Observer » The Third Stringer

Sara Vilkomerson’s Third Stringer: Space Oddity

Sara Vilkomerson — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 21:07:39 -0400

Considering we’ve always been a bit, shall we say, wary (read: terrified) of both outer space and robots, imagine our surprise to discover just how enjoyable a moviegoing experience Moon is. Sam Rockwell plays Sam Bell, an astronaut who is close to completing a three-year contract with a company that mines Helium-3—one of the main sources of energy for our little planet, spinning hundreds of thousands of miles below. He desperately misses his wife and daughter—his only company is a robot voiced by Kevin Spacey (think about it: who could do creepy space robot voice any better?)—and his health is mysteriously deteriorating when he meets a younger version of himself on the lunar space station. That’s right: The only thing better than one Sam Rockwell in a movie is two, or three! Director Duncan Jones (son of outer-space-preoccupied David Bowie—cue up your Ziggy Stardust!) does a fantastic job pacing the anxiety-provoking action and various twists and turns. The whole film feels like a throwback to classic sci-fi films (think 2001, Blade Runner), days that didn’t rely so much on CGI but on good old-fashioned and clammy human panic. We’re not sold on outer space just yet, but we are on Moon.

svilkomerson@observer.com

Sara Vilkomerson’s Third Stringer: Baby on Board

Sara Vilkomerson — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 22:17:54 -0400

It is something of a relief to find Away We Go nestled in theaters among the summer season blockbustery craziness. It’s one of those rare movies that manages to be both wickedly funny and also incredibly poignant to the point where, yes, tears might be shed. Written by novelists and real-life married couple Dave Eggers and Vendela Vida and directed by Sam Mendes, the film revolves around a happily unwed couple (finally!), played by The Office’s John Krasinski and SNL alum Maya Rudolph, who are expecting their first baby and can’t figure out a place to put down roots. They’re in their mid-30s, essentially grown-up, but can’t shake the feeling that they are still somehow essentially screw-ups (raise your hand if this feels familiar). The road trip they set off on includes visits to family and friends, and terrific supporting performances by Alison Janney, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Catherine O’Hara, Jeff Daniels and Josh Hamilton. (Ms. Gyllenhaal might have studied some smug Park Slope mommies for inspiration for her character.) What could have easily derailed into precious twee-dom doesn’t. Get ready to be surprised by Maya Rudolph’s quietly powerful performance.

svilkomerson@observer.com

Sara Vilkomerson’s Third Stringer: Buddha Me Up

Sara Vilkomerson — Tue, 26 May 2009 21:47:06 -0400

After all the scary future robots and Trekkies and Ben Stiller at the museum, you’d be forgiven if you were looking for a meditative break of some sort. On June 3, the Film Forum premieres Unmistaken Child, a documentary chronicling the search for a reincarnated Tibetan master. We’ll be honest: We know nothing about Tibetan Buddhism (beyond its occasional outbreak on the terrible N.Y.C. dating scene), nor its precepts of reincarnation, so this film was a rather fascinating look at a beautiful culture. At the center of the story is Tenzin Zopa, who had been a devoted disciple of one Lama Konchog since the age of 7. After Lama Konchog died in 2001, Tenzin Zopa begins a four-year-long, worldwide search for the older man’s reincarnation in a child. Tenzin Zopa is a great documentary subject, handsome and sweet and charming. We follow him into villages and eventual dealings with a sweet little boy who, reincarnated or not, is not above throwing a massive tantrum over getting his head shaved or behaving in front of the Dalai Lama. Israeli filmmaker Nati Baratz wisely doesn’t try to explain every ritual, but keeps himself and his camera in the role of observer. The pacing is on the slow side but the imagery is beyond stunning.

Sara Vilkomerson’s Third Stringer: Ride ‘Em, Wilson!

