THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN SWINGS BACK INTO YOUR FRIENDLY NEIGHBORHOOD THEATERS

SPIDER-MAN & THE NEW DOC OCK?

When I heard they were going to do another Spider-Man movie… I was like yeah, whatever? The novelty of Spider-Man, had kinda worn off of me, especially after seeing the shock and awe of The Avengers movie a couple weeks earlier and now the almost mandatory viewing in the future of Christopher Nolan’s final chapter of the Batman trilogy… frankly, I though I was sick of comic book movies… but as I started to see the new Spider-Man trailers… like Peter Parker… I felt like I was bitten, by the bug… or should I say, Spider?  After all, Spider-Man and I, are roughly about the same age, so we kinda grew up together… so yes, I went out of loyalty, but came out of the theater very surprised.

It’s been about five years since the last Sam Raimi, Spider-Man flick (they were up to three) that featured Tobey Maguire as the young misunderstood web-slinging superhero. As I seem to recall, Sony Pictures (Spider-Man's Studio) had wanted Raimi to rush-out Spider-Man IV. Both Raimi and Maguire said, not gonna happen, and they parted ways. Well, it kinda turned out to be a good thing; I’m really surprised to say (and yes, I enjoyed the previous Spider-Man films.)  But did Spider-Man, need a reboot so quickly? Hell, I don’t know? How long was it between Tim Burton’s Batman films, and Christopher Nolan’s? Not sure? But it was longer then the Spider-Man turnaround, I know.

Well, 500 Days of Summer, director Marc Webb gets a handle on things quite well in the new movie (from a terrific script by James Vanderbilt, Alvin Sargent and Steve Kloves… who knows who wrote what? They’re all credited!) Yes, we go through the same Spider-Man origins all over again, with a new Aunt May and Uncle Ben (Sally Fields and Martin Sheen) but it’s not as painful and boring to revisit again as I thought. Partly because of the casting. Although it’s hard to forget the late Cliff Robertson, as Uncle Ben in the original Rami films, Sheen’s Uncle Ben, is a bit more vibrant and seems to have more to do in the new film… and they’re a new plot twist that concerns Peter Parker’s late parents. And what about the new Spider-Man, who dares fill Tobey Maguire’s leotard? Well this English kid, Andrew Garfield (who seriously reminds me of a young Anthony Perkins… yes, there’s a little Norman Bates vibe goin' on.) this Garfield, , as both high school outcast Peter Parker and his alter ego Spider-Man, really does (yes) an amazing job… sorry, Tobester.

I love how this film features some of those iconic Spider-Man poses from the comics!

Also in the film is the "new" scratchy voiced blonde “It Girl" of the moment, Emma Stone (Scarlett Johansson watch your back!) as Garfield’s love interest Gwen Stacy … and she does have something? I’ll tell ya… she gives “the girlfriend” role a presence that little something extra. But for my money, the genius casting in this flick is surprisingly; Dennis Leary, as Captain Stacy. He plays, Emma Stone’s no nonsense, N.Y. cop father (but with the exception of the soft spot he carries for his overachieving daughter, Stone.) Leary almost steals the show in this Richard Widmark prototype kinda gruff cop role. And then let’s not forget the villain. This film is wise enough to steer clear (at least in this outing) to give Spider-Man a new “classic” villain to tangle with, in the guise of “The Lizard" (I think his name sez it all?) played by Rhys Ifans (He’s another, Brit… I'm not too familiar with him?… in fact, I don’t think I know him at all? But I'm sure he's done great stuff? Since he's in the mega-budget movie! And Ifans is really good in the movie, as the semi-mad scientist who tests (here we go again!) an experimental serum on himself... with disastrous and scaly results! And keep a look out for perhaps the best, Stan “The Man” Lee cameo ever in the new Spider-Man.

Dennis Leary's a hands on police captain.

