towelhead a.k.a. nothing is private

towelhead (titled 'nothing is private' and changed back to 'towelhead' at sundance)
directed by alan ball
screenplay by alan ball
novel by alicia erian
actors: toni collette, aaron eckhart, summer bishil (pictured with producer anne carey; photo taken from genart.org), peter macdissi, maria bello

a thirteen year-old lebanese-american girl, jasira (played by summer bishil), struggles with her confusing and scary sexual awakening in the midst of an obsessive crush with an older man and being the daughter of an oppressive father. toni collette and maria bello give good performances, but aaron eckhart was the brave one to take on such a morally-reprehensible and complex character (the object of jasira's crush and ultimately something bad). peter macdissi gave a first rate performance as jasira's father. i recommend this film if you can handle difficult scenes and difficult subject material. although there some very disturbing and uncomfortable scenes in this film and some disjointed moments, there is humor and hope in the end to offset the darkness.

i saw this film in advanced screening hosted by genart where summer bishil and producer anne carey were in attendance to answer q&a. summer bishil was 18 when the movie was filming and is now 20. you would never know it when seeing her in the film. ms. bishil said that there was a closed set and aaron eckhart, the cast and crew were very protective and supportive while filming the difficult scenes. i asked if she had a difficult time after the movie wrapped because i felt uneasy and my heart felt heavy even though the film ends with hope. ms. bishil said that she went through a phase right after and cut her hair real short but over time was okay. i'm blabbling because i really enjoyed the whole experience despite the tough movie.

thanks for your indulgence. the next film review will be much lighter. ciao for now.

sisterhood 2

sisterhood of the traveling pants 2
directed by saanra hamri
screenplay by elizabeth chandler
novel by ann brashares
starring - amber tamblyn, alexis bledel, america ferreira, blake lively, blithe danner, leonardo nam, michael rady, shohreh aghdashloo, jesse williams, lucy hale

tibby (tamblyn), bridget (lively), lena (bledel) and carmen (ferreira) are great friends who struggle to keep up their friendship strong as college life and adult life pulls them in different directions. even if you didn't see the first 'sisterhood', this film stands on its own. (but go back and watch the first one anyway.) this is a great chick flick, complete with romance, hot guys (omg - williams is dreamy!), drama and laughter. oh and beautiful back drops of santorini to boot. what i liked were reflections of real female behavior: girls being catty and competitive, girls becoming self-actualized after some bumps and bruises to the ego, and girls being true to good friends when the chips are down. go see it. and yes, bring some kleenex.

sir ben kingsley times 2

i didn't plan it on purpose, but i saw 'transsiberian' one week (genart advanced screening) and 'elegy' the following week (cinema chicago - thanks ww!).

transsiberian
directed by brad anderson
written by brad anderson & will conroy
starring: emily mortimer, woody harrelson, kate mara, eduardo noriega and sir ben kingsley

an american couple (mortimer & harrelson) finds serious trouble when they meet two strangers (mara & noriega) with whom they share a cabin on a transsiberian rail from china to moscow. the story is a little forced and contrived. mortimer and noriega give the strongest performances. emily mortimer delivers intense emotions and actions. although well acted, the character was written in a way that is not truly believable - too inconsistent. sir ben kingsley's role was secondary, but he did portray one scary russian. the aerial views of the train were gorgeous, but you can wait for the dvd.


elegy
directed by isabel coixet
screenplay written by nicholas meyer
novel written by philip roth
starring: sir ben kingsley, penelope cruz, patricia clarkson, dennis hopper, peter saarsgard, deborah harry

elegy (noun) - 1. a mournful, melancholy, or plaintive poem, esp. a funeral song or a lament for the dead. (definition copied from dictionary.com)

david kepesh (sir ben kingsley) finds his independent life rocked by his desire for consuela castillo (penelope cruz). kepesh struggles to finally "grow up" in his elder years. 'elegy' explores sex, friendship, love and aging masterfully. don't let the movie trailer fool you. the trailer makes the film almost 'light'. although there are humorous moments and great dialogue shared between kingsley and hopper, the film is deeper and somber at times. excellent performances by all actors, including supporting actors saarsgard, clarkson and harry. i definitely recommend 'elegy'.

