Sally Menke b. Dec 17, 1953 d. Sep 27, 2010

But, first thing’s first. A moment of recognition for one of the movie magicians that got me interested in how movies are put together. Film editor and long-time Quentin Tarantino collaborator Sally Menke has died. On Tuesday September 28, Menke was found dead in Bronson Canyon in Los Angeles County, California after having taken her dog out running during an extreme heat wave. She will be remembered for her artful ability to give structure and sensibility to Tarantino’s sprawling stories and will be missed.

Rainn

And second thing’s second. There are plenty of examples where movies get undercut by a similar motion picture releases. There are races to get your idea out first, but dammit, you got tooken, or another film with the same idea had a much higher profile. Sort of like Repo Men vs. Repo: The Genetic Opera. We‚Äôve talked about this before. And the ordinary dude becomes superhero story is now entrenched in our post-modern Hollywood world. And that‚Äôs cool, ‚Äòcause there are some cool stories out there, maybe the best of which is Special starring Michael Rapaport (an awesome take on the story). But, it was indie, and went without notice. Enter Kick-Ass and everyone thinks it‚Äôs so inventive, and I can‚Äôt help but feel sad for Special directors Hal Haberman and Jeremy Passmore. Not too bad though, as Kick-Ass currently sits at the top of the list of my favorite movies of 2010. But the thunder has officially been claimed, and James Gunn (the evil genius behind the amazing horror/comedy Slither), with his own ordinary-dude superhero movie, will have to hope people don‚Äôt see him as a copycat (especially since he got the green light before Kick-Ass was finished).

Super stars Rainn Wilson (whom I love from House of 1000 Corpses and The Last Mimzy) as Frank D’Arbo (by day) and The Crimson Bolt (by night). Frank’s lovely wife Sarah (Liv Tyler of Plunkett and Macleane) gets cozy with a drug dealer Jacques (Kevin Freaking Bacon), and Frank, being that he is, as it were, PISSED, decides to DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT. Also starring is Ellen Page as the kinda stupid sidekick Boltie, along with Slither alums Nathan Fillion (as The Holy Avenger), Gregg Henry and Michael Rooker. Level of psyched? SUPERpsyched (cue the trombones).

Hey Phil. Do we have a clip? No? Did they bring… ok yeah. Yeah. Here’s a clip.

And as the movie industry mines the comics vein dry, I get capsules and a shitload of pictures!!

Xerxes

Xerxes – Frank Miller’s companion piece to his Snyder-directed 300 gets the nod. Probably to be directed by Zack Snyder with similar styling.

Wanted 2 – Production is still up in the air as Jolie has said she would not return for a sequel, McAvoy is currently working on the new X-Men movie, and Timur has moved on to direct Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter. But a sequel has been written, and will most likely get made one way or another.

Dredd

Dredd – Judge Dredd reboot. 2 names: Karl Urban / Alex Garland. Boom. Urban brings his toughguy grimace and Alex Garland brings his incredible screenplaying (see also Sunshine and 28 Days Later. And do not see The Beach)

IN 3 - D !

Heavy Metal – a 2012 version of the decreasingly popular animation/hard rock/sci-fi mashup. But with directors like David Fincher, Zack Snyder, Gore Verbinski and James Cameron lending their hands, this one could actually be interesting.

Who knows?

The Shadow – I don’t know much, but that Raimi’s understudy, David Slade is directing. Raimi Slade. Sounds like a private eye. Awesome.

Earp: Saints for Sinners – And if I’m getting in line just because Raimi’s producing a movie, you can be damn sure I’ll be first up for when he actually directs one. The legendary American lawman, Wyatt Earp has time-traveled to a post-apocalyptic future world, and he has to kick some ass … in Las Vegas.

There can be only one

The Goon – An animated early 20th century period piece starring Clancy Brown as an over-the-hill brawler  and Paul Giamatti is his buddie Frankie. The premise? The Goon goes around kicking the shit out of zombies, vampires and the like.

And finally…

Michel is a man's name

The Green Hornet – Starring Seth Rogen, Cameron Diaz, Christophe Waltz, Jay Chou, Edward Furlong, Edward James Olmos and Tom Wilkinson (awesome line-up), and I’m not thinking it’ll be the greatest superhero movie ever, but if anyone on the planet can show me something amazing in 3D, it’s going to be Michel Gondry (director of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and The Science of Sleep). While it’s still only a 2D to 3D conversion, I have high hopes that Gondry will find a way to show me something I’ve never seen before.