A couple other quick things I really dug in this flick, was that it really did have a lot of the little elements that I used to love as a kid in the old Spider-Man comics, from his smart alack sense of humor, to the fact that he made his own web-shooters in this flick (a big bone of contention to fans of the Raimi Spider-Man films, where Maguire had organic webs all of a sudden?) And I just liked the basic look of the film, it truly incorporated a many of the icon “Spidey” comic poses that the film really worked for me (no, I did not want to see it in 3-D.) 

Hey! Did The Hunger Games have a nifty collectors cup? I didn't think so!

It’s funny, in the old comic books, Spider-Man would always grouse about not getting the respect that his flashy counterparts (like The Avengers) would receive from the press and the public… the new Spider-Man might not make as much money as new The Avengers movie? But, “Spidey’s” movie is doing pretty damn good at the box-office and they’re only one of him, and there are six Avengers! As Telly Savalas might say; who loves ya Spidey-baby? I just hope they title the next movie; Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man and they'll finally cast R.Lee Ermey as J. Jonah Jameson... okay, I can dream, can't I?

R. Lee Ermey, still should play, J. Jonah Jameson, I think!

CASA de mi PADRE… The Insanity of Will Ferrell Continues… Thank Goodness!

I had this whacked out dream; I was watching a Mexican soap opera and Will Ferrell was in it, and he was speaking perfect Spanish (and only Spanish!) Well, that sounds like dream, but actually it’s a real movie… starring, Will Ferrell speaking only Spanish! CASA di me PADRE, is a comedy, mixed with Sam Peckinpah (no make that Robert Rodriguez El Mariachi style violence) and some Sergio Leone close ups. I must admit, the first time I viewed the trailer for this film, I was laughing at Will Ferrell so much, I didn’t even realize that the whole preview was all in Spanish with sub-titles. I just heard about this movie, less than a week ago… but I knew, that I just had to see it! Nobody today makes me laugh harder than Senor Will Ferrell… the guy just kill’s me. I have fondness for comic actors who can say or do the silliest shit, while playing it totally straight (the late Leslie Nielson could do it like that.) But, I don’t think anyone’s ever pushed the envelope this far and did it in another language like this? Since his old SNL days, Big Will Ferrell has always had that commitment when he becomes a character (no matter how ridiculous the circumstance) that even the waterboarding torture of Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld, I don't think could even break.

In the film, Ferrell plays Armando Alverez the youngest son of rich Mexican rancher played by Pedro Armendariz Jr., who’s not exactly his father’s favorite (the reason is told in a sepia flashback, with Armando as a child. His father ever since he's been hi father's whipping boy and even once gave him away to the circus. Regardless, Armando has a big heart and loves his life as a rancher. But his simple ranching way of life becomes threatened when a drug war makes its way on to his fathers beloved land. To make things worse, one of the drug traffickers is Armando’s own brother, Raul (played by Diego Luna) and who unfortunately for Armando can do no wrong in their father’s eyes.

Pitted against brother Raul, is the stupidly cool, Onza (Gael Garcia Bernal) who's channeling the suave French actor, Alain Delon from the 1970’s, as a white suited drug kingpin who really enjoys smoking two cigarettes’ at once. Onza also has a thing for Raul’s fiancée, Sonia (the seriously caliente, Genesis Rodriguez) who just happens to also be his niece (and the woman, that Armando actually loves) Both Luna and Bernal, became stars ten years ago in the international hit, Y Tu Mama Tambien, really get to do the goofy as these two slick rivals; with the un-slick, Ferrell caught in the middle. I found it funny, how these two smaller sized actors (who seem to be playing parts, ten years older then the actually are) refer to the hulking Ferrell in the story; as “Little Armando.” Like the 70’s iconic hero of past Billy Jack, Ferrell’s Armando, must go on the hero’s journey to become a man... and he does this with the help of a talking animatronic white panther (also called, the Onza.)

