Rebecca Redshaw
Sofa Cinema
Published on Wed, Jan 20, 2010 by Rebecca RedshawRead More Sofa Cinema
Rebecca Redshaw's "SOFA CINEMA: An Easy Guide to DVDs Volume 1" is available at your local bookstore, at the Sequim Gazette and online at www.rebeccaredshaw.com.
The movies selected for review are the choice of the reviewer. Suggestions for DVD titles are welcome.
Enjoy the movies.
NEW RELEASE
"This Is It," rated PG
Music. It is, and was, all about the music for Michael Jackson. That point is driven home in "This Is It," the film that documents Michael's preparation for his comeback tour.
The King of Pop routinely filmed hours of rehearsals to study before he took his show on the road, so there were hours of film from which to compile "This Is It."
There are so many ways the director Kenny Ortega could have gone wrong compiling the footage. It could have been embroiled with media hype, it could have aired family entanglements or it could have sugarcoated the star's private turmoil. To his credit, Ortega took the path that most likely Jackson would have chosen and focused on - the music.
Interviews with dancers and musicians help put in perspective the magnitude of the opportunity they embraced being in this show. We're given glimpses of special effects and production numbers that were in the works and years in the making. On stage, Jackson rarely stopped moving and his attention to the smallest of details and enthusiasm in the moment bear out his reputation for being a perfectionist and a consummate musician.
If you were born in the past 50 or 60 years then, whether a fan or not, Michael Jackson's music touched your life at some moment in time. "This Is It" will trigger those memories. It's a fitting tribute and it's all about the music.
HIDDEN GEM
"Finding Nemo," rated G
When "Finding Nemo" was released in 2003, I did something I've never done before. After seeing the movie, I went to the local McDonald's and bought a Happy Meal just so I could have a toy character from the movie. (I got Dory!)
One of the advantages of writing a movie column is there's no need for an excuse to see a film. I can see major studio action without having to apologize to intellectual friends. I can see steamy sex flicks without wearing a raincoat and dark glasses. And I can see kids' animation flicks without dragging along a vertically challenged human.
However, no need for any of that here. "Finding Nemo" is a gem for boys and girls of all ages. One of the best films, not animated films, but films, I've seen in ages.
Andrew Stanton ("A Bug's Life," "Toy Story" and "Monsters, Inc.) has created an entertainment event that makes you laugh, makes you think (but not too hard) and is making sooo much money since kids and, at least this adult, are going back to the ocean for a second dip.
How does a writer successfully script a scene including sharks, a 12-step program and subsequent intervention and not lose the grade school set? Beats me, but Stanton did it.
I've always been a fan of Albert Brooks, who lends his voice to Marlin, Nemo's overprotective but loving father. Brooks
manages to wring the most out of worried lines without sounding whiny.
Marlin's sidekick is Dory (Ellen DeGeneres), a Blue Tang with a memory that lasts as long as a flip of her fin. Voicing a role tailored to her talent, DeGeneres gives an Oscar-caliber performance without ever having donned a fake nose like
Nicole Kidman. Rumor has it Ellen's whale dialect is impeccable and envied by the likes of Meryl Streep.
Marlin and Dory explore the depths of the ocean in search of Nemo, a little fish with a funky fin. Along the way they encounter countless species of fish and even a mammal or two.
The Pixar film is loaded with recognizable voices but don't bother wondering what live actor matches the underwater, on-screen talent. Just enjoy the moment.
"Finding Nemo" will tickle your funny bones and touch your heart.
HIDDEN GEM
"The Front," rated PG
Name a Woody Allen picture that he didn't direct or write? "The Front," released in 1976, was directed by Martin Ritt and written by Walter Bernstein, men who were acquainted intimately and affected by the film's subject matter.
The McCarthy Era may be a memory to some and a few pages in American history books to others, but in the 1950s it struck fear into the hearts of thousands of Americans. Looking for Communist influence at the time, the House Committee for Un-American Activities influenced and tormented citizens, particularly in the entertainment industry.
In this fictional outing, Howard Prince (Allen) has little talent in life. He's a cashier and bookie and just happens to be friends with a former schoolmate (Michael Murphy) who needs a "front" to continue writing television scripts. Prince stumbles along, charming the show's associate producer and becoming rich while eventually fronting for three blacklisted scriptwriters.
Zero Mostel as Hecky Brown gives his last screen performance as a targeted entertainer and it's a memorable one.
