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Catching Up! Moriarty’s Been KNOCKED UP! He’s Intrigued By MR. BROOKS! And He Trips Out On Satoshi Kon’s PAPRIKA!
Okay, the working vacation is over. I’ve got all sorts of catching up to do, and the first thing I should do is post quick reviews of three films that came out last weekend, one in very limited release, that are all worth your time to some degree.
First up is Judd Apatow’s KNOCKED UP, and we’ve certainly devoted a fair amount of server space to this one over the past year. For me, seeing the final release print after we screened a half-hour-longer cut at BNAT in December was confirmation that Judd Apatow is some sort of evil magician. He managed to shave 30 minutes of film without losing anything. He kept all the great digressions and the subplots and the supporting cast that made my first viewing so much fun. Amazing work.
Seeing it again, I’m struck by a few things. First, Seth Rogen’s a fucking movie star, and I’ll fight you if you say different. He’s Albert Brooks, but without that prickly quality that has always made Albert a cult phenomenon. There’s a great everyman quality to Seth, and I’m not just talking about the fact that he doesn’t look like George Clooney. Seth is real-world funny, not over-rehearsed movie funny. The reason that Apatow’s two films so far are so inviting is because you get the feeling that these are real people, and you end up drawn into these situations because people actually behave like this. When was the last time you saw something that could even vaguely be defined as a “romantic comedy” that didn’t hinge on some elaborate lie or some I LOVE LUCY-style scheme? You think horror films are predictable these days? Please. Romantic comedies are vile things, heartless and phony and full of people who don’t deserve happiness doing awful things to obtain a manufactured happy ending that sends detestable messages to the audiences that soak these Valentine’s Day cards up. Apatow’s made two films in a row now that deal with love and that are funny, but they’re as atypical of the genre as BROADCAST NEWS was. Apatow writes flawed people, and in those flaws, he finds his humor and he also defines his heart. Ben Stone is a good guy. He really is. There’s a moment where he and Allison (Katherine Heigl) are about to make out, and she stops him. “Don’t fuck me over,” she says.
“I won’t," he says. "I’m the guy who girls fuck over.” Ben’s got no game whatsoever, and as a result, there are no games played. This may be a film about accepting responsibility and the pressures that impending parenthood may cause, but to the credit of both characters, it’s not about trying to slip out of those responsibilities... it’s about deciding if you are person enough to accept them. Look, I’ve been lucky in life as far as timing goes. I had my son at the right moment. I’m emotionally ready, I’m in a great relationship with the right woman, and the past two years have been fantastic. This is what we wanted. And I’m willing to admit... you take the same situation and subtract ten years... or, hell, even subtract five years... and I’m not sure I would have been anywhere near as ready as I am now. I’m not sure how well I would have done through a pregnancy with the women I was with at those times, and I’m not sure what I would have done professionally. I think blind panic would have been the biggest part of every day, and for Apatow to be true to all of that and still make it funny and make you believe in Ben... that’s not easy. I think Apatow’s taken a step forward as a writer and as a director here. I hope he continues to hone what he does. I hope he pushes himself further in that search for honesty over the joke, because when he does, the best moments end up doing both things well. The more real the film gets, the funnier it is.
A great example of that, for me, is the trip to Vegas. You could make this film and you could leave out the trip to Vegas easily. It wouldn’t be a lesser film. You could find some other way for Pete (Paul Rudd) and Ben to have their moment of bonding where they discuss the ways they’ve messed up with their women. But Apatow does a lot of things in that sequence, juggling all these ideas. He starts with a great example of how guys really do react when they’re hurt. They don’t lay around and mope about it. At least, I don’t, and my friends are the same way. Instead, you do something outsized. You react. You do something crazy. And if you’re in LA, driving to Vegas and doing mushrooms... well, let’s just say I can completely understand the impulse. Oblivion. Manic oblivion. Sounds like just the ticket. After my worst break-up, I certainly had moments like that.