The product of Ziggy's starudst

Other cool news! Mediabreach favorite Duncan Jones (writer/director of Moon) is back at work! While his initial follow-up Mute has been shelved, the new project is Source Code starring Jake Gyllenhaal. Jake G actually convinced Jones to join the project. Ben Ripley wrote the script back in 07, and it had attracted a few other directors in the past, but this time, it‚Äôs for real. The story: a military man wakes up on a train in someone else‚Äôs body with no idea how he got there and no idea¬†whether or not everything is¬†… real. And it‚Äôs a science fiction. And it’s a dark comedy. Sold? YES. Co-starring are Michelle Monaghan (Kiss Kiss Bang Bang), Vera Farmiga (The Departed) and Jeffrey Wright (Felix in the new James Bond movies). Duncan Jones said of the script, ‚ÄúWhen it was brought to me it was serious, quite cerebral, dark and depressing. My take was, ‚ÄòThis could actually be quite fun‚Ķ‚Äô‚Äù and thus was injected what has been termed ‚ÄúHitchcock-style‚Äù humor. And if you care about this kind of thing (which you should), Source Code is edited by the legendary Paul Hirsch ‚Äì editor of the first 2 Star Wars films as well as Ferris Buehler‚Äôs Day Off, Footloose, Steel Magnolias, Falling Down, Lake Placid and much much more! PSYCHED.

CRUSH

And very quickly, Haywire is set for a 2011 release. Directed by Steven Soderbergh (whose movies like The Good German and Traffic I generally hate) and written by Lem Dobbs (whose screenplays like Dark City and The Score I generally love), Haywire stars former American Gladiator, first lady of mixed martial arts and Red Alert 3 model, Gina Carano as a black-ops badass who’s been double-crossed and, must, whup, ass. Also starring (are you ready?) Michael Douglas, Chater Tanums, Ewan McGregor, Michael Fassbender, Antonio Banderas, Mathieu Kassovitz and Bill Freaking Paxton. DAMN.

And let me rep Total Film magazine (the bestest ever) for a minute. Check out these mini-bonuses:

As though there weren’t enough awesome things to waste money on
www.tinyurl.com/100starwarsts

And there’s proof. Joseph Gordon-Levitt is the man. And he dances!
www.tinyurl.com/joeglyt

And in honor of her new movie Stone with Edward Norton and Robert De Niro, a celebration of one of my favorite favorite actor/celebrities!
Milla Jovovich.

Stone's girl

Here’s an awesome clip from Dummy

And an awesome song from Carson Daly (which you MUST watch all the way to the end)  …

[via AICN]

I remember seeing the trailer for Deuces Wild and actually laughing out loud in the theater.   Even with just a 2 minute trailer, there was no way to hide the over dramatized performances in the flick which mainly came from Stephen Dorff (big surprise), Brad Renfro and the aforementioned Norman Reedus.    I know, I know, I hate on the Dorff a lot.  Get used to it; he’s got a nice list of shit to cull reviews from.   The studio knew this movie was bad, and you know how I know that?  It was released on May 3, 2002.  What is significant about that date you ask?  Anyone?  You in the back, I hear you, and you are correct.  A little film called Spider-Man directed by some awesome motherfucker named Sam Raimi was also released on May 3, 2002.  Woops.

They sent this fucker to die, and die it certainly did.  I only wish all prints had been burned and of course complimentary memory wipes offered to all the actors involved.  Director Scott Kalvert should be strapped down and forced to watch this movie on a loop until he promises never to direct again.  He did Basketball Diaries too, which I remember being ok at best.  It got its praise due to Leonardo Dicaprio, who I would carry a child for.  Don’t ask how I’m able to do that.  It’s complicated.

I realize 99% of you have no clue what movie this is and I know a few of you are probably a little steamed at me for hating on some actors or movies you love.  I only do it because I have to, folks.  Deuces Wild is the story of two brothers, Leon (Stephen Dorff/Deacon Frost/FearDotCom guy) and Bobby (Brad Renfro) who live in 1950s Brooklyn.  Their younger brother Alfonse died of a drug overdose three years earlier, because token bad guy Marco (Norman Reedus) kept selling him smack even after Leon had asked him to stop.  Marco goes to jail and does some time for the death of their brother.

