Rebecca Redshaw
Sofa Cinema
Published on Wed, Nov 11, 2009 by Rebecca RedshawRead More Sofa Cinema
Rebecca Redshaw's "SOFA CINEMA: An Easy Guide to DVDs Volume 1" is available at local book stores, at the Sequim Gazette and online at www.rebeccaredshaw.com.
The movies selected for review are the choice of the reviewer. Suggestions for DVD titles are welcome. Enjoy the movies.
NEW RELEASES
"Up," rated PG
Once in awhile a movie comes along that crosses the line. "Up" crosses any number of lines and all in a good way. Pixar Animation Studios has produced a long list of wonderful features including "Toy Story" (1 & 2), "The Incredibles," "Cars," "WALL-E," and, my personal favorite, "Finding Nemo."
"Finding Nemo" was my favorite, until now.
"Up" nudges Nemo down to second. It's a movie for all ages. I had the good fortune of seeing "Up" with a 5-year-old, a 10-year-old and a 14-year-old and we all loved it.
Mr. Fredricksen (the voice of Ed Asner) is about to be removed from his lifetime home to make way for high-rise apartments. Rather than be relegated to an old persons home, he chooses to fight back by tying 10,000 balloons to the roof of his home and, quite literally, "taking off." Unbeknownst to the elderly man, Russell, an earnest young Scout, is on the front porch at liftoff and their adventure begins.
The script for "Up" is written by Bob Peterson ("Finding Nemo") and Pete Docter ("Monsters, Inc.") and is clever and funny.
The first 10 minutes or so of the film prove that a picture is worth a thousand words. With very little dialogue and a terrific musical score, we learn the touching and sometimes sad reasons Mr. Fredricksen is determined to follow his dream. However, once Russell is on board (soon to be joined by the lovable mutt Dug and the rare and colorful bird Kevin), "Up" takes off on an adventure equal to the original Indiana Jones only with lots of balloons.
If you're not accustomed to going to animated films, "Up" offers the perfect opportunity to cross the line.
"Chéri," rated R
Stephen Frears has directed some wonderful films: "Dangerous Liaisons," "Dirty Pretty Things," "The Queen." Alas, "Chéri" cannot be counted among them.
Based on a French novel by Colette, the movie is set in a beautiful time in history if you are among the wealthy. The homes are mansions, the clothes elaborate and the daily activities as depicted in the movie are decadent by any era's standards.
"Chéri" centers around the accepted practice of the day of an older woman taking on the charge of a much younger man, a tutorial in romance to describe it delicately.
Lea (Michelle Pfeiffer) is a very successful courtesan. She's stunningly beautiful even at "a certain age," unlike her contemporary Madame Peloux (Kathy Bates), whose prime focus no longer is acquiring wealthy lovers but rather finding a suitable match for her son Chéri.
Chéri (Rupert Friend) is perfectly content to grow old with Lea (and watch Lea grow old) and their relationship is passionate by any standards until Chéri's mother insists on grandchildren.
The separation of the lovers and their subsequent entanglements allow for plenty of costume changes for the entire cast and pensive close-ups for Pfeiffer and Friend, but very little else.
May/December romances are so often depicted with the man as the older participant, which makes the blandness of Chéri so disappointing.
These talented actors deserve a better film and, for that matter, so do you.
DOCUMENTARY
"Every Little Step," rated PG-13
Usually audition scenes in the movies are used as comic relief; "The Fabulous Baker Boys," "Fame," "All That Jazz." However, there's very little to laugh at as you watch hundreds of young dancers give it their all to be cast in the revival of "A Chorus Line." That's not to say you won't share the myriad other emotions that are felt by the cast hopefuls in "Every Little Step."
A dancer's career is a short one even with the best of physical skills. "A Chorus Line" poignantly brought that point home when it debuted on Broadway in 1975.
More than 30 years later, some of the original behind-the-scenes participants struggle to select the final dancers. Bob Avian, who won a Tony (along with Michael Bennett) for the original choreography in the 1975 production, is in the thick of the audition process. Interviews with composer Marvin Hamlisch and the original "Cassie," Donna McKechnie, as well as archival footage of Bennett, help put the ongoing impact of this show in perspective.