But what starts as a joke and a blast and fun turns sort of crazy when Cirque Du Soleil stops being fun, and by the time Pete and Ben are upstairs, weary, waiting for the drugs to wear off already, they start talking about things that neither one of them would have been able to say sober or in LA, things that they both need to say. And they’re at two totally different places in their relationships. Ben looks at Pete, and he sees the future. He sees one way things could play out. He sees a sort of half-happiness. I don’t believe that Pete and Debbie (Leslie Mann) are a bad couple, or even an unusual couple. They have some pretty remarkable fights in the film, and Debbie can be blunt to the point of attempted murder, but I still see a lot of great moments between them in the film, too. Their marriage feels like something that’s been lived in for a while, where there are definite stress points, but where there’s an ongoing attempt, where efforts are being made. There are subtle allusions to past marriage counseling, and I can see the little ways they work to deal with differences. When Pete is talking to Ben and says that the biggest problem between him and his wife is that she loves him and wants to be with him... well, let’s just say I can understand that, too. I’m a writer. I’ve always enjoyed alone time. Solitude. The ability to tune the world out and just focus on that blank page and the things I need to do to fill it. And as you add members to a family... a wife, and then a child... suddenly you find yourself with a lot less of that alone time, and your attempts to make that time for yourself can cause friction, even if there’s no malice meant. I think part of the process of being married is finding the ways you fit together, and the ways you give each other space, and this film gets that right. Ben sees everything that is difficult in Pete’s marriage, everything that is painful and stressful and infuriating... and he still makes the choice to step up and take on all of that himself. It’s a knowing film, steeped in life experience, and Apatow’s world view is what makes Ben so appealing, what makes the whole movie so appealing. I think Apatow believes that marriage is hard work, and that it’s worthwhile hard work. Nothing in either of his films promises that happy endings are easy things, but I think his films make the case for taking the good and the bad together. And if that’s not what Hollywood calls romance... well, good for Apatow. Who needs the flashbang of movie romance when you can have the sweet and sour of real love?
I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the soundtrack to the film, which wasn’t ready when I saw the workprint back in December. Loudon Wainwright III, who I know first as an actor (thanks to his work in Apatow’s series UNDECLARED), has been making music for a long time. When I was watching the first season box set for SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE recently, there was a musical performance there of his that just knocked me out. He’s like a blatantly funny Paul Simon. And on his new album, STRANGE WEIRDOS, he’s matured like wine. These songs definitely relate to Allison and Ben and Pete and Debbie, but more than that, they’re songs about Apatow and Wainwright and anyone who has ever stepped up into the role of parenthood. They’re songs about living in LA right now, certainly, but they’re more universal than that. The joy of something like “Daughter” or “X Or Y” is a perfect complement to the melancholy of “Strange Weirdos” or “Valley Morning.” This is that rare album of songs “from and inspired by” a film that actually works completely independently. You don’t need to see a frame of the film to enjoy this as an album, and in the movie, much of this exists only in instrumental film, so it’s not like the experiences are interchangeable. Wainwright was just so moved by the film and what it had to say, and he’s had such a complicated and contentious history as a parent in his own right, that this is less of a soundtrack and more of an equal artistic reaction, and along with ONCE, it’s one of only two new soundtracks so far this year to get dropped into heavy rotation here at the Labs.
Last Friday also saw the release of MR. BROOKS, and I decided to avoid reading any reviews at all until I’d had a chance to write about it. I have no idea if the film is beloved or reviled, but neither one would surprise me. I don’t think it’s a perfect film, and I wouldn’t call it a particularly great film, but damn if I didn’t have a good time watching it unfold. Bruce A. Evans directed from a script he wrote with longtime co-writer Raynold Gideon, and it’s a fairly clever spin on the serial killer genre, adult-minded and interesting. Even so, I wouldn’t really be able to recommend it if not for the work of Kevin Costner in the lead, as well as the important supporting work done by William Hurt. I think Costner gets a bum rap, and I like his career, by and large. This is a significant twist by him in his ongoing effort to defy any expectations anyone has for him, and it works. He’s freaky and funny and does a lot of things we’ve never seen him do before.
And, yeah... the film is funny. It’s a fairly jet black comedy. It’s a game of one-upsmanship between Earl Brooks (Costner) and everyone else in the world. He has a secret need, a call that he gets from time to time, and it manifests in the form of Marshall (William Hurt), that little voice in his ear, the devil on his shoulder made flesh. It’s a pretty outrageous conceit, and if Hurt and Costner didn’t know exactly what they were doing, it wouldn’t work. For my tastes, they get it right, and the precision of their work together as a man and his absolutely off-center moral compass is a kick to watch. There are elements of the film that I don’t think work, particularly... I’m not sure I really buy Demi Moore’s character. But the game that Mr. Brooks plays with her is fun, and the payoff is worth some of the implausibility along the way.