Everything is roses for awhile.¬† Leon starts his own gang, the Deuces, which really is an unfortunate name to choose.¬† His only goal is to protect his block from drug pushers and the rival gang, the Vipers who are led semi-remotely by an incarcerated Marco.¬† ¬†The Deuces¬† are not all nice young men helping old ladies across the street though, they suffer from the same deficiencies that every gang does.¬† Early on in the movie, Bobby beats the crap out of a deaf kid because he walked onto the Deuces turf.¬† Nice guys.¬† The Deuces free ride is short lived because when¬† Marco is released from prison,¬† he’s hungry to establish dominance on the block once again.

I have to be honest here.  As soon as the credits rolled and I shut this off I had to mellow out.  I’m listening to Regina Spektor as I’m writing this so I don’t go off into some blind rage.  You may think that kind of hate makes a good Crawl Space, but really all that would look like is this:

WjkgrsjklpEGSDFJKL234RSDFNLZ             qjioklsdklwa ewjkejkdfsjkwefjiowejklxvsd

You don’t want to read a review from a caveman, and I don’t want to end up with a broken keyboard alright?

Not even James Franco could save this movie.  Balthazar Getty couldn’t do it either.  I should mention that DAMN does that guy look like a young Charlie Sheen.  It’s uncanny.  Frankie Muniz definitely did nothing to help the picture out other than look like his usual bug-eyed awkward self.  The film is a pint of piss when it wants you to believe that it’s a delicious frothing pint of lager.   It’s a bunch of bad accents spoken by wannabe tough-kids with zero charisma.  Even the characters that you’re supposed to like make it impossible for you to do so because they’re drawn up as one-dimensional and paper-thin as you can get.

I thought maybe, just maybe the gang battles would save some part of this movie but I was left with some very unintentionally funny fight scenes instead.  The typical bad director overuse of slow-motion, coupled with some truly laughable edits in these scenes nearly had me dying.  At one point it was as if every punch was dubbed with the sound of a shotgun blast, and it generally only took one blow to take a gang member down.  There’d be a punch, and then Kalvert would cut to another punch, and then another punch, and then another so it’s just like a montage of punches.  There didn’t even seem to be any sort of attempted realistic flow to the fight at all.  To top the battle off, the soundtrack to it all was, get ready for it, ELECTRIC GUITAR WANKERY.  That’s right.  This period film set in the 1950s features Yngwie Malmsteen (not really him) scoring the first big gang battle!   You know how it was back then.  Greasers would sit on the stoop of their building in Brooklyn smoking cigarettes, drinking beer and blaring Eddie Van Halen’s Eruption.  It was this scene that was the turnaround point to this movie becoming enjoyable and it graduated to the ‘so bad it’s good’ category.

Did I mention the Dorff single-handedly takes down the Vipers in that scene?  He shows up late because he’s banging his old lady and when he arrives, he discovers his Deuces are nearly beaten.  Naturally, he leaps into the air and clotheslines two Vipers (in slo-mo of course) sending them to the ground.  What follows was a Dorff punch-a-thon that capped one of the lamest and funniest gang fights ever put to film.  Guys, if you want to watch a good movie about punk ass kids running around in gangs, watch Francis Ford Coppola’s The Outsiders first.  Watch Deuces Wild when you’re trashed or have friends over that you want to punish.

So what’s legitimately good about it then?  I thought about this for a long time, and the only thing I was able to come up with is that there’s a shirtless James Franco in here in a scene by a swimming pool.  I can just imagine Franco getting told the weekend box office totals for Deuces and him screaming  “I DON’T CAAAAARRRE!!” while snorting coke off of a Spider-Man comic book and being surrounded by a sea of boobs and cash.   I mean really, how strange is it that the guy is in a complete bomb and one of the biggest movies ever at the same exact time?  Ah, if I could only have been a fly on that wall.

What more do you want from me?¬† The final battle has to be seen to be believed.¬† I don’t want to overhype this nonsense, but it’s so silly that you need to check it out.¬† I won’t spoil it.¬† Norman Reedus does his best honestly with what he‚Äôs given in this.¬†¬† His character Marco is just too ordinary and generic to do anything really interesting with.¬† On paper the cast looks phenomenal, but it ends up just a big, ugly mess of bad ideas and even worse directing.¬† If you‚Äôre looking to rent a movie that wants to be Goodfellas with children minus all of the cool dialogue and neat-o direction, then by all means, this is for you.¬†¬† I suppose if you’re a fan of Newsies or Swing Kids this is kind of like that, only it sucks even harder and people hit each other with chains and bats.¬† As I said before, this movie does belong in the ‚Äòso bad it‚Äôs good‚Äô category, so I suppose I can recommend it even for you film buffs out there.¬† Just bring a supply of alcohol; it‚Äôll only make it funnier. ¬†¬†Oh by the way, Matt Dillon is in this.¬† He does nothing.¬†¬† Well, he punches Dorff, so that‚Äôs something.¬† I‚Äôm gone.