Nobody in this film uses a cell phone?

Casa De Mi Padre is a pseudo foreign (it was filmed in Simi Valley, California) and a send up of the telenovela’s and Peckinpah’s, Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia, and to add a dash of authentic Peckinpah-ness, the gravely voice of Kris Kristofferson, gives the audience the heads up that every one's gonna be speaking Spanish in this movie. Plus, it’s a nutty Will Ferrell comedy…and some occasional wild musical numbers... so you’re getting three things for the price of one. You can't say; Will Ferrell doesn't take creative risks!

I joined the Landmark Theater Film Club (it’s free to do) and every once in a while, I’ll read an email they send me… I just happened to read the latest one they sent, announcing an upcoming showing of Casa de mi Padre, featuring a Q & A with the producer & star, Ferrell that was it for me… how could I not? So I went last night (Sunday, March 18th.)

So, let me tell you about the Q & A, while it’s still fresh in my head. The theater was sold out with Ferrell-fanatics. Even the Landmark Theater staff donned burgundy shirts in homage to Ferrell’s famed Anchorman character Ron Burgundy (okay, I’m stretching… but it sounded good.) Ferrell as expected came out to hardy applause, and proceeded to be, Will Ferrell. He did give the audience insight to the production. As well as the tale of his semi-mastering of the Spanish language (Ferrell had three years of high school Spanish, and two semesters at USC.) Farrell also, explained that the major studios passed of this on this movie that was shot in Mexicoscope, and was financed independently. When, Case de Mi Padre was finished, they still couldn’t get a distribution deal with any of the major studios.  He said "they" thought it was a funny picture; but they all took a pass on the films wild concept… no, huevous rancheros. Ferrell said that this picture will have a bigger opening in the Latin market, then here in the U.S..  Part of the fun in the film is it’s purposely meant to look cheap with horrible continuity, bad effects and so on. But some of these silly flaws have a pretty cool surrealness about them. Ferrell said that acting besides, Luna and Bernal was a great experience, and also with the late Armendariz, (who passed away in December) who Ferrell said was like acting with the Mexican Marlon Brando.

Legendary Mexican Actor Pedro Armedariz Jr.'s Final Film.



She's not in the movie... I just put her in here because she Mexican & in a bikini... butt maybe, Casa de mi Padre II?

When the questions were opened up to the audience, one of the best was about the Casa de mi Padre's big passionate love scene, which used a butt double, but for who? I’m not saying, but given Ferrell’s past flair for reckless nude scenes, I’ll just leave it your imagination. Ferrell did joke about telling his wife about the scene (which included giving a woman pleasure doing karate chops on a certain part of the body) “My marriage is on the rocks," he joked. So is Will Ferrell gonna be the next big Latin film star?… well, let's hope so; he’s got the huevous rancheros for it!

ROONEY MARA: THE "OTHER GIRL" WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO

I’m a member of a great organization called Film Independent (FYI for a small fee, anyone can join. It's great for filmmakers and fans of film.) Among other great things Film Independent  does, it puts on is The Spirit Awards (think Indie Oscars.) Well, as a member in good standing, I was invited to a screening of Sony & MGM Pictures new version of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Based on the posthumous best selling book trilogy by the late Swedish author Stieg Larrson. And which has  already produced three fantastic Swedish films with actress Noomi Rapace; who I just loved in the now iconic the role of Lisbeth Salander. This amazing literary and (now celluloid) character's so full of attitude, I described in a past blog as the new Steve McQueen.(http://thatmanray.blogspot.com/2010/11/girl-with-dragon-tattoo-new-steve.html) But along the attitude she's the ultimate underdog; a friendless loner... did I also mention, she can open up a can of major whoop ass if you piss her off ? Lisbeth Salander's all that and so much more. So for me, Rooney Mara had some big tattoos to fill…

I guess you gotta start somewhere?