The basic plot is that Mr. Brooks kills people, and he is very, very careful when he does so. He’s managed to build a lovely life with his wife Emma (Marg Helgenberger) and his daughter Jane (Danielle Panabaker), and he’s respected and even loved in his community. He’s just got this pesky itch to occasionally kill people. On one particular night out, he is seen and photographed by a guy in the next building, played by Dane Cook. The guy approaches him with the photos, and instead of blackmailing him for money, he blackmails him for experience. He wants to go with Mr. Brooks the next time he goes out. He wants to kill somebody. It’s a neat trap, and the fun of the film is watching Brooks try to figure his way out of it. There’s another plot working at the same time about Jane, his college-age daughter, and then another one about the detective who is chasing him, played by Moore. That’s a lot to juggle, and I think the combination of oddball casting (Cook just doesn’t have the weight for his role, although he gives pretty good sleaze, and Moore just doesn’t strike me as a seasoned brilliant detective, no matter how hard she growls with that whiskey voice of hers) and the overbusy script is what keeps it from being a totally satisfying game a la THE USUAL SUSPECTS. Even so, MR. BROOKS is sleek and well-made, and Gideon and Evans (who wrote STARMAN and STAND BY ME) have offered up an interesting alternative to those already burned out by this summer’s blitzkrieg of sequels. It’s not a conventional kick by any means, but there’s enough substance to make it worth a recommendation.
And if MR. BROOKS is a case of a film where I think it’s not really for every taste, then PAPRIKA is a rarer thing indeed. This is not “just another anime film” by any means. PAPRIKA is a wild next step for Satoshi Kon, one of the most unique voices working in world animation today. He has resolutely avoided making the same film twice so far, and his career is unlike anyone’s working in animation or live-action as a result. PERFECT BLUE was a slasher film, basically, a psychological horror film about a pop star being stalked by someone. MILLENNIUM ACTRESS is a sweet, sweeping story of an actress whose life story is told as a way of tracing the evolution of the Japanese film industry. TOKYO GODFATHERS is a reworking of the classic John Wayne film THREE GODFATHERS, a tale of three unlikely men trying to save the life of an orphaned child as they find themselves improbably falling in love with it. With his TV series PARANOIA AGENT, Kon seemed to explode all genre walls, and he continues that effort with PAPRIKA, a movie about the thin line between dreams and reality, and what would happen to our world if that line were able to be erased completely. It’s heady stuff, and there are times where it sort of spins deliriously out of control, where it stops being merely surreal and becomes something like a fever dream, unfettered and effortlessly amazing. In those moments, I feel like this filmmaker is showing us exactly why 99% of all American animation... no, scratch that... why 99% of all animation anywhere... is such garbage. Right now, we use this medium (and it’s not a genre, oh, no; it’s something so much more than that) to tell children’s stories. That’s pretty much it. We are retarded in the truest sense of the word. Instead of seeing animation as a way of bringing to life that which no live-action film, no matter what the budget, could ever hope to do, we seem to see it as an excuse to sell Happy Meals and make fart jokes while pop songs play. It’s like if we had decided early on that we could only use live-action films to tell mystery stories. And no matter what, no matter how advanced the artistry became, we insisted on only telling mystery stories, and anyone who did anything different was marginalized. Satoshi Kon is a true believer in the freedom of animation, and Madhouse, the animation house he used on this film, seems to rise to the level of ambition that he’s thrown down with his script. If I have any complain, it’s that the film seems repetitive in the last half-hour, and it doubles back in on itself a few too many times.
Even so, it’s the sort of film that you absolutely should see on as big a screen as possible. It’s a sumptuous theatrical experience, with a great score by Susumu Hirasawa. It’s also a surprisingly dense film considering it’s only 90 minutes long. I found myself sort of exhausted by how much ground it covered in its brief running time. And if you’ve followed Satoshi Kon’s career, you know that although he’s skipped from one genre to another, he’s always had a bit of a fetish for dreaming, so this is sort of the culmination of what he’s been saying so far in his movies. Sony Pictures Classics will be rolling this one out in the weeks ahead, and it’s one of the most original things you’ll see in a theater all summer. If you don’t have patience for films that not only bend reality but gleefully dynamite it, then this one’s not for you, but I look forward to whatever Satoshi Kon does, and this did not disappoint in any way.
I’ll be back with lots more catching up before the weekend, and then I’ve got a mountain of material to get through next week. Hang on... should be fun.
