people had come to know in previous adaptations, but as an ex-military man who battled in Afghanistan. It's pretty obvious how much they care about one another even if some of that involves tough love.

Naturally, I decided to check into as much Sherlock Holmes related stuff because I found the mythology fascinating and of course, part of me wanted to compare and say how much better the Guy Ritchie version is. (And how Robert would always be my favorite Sherlock).

From the scholarly standpoint, I think the CBS series "Elementary" captures the feel of the books better. How eccentric Sherlock was. And I also loved Lucy Liu as "Joan" Watson. On the premise alone, I was intrigued by a female Watson and she's an interesting character. They also take an interesting angle with her relationship with him, showing how she doesn't have much a life going on outside of him and as of recently, she decided that needs to change.
However, I can't stand by all of the reimaginings  presented in "Elementary." Case-in-point: how they made Irene Adler and Moriarty THE SAME PERSON. People who saw Sherlock 2 had their complaints that Jared Harris wasn't a sinister enough Moriarty (I'll cover that in a bit). I just felt cheated that they combined two of the most iconic characters from the series. And I rather liked Natalie Dormer as Irene Adler until they screwed things up.
Recently, they also caused a ruckus with Sherlock's brother Mycroft. He'd been featured in a few stories, written as someone even more brilliant than Sherlock, but too lazy to apply his powers of observation in anything constructive. In "Elementary," they wrote him as the estranged brother who had a fling with Watson, was a secret agent and ultimately had to fake his death to get away from the bad guys... yeah, nothing like the books or any other version.

I'd been meaning to see the highly acclaimed series Sherlock with Benedict Cumberbatch, but the timing was never right. Unless it's available on Hulu, I was always watching something else at the same time. But whatever flickers I did see of it, I did like, but I need to see more to be sure.

I also saw one adaptation of "The Hound of the Baskervilles" where Sherlock was played by Peter Cushing. It was a well-written adaptation for sure. I especially impressed that they had a more active Watson than people were accustomed to seeing.

Sequels

Yes, I have an "s" at the end of that and it's not just blind optimism.

I saw an article on IMDB from one of the producers who said a third Sherlock Holmes is in development. The problem is that everyone got busy... to which I say, "You try being Iron-Man and Sherlock Holmes and in Avengers at the same time" :-P

But it would put my heart at ease to see the moment where Sherlock and Watson have their epic reunion scene... seeing as Sherlock 2 ended with Sherlock believed to be dead by everyone but the audience ;)
I also want to give everyone involved a chance to redeem themselves for "A Game of Shadows."

To put it lightly, I felt like they went too big too fast.
The third act penultimate "explanation" of how he solved the puzzle of Moriarty was extremely rushed and muddled. Instead of laying out the evidence piece by piece in the background like in the previous film, they were barely glanced over to begin with. We're just expected to believe Mary had been playing detective with Mycroft and Sherlock followed Moriarty's whereabouts under more disguises... sorry, I ain't buyin'.
Jared Harris as Moriarty was intimidating at first, but seeing it a couple more times, I think his actions were more intimidating than his on-screen presence. Upon further examination, the final chess scene when he does his own "Holmes-a-vision" bit to counteract Sherlock's fight scene scenario comes off rather goofy.

What did work in its favor was casting Noomi Rapace as the new female co-lead (my first experience with her and I thought she was great). Watson's wedding to Mary was very touching. Every scene at 221b Baker Street felt like home. The train scene had all the elements of a great Sherlock Holmes action scene and is one of the better executed bits of dramatics in the film.
The funniest part with his promotion of Sherlock 2 was talking about this cross-dressing scene and how awkward it became remembering how it was HIS idea :-P

Of course, I have to address the awesomeness that is Robert hosting Maximum Movie Mode on the Blu-Ray. He joked throughout that this was something only of interest to people who are sick or cooped up on a rainy day.
I do not need those excuses to deal with DVD commentary. I do it because I want to know more about movies from the directors, producers and actors that work on them.
As he always is, Robert was intelligent and knowledgeable when he needed to be and comedic in the times in between. Personally, I have to disagree with his belief everyone decided that they loved seeing him get his ass handed to him in movies after getting a taste of it in a certain indie flick he did in 2005... I prefer seeing him able to handle himself ;)

Coming Soon


[here's hoping my next couple entries come out this good]


Next week will be a movie that has a little something for everyone. Action, adventure, romance, comedy (lots of great comedy), loveable sidekicks and much more. It's probably the most quotable movie on this list where I could easily mute it and know it word for word. And it's another movie, for whatever reason, I fought my mom on seeing for years and when I did, I couldn't not find out how it ended.