Mini Reviews!!

A Perfect Getaway –

Hi, David Twohy, it’s Adam.  You know, from the Breach!  Anyways, next time you write a movie, make sure you craft it so that you don’t have to stick a 4 hour flashback at the end of it.   You ruined an otherwise perfectly awesome Timothy Olyphant and Steve Zahn vehicle!!  Asshole.  The way you shot the flashback was pretty rad though.

Angels and Demons (THE REVIEW IS ONE LONG SPOILER) –

Ewan McGregor is a priest.  He flies a helicopter with an anti-matter device on board into the heavens to save the day, and parachutes to safety down into St. Peter’s Square.  FUCK YEAH.

Obsessed –

I watched 5 minutes of it.  Idris Elba has sex with Beyonce.  I got what I needed.

Political thrillers can be a polarizing mess. ¬†I find the ones that work, such as The Ghost Writer, typically find a side of the fence to lean on and stay with that. ¬†This of course alienates a good portion of the potential audience but at the same time, stays consistent through out. ¬†This is something that last year’s State of Play couldn’t fully grasp. The wishy washy twist in that movie basically just makes all politicians seem like assholes. ¬†Which may or may not be true but from a film perspective, it’s a proverbial cop out. ¬†Instead of being ballsy and choosing a side, that film decided to be more mainstream and let everyone win. ¬†The Ghost Writer on the other hand not only takes a political stance, it’s a damn good movie to boot.

The movie opens on a ferry as it’s docking and letting drivers depart onto an island just offshore of the US. ¬†An SUV remains parked and doesn’t move, forcing a tow truck to show up and cart it away. ¬†We then cut to a body washing up on, presumably, a nearby shore. ¬†We later learn that this is the writer of former Prime Minister Adam Lang’s (Pierce Brosnan) memoirs. ¬†The plot goes full steam ahead with our hero, The Ghost whose real name is never revealed (Ewan McGregor), being contracted for a month’s work to rewrite, or ghost write, the memoirs into a more effective style. ¬†To reveal any more of the plot would be criminal. ¬†Get it? ¬†Criminal!

The great thing about the movie is how easily I connected with The Ghost. ¬†You basically learn everything about Adam as he does and I was amazed at how this worked. ¬†I was recounting the movie to the wife last night when I realized that I had already figured out the big twist just before it was fully shown to the audience. ¬†But the cool thing was that I discovered it at the very same moment and in the very same way that The Ghost did. ¬†I may not be describing this correctly but damn, it really worked for me. ¬†Watching the film through The Ghost’s eyes was a pretty unique experience.

None of that would work if it weren’t for the performances though. ¬†You have to believe the things that are happening and McGregor and Brosnan do so with ease. ¬†I had forgotten that Kim Cattrall wasn’t just a boozing sex addict. ¬†Her turn as Amelia Bly, Lang’s assistance, isn’t particularly pivotal to the film but she makes it stand out. ¬†Olivia Williams (Dollhouse) as Ruth Lang runs the gamut of emotions as the respecting yet challenging wife to the former PM. ¬†The wives of political figures, no matter the misgivings of their ruling spouses, are usually given a free pass. ¬†I’ll say it- most of the time, they’re just there. ¬†I know people that can’t stand Former President Bush but can barely muster a thought for Former First Lady Laura. ¬†So it’s rather interesting to see the way Mum portrays the affluent Mrs. Lang given that her character has become this same sort of “after though.” ¬†Needless to say, she’s believable and does a really great job.

So I ended the paragraph but I’m not done talking about the acting. ¬†A lot of people crowd Tom Wilkinson’s jock but holy shit is this guy awesome in this movie. ¬†His Professor Paul Emmet easily stole the show for me and even now I still can’t put my finger on what exactly his character was trying to accomplish. ¬†Well, I guess I can but the confusion had more to do with the enigmatic presence he brings in a confrontation between him and The Ghost. ¬†It really just added confusion to the quest but is played with such a cocky level of creepy by Wilkinson that I just can’t help but go all hyperbolic on your asses. ¬†I know it’s early, but this is one of the best performances of the year. ¬†They might as well just nominate this dude every year as long as he keeps this level of acting up.