Drew McWeeny, Los Angeles
Drew McWeeny, Los Angeles
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sounds like a great movie. I fuckin loved 40 year old virgin and can't wait to see this movie.
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I think you're the only one who liked Mr. Brooks, btw
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usually i take these reviews with a grain of salt since you 'boys' love your guy movies but this sounds really good. thanks!
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. . . but there are still 30 minutes that could be shaved off of the cut I saw.
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Sounds intriguing, but there's no release date yet.
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If any of you can catch this movie in the theater or on DVD do so. It's very cool. Nice soundtrack too! CHECK IT OUT!!!
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Haven't seen Paranoia Agent yet, but I liked Perfect Blue. His work has a very unique quality to it.
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I like Costner too. Anyone watch Dexter on TV? Nows thats your friendly neighbourhood serial killer :)
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I've been waiting for this one to hit Chicago. It certainly looks like the climax to the themes Kon's been manipulating. He's definetly at the for-front of modern animators.
Perfect Blue is still one of my favorites(of any movie, not just animated) and love how Aronskey bought the rights and used the bath tub scene in Requiem. -
Isn't it?Looking forward to Paprika.
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for Best Picture. I'm dead serious. Wonderful movie. The cirque de soleil moment was especially hilarious to me because I saw the same show "Mystere" when I was in Vegas and hated it. A big reaso nbeing that tupid fat man baby thatc they totally demonize with the mushroom effect. Brill. Yunt.
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Now that I've seen Perfect Blue, Paranoia Agent, and Paprika, I'm surprised there's not temporary world peace every time a Satoshi Kon project premieres.
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This guy gets a bum rap really unfairly. He has a great track record. Hell I even like The Postman despite its flaws. At least Costner's movies have ambition, a rare quality that most movies are lacking these days. Dances With Wolves, Wyatt Earp and Open Range are world-class westerns. JFK is still awesome 16 years on. Give the guy some respect.
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...Brooks was the winner, although I liked Knocked Up, too. Go see Mr. Brooks, it really is something special; however it has been mismarketed just like the recently released Bug was (another fantastic film).
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Knocked Up hit some deep chords with me. I found it very touching as well as hilarious. One of the best comedies of the past 2 decades. Apatow proves that you don't need big movie stars in a comedy to make bank.
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I worked on The Postman and Kevin is a really nice, humble guy. The movie let me down as a whole, but from what I've seen on set, he's fairly "ego-free"....Which is amazing given his status in Hollywood.
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Okay, first of all, let me set up by saying that I thought "40Year-Old Virgin" was just about note perfect, and that Rogen & Rudd may be the next great comedy duo. Now, having said that, are you people watching the same "Knocked Up" that I just saw? Yeah, it had its moments, but in the end I just didn’t buy it. Why are Rogen & Heigl in love? Because he got her pregnant and he’s not an asshole? I WISH that were enough to get a beautiful woman to fall in love with me. The only believable relationship in the movie was between Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann, and boy was that depressing. That’s the kind of relationship I see all the time: The woman has given up on joy and now just tries her hardest to break the man's spirit, and the man lets her because standing up to her would somehow mean—-well, I don’t know, but something bad, apparently. And after a while it just becomes too exhausting to try, so both people end up miserable. I don't want to pay ten bucks to see that. I loved the Vegas trip (& the "Swingers" reference: "You’re so money.") Heigl looked beautiful as always. The individual parts were often good. But together, I just thought it was a mess. I can understand why people would like it, but I’m flabbergasted that so many people seem to love it. I’m holding out for "Superbad."
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Seens all Kon's works! PErfect Blue, Tokyo Godfathers, Melleniumn Actress and Paranoia Agent! All fucking great! I'm gald Sony is releasing this instead of Dreamworks and their crappy no-dub decisions! Talk about some lazy motherfuckers!
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And that's the way it should be. Didn't you hear Perfect Blue's ABYSMAL English dub? That shit was HORRIBLE.
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Maybe now that Criss Angel is in it, but even still... if I want to see a bunch of pretentious mimes, I'll go to the local art college.
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99% of any medium these days is garbage, Mori. Don't stick poor old animation with that tab.
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I'll end up renting Mr. Brooks, I've always appreciated Costner
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As a person who aproves of some hallucinogenics, I get very excited to see movies like Paprika. They are windows (albeit small windows) into what it feels like to be on mushrooms, peyote or other stimulants......Also, Transformers will be stupid.