27. Mean Girls (2004)

Code-name: So Fetch!

Director: Mark Waters (also behind "Freaky Friday," "Ghosts of Girlfriends Past" and my #85 film "Just like Heaven")
Writer: Tina Fey
Type: high school, comedy

Cast:

The Plastics
Cady Heron- Lindsay Lohan
Regina George- Rachel McAdams
Gretchen Weiners- Lacey Chabert
Karen Smith- Amanda Seyfried

"The Greatest People You Will Ever Meet"
Janis Ian- Lizzy Caplan
Damian- Daniel Franzese

Hot Man Candy
Aaron Samuels- Jonathan Bennett
Shane Omen- Diego Klattenhoff

Mathletes
Kevin G- Rajiv Surendra

The Teachers
Ms. Norbury- Tina Fey [SNL alum #1]
Mr. Duvall-Tim Meadows [SNL alum #2]
Coach Carr- Dwayne Hill

The "Cool Mom"
Mrs. George- Amy Poehler [SNL alum #3]

The Herons
Mr. Heron- Neil Flynn [aka The Janitor from "Scrubs"]
Mrs. Heron- Ana Gasteyer [SNL alum #4]

Honorable Mention [astonishingly uncredited]:
Glen Coco- David Reale

Write-up:

I know! I missed the 10th year anniversary of this movie's release by 2 weeks... I'm just hoping that people aren't so sick of all the movie talk from two weeks ago that I won't get any comments on this :-P

Lindsay Lohan got me here... and is one of 100's of reason I always come back

I loved her in "The Parent Trap" remake (the original pales by comparison cuz I saw that version first).
I couldn't wait to see "Freaky Friday" because it was the first movie I'd seen her in since. After loving it, I got the soundtrack and got highlights in my hair.
Loved her in "Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen," a movie all the critics hated but I could totally relate to. Also got the soundtrack (liked it much more than "Freaky Friday")

I bought both of her albums and loved them both. Even wrote an entire album fic around "Speak." Plus she worked with great songwriters like John Shanks and Kara DioGuardi (those years, I listened to a lot of Ashlee Simpson and Michelle Branch).

I did not see "Mean Girls" in theaters, but I did rent it from Blockbuster as soon as it came out...
it was so awesome that I HAD to watch it a second time before I had to return it. And that's something that didn't happen often.

Now, when it comes to Lindsay, I've seen all of her movies except for the most recent ones, "Liz and Dick" and "The Canyons" (still planning on the latter at some point). I'm a huge fan and still am a huge fan.
I read all kinds of headlines about her, but never read a single article. With the industry of tabloids and the TMZ, I didn't know what to believe, so I waited to get some truth. Got that just recently with her doc-series on OWN. It had its ups and downs, yes, but I enjoyed every minute of seeing her for realz. [FYI, not a typo]

Hands down, though, this is my favorite of her movies. Probably my favorite performance of hers.
...in case nobody noticed the omission, this was one soundtrack I didn't get... I don't know why I never bothered :-P maybe I should just to complete the set.

The Story

Before I get into the 100's of other reasons why I love "Mean Girls," I'll go through the main plot for those who don't know (in which case, you've been missing out BIG TIME).

Up until this year of high school, Cady Heron was homeschooled by her parents while they lived in Africa. So this was her first year of actual public school. As expected, her first day didn't go well.

Then her next day, she meet the duo of Janis Ian and Damien who showed her the ins and outs of North Shore High School and its clique system. At lunch, she winds up sitting with The Plastics, the exclusive group of mean girls that rule the school.
For whatever reason, they recruit her to join their group and Janis wants in on all the gossip (most of which comes from the notorious "Burn Book").