So let’s get back to those politics I mentioned earlier. ¬†You may have inferred that the film will either piss you off or make you smile blissfully. ¬†I would argue that the film is not necessarily red or blue but takes a more worldly approach to the subject. ¬†It won’t surprise me at all if someone were to label the film as “anti-American” as there is certainly some cynicism on display. ¬†But I think this story could be told from a lot of different angles. ¬†It just so happens that the angle they choose happens to be rather topical. ¬†I’m being cryptic so as to not ruin the story, but I guess I’m just trying to say that you shouldn’t let your politics keep you from seeing the movie. ¬†Hell, if anything I think that if you fear the film could challenge your beliefs than you should see it even more. ¬†One movie is not going to change the political landscape but this one can certainly spark a great conversation or two.

So I hope that if you’re still reading you are in some way sold on The Ghost Writer. ¬†I know it’s a film that is getting little to no press and may not even be releasing in your neck of the woods this week. ¬†And I know we’ve been wading through some crap so far this year, but it’s easily the best thing rolling right now. ¬†I have failed to mention that the very last, and I mean very last, moment in the film is certainly questionable. ¬†But even with that I really, really enjoyed it.¬†¬†Bottom line and this is easy- highly recommended and hope to see your thoughts in the comments section later on.

A Life Less Ordinary isn‚Äôt the TYPICAL, typical sleeper; it was heavily publicized and highly promoted by the studio, including even a pretty brilliant Michel Gondry music video for the original Beck song “Deadweight.” It‚Äôs a less typical, typical sleeper; people just didn‚Äôt like it very much. I maintain it‚Äôs because it was aimed at the wrong market. The movie was originally billed as a Tarantino-style hipster romance. It‚Äôs nothing like that. It‚Äôs more a feel-good fantasy that should grab fans of movies like The Fifth Element or the aforementioned Jean-Pierre Jeunet‚Äôs Amelie. It‚Äôs a goofy, happy, comedy love story. NOT Pulp Fiction.

But this article isn’t a referendum on studio decision-making. I hate to use words like “charming” or “delightful” when describing a love story, because they seem to come pre-charged with undertones of “underwhelming” and “don’t-expect-too-much.” So let’s go with “funny-as-hell” and “awesome.” 1997 gave us the Star Wars Special Edition reset alongside other blockbusters like The Lost World: Jurassic Park and Men in Black. All in all, it was a pretty good year for movies, Con Air notwithstanding. So who the hell knew what to do with a movie about 2 matchmaker angels threatened with earthly transfiguration if they failed in their assignment to get the recently laid-off janitor and the billionaire heiress to fall in love.

So … About that…

The two angels, (Holly Hunter and Delroy Lindo) whose job it is to introduce future spouses to each other, have had a bad run of divorces. They are heaven-sent from a retro 50s/60s style police station by Chief of Police, Gabriel (played by Cheers fan-favorite Dan Hedaya who, coincidentally, is also in Alien 4). Their new case is a toughy, and if they fail, they will be punished by being forced back into mortality.

The couple?

Ewan McGregor is the happy-go-unlucky janitor, Robert, who is replaced by a floor-sweeping, (coincidentally R2D2-looking) robot janitor. Later that same day, he’s dumped by his girlfriend in favor of her aerobics instructor, and for the coup de grace, the angels show up incognitus to repossess his car and home and couch and, well all of it.¬†Cameron Diaz is the billionaire’s malcontent daughter, Celine Naville, complete with zebra print gloves and blue cashmere blazer. She resents her father (as all billionaire children should) and just recently (though probably accidentally) shot her latest suitor in the face with a .44 caliber revolver.

Other electro-job theft:
With the increasing use of home robots like automatic vacuums, the soon-to-be-popular automatic lawn mower, and the dramatic rise in production-based robotics (especially in relation to oceanic oil platforms), more and more jobs are being taken from humans and given to machines. While it may be more ideal to give war-specific duties to radio controlled robots (i.e. the Predator drones in Iraq and Afghanistan), the idea of the world envisioned by Kurt Vonnegut in his prophetic 1952 novel Player Piano still strikes most people as just plain creepy.