dark knight post script

a friend pointed out that i forgot to mention gary oldman. i shouldn't write reviews at one a.m. in the morning... shout out to gary oldman for playing detective/commissioner gordon. his portrayal was great, but I think his performance and character were overshadowed by the story line's focus on the other actors/characters.

the dark knight

directed by christopher nolan
screenplay written by jonathan nolan and christopher nolan
characters created by bob kane

starring christian bale, heath ledger, aaron eckhart, gary oldman, maggie gyllenhaal, morgan freeman, michael cain

a-frackin-mazing! great performances by everyone, including the city of chicago. christian is brilliant and delicious as the brooding and conflicted bruce wayne/batman. maggie kicks katie holmes' butt as a mature, smart and believable rachel dawes. heath was absolutely perfect as joker - ironic, scary, funny and insane. his performance will be part of his legacy. and aaron eckhart surprised me as harvey dent. the dark knight is much darker than batman begins and the edginess works extremely well. mini-spoiler: the scarecrow and two-face make appearances in this chapter (not so much a spoiler if you know the batman series). joker's and two-face's actions made me cringe several times. yet there are some violent actions that are left to the imagination rather than displaying a gorefest. which, in fact, makes the scenes a little freakier. your own imagination can take you to some dark places. this is NOT a film for young children. people who bring children under the age of 10 should lose their parenting rights. the story explores moral dilemmas, just as the graphic novel does. batman fans and non-fans alike can appreciate the action, fx, drama and dark humor. go see it. i'm going again, next time in IMAX!

ciao y'all!

genart & wanted

2nd annual genart chicago film festival - 5 nights; 5 premieres
i don't want to rehash the stats because genart has done a great job already. please go to www.genartfilmfestival.com for more info on all of the films. what i do want is to give a nudge for you to see some of these indie flicks when they are more widely distributed. i'm new to the indie film festival circuit so i don't know how one goes about seeing the short films outside of the film festivals.

this was my first film festival other than the chicago international film festival. the format of genart film festival: one short and one feature length each night. i attended monday, june 23 through thursday, june 26. i really enjoyed the independent films, the format and the experience. yet, by the end of the week, i needed some escapism of the action variety. i saw 'wanted' on friday, june 27, instead (see below). therefore, i have no opinion on friday's films: 'whatever' (short) & 'explicit ills' (feature). what can i say? i love action.

feature films ranked in order of best to last:
the last word, bart got a room, the living wake and dark streets
shorts best to last:
goldfish, morning fall, the art of stalking and hollywood jerome

the last word (score 5)
i felt cool being in only the second audience to see 'the last word' since sundance film festival. according to the director, 'the last word' has been under lock and key. i strongly recommend it. 'the last word' makes you ponder. wes bentley, winona ryder and ray ramano give really outstanding performances in this dark themed, but hopeful film. the premise is so unique and broaches a taboo topic. this was the director's intent. (how do i know? he said so in the q&a session.) also, what is nice is that you get to figure out some things and are not spoon fed what comes next in the story.

bart got a room (score 4)
teenage angst and hormones rage in this comedy about a boy and the lengths to which he will go to find a date for the prom. william h. macy is priceless as the dad. this film is light, silly, funny, frustrating and brought a giggle and a smile to my face. compared to the others, i don't have too much to say because this wasn't controversial or super deep, just funny.

the living wake (score 3+)
what does a man do when he knows the date and time of his death? he invites people to his living wake and takes care of loose ends. my original score on this movie was a 3 (5 being the best possible score) because the lead character was neurotic, annoying and loud. his name was even obnoxious: k. roth binew. however, as the film progressed, the artistry, cinematography, and dark humor swayed my opinion. shockingly, i even felt badly for the lead character at the end of the film. the story is unique and quirky. i loved the sidekick and best friend, mils joquin. i scored the film a 4 because they did not allow for plus or minus. if i could have, the final score would have been 3+. it's weird enough for you to check out on dvd, but not necessary to pay the box office price.

dark streets (score 3)
dark streets is a musical film that is influenced by film noir and has a 1930's feel yet modern tweaks. the bluesy music is really good and sultry. bijou phillips as crystal, kicks madeleine's butt in terms of acting. and toledo is phenomenal as the narrator of the film and mc of the tower club!! i totally want to go to l.a. and see his show. the unfortunate thing is that the plot is predictable and slow - club owner's father's death is declared suicide, but bloke refuses to believe it and digs deeper only to find himself in a mess. when this comes to dvd it is worth seeing for the visual beauty, music and performances. the blessing about dvd's is you can select your scenes and skip the boring ones.