But when Cady falls for Regina's ex-boyfriend, Aaron, and Regina steals him back, she and Janis brew a plan to overthrow the queen bee.
One by one, they cut off her "resources": turning Aaron and the other girls against her and tricking her into gaining weight.

In doing so, Cady becomes the new queen bee and morphs into an even worse version of Regina George... all kinds of crazy ensue and the clique system at the school warrants investigation from the teachers. Especially after the Burn Book's contents are made public.

The 100's of Reasons.. Some Closer to Home Than Others

For me, this movie has a little bit of everything. I gravitate to certain movies because they have clever writing. It's best when it's a little something different, things I haven't experienced before and commentary on things I've often thought about but never thought other people did.
I gravitate to movies because they have memorable characters. Cady is relatable to anyone who's in a new place and has trouble making friends. Then they go through a transformation when they meet the right people (Janis & Damien) and when they meet the wrong people (Regina and The Plastics). As she says in the final scene, through the course of "Mean Girls" she goes from being "homeschooled jungle freak to shiny plastic to most hated person in the world to actual human being"... and throughout this journey, I don't know about anyone else, but I'm pulling for her every second of it.

Years later, I would find my own Janis and Damien in my college besties, Sam and Dave. It took me a while to realize the connection, but it is so true. Not just because they relate to each other the same way and they have similar body types, but Sam accepted me into her friend circle when I didn't have anybody...
This came about more than halfway through my college experience but better late than never. Once I accepted that friendship into my life, everything else fell into place. They were also the people I turned to when I had guy trouble... or rather dealing with the painful reality of harboring a secret crush and wanting to be the #1 girl in said crush's life.

But, I digress...

All the characters are so well defined that what they do is predictable but we love them for it.
We recognize that as much as Gretchen grows to hate Regina, she still wants to be part of her life because it's better to be Plastic than not.
We know Karen is the easily swayed dumb girl, but we find her endearing for it.

Of course I relate to the clique system at the school. I was one of those people who really didn't have one. I was an outsider. Yeah, I was in drama class, concert choir and companies of high school musicals, but I was never really a part of those. I was either alone or I was in my own social circle that didn't belong to any given clique. Except for college where I had my friends in our animé club that I hung out with every now and then too. They happened to be friends with my friends so it worked out really well.

The other easily relatable part of the movie for me is the guy trouble. Cady wanting to be with Aaron Samuels. I absolutely get that, wanting to find excuses to talk to him and such. But I never went so far as to dumb myself down just to achieve that.
That's just stupid... plus I know my folks would kill me if I let my schoolwork slip over a boy of all things.

The Plastics have their own code of feminism. It's really interesting how they make Cady over when they bring her into their group, what that does for her image, how she carries herself, but it's also a relationship that turns toxic from overexposure. But I guess that's understandable: Cady never being in public school before is a clean slate ready to be molded and shaped into something different.

Even more interesting is how smart Cady is when she's not dumbing herself down for Aaron Samuels. Ms. Norbury keeps pushing her to join The Mathletes because she's just that good at calculus. Everyone keeps telling her it's Social Suicide.

Of course... the best part of this movie is the quotes.
We all have our favorites.
So I absolutely MUST give props to Tina Fey in her screenwriting debut. I haven't read the source material, the nonfiction book "Queen Bees and Wannabes: Helping Your Daughter Survive Cliques, Gossip, Boyfriends, and Other Realities of Adolescence" by Rosalind Wiseman... although I should.
I missed her run on SNL by a couple years. I started watching after she and Jimmy Fallon left and just before Kirsten Wiig and Seth Myers left. But from start to finish, there are so many good lines. The degrees of funny vary from straight-up hilarious to slow-burning hilarity... gotta love that variety.

...found this out after watching the special features... Tina Fey didn't just write it, but she loved this book so much that she approached Lorne Michaels about adapting it to a movie. So really, there'd be no "Mean Girls" without Tina Fey.
I salute and thank you for that!

