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Posts Tagged ‘Drew Barrymore’
Sunday, August 29th, 2010
Throw together three attractive women, crazy stunts, awesome music and an extraordinary amount of slow motion shots and you have the 2000 film CHARLIE’S ANGELS, directed by McG and based on the 1970’s show of the same name. Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore and Lucy Liu are Natalie, Dylan and Alex, the crime-fighting, world-saving trio who work for Charlie, a multi-millionaire who communicates his missions via voice box. These women alone are the only ones who can stop the mastermind, played by Sam Rockwell, as he plots to take over the world’s right to privacy with his high-tech computer voice identification program.
CHARLIE’S ANGELS was one of those films that is fun, colorful, has lots of action and surprisingly enough, holds up pretty well ten years later. Sure, it’s full of some over-acting and cheesiness, but overall it’s still a good time. I think a lot of this is due to Bill Murray who plays the charming and oblivious Bosley (which may be a reason the sequel was unbearable) as well as the fabulous performance from Sam Rockwell. Oh, and let’s not forget Crispin Glover as the cool Thin Man. He really is a great bad guy who should be doing more in Hollywood.
One of the best things about this film is the obvious campiness which is done so well. In many places it went over the top and held nothing back which was a risk but they managed to pull it off. The actresses and actors don’t really take themselves seriously and you can tell they had a good time filming this movie. CHARLIE’S ANGELS could have easily been a complete bust if it would have been cast differently, but this ensemble pulled it off with little effort. We even get some nice smaller performances from: Luke Wilson, Matt LeBlanc and Tim Curry.
However, admittedly, this film does have some flaws. Although, the punning throughout the film is fun at first, it does get really old after a while, as does some of the dialogue. This film really leaves nothing to the imagination and spells everything out to you through dialogue and voice overs. If you can get past this then you’re almost home free. The other thing that will really hold you back is if you have an aversion to any of these actresses, and if that’s the case then I would go ahead and skip this film altogether. There is no shortage of these three ladies and their parts are equally split throughout the film. Oh, and the wire work was a bit over the top as well, but that’s not a big deal now like it was in 2000 when that was in all the movies for those few years.
Overall, CHARLIE’S ANGELS is a pleasing combination of MISSION IMPOSSIBLE and SPICE WORLD, as in cool spy stuff and action mixed in with a lot of girl power. Even though it definitely has its flaws, it’s still a fun flick to throw in on a Friday night with a bowl of popcorn. Plus the music is great-I mean really, how can anyone hate a film that can throw in some Prodigy as well as Sir Mix-a-lot and still make it work?
BLU-RAY REVIEW
Video:McG lays on the style pretty heavy and it comes through beautifully in this Blu-ray. This really is a great transfer.
Audio: The audio is just as impressive with surround channels being put to the test, especially during the action scenes.
Commentary with Director McG and Cinematographer Russell Carpenter: These guys really keep the ball rolling and actually give us some good technical stuff to absorb. Cinematographer commentaries are usually interesting and this is no exception. There are some really good insights so this is really worth a watch.
Deleted Scenes (4:42): These didn’t add anything to the overall plot, however, we did get to see some more interaction between Curry and Murray which wasn’t necessary but still fun to watch. We also get some other various scenes that were rightfully cut.
Outtakes and Bloopers (2:39): These were very similar to the ending credits and gave very little more, too many movie clips and not enough bloopers. They really shouldn’t have added this.
Getting G’d Up (6:32): This was a short featurette of McG directing various scenes and then the cast and crew telling us how awesome he was to work with and how much they loved working with him. He seemed to have a great energy on the set, which may have been fun if you were there but looks exhausting and annoying from our perspective.
The Master and the Angels (7:25): Cheung-Yan Yuen is the master of the martial arts in the films and this is a featurette about him and his work on the film. This includes a lot of behind the scenes stuff which is always fun to watch, and of course the obligatory training montage.
Welcome to Angel World (4:48): This was about the over the top world they built for the Angels. It’s almost a comical world and very scene specific, this was actually interesting to watch.
Angelic Attire: Dressing Cameron Drew and Lucy (3:25): Obviously, this is about the wardrobes in the film, there were some cool costumes and this was short enough that it was an enjoyable.
Angelic Effects (6:45):This is about the special effects in the film, now obviously this is dated but it’s actually kinda cool to watch just to see how far technology in film really has come.
Wired Angels (2:35): All about the wire work, which like I said before I remembered as being a bit cheesy but wasn’t as bad now as it was back then. This is a raw scene of the fight between the Angels and Thin Man in the alley.
