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Archive for August, 2009

Wishing for a innovative and imaginative family film? Look no further than Robert Rodriguez’s Shorts.

The visionary director has crafted a 21st century fairy tale that’s cool enough for the kids and smart enough for the adults. The cool factor comes from Rodriguez’s fast-forward and rewind narrative structure that nods to Pulp Fiction with a big grin. Shorts is basically a cinematic playground for Rodriguez and the child stars, and that’s why it’s so fun.

This is a fairy tale for the iPhone generation. Toe Thompson (Jimmy Bennett) discovers a rainbow-colored “wishing rock” that grants any wish he can come up with. The rock can summon pint-size alien friends or an endless supply of chocolate bars.

Toe is in desperate need of friends when the movie kicks off. His parents, the hilarious duo of Jon Cryer and Leslie Mann, are too tied up in their jobs working at the company that made the BLACK BOX—the ultimate all-in-one device to truly give Toe time. The BLACK BOX is a phone,

Quentin Tarantino’s long-awaited Inglourious Basterds is a fairy tale.

The movie even begins with the line “Once upon a time…” With that choice of opener, Tarantino calls attention to the fact that this is, in fact, fantasy. It’s really about a boy’s love for classic cinema—The Dirty Dozen, Sergio Leone, etc. From that love, Tarantino has pieced together his most epic and intimate work yet. Basterds is the first classic film of 2009, and it illuminates the legendary filmmaker at his best.

There are various narrative threads to Tarantino’s WWII tapestry. Each one is equally important and, in true Tarantino fashion, they all weave together seamlessly at the end. There are the eponymous “Basterds” who occupy a sizable segment of the film. Led by Brad Pitt as Lt. Aldo Raine, his best performance thus far, the Basterds are behind enemy lines with one purpose—to kill and scalp Nazis. “The Germans will be sickened by us,” says Pitt in his hilariously confident Southern drawl.

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On the 500 Days of Summer soundtrack, the sound of unrequited love is oh so beautiful.

This generation’s cinematic ballad for the broken-hearted sees Joseph Gordon-Levitt endlessly pursuing every hipster’s crush, Zooey Deschanel. The movie’s soundtrack couldn’t be more gorgeously heart-wrenching either.

Of course, the master of pop sorrow, Morrissey, shows up on two classic Smiths tracks “Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want” and “There Is a Light That Never Goes Out.” Somber modern fare like Doves’ “There Goes the Fear” sits alongside Morrissey and Simon & Garfunkel’s warm “Bookends” comfortably. Regina Spektor adds some unique levity—but the true highlight is when Deschanel busts out her own rendition of “Please, Please, Please…” for She & Him’s album closer.

Getting your heart broken never felt so good.—Rick

By the end of The Goods [Paramount], you’re going to love Don Ready.

This used car salesman is easy to root for because he’s so slick and sharp. However, Don isn’t simply a rehash of Jeremy Piven’s now iconic Ari Gold. Whereas Ari is the ultimate suit-and-tie wearing Hollywood mastermind, Don Ready is a modern cowboy. With his paisley sleeves rolled up and his vest thinly veiling a wifebeater, he goes from town to town selling cars, breaking hearts and inspiring those around him to, as the movie poster says, “Live hard, sell hard.”

The Goods works so well because Piven breathes an immense amount of life into Ready. It’s an unorthodox performance for sure. Piven acts cool but he never comes off as cocky. Rather, there’s a certain charm to his pickup lines. Take one especially funny quote, “How much does a polar bear weigh? Enough to break the Ice! I’m Don Ready.”

He’s got a ’70s sense of swagger and a modern penchant for profanity. He tells the employees of Selleck