Posted on September 12, 2002 at 5:11 pm | No Comments
And so another week cruises on by, and my web-counter jumps past the 15,000 hits mark. Yikes. I wonder how many of those is Chris checking to see if I’ve done a blog update yet?
The oft-mentioned Boston Film Fest continues on this week, and the three films we’ve caught so far were well worth the lines and the time. Well, maybe not Knockaround Guys… that one’s still up for debate. Vin Diesel and John Malkovich have pretty much become parodies of themselves, so their performances were unintentionally amusing… although a dose of Seth Green is always a good thing. There’s that moment before Malkovich speaks… when you wonder “Oh no, what hackneyed, exaggerated accent is he going to whip out this time?!”. Painfully funny. He was supposed to be a Brooklyn mobster, but honestly, I still have no idea what dialect he was going for there. Next thing you know, Vin is on screen… peeling off his jacket, his tight-white-shirted-man-boobs on full display. Then he’s beating the crap outta some guy after giving some speech about beating the crap outta 500 other guys. I dunno, the movie was a comedy that wasn’t. Don’t make me #502, Vin… I’ll always love your voice work in the Iron Giant.
The other two films? Very different from each other, but equally well done. XX/XY hit me just right. A small, personal drama about a trio of college friends and lovers who grow older and reconnect, causing them to reassess their lives and relationships. It asks a few questions: Who are we meant to be with? How much does nostalgia play into rekindled attraction? Mark Ruffalo nailed the part of Coles, a guy who has a hard time looking inside himself, lives on the surface, pretty much follows the path of least resistance in his life. I liked the rest of the cast as well, although relative newcomer Petra Wright really stood out as Coles’ longtime, trusting girlfriend. You’ll see why during an amazing scene set on a dock near the end of the film. Great stuff.
Mark, first-time writer/director Austin Chick, and local producer Mitchell Robbins hung around for an interesting Q&A after the film, and hearing the real-life Ruffalo made me like him even more. Seems his career is on a roll, co-starring in upcoming films with Gwyneth Paltrow and Meg Ryan. Don’t give up the indie-dramas, k?
Monday night brought William H. Macy to town to receive the Fest’s Film Excellence Award, and the U.S. premiere of caper-comedy Welcome to Collinwood helped show why he deserved it. The guy just disappears into his roles, and he did it again in this one as a down-on-his luck thief with a new baby in tow. Sam Rockwell, as always, uh, rocked. Rent Lawn Dogs sometime. Trust me. So, yeah, Welcome to Collinwood… great ensemble performances, good story, lotsa laughs. Pay special attention to the line the cop delivers to Rockwell at the dance club. Aces.
Macy’s post-film Q&A proved him to be a genuinely humble, gracious, and damn funny guy. His favorite roles have been in Fargo, Happy Texas, and State & Main; he really wants to work with Paul T. Anderson again; he rightly agrees that Sports Night was one of the best shows on television (not that he’s biased, with his at-the-time-future-wife playing the lead and all). Can’t wait for the Sports Night Complete Series DVDs to come out.
In other movie news: I just saw the flat-out fantastic trailer for the upcoming Spike Jones / Charlie Kaufman film Adaptation, and it looks like I might actually be allowed to like Nicholas Cage again. Hell, this movie not only has Maggie Gyllenhaal and Chris ‘Lone Star’ Cooper in it, but it’s got John Cusack and Catherine Keener playing themselves. It’s about screenwriter Charlie Kaufman’s own struggle with adapting a book called the Orchid Thief… instead of a straight adaptation, he just wrote the story from the book into a movie about turning the book into a movie. Confused yet? Sounds like it’s along the same lines as Spike & Charlie’s previous collaboration Being John Malkovich (the exact moment when Malky became a self-parody), and that’s just fine by me.
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention yesterday’s anniversary in some way… so… happy wedding anniversary, Jen & Greg.
I’m so completely freaked out that last night’s New York Pick-3 numbers were 9-1-1. Someone up there is messin’ with us.