"The Front" may be an introduction to a shameful time or a reminder of an era that shouldn't be forgotten. If history is bound to repeat itself, "The Front" should prod the viewer to revisit that time in history.
Rebecca Redshaw can be reached at r2redshaw@hotmail.com.
The movies selected for review are the choice of the reviewer. Suggestions for DVD titles are welcome.
Enjoy the movies.
NEW RELEASE
"This Is It," rated PG
Music. It is, and was, all about the music for Michael Jackson. That point is driven home in "This Is It," the film that documents Michael's preparation for his comeback tour.
The King of Pop routinely filmed hours of rehearsals to study before he took his show on the road, so there were hours of film from which to compile "This Is It."
There are so many ways the director Kenny Ortega could have gone wrong compiling the footage. It could have been embroiled with media hype, it could have aired family entanglements or it could have sugarcoated the star's private turmoil. To his credit, Ortega took the path that most likely Jackson would have chosen and focused on - the music.
Interviews with dancers and musicians help put in perspective the magnitude of the opportunity they embraced being in this show. We're given glimpses of special effects and production numbers that were in the works and years in the making. On stage, Jackson rarely stopped moving and his attention to the smallest of details and enthusiasm in the moment bear out his reputation for being a perfectionist and a consummate musician.
If you were born in the past 50 or 60 years then, whether a fan or not, Michael Jackson's music touched your life at some moment in time. "This Is It" will trigger those memories. It's a fitting tribute and it's all about the music.
HIDDEN GEM
"Finding Nemo," rated G
When "Finding Nemo" was released in 2003, I did something I've never done before. After seeing the movie, I went to the local McDonald's and bought a Happy Meal just so I could have a toy character from the movie. (I got Dory!)
One of the advantages of writing a movie column is there's no need for an excuse to see a film. I can see major studio action without having to apologize to intellectual friends. I can see steamy sex flicks without wearing a raincoat and dark glasses. And I can see kids' animation flicks without dragging along a vertically challenged human.
However, no need for any of that here. "Finding Nemo" is a gem for boys and girls of all ages. One of the best films, not animated films, but films, I've seen in ages.
Andrew Stanton ("A Bug's Life," "Toy Story" and "Monsters, Inc.) has created an entertainment event that makes you laugh, makes you think (but not too hard) and is making sooo much money since kids and, at least this adult, are going back to the ocean for a second dip.
How does a writer successfully script a scene including sharks, a 12-step program and subsequent intervention and not lose the grade school set? Beats me, but Stanton did it.
I've always been a fan of Albert Brooks, who lends his voice to Marlin, Nemo's overprotective but loving father. Brooks
manages to wring the most out of worried lines without sounding whiny.
Marlin's sidekick is Dory (Ellen DeGeneres), a Blue Tang with a memory that lasts as long as a flip of her fin. Voicing a role tailored to her talent, DeGeneres gives an Oscar-caliber performance without ever having donned a fake nose like
Nicole Kidman. Rumor has it Ellen's whale dialect is impeccable and envied by the likes of Meryl Streep.
Marlin and Dory explore the depths of the ocean in search of Nemo, a little fish with a funky fin. Along the way they encounter countless species of fish and even a mammal or two.
The Pixar film is loaded with recognizable voices but don't bother wondering what live actor matches the underwater, on-screen talent. Just enjoy the moment.
"Finding Nemo" will tickle your funny bones and touch your heart.
HIDDEN GEM
"The Front," rated PG
Name a Woody Allen picture that he didn't direct or write? "The Front," released in 1976, was directed by Martin Ritt and written by Walter Bernstein, men who were acquainted intimately and affected by the film's subject matter.
The McCarthy Era may be a memory to some and a few pages in American history books to others, but in the 1950s it struck fear into the hearts of thousands of Americans. Looking for Communist influence at the time, the House Committee for Un-American Activities influenced and tormented citizens, particularly in the entertainment industry.
In this fictional outing, Howard Prince (Allen) has little talent in life. He's a cashier and bookie and just happens to be friends with a former schoolmate (Michael Murphy) who needs a "front" to continue writing television scripts. Prince stumbles along, charming the show's associate producer and becoming rich while eventually fronting for three blacklisted scriptwriters.
Zero Mostel as Hecky Brown gives his last screen performance as a targeted entertainer and it's a memorable one.
"The Front" may be an introduction to a shameful time or a reminder of an era that shouldn't be forgotten. If history is bound to repeat itself, "The Front" should prod the viewer to revisit that time in history.
Rebecca Redshaw can be reached at r2redshaw@hotmail.com.
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