***

wanted
starring angelina jolie, james mcavoy, morgan freeman, common
directed by timur bekmambetov
screenplay by michael brandt, derek haas and chris morgan
based on the comic book series by mark millar & j.g. jones

mcavoy (wesley), jolie (fox), freeman (sloan), and common (the gunsmith) - they all brought it. you know how i feel about mcavoy, but common is really hot too. jolie kicked ass and took names. fight sequences and action sfx are pretty fracking great. (yes, you read that correctly. if you haven't seen the modern battlestar galactica, where have you been???) there is one scene that goes a little too far. with all of the shoot 'em up vids and movies these days, i think they took it to that level because too many have become de-sensitized. i'm slightly perturbed by that, but not surprised. anyway, do not take anyone who will have nightmares at major gun violence. as usual, i have my quips about bending the already suspended belief realm. for the sake of the movie, we accept the premise that in this fantasy world certain individuals can curve a bullet. but come on, the dude could not have transformed from a cubicle rat to assassin bad ass in 6 weeks. maybe a year, but not less. i know, i pick the weirdest battles. other than those two dings, this flick is foul-mouthed, funny, and action-packed, just what the summer doctor ordered. my adrenaline is still pumping and i crave my karate classes of years past. go see it fellow action junkies.

ciao for now, chloe

sex and snow - total opposites

sex and the city
written & directed by michael patrick king
characters from the book by candace bushnell

carrie bradshaw - sarah jessica parker
miranda hobbs - cynthia nixon
charlotte york - kristin davis
samantha jones - kim catrall

big - chris noth
steve brady - david eigenberger (chicago native!)
harry goldenblatt - evan handler
smith jerrod - jason lewis

louise - jennifer hudson

hello gorgeous! fashion like crazy! i think sarah jessica parker had 70+ wardrobe changes. totally impractical, but i even love that she wore pearls to bed. oh yeah, sex too (ridiculous mancandy - giles marini). i had forgotten how racy the show was. charlotte, samantha and miranda were true to form and so were the fellas, and "big" too, in all but one respect. since when did "big" become domesticated? i want to dish more, but i encourage you to see it. so forgive the vagueness. there are no real spoilers here. we can debate offline.

satc was great fun. i laughed and got teary eyed several times. the core of friendship between the girls was what i really loved most. there were some turns of the plot that i would have done differently. because of the predicability of the movie, i enjoyed the series finale more in some respects. i know, i know, how dare i?! don't forget that this blog is called "a matter of opinion." so for all of you satc die hards, please don't send hate mail ;0p in fact, new york magazine described the opposite, "the movie was what series finale should have been." if you haven't seen it yet, where have you been darling? go already!

snow angels
written by david gordon green & novel by steward onan
directed by david gordon green
starring sam rockwell, kate beckinsale, amy sedaris, michael angarano, olivia thirlby

i see the intent in the tagline, "some will fly. some will fall." to me, the two interesting story lines did not really mesh or layer well: depression/a stark life in the middle of winter & suburbia and teen coming of age story that was really sweet. there were some funny moments weaved in. i think they were meant as comic relief for the darkness and confusion of sam rockwell's character. sam rockwell gave an outstanding performance. whereas, i just could not buy kate beckinsale as a suburban mom. another actress could have made the character more believable or could be more on par with sam rockwell. i don't know if this is still playing in theatres, but you could wait until dvd. rather than try to superimpose the two story lines, the writer should have made two separate movies. i wonder if the novel was better at making the two stories blend.

fino alla prossima volta (until next time?) feel free to correct the idiom. ciao ciao.