CUT AND REEL: ‘500 Days (of Summer)’
Every now and then a summer romance comedy/drama comes along that makes you forget why you hated them in the first place—500 Days of Summer is one such remarkable film.
From its clever opening and ominous, narrative exposition, the viewer is enchanted and enamored by the story’s two irresistibly adorable main characters, Tom Hansen and Summer Finn–enlivened by inspired performances by Joseph Gordon—Levitt and Zooey Deschanel. (more…)
CUT and REEL: ‘Sunshine Cleaning’
Cut the hype. Get the reel scoop. http://www.cutandreel.com
Cut and Reel presents: A REEL CLASSIC
Cut and Reel says: REEL!
Sunshine Cleaning, 2008
Director:
Christine Jeffs
Writer (WGA):
Megan Holley (written by)
Sunshine Cleaning is a decent movie and the story depicts the characters as true to life; a family that anyone can relate to. If only the characters picked up the shampoo bottle of life—read the directions—lather and rinse; repeat as necessary—their lives would dramatically improve.
Somewhere in New Mexico, our beloved lead character Rose Lorkowski (Amy Adams) keeps trying to fix her issues by continuing on the same path of personal troubles. The former cheerleader cheers through life and soon she realizes she is cheering for the wrong choices: an affair, poor career choice and dealing with suppressed emotional grief. The story begins with Rose taking her current profession to a new level–going from a normal housecleaner to crime scene cleaner, scrubbing brain gunk off shower walls.
Rose’s small stage includes her sister Norah Lorkowski, played by Emily Blunt, who escapes responsibility through mindless actions. The likeable foil looks for her way into world, but fails to find her niche, working dead end jobs. In an earnest attempt at connecting with the world, she crusades to help a troubled stranger, a dark character, Lynn, played beautifully by Mary Lynn Rajskub (who really needs more work), who brings Norah to an introspective crossroads. Rose and Norah’s Father, Joe, played by Alan Arkin, is an escapist and a scheming dreamer, and single dad who, after life’s tragedies, never leaves his daughters, only himself. His relationship with his grandson Oscar, played by Jason Spevack, is engaging—as he teaches Oscar about coping with reality.
Ultimately, the character relationships make this movie is a great Sunday Matinee—if only to see how Amy Adams turns Rose Lorkowski from a caterpillar into a blue butterfly.
Cut and Reel says: Reel!
CUT and REEL: Stay in with a REEL Classic… Valmont
Cut the hype. Get the reel scoop. http://www.cutandreel.com
Cut and Reel presents: A REEL CLASSIC
Cut and Reel says: REEL!
CUT AND REEL PRESENTS A REEL CLASSIC:
Valmont (Directed by Milos Forman)
Director Milos Forman’s (Amadeus) stunning rendition of the French novel Les Liaisons Dangereuses brilliantly captures the wry, miscreant mind games of French Rococo era aristocracy–rife with intrigue, sensuality, sexual tension, and above all, frivolity–the hallmark of the era. Colin Firth (as the title character) and Annette Benning (each before becoming household names) light up the screen with electric chemistry as the scheming, sometime lovers of 18th century French aristocratic society locked in an impenetrable psychological and emotional duel to the death.
With unprecedented mastery, Forman deftly manifests a familiarity with 18th century France using seamless integration of both classic and modern motifs and vernacular that make this period piece cinematically superior to both Dangerous Liaisons and its contemporary counterpart, Cruel Intentions—two other filmic renditions of the original, aforementioned novel.
The capable director, budding talent (Colin Firth, Annette Benning, Meg Tilly, and a young Fairuza Balk), and compelling rendering of the classic tale of the famous, French philanderer, Valmont, are not only noteworthy, but entertaining.
Cut and Reel says: Reel!
Cut and Reel: Stay in with a REEL CLASSIC…Charade
Cut the hype. Get the reel scoop. http://www.cutandreel.com
Cut and Reel presents: A REEL CLASSIC
Cut and Reel says: REEL!
Charade (Audrey Hepburn, Cary Grant) Directed by Stanley Donen, Written by Marc Behm and Peter Stone
This Hitchcockianesque-thriller has all the thrills and sardonic humor one would expect to find from a standard Hitchcock, without the ironic pathos and psychological duress of one. It stars two major iconoclasts of American Cinema (though ironically, both are European imports): the delightful Audrey Hepburn and the dashing Cary Grant who, despite some dire and dangerous circumstances, whimsically woo their way into each other’s hearts, and ours. (more…)