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... I'm not really sure I'm going to weigh in on HOSTEL 2. One of the producers of the film is Mike Fleiss, who is also a producer on SECURE, the home invasion film I've been writing for the last year. We're hiring a director right now and might end up making the film at Lionsgate, which also may end up being the home of MASTERS OF HORROR season 3.
You can see why I doubt there's a HOSTEL 2 review in my near future, right? -
Making a movie with you is spending an awful lot of money just to shut you up...Kidding! But it did come to mind very easily. I'm cynical.
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Judd Apatow is a genius! And Hollywood marketing people are so smart by creating a marketing campain of a single guy's head lit 70s style, just like The 40 Year Old Virgin! Awesome! Now every fucking comedy is going to do that! Whooopeee!
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Many Americans like to rag on anime while forgetting that American animation is only lame kiddie stuff or comedies.
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That was one of the most thoughtful Knocked Up reviews I've read. Thanks, Mori. And the ONCE sdtk. is the shit, hasn't left my car stereo in two weeks. And I LOVE the title of your movie. Sounds fucking awesome, dude. I remember really liking Unlawful Entry and don't know why we don't see more movies like that. I think that's a hot genre, with The Strangers and Funny Games coming out. Best of luck over at Lionsgate. Anyways, I saw Mr. Brooks last night. I thought it was good to okay. I was totally entertained. Loved Costner and Hurt, wish they had done even more with their twisted relationship. Cook, I thought, was good. I kind of like what he did with the role. He really toned it down. I was expecting a completely different performance from him, but it was surprisingly restrained. He could've easily botched it but I liked how eager and pathetic he played it, like a teenager throwing a tantrum.
But you're absolutely right about the Demi stuff. It just didn't make much sense. It would've made more sense if they'd actually put her under suspicion when the person close to her gets offed, but there's that one lame scene with her partner where she totally gets off the hook. So to me, it was like, what was the point of that whole subplot. Should've spent more time with the daughter, since that's what it essentially boiled down to in the end. But I loved Costner and his internal struggle to control his demons. The last shot of him praying in bed was surprisingly effective. I sat through the end credits just thinking about what would become of his character. I guess I wish there was one more reveal, I wanted the daughter to know about him and I wanted her to know that he knew about her, but I'll settle for the fake DePalma-esque ending. But Mr. Brooks was such a delicious character and Costner really did a great job with it. I really liked the almost-last scene with him and Moore on the phone, even though I wish they had more interaction in the film. She was too exclusively stuck on her hunch about Cook. I wanted to see her investigate Brooks a little more, but overall, I thought it was a nice change from this summer's effects-heavy blockbusters, and any movie that shows Michelle from 24 semi-clothed gets a gold star from me. And there were two pretty hilarious lines, one about Demi being into younger men, the other from Hurt about Cook. "Even if he wasn't so charming and funny, I'd hate him." All 12 people in the theater cracked up at that one. There was one too many serial killers in that film (I'm looking at you Meeks) and what was up with that one incredibly lame stunt with Demi getting thrown out of a van and onto the windshield of another car. That looked like a scene from a low-budget 80's movie. -
Because you're the reviewer I identify most with here can't you just give a one word review. Along the lines of "Yay", "Nay" or "Meh"?
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HENRY: PORTRAIT OF A SERIAL KILLER certainly made me feel less secure in my own home. Very scary movie. Fascinating, too, however.
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If I said it once I'll say it again.. it's AWESOME!!!!
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And man Apatow and co. nailed the mid 20's stoner loser. For the most part I am that guy, I am Ben and his friends.
Anyway, touching and totally relatable(as pathetic as that sounds)which made me love the movie. -
totally agree with you on that one. i go through the same fits with comic books and super-heroes. nothing wrong with pairing the two, but there's so much more that can be done with the medium (though they've certainly done a better job branching out than animation). i'm really rooting for beowulf to be a hit, so we start to see more adult material adapted into animated film.
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But I still think "Funny Games" (most inappropriate title EVER) is the movie which explored the theme of home invasion to the furthest and most disturbing point. The ending alone... Jesus Christ... Damn you Michael Haneke damn you. And he's making an American remake with Naomi Watts. I truly fear for our collective sanity.
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are you?;)*puts hands on face in Mackauly Culkin pose*
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But soon goes up it's own insane rectum, I was disappointed. That said, it's a unique experience.
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fucking loved knocked up...laughed my ass off
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