Becoming Jane

Becoming Jane is a breezy story purporting to show the key romantic events of Jane Austen's life. It was plenty of fun and well worth watching. Particularly if you're unable to keep yourself away from watching each decade's film version of Pride and Prejudice. That said, I suspect this has about as much historical accuracy as Alien Autopsy.

We meet the young Ms. Austen (Anne Hathaway) with her sister engaged, her brother visting and bringing along his slightly dangerous friend, Mr. Darcy. Oops, I mean Tom Lefroy (James McAvoy). Tom insults her, then intrigues her. Possibly keeping her from a much more financially responsible match. Jane navigates the perils of marriage in the English countryside with a quick wit and impeccable manners. Will all end happily? Will she realize pride is holding her back? Will you occasionally wonder if you'd already seen this with Keira Knightley wearing the same clothes and shot on the same beautiful countryside? Yes to all. There a direct focus on ensuring you get these are events of her novels playing out. Mostly centered around Pride and Prejudice. But it still was a lot of fun for me and I'm quite glad I saw it. The cast does well, the scenery is beautiful and the dialogue is mostly sharp.

If you're not familiar with Jane Austen you can still enjoy the film. But if you haven't enjoyed at least one of the earlier films based on her work you might stay away. Though while you're doing that I'd advise taking a long hard look into the mirror and asking what darkness lies in your soul...

This film is not yet rated to a ridiculously specific degree

Used to be that a movie was rated G,PG, PG-13 or R - and that was that. But at some point the MPAA decided (along with the fact that it's OK for kids to see decapitations galore so long as there's no sex) that we needed to see precisely what parent's ought to be worried about in each film. Last year's This Film is Not Yet Rated gives fairly convincing proof that the whole ratings process is pretty arbitrary. But now you can figure that out by just reading the ratings themselves. For at least the last several months they've been getting increasingly precise. Take for example Superbad's description of the film's R rating - "Strong Language. Drinking. Some drug use and a fantasy/comic violent image. All involving teens." That case seems simple enough (beyond the question of what a fantasy violent image is) - but if you're willing to poke around the MPAA's site you increasingly funny examples. What pray tell is the developmental danger posed by "quirky situations" or "irreverent humor throughout"? I know, I know - I probably have better things to worry about. But since apparently I was thinking about it anyway - here's another blogger opining on same.

Superbad

This is one of those films where you've probably seen so many ads that you're wondering if there's anything funny left in the film. Answer - Yes. And the things you've seen in the trailers work just as well on the big screen. I'd wanted to catch this during SIFF ever since the preview night before the festival. But the film was pulled out for some reason. Perhaps the high ownership rate of cameras with phones in Seattle (makes sense by the end - I promise).

This flick was really a blast. It's co-authored by Seth Rogen of Knocked Up fame. I've seen a lot of comparisons between the films, but Superbad is way funnier - hands down. I'm pretty sure it would even stand up to a repeat viewing. There's nothing really amazing about the story. A couple of geeky teens vest way too much meaning into the big graduation party they're invited to - not least of which as an opportunity to lose their virginity. The foul-mouthed pair somehow ends up being on the hook for bringing the alcohol for the entire group. Which is challenging given they barely look 18, let alone 21. To the rescue is the even more socially awkward Fogell who has acquired a brand new fake Hawaiian ID card. Prompting one of the best exchanges in teen-movie history since John Cusack explained his career plans in Say Anything:

• Evan: You changed your name to McLovin?
• Seth: It doesn't have a first name, it just says McLovin!
• Evan: The guys either going think 'here's another guy with a fake ID', or here's McLovin, 25 year old Hawaiian organ donor.
• Fogell: I am McLovin.

But they try to make the best of it - and hilarity truly does ensue. Seth Rogan and Bill Hader add great flavor as a pair of the least professional police officers on screen in a long time. The movie is rated R - entirely it seems for the language which is mostly very frank (and funny) sex talk. While crude at times it's really a fairly sweet themed movie - more about the relationship between the boys than their attempts to hook-up. And it does have it's serious moments. Such as when Seth explains to Evan his selection critera for choosing the porn site he's planning on subscribing to as soon as he's away at college.