Music Videos: “Independent Women Part 1” by Destiny’s Child and “Charlie’s Angels 2000” by Apollo Four Forty
Previews
Tags: Blu-ray, Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore, Lucy Liu, McG, movie reviews
Posted in Blu-Ray Reviews, Reviews |
Thursday, August 5th, 2010
Posted by: Brad Sturdivant
Today must be “movies that save sea life” day, given this is the second update on a movie dealing with saving sea creatures. This time, whales are the focus in the upcoming film, EVERYBODY LOVES WHALES. Tim Blake Nelson is joining the cast of the film as a wildlife expert working in the wildlife management office. The film is a romantic comedy of sorts following a small-town reporter and a Greenpeace volunteer that fall in love while trying to save three gray whales that get trapped under the ice of the Arctic Circle. John Krasinski and Drew Barrymore will play the couple while Kristen Bell will play an LA reporter.
Ken Kwapis will be directing the film and since this film is based off true events, he has several different paths he can take on deciding what story to tell. He can focus on the love story, the whales or the politics that erupted between the US and Russia over saving the whales. Of course, he could also go after the media, who supposedly made a bigger deal out of this than it really was. The book the film is based on was written by Tom Rose and is called ‘Freeing the Whales: How the Media Created the World’s Greatest Non-Event’.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
Tags: Drew Barrymore, John Krasinski, Ken Kwapis, kristen bell, movie news, Tim Blake Nelson
Posted in News |
Tuesday, June 22nd, 2010
Posted by: Brad Sturdivant
I know Kristen Bell is a very talented actress, dancer, singer and all around great person and I know fanboys around the world love her, but I just don’t get it. Granted, I haven’t seen ‘Veronica Mars’ yet, but everything I’ve seen her in so far has been a letdown. Maybe I’m stuck watching drivel like WHEN IN ROME, but I find Bell to be a little annoying in the roles she takes, even with her turn in ‘Heroes’. She’s joining the cast of the upcoming WHALES with John Krasinski and Drew Barrymore where she will play a reporter from Los Angeles who “believes that her looks are her best asset”. In other words, Bell will be playing yet another annoying character.
Whales is about the rescue of three gray whales that get trapped under the ice of the arctic circle. The film is based off the book ‘Freeing the Whales: How the Media Created the World’s Greatest Non-Event’ by Tom Rose. Ken Kwapis will be directing.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
Tags: Drew Barrymore, John Krasinski, Ken Kwapis, kristen bell, movie news
Posted in News |
Friday, May 21st, 2010
Posted by: Brad Sturdivant
As I was watching the trailer for GOING THE DISTANCE, I tried to think of other romantic comedies that have explored the various perils of a long distance relationship. I couldn’t come up with one and I find it odd that of all the romantic comedies that have come out, none of them have really made the long distance relationship the focal point. Leave it to Drew Barrymore to fix that as she and Justin Long star as two people that meet and fall in love in six weeks and then make the problematic decision to try a long distance relationship. Christina Applegate, Ron Livingston and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia’s Charlie Day also star in the film from Nanette Burstein.
The film looks cutesy enough and I was on board until the end of the trailer, where I thought they went for the cheap laugh. Hopefully they’ll keep their focus in the finished film. GOING THE DISTANCE hits theaters on August 27th.
Watch the trailer here.
Tags: Christina Applegate, Drew Barrymore, justin long, movie news, Ron Livingston
Posted in News |
Friday, April 30th, 2010
Posted by: Brad Sturdivant
John Krasinski and Drew Barrymore are teaming up to save some whales in the upcoming family film WHALES. The film is about three whales that were found trapped under ice in the Arctic Circle in 1988. Apparently, the rescue of these whales became a huge event as it became one of the first times the US and Russia worked together. Barrymore will play a Greenpeace activist that falls in love with a journalist played by John Krasinski.
I think Krasinski and Barrymore make a pretty cute couple. Them, plus the subject matter with poor, helpless, trapped whales should make for a cute and cuddly film. I’m curious as to which direction director Ken Kwapis will take the story. He can go the cute and cuddly route with more focus on the romance between the two leads, or he can go political with the animals and US-Soviet relations. Either way, I’m sure this will be a tear-jerker.