Also interesting is that this movie was R-rated originally and trimmed to PG13... some jokes were changed and other scenes were rewritten

And it's not every day where almost every line in a movie is this quotable and it gets to a point where they're iconic... becoming Internet memes and taking over Facebook and Twitter.
To loosely quote "Legally Blonde," I thrive on inserting movie quotes into everyday life... whether people get them or not. So movies like this are what I LIVE FOR. 8-)

Sadly, "fetch" never happened and I never tried to make it happen. Although I did say how the American Idol producers were trying so hard this year to "make fetch happen" with Sam Woolf, pushing him as the designated hottie until he went home in 5th place.
But probably the most popular line is "you go, Glenn Coco!"

The most iconic moment in the movie was me is "Jingle Bell Rock" where The Plastics are dressed in Santa outfits doing the sexy dance... once I even watched this scene on Christmas day because I just couldn't help myself. Great stuff, even cooler that Cady thought to sing the song after they lost the boom box. Lindsay's got a great singing voice and I still hope for another album to happen.

Also love how Janis insists on calling Cady "cad-ee" instead of the way it's really pronounced ("kay-dee")

The Cast

It's so strange that I'm ending with the cast when that's usually the first thing I got into with my movie reviews.

Any SNL fan notices the excess of alums cast in this movie as the adults. It took me a few years to realize that was Amy Poehler as Mrs. George and just the other day, Ana Gasteyer as Cady's mom.
When this movie came out, everyone knew Tina Fey from SNL. I knew this without even seeing the show. But in her writing and with this character, just love watching her. She's engaging, she's good-hearted and she has just the right amount of sarcasm.

In name only, I recognized Jonathan Bennett as one of the various guys cast as JR Chandler on "All My Children" after Jesse McCartney left (missed him by a couple years) until they finally ended up with Jacob Young.
...with the web-based reboot, I don't care much for the new JR. If he just accidentally shot himself in drunken grief in the "AMC" finale, everyone would be happier...

And Lacey Chabert I knew then as the voice of Eliza Thornberry in "The Wild Thornberries."

Everyone else, I really didn't know. This movie, for me, was about Lindsay Lohan. It was about the story and the memorable characters. Then with the different names, I had my eyes and ears open for them in other projects.

This only really extended to Rachel McAdams and Amanda Seyfried. Both have done great movies I love coming back. Some, not so great.
It took me a little while to get in my head that Amanda is actually really bright in real life because she was so conceiving as the dumb girl in this movie. She was one of the better parts of the film adaptation of "Mamma Mia" (which I have some strong opinions about for a later date) and was one of 3 reasons I had to see "Les Miz" (the others: Hugh Jackman and Anne Hathaway).

Coming Soon




Next week... I guess "2 weeks" is the common factor with everything here.
2 weeks ago, I reviewed "The Grand Budapest Hotel"
http://moviegoerconfessions.blogspot.com/2014/05/theatrical-review-grand-budapest-hotel.html
and next week I'll go into the Wes Anderson movie solely responsible for me going to see it.

Now that's a unique movie experience, unique look, unique combination of puppetry and animation... and another great all-star cast.
And at the helm... George Clooney 8-)

Pretty much gave it away, didn't I? I don't really care. What's done is done :-P

41. Midnight in Paris (2011)

Code-name: Nostalgia

Writer/Director: Woody Allen
Type: Fantasy, Drama, Romance

Cast:
[Mortals]
Gil Pender- Owen Wilson
Inez- Rachel McAdams
Inez's mother, Helen- Mimi Kenndedy
Inez's father, John- Kurt Fuller
Paul- Michael Sheen
Carol- Nina Arianda
Tour Guide- Carla Bruni
Gabrielle- Lea Seydoux
Adriana- Marion Cotillard
[Immortal Greats of the Arts]
1920's
Zelda Fitzgerald-Alison Pill
F. Scott Fitzgerald- Tom Hiddleston
Cole Porter- Yves Heck
Ernest Hemingway- Corey Stoll
Gertude Stein- Kathy Bates
Pablo Picasso- Marcial Di Fonzo Bo
T.S. Eliot- David Lowe
Salvador Dali- Adrien Brody
Henri Matisse- Yves-Antoine Spoto
1890's
Toulouse Lautrec- Vincent Menjou Cortes
Degas- François Rostain
Gauguin- Olivier Rabourdin