I may not be McLovin but by the start of this flick I felt pretty Superbad myself. I pulled a Kenny on the way in to avoid the ridiculous security. Named in honor of my cousin who cut ahead of a line of three screenings of the first Superman movie with my brother and I. He just kept apologizing for having to take one of us to throw-up. :-) By the time folks stopped arguing with him we were all inside. It's a longish story - and not really worth the setup. But if you had something worth doing you probably wouldn't be reading this blog.

A lot of screenings these days have some kind of security. It's the MPAA's special way of trying of treating their best customers as criminals. They tend to have some goon inside the theater looking for folks recording the show. Never mind the fact that plenty of documentation exists that piracy from within a theater is a thing of the past. Why bother trying to produce something Kramer-style when you can just rip a digital copy from a DVD screener? But why put a damper on their fun... Anyway, when I got upstairs I discovered a long line of folks waiting to have their bags searched. That didn't seem like a big deal. Last time that happened they were quick, efficient - if disappointed looking that no one got caught with a tripod. This time they were collecting everyone's camera phone. Never mind the fact that no one in their right mind would watch a film shot on a camera-phone. Or even that someone who did take a snapshot of the film is likely doing so to convince a friend to see it. They were taking no chances. Those who claimed to not have such a nefarious device were being "wanded" as if entering an airport. Camera phone in my pocket I decided I wasn't willing to risk losing it or hang around after to pick it up. Worst case I wasted the time in line. So I calmly told them I had no phone, walked past the wanding guy to the restroom then calmly strode back past. Turns out if you look like you've already been inside and carry it well it's almost as good as walking around with a clipboard. They clearly were wondering but didn't bother to come after me. Next time I'm leaving the phone in the car, or maybe not. Depends if I'm in the mood for a thrill or not. ;-)

Building a better film blog.

A good SIFF friend has started up her own blogging efforts. I'd highly recommend you spend some of your time there. Better writing plus handy video reviews referenced to stuff out in the theaters now. It's off to a really great start.

The Bourne Ultimatum

You've got to love a sequel that just takes it for granted that you've seen the earlier films. The new Jason Bourne film assumes that from the get-go, jumping right into the thick of things and introducing old characters with barely a second of introduction. Sure, if you wait long enough you'll figure out that Julia Stiles was involved in the last film. But by then Matt Damon will have beaten the daylights out of 3 folks, shot another 2 while still having time to call his buddy Ben Affleck on an untraceable mobile to explain why this is way cooler than playing Jack Ryan.

I had a good time at this hyper-kinetic spy thriller. Though it's not the sort of movie you really want to reflect on too much. Otherwise you'll end up thinking about how the shortness of the plot and that the big climax involves C-SPAN footage. But while you're on the ride it's a good bit of fun. There's much similar here to the earlier pictures. Lot's of quickly edited fight scenes and a few chases. Because I got there late and had to sit up close the jump cutting was especially jarring at first. From farther back it probably feels a lot smoother. After a few minutes though you settle back into the thick of things and give Mr. Damon the benefit of the doubt. That said - the quick changing works best for the hand to hand combat scenes. When they've got the hero and pursuer running across rooftops it pales in comparison with the sort of action you can (and should) enjoy in Banlieue 13 from a few years back.

Overall you're going to forget your worries for a couple of hours. Unless of course you're a slightly brooding yet forgetful international fugitive. Wherein this might hit a little too close to home. But for the rest of us, well worth the $10.

The Kingdom

On Wed night I caught a preview of the new action/drama The Kingdom. Courtesy of The Warren Report the screening was lightly attended - a pleasant surprise. Set in Saudi Arabia in the aftermath of a terrorist attack on Westerners living there. It follows the efforts of a FBI team trying to find the culprits in spite of concerted efforts of both the US and Saudi political interests. The flick sports a well known cast in most of the roles (Jamie Foxx, Jennifer Garner, Chris Cooper) and occasional comic relief by Jeremy Piven as a less than helpful embassy bureaucrat. After a brief but informative time line of Saudi/US politics it alternates between a buddy story, crime procedural and full bore action shoot 'em up. Oddly enough it generally worked for me the vast majority of the time. It's not really deep, does a decent job being informative if your knowledge of the area is fairly light. It doesn't exactly plow any truly new ground but held my interest throughout. For what seems like a big Hollywood effort it managed to handle the material well enough. Besides the slightly queasy feeling I get with anything making entertainment out of terrorism I do recommend. Just don't expect to have your consciousness level raised and you'll be fine.