Source: Deadline
Tags: Drew Barrymore, John Krasinski, Ken Kwapis, movie news
Posted in News |
Thursday, February 4th, 2010
There’s a scene early on in WHIP IT when Bliss Cavendar (Ellen Page) is on a shopping trip to the big city with her mother and a group of girls come skating into the store they’re at. Director Drew Barrymore filmed that scene with a mastering that many seasoned directors couldn’t pull off. In that simple sequence, we understood everything we needed to know about Bliss; she was living a life she didn’t want and in that moment, she found a calling that could lead to life she did want. I don’t want to be overly sentimental in regards to a film about roller derby, but this was one heck of a movie and was an absolute joy to watch. Great characters, great scrip, great performances and an outstanding effort from first time director Barrymore.
Bliss is trapped in a small, Texas town, completely held by her 1950′s-esque mother and forced to participate in beauty pageants, which we can tell she hates. When she discovers the roller derby league in a nearby city, she concocts a lie that will allow her to participate. During this time, Bliss meets people she’s never encountered, joins the team and even meets a boy. Elements of this story are familiar in many sports movies and coming-of-age films about high school students, but WHIP IT manages to combine some elements in a fresh setting that makes you feel like you’re seeing it for the first time.
The greatest element to this film is Barrymore’s ability to capture the essence of a young adult that’s desperate to escape her current life. Many of us have been her exact situation in which we feel trapped and helpless by our environment, friends, family, job, etc., and some of us were lucky enough to find something that allowed us to break free of those trappings. That’s why Bliss is such a likeable character; everyone (men and women) can relate to her.
The trick to breaking free is to get away without completely alienating your family and that’s what Bliss learns towards the end. It’s spelled out to her by Maggie Mayhem (Kristen Wiig) perfectly in a speech that could have been horrible but ended up fitting in perfectly. That credit goes to Shauna Cross, who wrote the screenplay and the novel the film is based on. I’m of the belief that original authors should always write the screenplays, most notably because they truly understand the characters they’ve created. Ms. Cross lends a lot of credit to my theory and her screenplay could have been embarrassingly cheesy in the hands of a lesser author. As it is, I’m truly disappointed she hasn’t received more credit for her work.
I was truly impressed by this film and I feel safe in saying that it’s one of the better sports movies we’ve seen in many years. It sounds crazy, but this little film about women’s roller derby touched on more thematic elements than 95% of the films out there about football, baseball or basketball. WHIP IT is a treat and has even inspired me to break out my old skates. And no, they don’t have Barbies on them.
BLU-RAY REVIEW
I have to vent for a second and say how disappointed I am that we didn’t get a commentary from any of the actresses or even Drew Barrymore. This is one of those times where I know Barrymore would have had a lot to say about her first directorial effort. But even a commentary from Shauna Cross would have been nice.
Video: Widescreen 2.40:1. Fox continues to impress me with the quality of their new releases. WHIP IT has a dark, sometimes smokey setting and I was concerned the black levels would lose definition. Thankfully, the video presentation was top notch and the film looked wonderful.
Audio: The DTS-HD audio track was also nice and those with a nice surround setup will enjoy the crowd noises during the derby scenes.
Deleted Scenes (16:14): You have to feel for Alia Shawkat after watching these scenes since most of them served to develop her character. It turned out to be a good thing because a lot of these would’ve just slowed down the film. However, unless your a big fan of Shawkat (I loved her on ‘Arrested Development’), I don’t think you’ll get anything out of these.
Fox Movie Channel Presents Writer’s Draft: Shauna Cross of Whip It (3:04): Note to Blu-ray producers; you can’t have a three minute featurette and have nothing but movie clips in it. I saw this on the back cover and was pretty excited to hear something from Shauna Cross. What little I heard was really great, but I wanted more. Cross was very passionate about her film and she had a lot of enthusiasm with in only 3 minutes.
Tags: Blu-ray, Drew Barrymore, Ellen Page, Marcia Gay Harden, movie reviews
Posted in Blu-Ray Reviews, Reviews |
Friday, December 11th, 2009
I was in a McDonald’s the other day, because I’m into health food, and I saw one of their $1 dollar rental DVD stands while I was in line. And standing there, I saw a DVD with Morgan Freeman, Christopher Walken and William H. Macy that went straight to DVD, THE MAIDEN HEIST. I was dumbfounded. So much so, in fact, that three people jumped in line in front of me (bunch of savages in this town). I thought if any big three leading up a movie could avoid a straight to DVD release it’d be those three. But no, apparently the big three names to line up to avoid Straight-to-DVD hell is DeNiro, Barrymore and Sam Rockwell/Kate Beckinsale, as the new release EVERYBODY’S FINE is a Lifetime movie disguised as a theatrical release. I think it avoided that hell due to Barrymore’s Hollywood name. And yet the film still gets a 5. Wha?