Sara Vilkomerson — Tue, 19 May 2009 18:12:15 -0400

Is it weird that of all the great Owen Wilson screen performances out there—we’re including The Royal Tenenbaums, Zoolander and Marley and Me—we kinda love him the best as the itsy-bitsy miniature cowboy Jedediah in these Night at the Museum movies? We can’t explain it. … The man says “flapjack” and we’re sold. So, yes, we’re talking about Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian. Following up on the immensely successful 2006 film, Ben Stiller and the gang are mainly back together again (apparently, cough, Carla Gugino was not available), and we’d explain the plot to you … but do you really need that? Suffice it to say things come alive, this time at the Smithsonian, which gave director Shawn Levy and screenwriters Robert Ben Garant and Thomas Lennon oodles more to play around with—a giant scary Octopus, Ivan the Terrible (Christopher Guest), Napoleon (Alain Chabat) and Al Capone (Jon Bernthal), all of whom serve Hank Azaria (playing the evil Egyptian ruler, Kahmunrah, but who seems to be doing a riff on his Birdcage character, lisp and all). And there’s love! Amy Adams looks to be having great fun portraying Amelia Earhart and trying to smooch Mr. Stiller. Steve Coogan (as the Roman emperor Octavius) and Mr. Wilson get all the laughs (our favorite part involves Mr. Coogan riding a squirrel on the White House lawn). But we have the same question as we did from watching the first installment: Who cleans up all the mess once nighttime is over?

svilkomerson@observer.com

Sara Vilkomerson’s Third Stringer: Train in Vain

Sara Vilkomerson — Tue, 12 May 2009 18:45:24 -0400

The first name of the title character in O’Horten is Odd. This is apparently a common Norwegian name, but it also sets the mood for this quirky little film from Bent Hamer (Factotum). Odd Horten (a terrifically restrained Bård Owe) is a taciturn kind of man who has lived a quiet life, dedicated to his job as a train engineer. When retirement comes, and he misses his last scheduled train trip, the decidedly lost Horten ends up in increasingly surreal situations, including losing his shoes after a late-night naked (!) swim, and having to wear red heels out in the snow, and encountering an eccentric who likes to engage in blind driving (exactly what it sounds like, with the driver blindfolded gliding along empty and icy Oslo streets) and who gives Horten a fresh perspective on how life can still surprise—not easy for a man whose whole life has been lived according to a tight train schedule. There are plenty of comic moments, but this slow-paced film still feels deeply melancholic … unless that’s just a Norwegian thing. It does seem awfully cold and dark out there! But also, hauntingly beautiful—the cinematography in certain scenes will really knock your socks off. Opening May 22.

svilkomerson@observer.com

Sara Vilkomerson’s Third Stringer: Object Lust

Sara Vilkomerson — Tue, 05 May 2009 16:02:51 -0400

Don’t we all have a friend (or three) who makes a big fuss over the way their random possessions—alarm clock, shampoo bottle, light switch, dining room chair or vacuum cleaner—are designed? Hey, great for them! For these folks, nothing will be better than the new documentary Objectified (opening at the IFC center on May 8), which takes a look at the relationship between us consumers, the objects we use without a thought and the designers who sweat their every detail, from handle grip to rounded corner. Strangely, even for the rest of us who really (truly) don’t care about the ergonomics of our vegetable peeler, the movie offers a pretty fascinating look at just how much work goes into these seemingly simple decisions. Director Gary Hustwit’s 2007 Helvetica was an entire film about typography, so you know this is a guy who doesn’t mind getting into the nitty-gritty details while trying to figure out what the objects we are drawn to say about us as a culture. There are interviews with designers from Apple, Braun and BMW, as well as some fairly mesmerizing footage of watching people wander dazedly through an IKEA. Now that is something we can relate to.

svilkomerson@observer.com

Sara Vilkomerson’s Third Stringer: Cute Overload!

Sara Vilkomerson — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 17:37:39 -0400

Here's a question we found ourselves pondering while watching Ghosts of Girlfriends Past: If Matthew McConaughey and Jennifer Garner were a real-life couple and then they had a baby, would its entire face be one giant dimple? ’Cause we’re telling you, the dimple action in this movie between the two comely stars is downright distracting! Of course, the other glaringly obvious question to ask in regard to this movie is why on earth it is coming out in May when it’s such a clear retelling of A Christmas Carol. Or rather 1988’s (totally awesome) Scrooged, but instead of Bill Murray we get Mr. McConaughey playing an unrepentant playboy who’s visited by three ghosts (past, present and future) to show him the errors of his ways. Ms. Garner plays his sweet one-who-got-away childhood love. Honestly, the two stars are so nice to look at, it’s easy to forget the silliness that goes on onscreen! And boy, there’s plenty—not the least of it, Michael Douglas playing Mr. McConaughey’s deceased Uncle Wayne, who once taught him the very important lesson that in a relationship, whoever cares less has the power. Sigh. On the upside, we’re always happy to see Breckin Meyer, who plays the good brother to Mr. McConaughey’s bad one. Nice casting! Also another blast from the past: Party of Five’s Lacey Chabert as Mr. Meyer’s stressed-out-bride-to-be.

svilkomerson@observer.com

Sara Vilkomerson’s Third Stringer: Politics, Italian-Style

Sara Vilkomerson — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 17:15:15 -0400

We’re in that weird time zone of movie releases right now, somewhere between studio dumping grounds and their big-budget extravaganzas (only two more weeks till X-Men Origins: Wolverine!). But for those searching for some quality filmmaking, look no further than film festival favorite and winner of Cannes’ jury prize Il Divo, a fascinating portrait of seven-time Italian Prime Minister Giulio Andreotti (for some, his nickname is “Beelzebub”), which opens this weekend at Lincoln Plaza Cinemas.

