June 2008 - Flick Wit

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Flick Wit - June 2008

Self-Help to Rom-Com

June 30th 2008 18:03

Yet another Hollywood development I cannot understand – how does a self-help book, inspired by a scene in a television series, wind up being developed into a romantic film? Has Hollywood run out of sequels to plan? Classics to remake? Comic strips, TV shows and singers’ biographies to adapt? Heaven forbid.

Jennifer Aniston - Image courtesy of nymag.com

So then, how does it come to pass that Greg Behrendt and Liz Tuccillo’s 2004 self-improvement guide He’s Just Not That Into You, is currently being made into movie produced by Drew Barrymore’s Flower Films?

He’s Just Not That Into You was inspired by an episode in the sixth season of Sex and the City, a show Tuccillo wrote for. The book, which comically detailed how to avoid mixed messages when dating, became an instant hit after being featured on The Oprah Winfrey Show. All very lovely, but it still begs the question of how such a text could form the basis of a film – and basis is the word being bandied about, not stimulus, or suggestion, but basis.

Scarlett Johansson - Image courtesy of baltimoresun.com

The film stars Ben Affleck, Drew Barrymore, Jennifer Aniston, Ginnifer Goodwin, Jennifer Connelly, Scarlett Johansson and Justin Long. Who knows, it might be fantastic – I just hope a hit doesn’t mean Hollywood makes a habit of this. I dread to see the big screen version of How to Win Friends and Influence People.

Michaelie Clark

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The Painted Veil - A Work of Art

June 22nd 2008 18:33

An exquisite film of visual splendour, with a finely worked narrative and striking score, John Curran’s The Painted Veil, the most recent adaptation of W. Somerset Maugham’s 1925 novel, is a pleasure to behold.

Watts and Norton as Kitty and Walter - Image courtesy of reelzchannel.com

Kitty Garstin (Naomi Watts), a shallow woman who chooses to see both herself and others through only the most superficial gaze, marries Walter Fane (Edward Norton), an earnest, socially awkward man she has just met, after she has an argument with her mother. Walter, who fell for Kitty the moment he saw her, is a bacteriologist on leave from his work in China. Kitty accompanies him back to Shanghai, where she soon becomes bored with her hardworking husband and a life lacking in frivolity.

When Walter suggests a night out with Charlie Townsend (Liev Schreiber), a British diplomat and his wife, in an effort to please Kitty, she is at first reluctant, claiming that Mrs Townsend ‘puts on airs’. She comes around to the idea though, and after an evening of banter with Charlie, ends up having an affair with him.

Liev Schreiber as the womanising Charlie Townsend - Image courtesy of about.com

Soon after, Walter informs Kitty that he has volunteered to take charge of relief efforts in an inland village experiencing a cholera epidemic, and that she is coming with him. When she refuses, he reveals that he knows all about her affair, and her only other option is divorce. If, as Kitty insists, she and Charlie and really in love, and he leaves his wife for her, Walter will divorce her quietly; if not, and she still refuses to accompany him, he will create a scandal. Kitty tells Charlie about the ultimatum. She quickly realises Walter was right about him, and agrees to go inland.

Making the big journey - Image courtesy of usatoday.com

Kitty is at first miserable, living in rustic quarters compared to their Shanghai apartments, with her brooding husband, a man whose astuteness and tenacity she has grossly underestimated. No willing cuckold, Walter has hardened his heart to his wife, paying no heed to her melancholy and treating her coldly in order to punish her for her adulterous betrayal.

Kitty in the sedan chair - Image courtesy of telegraph.co.uk

Things begin to change when Walter comes across his wife in the local orphanage. Sick of being idle and ignored, Kitty volunteers her services to the French nuns who run it, and through them, learns about a different side to her husband. She discovers that when Walter isn’t trying to ease the epidemic on the larger scale, he is at the orphanage, helping babies left alone in the wake of the disease. Walter in turn finds that there is more to his wife than a love of dancing and tennis. He starts to open up to her again, cautiously, and although it took treachery, relocation, and immersion in the darkest hours of human suffering, they find that, at last, they understand one another.

Walter sees the effects of the epidemic - Image courtesy of hinet.net

Alas, Walter and Kitty have more to worry about than the tenuous rebuilding of their relationship, as they struggle to make a difference to those stricken and suffering in a land of political unrest. As foreigners trying to combat an epidemic, they are in a precarious position, and not only due to their exposure to a savage and degrading disease.

Shot primarily on the Lijiang River, the cinematography is simply stunning, and is only enhanced by the unique coalescence of sound by Alexandre Desplat. But most importantly, this film has converted me into a bona fide Edward Norton fan. I knew he was talented, but in my mind, he has just achieved a whole new dimension. Norton appears to have matured beyond his almost boyish demeanour of the Fight Club decade, while having more depth and accessibility than his bearded self in The Illusionist. The strength of his portrayal of determination and refusal to be helpless in the face of insurmountable odds, coupled with the vulnerability of his feelings for his initially capricious wife, grant great complexity to the character of Walter, and imbue him with a fierce but quiet magnetism.

Walter hard at work - Image courtesy of examiner.com

For Norton alone, this production is worth a couple of hours out of anyone’s day; when combined with the aforementioned elements of beauty, The Painted Veil becomes one of the best films I have seen this year.

Michaelie Clark

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Depp, Bale and Wenham - No Enemies of Mine

June 15th 2008 18:03

I don’t know much about this film, due for release in 2009 – but I do know this: Public Enemies is off to a mighty fine start. The cast: Christian Bale, Johnny Depp, Marion Cotillard, David Wenham, Giovanni Ribisi, Channing Tatum, Stephen Dorff, Billy Crudup, John Ortiz and Leelee Sobieski.

Depp on set, sans stubble - Image courtesy of ninemsn.com.au

Although not the biggest fan of director Michael Mann – could have lived without most of his films, not that they were bad, per se, rather that they tend to generate ambivalence within me, and at times, boredom – am keen to see what he makes of this adaptation, (based on Public Enemies: America’s Greatest Crime Wave and the Birth of the FBI, 1933-43 by Bryan Burrough) admittedly, largely due to his leading lads.

Scene from the 'Public Enemies' set - Image courtesy of dotspotter.com

The film is set at the time of The Great Depression, and follows the FBI’s pursuit of John Dillinger (Depp) and his gang of nefarious bank robbers. Burrough has said that while the screenplay does not observe complete historical accuracy, he believes it’s about as close as Hollywood has ever tried to get.

Michaelie Clark

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Sex and the City: Full Frontal Movie Review

June 9th 2008 18:33

Warning! This review contains spoilers. To avoid premature ejaculation, click here for The Seduction of ‘Sex’: Spoiler Free Review.

So, ready for a look at all the Sex action? Here is a blow-by-blow account of what went down in Sex and the City: The Movie
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The Seduction of 'Sex': Spolier Free Review

June 5th 2008 18:03

No true Sex and the City fan could resist seeing the movie, despite all reservations, which is precisely why I made a reservation of my own – for premium seats on the first day of screening in Australia.

I walked into the theatre with low expectations. From the clips I had seen, and storyline snippets I had read, I had a fairly good idea I was bound for disappointment. So, was I disappointed? Hard to say. The flick was basically what I had imagined it would be, so there was no great discrepancy between the reality of the film and what was anticipated. In a way, this is a good thing: it was no worse than I had predicted. On the down side: I wasn’t Carried Away

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August 2008