Spent yesterday evening with the same folks I was with a year before, across the street from the same place we stood and watched the towers fall on the Vanteon game room television. We weren’t at Uno’s to drown our sorrows… it was a light-hearted affair with people who don’t see each other often enough. It was a coincidence that the monthly “Vante-off” get-together (yes, we all got laid off over the past year) took place on this anniversary, but there’s no doubt that the date was responsible for the high turnout at this one. I took some comfort in being with the good people I shared that surreal, horrible day with, and I hope we make it an annual affair.
How about a little linkage? Can’t hurt…
Indie-Pop Overload…
Amazing… nearly 10 years after they started in print, Chickfactor finally has a website. Not only are they now online, but they’ve actually archived all their back issues.
Hmmmm…
I’m really not sure how I feel about these Isometric Screenshots, which recreate a bunch of historical (and some fictional) scenes, videogame style. I’m a little creeped out.
Thank Jason, who hooked me up with these three fine links…
The Word Spy: Let me do some quoting.. “This Web site and its associated mailing list are devoted to recently coined words, existing words that have enjoyed a recent renaissance, and older words that are being used in new ways. Each weekday, the Word Spy presents a new word, its definition, and a citation (usually from a major newspaper or magazine) that shows how people are using the word.” Very cool stuff. So far, I’ve been emailed “tradigital” and “video scratching”. Still haven’t used them in a sentence, though.
| T | U | R | N | T | A | B | L | E | S |: Genius. Flash-based turntable scratching simulator. Get your beats on.
Crazy Drunk Guy: That pretty much says it all. ‘Crazy drunk guy’ crank calls a web-designing cube-dweller all the time, and we get the recorded evidence. CDG never says his name, never seems to have a point… and sometimes he just calls to “check in”.
Tomorrow morning brings our trip on the fast-ferry to P-Town, and I can’t wait to get the hell outta dodge. I don’t even care what the temperature is… I need a oceanfront view, and I need it now.
How was that, Chris?
Posted on September 6, 2002 at 8:28 am | No Comments
Starting Today : Boston Film Fest
Time for a little movie madness, as Amie and I aim to take in a movie a day for the next few days at the 2002 Boston Film Festival.
Tonight brings us the premiere of XX/XY, with both first-time director Austin Chick and star Mark Ruffalo in attendance. I’ve been a fan of Ruffalo’s since I saw him in You Can Count On Me, but haven’t seen him in anything since. Hopefully this movie will measure up. It was a tough choice between this and a showing of the Grey Zone next door, which will be hosted by director Tim Blake Nelson and Harvey frikkin’ Keitel… but I’m so not in the mood for a drama about life and death in the ovens of german concentration camps. Sorry, just can’t deal. I mean, I’m sure it’s a finely crafted film and all, and I’d love to see Delmar and Mr. White in person, but I crave something a little on the lighter side at the moment.
Tomorrow is the Knockaround Guys, hosted by the co-directors and starring Seth ‘Oz’ Green, Dennis Hopper, John Malkovich, Vin Diesel, and Barry Pepper. Solid cast. The next day we counteract that overload of testosterone with White Oleander, based on the best seller and starring Michelle Pfeiffer, Renee Zellweger, Robin Wright, Patrick (Almost Famous) Fugit, and Noah Wyle.
Monday is the main event, with the festival’s Film Excellence Award being presented to William H. Macy, who will then show his latest film Welcome to Collinwood. We saw Steve Martin get the same award last year, and we’ll see if Macy’s acceptance speech brings as many laughs at Navin Johnson’s did.
Even though the festival lasts through the week, that may be all we can handle … at least until a screening of Secretary on the final day, Sunday the 15th. Gotta get us a dose of that James Spader. I’d love to catch Auto-Focus on Friday, but we’ll be chillin’ in Provincetown. Ah well… it’ll be released soon enough.
File Under: Duh.
Hey, didja know that you’d be better off eating less fat and exercising more? Oh, those wacky ‘experts’ and their outlandish claims. I’m stunned, I say! Stunned!
Ain’t That America…
This is exactly how I feel about SUVs.