Awards & Nominations:
OSCAR- Best Original Screenplay (Woody Allen)
nomination- OSCAR- Best Picture
nomination- OSCAR- Best Director (Woody Allen)
nomination- OSCAR- Best Art Direction
Golden Globe- Best Original Screenplay (Woody Allen)
nomination- Golden Globe- Best Actor (Comedy/Musical)- Owen Wilson
nomination- Golden Globe- Best Picture (Comedy/Musical)
nomination- Golden Globe- Best Director (Woody Allen)
AFI- Best Film of the Year
Grammy- Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media

Write-up:

[On a Whim...]

As a general rule, I usually don't like to buy movies without seeing them first. But in the rare occasion that I do, it works out pretty well. The one thing it didn't... well, I'm willing to give "The Big Lebowski" another shot. It just wasn't at all what I expected. I'll never make that mistake with Coen Brothers films again.(While on the subject, I loved "Burned After Reading" and really enjoyed "Fargo").

I've heard of "Midnight in Paris," but only who was in it and it was already up for several Golden Globes. I had trouble imagining Owen Wilson as a serious contender for Best Actor.
I remember watching the awards show and seeing it win Best Original Screenplay (Woody Allen wasn't present to accept).

Then the following night I had the most unusual dream that made me take the gamble of buying it... On a good night, I'm a vivid dreamer and often times, celebrities star in them with or without me.
The dream was as follows: I was in a relationship with Rachel McAdams and I had serious thoughts about cheating on her with Owen Wilson, who I happened to be good friends with and was venting to about the current lull in said relationship.
I'd go further, but the entry as a whole would do better if I kept my mental dialogue out of it. For the record, I am straight :-P but I don't mind divulging when I have a girl crush.

So yeah, probably the strangest reason to pick up a movie... and this worked out better than I could have imagined. To me, "Midnight in Paris" was one of those "life-changing" movies because I was a different person after seeing it.

[Plot]

Before I get too ahead of myself, here's the plot in a nutshell:

Gil Pender (Owen Wilson) is a former Hollywood screenwriter struggling with his first novel. He's vacationing in Paris, his favorite city in the world, with his fiancé Inez and her parents. While returning home from a wine tasting, he stumbles upon an old Peugeot, which transports him into 1920's Paris... which happens to be teeming with his personal heroes of art and literature.


[Old Friends and New Friends]
Spoilers Start Sprinkling in from this point on...

As if picking up where they left off in "Wedding Crashers" (just change the names and add in new people), Owen Wilson and Rachel McAdams play an engaged couple vacationing in Paris with her parents. Except the movie becomes less about them as a couple and more about Gil (Owen Wilson) finding himself as a writer alongside his personal heroes.

Up to this point, the only Woody Allen movie I ever saw was "Antz." Yeah, I know, it's animated and he didn't write/direct it, so it really shouldn't count. But as I got lost in the fantasy of this movie and the depth of its dialogue, I instantly became a fan.

2010 had quite a few movies I enjoyed because their scripts were fresh and different. Often times, they were comedic in nature and made jokes out of things people think but often won't say aloud. Having said that, "Midnight in Paris" stood out to me because it was probably the cleverest writing I'd seen in a movie. I related so much to Gil Pender as a fellow writer and in that he's such a dreamer. To be real, nobody outside of movies talks the way he does, but the way he explained things... it's hard to describe, exactly, but I agreed with his way of thinking. Other characters too. They often address commonplace things and editorialize what they see. The dialogue has a lot of depth and more than enough room to breathe so you can take it in at your own pace.
I wanna say it's a writer/director thing, but it might just be a Woody Allen thing. This movie convinced me to give "Annie Hall" a shot (which I enjoyed quite a bit), but I need to see more of his work to be absolutely sure.

As much as I liked Rachel McAdams's look in this movie, I liked her character less and less as the movie went on. It's so strange how the two seem so in love at the beginning, but over time, you start to wonder why they're even together because their ideals are so different. Gil's a dreamer, but Inez and her family are wealthy realists. There's a conversation in the beginning where he and her father (Kurt Fuller, who I know as Woody the M.E. in "Psych") butt heads. Gil is absolutely in love with Paris and his would-be father-in-law looks down on it. He says how much he hates their politics because they never pledged their support to America. Gil backs them up, saying they probably didn't want to follow us "down that rabbit hole" in Iraq...