Robert DeNiro plays Frank Goode, a widowed father of four who, upon being stood up mysteriously by his children for a family get together at the house, decides to travel to see his kids all around the country. Frank suffers from a lung disease which discourages him from flying/traveling at all, but he is a stubborn old man on a mission, so he boards trains and buses to get to his children, all of whom are guarding some family secret. His artistic son David (Austin Lysy) is nowhere to be found at his apartment in New York. His daughters Amy and Rosie (Beckinsale and Barrymore, respectively) live with hidden relationship problems, Amy also with a problem with her son, Jack. While Frank’s other son, Robert (Sam Rockwell) isn’t exactly setting the world on fire with his career in an orchestra, not as the conductor as his father thinks, but as the “percussionist,” who just bangs a big drum. Frank has pills which make his trip possible which are destroyed by a mugger, though in the altercation DeNiro still displays that amazing reservoir that is “Old Man Strength.” And on his trip back home, he takes a flight and, without his pills, has a heart attack. He then has a dream sequence realizing his kids have been lying to him all this time, opening his eyes to their fear of disappointing him they’ve experienced all these years.
It is in these dream sequences that the movie has its biggest flaws and also most heartfelt moments. The dream sequence during his heart attack takes place at a picnic table with Frank’s four children as they are children talking about their adult problems. This could be a serious scene, but with the children it is simply off-putting as we just remember the classroom scene from ANNIE HALL (“I’m into leather.”). However, as DeNiro meets his kids at their different spots along his journey, he flashes back to seeing them as children in his mind’s eye. These are tender moments that DeNiro sells with his big smile, and they remind each of us of a proud father/grandpa. His travels also add an ambiguous reaction to the film, as it’s easy to fall for the draw of the road and traveling our great country, but he has no cell phone and he doesn’t grasp the simple concept of time zones…it just isn’t something DeNiro would do.
There’s also a touch of generational guilt added into the film that works for and against it, as Frank’s blue collar work at coating telephone wire (a job of which he is immensely proud) caused his lung problems that are killing him, but also put his kids through school to learn business, art, music and dance. The older generation suffered to allow the younger to “find itself.” And most of us find ourselves judging the older generation’s lack of self-awareness. It’s a point made in after school specials to teach us to respect our elders, but somehow it also works, mainly because we can’t help but like DeNiro.
The film ends with the family around a dinner table celebrating Christmas, and DeNiro reciting the film’s title in a cheesy voice over… and I found it fitting that this happens to be while the Network for Women is celebrating “FalalalaLifetime” for the holidays. This film has its moments, as any such film would have to anyone with a heart, but hey, even Meredith Baxter Birney can elicit tears on some of her made-for-TV movies. Doesn’t mean we should watch them in theaters.
Tags: Drew Barrymore, Kate Beckinsale, Kirk Jones, movie reviews, robert deniro
Posted in Reviews |
Monday, November 2nd, 2009
by: Sturdy and Kristy
He Said/She Said is a bi-weekly column where a male and female reviewer from the site team up to debate the merits of a particular film.
He Said:
There are few things more annoying in life than a single woman that spends her time in a bar and dating every guy with a pulse, but complains that she can’t find anyone and doesn’t understand why. So the prospect of watching a two hour movie about a woman that does just that was not an appealing one, to say the least.
The structure of the film is a little odd in that half the film revolves around Ginnefer Goodwin (the aforementioned annoying woman) and her struggle to find love, while the second half revolves around several other characters and their struggles. The other actors include; Jennifer Connoly, Jennifer Aniston, Ben Affleck, Bradley Cooper, Drew Barrymore and Scarlett Johansson. You might have already picked up on the fact that all of the other, lesser used actors are actually A-list, Hollywood stars and the “main” actress is someone you haven’t heard of. Make no mistake about it; this is an epic fail on the part of the filmmakers. Goodwin isn’t cut out to star in a Toyota commercial, let alone carry a film with six A-list stars in supporting roles.
The worst part about the film is that I really enjoyed every other story but Goodwin’s. I was genuinely interested in whether or not the other couples were going to make it or not and while we were following them, I was pleasantly surprised with the stories. But unfortunately, that’s only half the film. In the end, the good didn’t outweigh the bad and the result is a frustratingly annoying movie that was very close to being enjoyable.