Before last nights screening at the Landmark Theaters in West Los Angeles, the audience was treated to a Q & A with The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo herself; Rooney Mara as well as director David Fincher (as well as cinematographer Jeff Cronenweth, editors Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall.) When I first heard that there were plans underway to make an American version on these films, well at first I cringed… but when I heard it was Fincher at the helm, I gave a sigh of relief! If anyone could make it work, it would be the man who directed Zodiac and Seven. But I was still really wondering who'd step into Repace’s black commando boots? Rooney Mara? I had never heard of her (which was actually a good thing for this role.) I heard that she had a part in last year’s Oscar contender The Social Network… which I did see… and I guess I kinda remembered her in that? Well, once the film started, I pushed my memories of Noomie Repace aside and let Rooney Mara show me her stuff… and she did not disappoint.

During the Q & A, Fincher stated that he had seen a slew of actresses for this part, the two things that won him over with her (which he used in his case with the studio to cast her) was that he said that she couldn’t be broken… whatever unpleasant thing he asked of her during the audition process, she did… they couldn’t break her. That, and her onscreen chemistry with Daniel Craig, who plays disgraced journalist Mikael Blomkvist, whom she reluctantly teams up with to solve a 40 year old murder mystery at the request of powerful industrialist, Christopher Plummer (which is only part of the story…) Funny, now when you hear Daniel Craig's name... you might think, James Bond through osmosis? But FYI the real hero in these stories is strictly Rooney Mara's Lisbeth Salander.

It's all about chemistry

Rooney, who has been rewarded for this role with an Oscar nomination, not only steps into those black commando boots… she does indeed fill them, and makes them her own. She so looked tiny to me in person at last nights screening… but onscreen last night, she filled the screen with a swagger that would make Vin Diesel her "bitch." If you like an intense movie experience, go see TGWTDT. It’s a great mystery film with action and most importantly... it’s got amazingly well written characters. Anther great thing, if you see TGWTDT and get hooked on these characters, and if you don't mind reading subtitles, you can rent the exciting Swedish sequels... I promise that the transition will be flawless... because in the end, it's all in the character; Lisbeth Salander with both actresses in the role of a lifetime!

Don't piss her off!

SHOPGIRL: The Novella and the Movie or How I Fell for Mirabelle Buttersfield and Claire Danes

“When you work in the glove department at Neiman’s, you are selling things that nobody buys anymore” ~ STEVE MARTIN, SHOPGIRL

THE  NOVELLA:

I’ve always been a fan of the talents of Steve Martin; you just can’t call him a comedian, because he’s much more than that (actor, writer, musician, collector of fine art... AWild and Crazy Guy!)  In the year 2000 Steve Martin made his first foray into fiction, with a novella called; SHOPGIRL. I remember when it came out; it was the story of a young woman who works in the wasteland of Neiman Marcus… also known as the glove department. Usually, "the Ray Book Club" (one member... just me) finds himself reading the pistol popping tales typed out by the likes of Elmore Leonard or James Lee Burke. But I’ve always been such a fan of Steve Martin; I knew one day, I’d get around to reading SHOPGIRL.

“Mirabelle is attractive; it's just that she is never the first or second girl chosen” ~ STEVE MARTIN, SHOPGIRL

Well, it took me twelve years to stumble across a copy of it in my local thrift store travels. After I read it, I was sorry that I took so long to read this little gem..  Mirabelle Buttersfield (what an inspired name, I tell ya) is a willowy transplant from Vermont (so willowy, she's sometimes compaired to Popeye's girlfriend Olive Oyl) who comes to the land of palm trees and sunshine after college to pursue career as an artist. Unfortunately she soon finds herself two years into working behind the glove counter at Neimans. Martin’s Mirabelle is lonely, detected, fragile and child like... she lives alone in her little apartment in Silverlake... occasionally doing a self portait of herself on paper in black crayon, that might or might not sell at a local gallery... once every six months? Going even worse than her career as an artist, is her relationships with men. 