So he gets the impression (from this as well a comment he made about the Tea Party) that Gil is a communist because he doesn't agree with him.
Again, I don't want to get off topic, but that closed-minded-ness just annoyed the hell out of me.

Even more annoying was the character of Paul. (I'd only seen him previously as Aro of The Volturi in the "Twilight" films). When they weren't spending time with her parents, Gil gets dragged into spending time with Inez's college friend, Paul and his wife, Carol. They'd spend time in certain artistic areas of the city and Paul would give them tours as if he knew EVERYTHING. Like he's an expert in fine art, wine and so many other things and Inez eats it up as if he's Jesus Christ.
As it turns out, there is a word for someone like him, which shows up in the book Gil is writing about the man working in the nostalgia shop.

 

Pedantic: (adj) someone who makes a show of knowledge

Two scenes I find particular infuriating involving him:

• he argues with an actual tour guide (played by the actual wife of France's then-President, Nicolas Sarkozy) over who inspired Rodin
• they're in an art museum and happen to stumble across the Picasso painting Gil saw the night before at Gertude Stein's... he tries to explain the truth, but Inez thinks he's high. Earlier in this scene, she also tells him to shut up, adding "you might learn something," as if Paul's word is always true and Gil's wrong even when he isn't.

Could it be more obviously that Rachel McAdams and Michael Sheen were dating at the time?

Out of the actors who play the historic figures, Adrien Brody (an oddly hilarious Salavador Dali who seems to be obsessed with rhinoceroses), Kathy Bates (a very helpful Gertude Stein) and Zelda (Alison Pill, who I briefly mentioned in "Scott Pilgrim") and Scott Fitzgerald (Loki himself, Tom HIddleston) were the only ones I recognized.
Then there was Marion Cotlillard who played fellow dreamer and artist groupie Adriana, who I'd only previously seen in "Inception," but this would become the role I'd forever associate with her. Not just because I love her in flapper fashion, but I loved the relationship between her and Gil. How they have so much in common, how she almost proved to be more compatible with him than Inez. You're just drawn to her immediately.

All of the renderings were on point. You truly believed that they were these historical figures. How F. Scott Fitzgerald used the term "Old Sport" as his character Gatsby did regularly. How Dali and the other surrealists were so out there in the matter of speaking. Probably the most convincing was the dude who played Hemingway. He was SO hard-core and intense. I thought Corey Stoll deserved a little awards recognition for this portrayal.

[Golden Age Syndrome]

My code-name for this movie was "nostalgia" for a number of reasons.
Gil's protagonist is a man that works in a nostalgia shop, which sells memorabilia and such. He wishes he lived in 1920's Paris because it was a time period that inspired many of his heroes and he'd like to have that experience as well. 

Then there's a side-plot later on where he and Adriana stumble across a horse-drawn carriage that takes them to Paris in the 1890's, a time she wishes she could disappear into. There, they meet artists Degas and Gauguin who long to be in the Renaissance. This more or less puts an end to Gil's romance with Adriana because he realizes he'd only been escaping into the 20's to run away from things in his own life.

In a way, I can relate to this phenomenon as well. I'm particularly nostalgic for the pop culture of the 80's. I was born in 1986, so I'm really fascinated with this decade. Some of my favorite movies and some of the best music comes from the 80's.
After seeing this movie, would I still take the chance of visiting the decade? Absolutely. But I never want to get to the point where I get tired of it.

[Souvenirs]

Aside from a couple of actors, I got a lot of other things out of this movie. Paris was shown in such a gorgeous way that I have even more reasons to want to go visit. The way the film is shot, how Gil and some of the other character speak so lovingly about the city... it's breathtaking. It brings out the romantic in you, but here they show it in ways you don't quite expect.