She Said:
For the first thirty to forty-five minutes, I found myself disgusted with this film. All Hollywood needed was another movie to make women seem desperate, pathetic and downright crazy when it comes to men. I couldn’t stand the thought of watching it until about three quarters through I found myself liking the characters and feeling for them and their predicaments. It started out as a typical story about single women trying to find the right guy but evolved into a story about the more complicated aspects of relationships. Some of the storylines were dull and ended as expected but it was done well enough to change my attitude about the entire film.
As for Ginnefer Goodwin, I thought she was cute and has potential A-list status. Her character was annoying and came off as desperate, but I think anyone in that role would have the same problem; it was strictly a character issue, not an actress issue. In my opinion, Jennifer Connolly’s character was the most obnoxious; the way they had her character react to the situation she was in was a little frustrating, as it encourages the stereotype that married women turn a little crazy – not a fan of that received idea. The rest of the characters were alright, and of course I would have liked to see some storylines more than others but overall I found myself enjoying the ride, eventually.
Tags: Ben Affleck, bradley cooper, Drew Barrymore, ginnefer goodwin, Jennifer Aniston, justin long
Posted in He Said/She Said |
Tuesday, October 6th, 2009
This will seem an awkward beginning for this review, but I imagine Steven Spielberg had a blast making his early movies. He was 36 when he directed ET: THE EXTRA TERRESTRIAL, a pet project for him, and I imagine young Drew Barrymore (who played the role of Gertie at age 6) watching him work on this film he was so passionate about and seeing directing as one hell of a fun ride. This makes me glad that Barrymore chose a fun project for her directorial debut, WHIP IT, starring Ellen Page as a small town Texas girl who finds her niche in the world of Roller Derby. Start off with a lighthearted passion project and work your way up to a SCHINDLER’S LIST. WHIP IT is one such film, with an empowering message for young girls and the capacity to enhance interest in women’s roller derby just as DODGEBALL: A TRUE UNDERDOG STORY did for its respective sport…though I can’t remember what sport that was.
Page is Bliss Cavender, seen as an outcast in her little town of Bodeen, and not all too enthusiastic about the pastime her mother (played by Marcia Gay Harden) has planned for her and her younger sister; competing in beauty pageants. She has a best friend in Pash (Alia Shawkat, who you’ll remember from “Arrested Development”), as her only confidant, as she toils at the local barbecue joint, mocking the locals and dreaming of a way out. She finds it in a flyer for a Roller Derby league in Austin, makes up an excuse for her parents to sneak away, and falls in love with the sport on first viewing. The names of the women in the league are enough to hook anyone. Maggie Mayhem (Kristen Wiig) first invites Bliss to try out for the team, Juliette Lewis plays the evil Iron Maven, Zoe Bell (last scene on the hood of a car in DEATHPROOF) is Bloody Holly, and even the director herself takes a dig at pop culture with her character’s name, Smashley Simpson.
Ellen Page is great. I’ve thought so since JUNO, then even liked her in SMART PEOPLE, though she played basically the same character – though not pregnant. In this she breaks away a little, in that she is more awkward and shy toward the beginning, then derives confidence through the sport and works up that Juno-like attitude. There are elements of mother/daughter conflict, Daniel Stern plays the father afraid of his wife and jealous of his neighbor’s football-playing sons, the relationship between Pash and Bliss becomes strained as Bliss joins the team, and Bliss falls for a boy as well, but all of these storylines are pulled together nicely and resolves well in the films 111 minutes. There is a pretty cool, if not difficult, romantic scene in a pool; Kristen Wiig shows she can do more than just comedy; and the scenes of actual roller derby are done well, accentuated by the color commentary of Johnny Rocket, played by Jimmy Fallon (notably funnier here than he is in late night).
This is a sports movie geared toward women, so of course there’s the climactic big game against the evil adversary, but the camaraderie of the league is such that even the “bad” team has a good relationship with all the others, and the conflict between the evil Iron Maven and Bliss’ roller derby alter ego Babe Ruthless is accentuated with a food fight, not an actual fight. The film has fun with roller derby, and the other stories of a young girl’s coming of age and relationships are furthered through the happiness she derives from the sport. This should be the film shown to all young girls, though it may cause a desire to get a myriad of tattoos. Opt for this flick instead of anything in the BRING IT ON franchise if you have a daughter in search of athletic inspiration. And kudos to Ms. Barrymore for a job well done. Spielberg would be proud.
(As a purely aesthetic post script, Ari Graynor looks gorgeous as Eva Destruction, and what a name.)
Tags: Drew Barrymore, Ellen Page, Marcia Gay Harden, movie reviews
Posted in Reviews |
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