Blackout chill out double feature Coyote Review

[cyrano]

So, as previously revealed, we lost power in a blowthrough last night. After our dogsleds braved the snowy drifts to get us to Big Boy for dinner, we decided to send the menfolk off to the local Tool Time to procure a new generator while we went somewhere with heat. This turned out to be the local cinema. Looking at the options presented us, I was not terribly optimistic, but I hadn't brought a book and part of a group outing is the 'group' bit, so I gambled. And really, I came off far better than I had any right to.

INTERRUPT: Holy carp. Julie Taymor has apparently done a film version of The Tempest, with Alan Cumming and Helen Mirren. After Titus, I feel a strong need to see this.

We saw The Tourist first, then found out there was still no power and saw Love and Other Drugs. I shall present the last first, because that way the really big spoilers for The Tourist get lodged at the very end of the article where it's harder to stumble across them. So considerate!


Love and Other Drugs
It's a romcom, but there's a lot more going on here. It's a romcom about a guy who's a slick drug rep (why does Pfizer not sue?) and has no self esteem who falls for a girl with early-onset Parkinsons. As far as light hearted romantic comedies go, this one walks a pretty dark path. And for the most part (barring the last five minutes) I bought it. It was occasionally painful, occasionally heartwarming, and pretty amusing. Plus, Jake Gyllenhall is smoking hot and spends a lot of time naked, in a t-shirt, or otherwise looking extremely toothsome.
Coyote says three wags.



The Tourist
I've seen Angelina Jolie in a few things, but she's never really made that much of an impression on me. I can't say that I now find her attractive, but at least I remember her in something besides "Tomb Raider". This is a charming spy farce, and it's supposed to have twists and turns but there's nothing that surprising here. It's fun, it's funny, and I liked it. I think this is another project Johnny Depp chose because he wouldn't have to work too hard, but I still enjoyed watching him.
Coyote says three wags.



SPOILERS FOR THE TOURIST PROCEED NO FURTHER HEER THERE BEE DRAGYNS







So I *loved* the casting of Rufus Sewell. It was the one thing that kept the film from being completely predictable. I saw Johnny Depp, and I said "Aha, face change, she left him. He's Pierce." And then I saw Rufus Sewell and I said "Wait. Rufus Sewell! They wouldn't bring him on unless he was going to be Pierce! Or, you know, do *something*." And so I spent... probably half the film being uncertain about that last twist. Kudos, Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck.

Comments

[tersa.livejournal.com]

I'd heard both films were horrid, but--I'm sorry--my personal experience made the following phrase "a slick drug rep and has no self esteem" set off my WHOLLY IMPLAUSIBLE button.

Obviously, the writer isn't intimately familiar with sales and marketing people.

---

E-- mentioned the Taymor "Tempest" this weekend, but after "Titus", I'm a bit dubious.

[cyranocyrano.livejournal.com]

Really? You've never met somebody who is good at selling things to people, and thinks they're a worthless person? Not who *tells* you they're a worthless person, but thinks they're worthless underneath all the self-aggrandizement and selling of themselves.
(And from what I can tell, the original writer *was* a sales person--based loosely on a true story and all that.)

[tersa.livejournal.com]

None that I know of. There maybe a string of self-loathing there, but not "no self esteem", because the one characteristic I find prevalent in good ('slick') sales people is their unassailable belief that they can sell stuff. It's part of how they can do it.

There may be a semantics disconnect going on here. :)

[cyranocyrano.livejournal.com]

This is entirely possible--I may have misstated.

[tersa.livejournal.com]

My kneejerk reactions, let me show them to you. :)

[cyranocyrano.livejournal.com]

You like words to mean what they mean.
I have no problem with that.

[ebonlock.livejournal.com]

Oooh if we can find it playing out here I would really love to see the Tempest!

[tersa.livejournal.com]

The only local theater I can find showing Taymor's The Tempest is up in San Francisco, and next week's schedule isn't posted yet:

Century San Francisco Centre
838 Market Street
San Francisco, CA 94103
(800) 326-3264

[tersa.livejournal.com]

Related to E--'s comment, other movies I'm possibly interested in seeing while you're out here: Narnia, The King's Speech (Century CineArts in Palo Alto), Tron, and, gods help me, True Grit (I never saw the original, I know, I'm a blasphemer. I wasn't going to watch this one, but someone I follow saw it on a sneak preview and said it was awesome).

I might also be persuaded to go see the animated European film, The Illusionist, which opens on Christmas Day.

[cyranocyrano.livejournal.com]

I've never heard of The King's Speech--I'll have to look it up. And Netflix just delivered a copy of True Grit, because I was thinking of re-watching it before I saw the new one. (:
I don't think I'd mind seeing Narnia or Tron, and... I've seen something about the Illusionist, but I can't recall what.

[tersa.livejournal.com]

Heehee. :)

King's Speech: Colin Fiiiiiiiiirth, in a period piece, playing...King George VI? I think. And Helena Bonham-Carter as the Queen Mum and Geoffrey Rush as someone. :)

E-- said 'No way no how' for True Grit in the theater. However, bounced around the idea of going up to the City for The Tempest Christmas morning.

I saw an ad for the Illusionist before something, lots of froo-froo European awards. The animation style is what got me, though, it really reminds me of the Disney stuff I grew up on, like The Rescuers and 101 Dalmations.

Additional thoughts

[tersa.livejournal.com]

If it's possible to bring the Wayne True Grit disk with you, could you? After you mentioned wanting to re-watch it before watching the Coen Bros version, I decided "Hey, that's a good idea", but discovered that Netflix is saying there's a Long Wait for the DVD (with no streaming option).

Also, if there is some other movie that you'd like me to grab from Netflix to watch while you're out here, let me know, as I'm about to send one back. I currently have on hand: The Assassination of the outlaw Jesse James, Invictus, and The Expendables.