Before the film, I'd read Fitzgerald and Hemingway and knew of Dali and Picasso. Afterwards, I became acquainted with Gertude Stein, Matisse, Degas and Gauguin... I want to get to know their works... if only to be better prepared for the category in Jeopardy 8-) and I'm always up for getting more culture in the arts. Open my mind to new and different experiences, kinda the way I did in Chinese culture when we covered the different religions and art forms.

...ironically, I'm posting this on Michael Sheen's 45th birthday. Except for Aro, it seems like every other role I see him in, I just want to punch him in the face :-P he never seems to play any likable characters

# 81: The Family Stone (2005)

Code-name: [Formerly] Her Last Christmas... [now dubbed] Mushroom Allergy

Writer/Director: Thomas Bezucha
Type: Family-oriented Christmas Dramedy

Cast:
Mr. Kelly Stone- Craig T. Nelson
Mrs. Sibyl Stone- Diane Keaton
Everett Stone- Dermot Mulroney
Meredith Morton- Sarah Jessica Parker
Amy Stone- Rachel McAdams
Susannah Stone- Elizabeth Reaser
Ben Stone- Luke Wilson
Thad Stone- Tyone Giordano
Patrick Thomas- Brian White 
Julie Morton- Claire Danes
Brad Stevenson- Paul Schneider

Notable nomination:
Golden Globe- Best Actress (comedy/musical)- Sarah Jessica Parker

[Write-up]



If I'm not dubbing these movies after animal characters, the 2nd easiest go-to is a quote from the movie...

One of my favorite lines comes during a scene where Meredith is making Christmas breakfast the night before and is told that her boyfriend Everett is allergic to mushrooms.
The second time this happens, she immediately freaks out and as I tend to do during my favorite on-screen freak-outs, I scream along without her: "I didn't know!!"

I think this was another one of those in-flight movies my dad recommended we watch.
And it's become somewhat of a staple during Christmastime.
I believe I watched it last Christmas Eve, but my memory escapes me.

Right now, it's hard to put my finger on exactly why this is one of my favorite movies.
I come from a large quirky family (relatively speaking, my immediate family places me as one of 4), so part of me does get into it for that reason.

Without taking any of the good quotes into account, my love of this movie comes down to some of the actors and the characters they play.

This was Rachel McAdams (one of my favorite actresses) just after her "Notebook" success and after she, unknowingly, leaped into our hearts in "Mean Girls." With the exception of 1-2 roles, she seems to fill up the archetype of "designated bitch." Not to the same degree as Regina George, mind you, but Amy Stone is really mean to Everett's girlfriend Meredith... seemingly for no apparent reason.

Maybe she and her overprotective, tightly-knit family are under the impression that nobody is good enough for him-- certainly not a stuffy, uptight businesswoman like Meredith.

Here's the crazy part:
I found Sarah Jessica Parker extremely refreshing in this capacity, so much so that my opinion on her changed in an instant.
I can't explain exactly why I disliked her so much as I did previously. I never saw any of "Sex in the City," but in whatever I'd seen her in previously, she gave me the impression she was a complete airhead, someone I could never take seriously.

As Meredith, I enjoyed her performance and felt really bad that she couldn't gain the favor of the Stones no matter what she did.

The basic premise follows that this is Christmastime and we're spending it with a large family with the surname Stone.
You have the happily married couple, patriarch and matriarch.
Five siblings:
Amy (single, but the end suggests she'll rekindle an old relationship)
Susannah (married, one daughter and another baby on the way)
Thad (deaf, in a happy relationship with his boyfriend, Patrick)
Ben

and Everett who is bringing his girlfriend Meredith home to meet the family.

As previously mentioned, for whatever reason, the Stones have deemed Meredith not to be good enough for Everett even before meeting her... seemingly based on one time when Amy met her and disliked her.
It's gotta be more than just the fact "she's a throat-clearer," something she and the other Stones make fun of whenever they get the chance... and the fact she has to give up her bedroom to accommodate (although that'd be a more legit reason than the previous one).

Meredith feels so unwelcome she breaks down and has her younger sister to come stay with her in a hotel.
Julie, of course, is the prettier, nicer, more out-going on sister, and everyone loves her... naturally this treatment has Julie wondering why Meredith begged her to join her.