Extended List of Players:
Robert – Ewan McGregor (The Island)
Celine – Cameron Diaz (The Mask, Very Bad Things)
O’Reilly – Holly Hunter (Thirteen, The Incredibles)
     Matchmaker Angel #1
Jackson – Delroy Lindo (Congo, Romeo Must Die)
     Matchmaker Angel #2
Mr. Naville – Ian Holm (Alien, Bless the Child)
     Said billionaire
Mayhew – Ian McNeice (Top Secret!, White Noise)
     Said billionaire’s butler/assistant
Elliott – Stanley Tucci (Maid in Manhattan, The Terminal)
     Celine’s most recent suitor and one hell of a good dentist
Todd Johnson – Maury Chaykin (Blindness, Harriet the Spy)
     A “regular man” who befriends Robert (also has a barking best friend who hasn’t been the same since the war)

The romantic plan? A kidnapping!

Stockholm Syndrome:
Named after a 6-day bank robbery/hostage situation in August 1973 in BINGBINGBING! you got it: STOCKHOLM, Sweden. This syndrome is characterized by victims of hostagery becoming emotionally attached to their captors. Though rare, afflictees display defensive attitudes when their captors are punished. In the extreme case of Jaycee Lee Dugard, after having been raped and held captive for over 18 years, Dugard described her assailant as good with kids. Jaycee Dugard was just rescued this past August after her 1991 abduction and though she was held in a so-called “secret backyard” surrounded by a privacy fence and tarp, referred to the kidnapper as a “great man.”

So Robert storms back into the offices of Mr. Naville with an attitude and no plan at all. Naville is having a talk with Celine, informing her that she will have to work for her money now. Robert bursts through the door carrying a jani-bot. He demands his job back, and is immediately dealt with by a pack of fatty security guards. In the office melee that ensues, Celine kicks a gun to Robert who uses it to get away from the guards and then to shoot Mr. Naville in the leg. He kidnaps Celine and drives away with her into the countryside to try and figure something out while the line between who is directing the kidnapping begins to blur. And as the 2 angels (again, in disguise in disguise in disguise) are hired by Naville to track down Robert you wonder, is their plan working ingeniously or failing spectacularly.

Top 5 Wacky Syndromes!! (these are all real by the way…)
5 – Exploding Head Syndrome
Sufferers hear intermittent explosion-like noises in their heads, usually just after having fallen asleep.
4 – Alice in Wonderland Syndrome (aka Micropsia)
Sufferers will see people and objects as being much smaller than they actually are. So named because of the belief that Lewis Carroll may have been afflicted.
3 – Walking Corpse Syndrome
Sufferers believe they have lost body parts or are in fact dead and can feel and smell their flesh rotting; has been linked to schizophrenia and cocaine use.
2 – Genital Retraction Syndrome
Sufferers believe that their genitals are either shrinking or being retracted into their bodies; more common among cultures with widespread belief in witchcraft.
#1! – Jumping Frenchmen of Maine Syndrome
Sufferers react violently to loud noises by screaming, jumping, and wildly gesticulating. Even more interesting, sufferers seem compelled to obey loudly spoken, authoritative commands, going so far as to attack loved ones if sternly directed to do so.

This week’s underappreciated actor of the week:
Maury Chaykin!
One of my personal favorites. For his portrayal of the first town sheriff in the great SyFy series Eureka to his great character work in Cutthroat Island and Mousehunt. And his role in the standout episode of season two of Boston Legal, I salute him for being Chaykin, not stirred. (ouch)

Memorable Line:
“Oh, and that’s all I am to you, isn’t it? The latest kidnapper. A lifestyle accessory. And if it doesn’t work, it doesn’t matter, ‘cause you can always get another one.”   – Robert

Standout Scene:
The angels are doing their best to put Robert and Celine into situations that might spark that initial bit of love-ness, and have come to a point of desperation – the plan is to put one of them into a deadly situation in the hopes that the other will abandon logic and attempt a rescue. I hate to give anything away (to the point where I’m hopelessly vague), but set to the incredible song “Leave” by R.E.M. and featuring the equally incredible trademark camera work from The Genius Danny Boyle, the “Jeopardy Scene” stands out as the kind of movie-making that belongs in an Oscar montage reserved for the dead-guy part of the Oscar telecast.

I‚Äôll admit, it can be hard to pump up a romanticomedy, but some of them just do it different. From the great off-pitch but honest actor-sung musical number to the love-poem-writing angels, A Life Less Ordinary definitely does it different. There are a few romaticomedies like John Wayne’s The Queit Man, Adrien Brody’s Dummy and Keir Dullea’s 2001: A Space Odyssey that leave the rom-com genre behind and are just great movies. A Life Less Ordinary is that kind of movie.