November 2009

I can't believe we're almost through with 2009. Only a little more than four months until the Oscars, so now we're getting into the heavy-hitter months of November and December. Lots of awards hopefuls are up to bat. Some will thrill us and some will disappoint.
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This coming weekend we'll see A Christmas Carol, an animated update on the classic tale from Robert Zemeckis and Jim Carrey. Precious, one of the most decorated films of the year so far, will finally be released after months on the festival circuit. Oprah and Tyler Perry should do wonders for this little movie, and my guess is it will be enormously successful once it goes wide.
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This weekend also brings the ensemble comedy The Men Who Stare at Goats.
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The 13th will see a few indie contenders in theaters: The Messenger, That Evening Sun and The Young Victoria. I've seen The Young Victoria, and personally I thought it was a little slow and I don't see much hope for it with AMPAS.
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On the 20th, the big November money-maker and guaranteed suck fest (pun entirely intentional) New Moon comes out. I cannot beg enough for everyone to just stay away from this nightmare. See Broken Embraces instead. It might not be the deepest of Almodovar's works, but I caught it earlier this month and fell in love.
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Then the next week we have two of my most anticipated films of the year, The Road and The Princess and the Frog. The Road isn't looking like the strongest of bets as far as awards are concerned, but I loved the novel and love Viggo Mortensen, so I'll be catching it anyway. The Princess and the Frog is Disney's return to 2D, and if successful could result in a resuscitation of the dying art that is hand-drawn animation. I'm praying that it's a critical and commercial success.
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Finally, on the 27th, there's a limited release of The Private Lives of Pippa Lee, another mostly disappointing film I saw this month. Performances in that one range from fine to dreadful, so if I were you I'd wait for the DVD.
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What are you planning to see this month?

BROKEN EMBRACES

Written and directed by Pedro Almodovar

Penelope Cruz
Lluis Homar
Blanca Portillo
Jose Luis Gomez
Tamar Novas

Premiere date: March 17, 2009 (Spain)
R for sexual content, language and some drug material.

The former Mateo Blanco is a screenwriter and ex-director who changed his name to Harry Caine after losing his sight in an automobile accident. A past scandal suddenly resurfaces when the news arrives that the producer of one of Harry's old movies, a corrupt stockbroker named Ernesto Martel, has died. For mysterious reasons, this makes Harry's ex-production manager Judit nervous. Soon Ernesto's son, Ray X, turns up and asks Harry to help him write a vindictive script to get back at his vile father. The film subsequently flashes back to the early 90s, when Martel became involved with his secretary, Lena, but Mateo also began to develop feelings for her, and auditioned her for his film, Girls and Suitcases. In response to Mateo's interest in Lena - and her burgeoning interest in him - the jealous Martel commissioned Ray to make a documentary about the making of Girls and Suitcases as an excuse to spy on the director and star. This enabled him to watch Mateo spiriting off with Lena right under his nose, and set the stage for the wily producer's elaborate revenge against Mateo.

Un Amistad Hermoso

Not everyone has praised Pedro Almodovar's latest effort, Broken Embraces, but I am happy to say that I, for one, loved it. The film is a little slow getting going, maybe, since Penelope Cruz isn't around much in the first half hour or so, but once she hits the screen, the story comes alive, and we have our fourth beautiful collaboration of the Spanish visionary and his muse.

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The film of course has some awe-inspiring images to feast your eyes upon. A radiant Cruz sports a hundred and a half different hairstyles and flashy costumes, and the color palette is signature Almodovar: vibrant, florid, and stunning.

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The story itself is somewhat labyrinthian, but Cruz - and a host of other actors in first-rate performances - successfully ground the picture in a noirish celebration of Almodovar's cinematic inspirations. One point I've seen criticized is that the film is over-indulgent, citing perhaps a few too many references to influential cinema (*cough*Tarantino*cough*). I'd disagree. It's a stunning tribute from Almodovar to the filmmakers who have molded his style and his vision. And hey, I think they deserve the recognition.

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The most impressive part of Broken Embraces is Penelope Cruz's turn as aspiring actress Lena. Cruz has very quickly become one of our greatest actresses, and this film proves yet again that she possesses that magical quality which forbids you from looking away while she's onscreen. She's got two much talked about films out this year (she plays a film director's mistress in both, oddly enough), and while her supporting role in the musical Nine is perhaps the one most awards pundits are watching, her work with Almodovar is what I look forward to more than anything else. These are two artists clearly most at home in each other's company, and the result is a breathtaking banquet of aesthetic thrills.

Broken Embraces Trailer

Almodovar's latest looks to be a visually arresting stunner, as always. In U.S. theaters November 20th.

Penelope Is One To Watch. Again.

Penelope Cruz is quickly becoming one of my favorite actresses.

It seems after years of struggling to make a place for herself in Hollywood, Cruz has finally found a balance that works for her. Volver was her turning point. Finally everyone is taking her talent seriously. She makes time to do Spanish films with close friend Pedro Almodovar, but also works in A-list American fare like the Woody Allen comedy Vicky Cristina Barcelona, for which she won her first Oscar last year.

This year she has two big projects. The first is her fourth collaboration with Almodovar, Broken Embraces, due out November 20th. There are some parallels between their new movie and their real-life relationship. Cruz plays an aspiring actress named Lena who develops a close bond with a filmmaker she idolizes.

Just five days later, Rob Marshall's Nine hits theaters. Nine is a film adaptation of the award-winning stage musical, which in turn was based on Federico Fellini's classic film 8 1/2. The story is again about a filmmaker, this time played by Daniel Day-Lewis, as he works on his ninth film and tries to juggle his relationships with the many women in his life. Cruz will play Carla, the filmmaker's mistress, in her first musical. It's a role that won Jane Krakowski a Tony in 2004. Could Penelope be making yet another trip to the Kodak this year? I think so.

I found this video recently and thought it was interesting. It's about a year old. In it Penelope talks about when she fell in love with the movies, her early obsession with Almodovar, and how attending the Oscars made her crave cheeseburgers. It's worth a watch, if you've got a few spare minutes.