Written and directed by Paolo Sorrentino, the film stars a superb Toni Servillo, and spans more than 40 years of Italian politics. Here is probably the right time to mention that we do not know very much about Italian politics (or actually, nothing at all about it—perhaps if we knew more, the film would feel different) but that doesn’t matter; Il Divo manages to be rather thrilling, and at times surprisingly funny. And hey, what’s not to like about power and corruption and scandal and the mafia? From the moment we meet Andreotti, with acupuncture needles sticking out of his face and hopes to cure his headache, we want to understand this enigmatic figure. Whether anyone really does—even his wife—is unclear.

There’s something downright Scorsese-like about this film, from its beautiful camera work to its deft use of music. We guarantee you you’ll never think of the Trio song “Da Da Da” quite the same way again.

svilkomerson@observer.com

Sara Vilkomerson’s Third Stringer: Crazy Ladies

Sara Vilkomerson — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 18:35:19 -0400

The thing about the classic 1975 Maysles brothers documentary Grey Gardens, which follows Jackie O.’s eccentric and reclusive relatives Big and Little Edie Beale, is that beyond all of its campy craziness—and boy, there is an awful lot—there is real sadness, too (and lessons to be learned: namely, stop adopting cats and don’t move home with motherdarling!). The new HBO feature film Grey Gardens, which uses the documentary as a framework, delves deep into that melancholic place, exploring how exactly the ladies reached the bizarre state in which we met them in the Maysles doc.

Co-written and directed by Michael Sucsy, the film spans four decades of the women’s formerly glamorous lives—going back to when they were just sort of charmingly weird like so many rich people. Jessica Lange plays Big Edie with great depth and poise, but it’s Drew Barrymore who steals the show as the heartbreaking Little Edie. Ms. Barrymore, whom we’ve always loved in romantic comedies like Music & Lyrics and Never Been Kissed (and even in entertaining silliness like Charlie’s Angels), is downright amazing. For those familiar with the original documentary, prepare to be spooked by just how well the actress nails Edie’s mid-Atlantic drawl and dramatic aspirations. Seeing her as a young woman and knowing where her life will end up is a little bit like watching a horror movie, but both actresses take great pains not to play their parts for cheap laughs. Though you’re forgiven if you can’t stifle a giggle or two along the way.

Grey Gardens premieres April 18 on HBO.

svilkomerson@observer.com

Sara Vilkomerson’s Third Stringer: They Wanna Rock

Sara Vilkomerson — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 12:53:50 -0400

Does Canadian heavy metal seem like an oxymoronic proposition? Perhaps. And yet there’s real-life Canuck thrashers Anvil, an early ’80s group that seemed poised at one point to join the ranks of Metallica and Slayer, but inexplicably fizzled along the way.

In Anvil! The Story of Anvil, a most entertaining documentary from Sacha Gervasi, we first meet the original group via 1984 footage of when they played onstage with other big-hairs like Bon Jovi and Whitesnake. It’s more than a bit startling, then, to cut to now-middle-aged lead singer Steve “Lips” Kudlow and drummer Robb Reiner at their current blue-collar and thankless jobs in Toronto. (Though they have never stopped playing gigs—sparsely, if enthusiastically, attended ones).

It’s never quite clear what happened to Anvil to make them fade away, but there are plenty of demigods, including Metallica, Slayer, G’N’R, and Twisted Sister, who cite their influence. And when the group (with a new lineup as of 1995) got a chance to go on a (horribly mismanaged) European tour, they hit the road.

It’s impossible to write about (or see) this movie without thinking about Spinal Tap. But Anvil is the real deal, and as spazzy and ridiculous as their antics were (Lips used to use a dildo to strum the guitar, and we’re so downloading the song “Toe Jam”), these guys are incredibly sweet and endearing people, and it’s clear why their long-suffering families support them. And don’t worry, non-headbangers: Mr. Gervasi wisely edits his film so that even soft rock fans will enjoy this story of grown men still chasing the basement, bass-heavy dream of their youth.

svilkomerson@observer.com