Admittedly, things get out of control during a conversation at the dinner table... which makes one wonder why they put it in the script because there is literally no way for Meredith to come off well.
One lesson to be taken from this is that if you're getting to know people for the first time, do not bring up the nature vs. nurture debate.

Mrs. Stone sarcastically comments that she had hoped all of her sons were gay because then they would never leave her.
To which Meredith asks "you wouldn't actually wish for your children to be gay, do you?"
going on to say life is hard enough as it is and to make easier for the child to navigate it, she wouldn't wish it...

The misunderstanding escalates until the dinner table explodes with screaming and swearing, leaving Meredith no choice but to run out of the house.

It's the toughest part of the film to endure and, of course, all of us watching are screaming for Meredith to shut up and backtrack before initiating the wrath of the matriarch...
spectuators eveywhere probably agreed that she should have let the topic drop because there was nowhere good for it to go.

In her attempt to escape, she accidentally crashes her car into a tree. Ben goes out to see how she's doing and he takes her out for a couple beers so she can loosen up.
At the bar, they meet up with a couple of EMTs. One of them happens to be Brad, whom Meredith (more than a little intoxicated by this point) recognizes via previous conversation as "the guy who popped Amy's cherry" and she begs him to go to the house on Christmas, believing Amy would be happy to see him.

The scene doesn't last long, but this is one of my favorite parts of the whole movie. Meredith finally loosens up and relaxes, dancing to the jukebox and all that, and she doesn't invoke the airheadness of her past life on "Sex in the City." There's just something about the way it's written and acted I just love.

Just to briefly address the sensitive issue from my perspective, to quote a distraught but newly intoxicated Meredith early into the bar scene, "I love the gays! Gay people!"
I respect them, support their right to marriage, adoption and so on, and believe it's a non-genetic predisposition they're born with.
Gays & Lesbians are great people. 8-)

And to stop myself from coming off overally preachy, I'm going to leave it at that.

spoilers ahead

Another major storyline in the movie is the fact Diane Keaton's character's breast cancer came back and it is assumed (evidence at the end of the movie supports this) she is terminal. The news leaks out little by little and everyone in the family uses it as an opportunity to embrace one another and stay as tightly-knit as they are.

Apparently, it isn't intergal to the overall plot because it's only mentioned a few times... unlike "Step-Mom," where it was an ever-developing plot point.
A couple people on IMDB brought this up and I can't help but agree that's a little... odd... that little attention is brought to it outside of 2-3 scenes and the final epilogue.

A couple of times, Everett asks his mom for "the ring" because he wants to propose to Meredith, which she shoots down each time. Then he picks up his own ring and asks Julie to try it on for size.
It fits, but they have trouble getting it off... which brings hilarity and awkwardness... slowly, things give way and the women end up changing partners.

Everett ends up falling for the younger sister, Julie.
Ben manages to get Meredith back home in one piece and she wakes up to find herself in his bed... leaving her to believe that they slept together... a point Ben later corrects, but a relationship eventually does develop between them.
Luke Wilson doesn't play the sharpest crayon in the box, as in he has a frat-boy-like demeanor, whatever the male equivalent of an airhead is. A few comments on the page indicate he helped make the movie easier to get through. He's easily the nicest, easiest-going of the Stones.

Finally on Christmas morning, when the 2nd misunderstanding occurs and Mr. Stone is chasing Ben around the house to get at him, displeased with what he and Meredith supposedly did (which they didn't), Meredith is in the kitchen getting her breakfast dishes out to put in the oven, the kitchen door swings into her, making her drop it.
Mrs. Stone and Amy go in there to help her clean up, she's in hysterics, and they do their best to make her feel better.

Meredith Morton: [crying] I'm just as good as any of you!
Amy Stone: [laughing and crying at the situation] Maybe better.
Meredith Morton: [still crying] What's so great about you guys?
Sybil Stone: [laughing and crying along with Amy... patting Meredith's cheeks] Oh, nothing! It's just that we're all that we've got

Overall, the sequence is very slapstick-ish in an old school sort of way, but it accomplishes its intented purpose: to finally clear the air between Meredith and the Stones.

And in the end, all of it works out quite well.