One night out of pure necessity, she allows herself to be picked up at the local Silverlake Laundromat by the bumbling goofball; Jeremy. Unfortunately Jeremy fails to sweep her off her feet, and also fails to give her the night passion she desired. All seems hopeless, then one day the mysterious Ray Porter walks up to her glove counter and to changes her life… but is it for the better? And when it seems that Mirabelle might find happiness... unbeknownst to her, Lisa, a fellow Neiman’s co-worker and master of fallatio, who would like nothing better to see her happiness to come to an end, because of pure jealousy… it’s tough out there in the world of Beverly Hills retail, I guess?

Martin's writing style in this piece is long on description and short on dialogue, but he really told a fine little tale, set against the backdrop of Los Angeles. Even his handling of Mirabelle's sex scenes are done with such grace, that you have to remind yourself that it's the former "Wild and Crazy Guy" who wrote this. I'm sure that there's a bit of autobiography to this book for Martin... you can tell the story was written by a man who's lost love. That being said; I must say that truly enjoyed SHOPGIRL. I just found myself as a reader rooting for Mirabelle Buttersfield and in essence just falling for her, until it ended on page 130.

THE MOVIE:

RAY PORTER (V.O.): Mirabelle Buttersfield moved from Vermont hoping to begin her life. And now she is stranded in the vast openness of L.A. She keeps working to make connections, but the pile of near misses is starting to overwhelm her. What Mirabelle needs is an omniscient voice to illuminate and spotlight her and to inform everyone that this one has value, this one standing behind the counter in the glove department and to find her counterpart and bring him to her.

Again, I missed the film version of SHOPGIRL when it first came out. Who knows why? Possibly, I didn’t

see it because I had wanted to read the book first? Well soon after I did finally read the book, I went right on Amazon to order the movie (which was released in 2005.) This little film is wonderfully crafted by Anand Tucker, and adapted to the screen by Martin. Claire Danes was brilliantly cast in the role of Mirabelle. She truly brought this literary heroine to life for me. She just hit all the right notes as Mirabelle; the frustration, the sadness, the feeling of insignificance that can happen in a vast metropolis like Los Angeles. But when Mirabelle in her moments of hopefulness and happiness is channeled through Danes bright eyes and iridescent smile… none is more radiant than she.

I also especially loved how the color palette of the film changes with emotions of Mirabelle. Wonderfully shot by Peter J. Suschitzky, and the establishing shots of Los Angeles itself really gives the film a sense that the city is one of the stories main characters (although, I believe that much of the film was shot in Canada.) In the film Mirabelle leans longingly against the glove counter at Saks Fifth Avenuein Beverly Hills, not Neiman Marcus… no matter.

Again inspired casting was Jason Schwartzman as her hapless suitor Jeremy (who will find himself also going through his own transformation in the story.) And Steve Martin himself shows up in the role of phantom millionaire businessman Ray Porter, who seems to be Mirabelle’s guardian angel (as well as lover) and unfortunately possibly his own worst enemy. As Mirabelle’s older suitor, Martin originally thought of Tom Hanks for the role, but eventually stepped into the part, in one of his rare non-comedic turns. Like Danes and Schwartzman, it was a role that he was especially meant to play. The movie follows the book very close, although there are a few changes here and there. The film also loses Mirabelle's emotional back story with her Vietnam Vet father... but in the end, it's Mirabelle story and she finds through her trials, that she is not insignificant at all, but someone to be cherished.

RAY PORTER (V.O.):

As Ray Porter watches Mirabelle walk away he feels a loss.

How is it possible, he thinks, to miss a woman whom he kept at a distance so that when she was gone he would not miss her…

You might say that SHOPGIRL is a chick flick? Well, I hope you don’t… I’d say it’s a movie about lost people in a big, big city just trying to connect … this kinda stuff happens everyday.