The only qualm I have about this entertaining work is categorizing it as a "documentary." It loosely falls into that category - very loosely. And yet, "Every Little Step" is a film that should be watched by anyone with aspirations to perform as well as anyone who enjoys learning more about the behind-the-scenes process.
Rebecca Redshaw can be reached at r2redshaw@hotmail.com.
The movies selected for review are the choice of the reviewer. Suggestions for DVD titles are welcome. Enjoy the movies.
NEW RELEASES
"Up," rated PG
Once in awhile a movie comes along that crosses the line. "Up" crosses any number of lines and all in a good way. Pixar Animation Studios has produced a long list of wonderful features including "Toy Story" (1 & 2), "The Incredibles," "Cars," "WALL-E," and, my personal favorite, "Finding Nemo."
"Finding Nemo" was my favorite, until now.
"Up" nudges Nemo down to second. It's a movie for all ages. I had the good fortune of seeing "Up" with a 5-year-old, a 10-year-old and a 14-year-old and we all loved it.
Mr. Fredricksen (the voice of Ed Asner) is about to be removed from his lifetime home to make way for high-rise apartments. Rather than be relegated to an old persons home, he chooses to fight back by tying 10,000 balloons to the roof of his home and, quite literally, "taking off." Unbeknownst to the elderly man, Russell, an earnest young Scout, is on the front porch at liftoff and their adventure begins.
The script for "Up" is written by Bob Peterson ("Finding Nemo") and Pete Docter ("Monsters, Inc.") and is clever and funny.
The first 10 minutes or so of the film prove that a picture is worth a thousand words. With very little dialogue and a terrific musical score, we learn the touching and sometimes sad reasons Mr. Fredricksen is determined to follow his dream. However, once Russell is on board (soon to be joined by the lovable mutt Dug and the rare and colorful bird Kevin), "Up" takes off on an adventure equal to the original Indiana Jones only with lots of balloons.
If you're not accustomed to going to animated films, "Up" offers the perfect opportunity to cross the line.
"Chéri," rated R
Stephen Frears has directed some wonderful films: "Dangerous Liaisons," "Dirty Pretty Things," "The Queen." Alas, "Chéri" cannot be counted among them.
Based on a French novel by Colette, the movie is set in a beautiful time in history if you are among the wealthy. The homes are mansions, the clothes elaborate and the daily activities as depicted in the movie are decadent by any era's standards.
"Chéri" centers around the accepted practice of the day of an older woman taking on the charge of a much younger man, a tutorial in romance to describe it delicately.
Lea (Michelle Pfeiffer) is a very successful courtesan. She's stunningly beautiful even at "a certain age," unlike her contemporary Madame Peloux (Kathy Bates), whose prime focus no longer is acquiring wealthy lovers but rather finding a suitable match for her son Chéri.
Chéri (Rupert Friend) is perfectly content to grow old with Lea (and watch Lea grow old) and their relationship is passionate by any standards until Chéri's mother insists on grandchildren.
The separation of the lovers and their subsequent entanglements allow for plenty of costume changes for the entire cast and pensive close-ups for Pfeiffer and Friend, but very little else.
May/December romances are so often depicted with the man as the older participant, which makes the blandness of Chéri so disappointing.
These talented actors deserve a better film and, for that matter, so do you.
DOCUMENTARY
"Every Little Step," rated PG-13
Usually audition scenes in the movies are used as comic relief; "The Fabulous Baker Boys," "Fame," "All That Jazz." However, there's very little to laugh at as you watch hundreds of young dancers give it their all to be cast in the revival of "A Chorus Line." That's not to say you won't share the myriad other emotions that are felt by the cast hopefuls in "Every Little Step."
A dancer's career is a short one even with the best of physical skills. "A Chorus Line" poignantly brought that point home when it debuted on Broadway in 1975.
More than 30 years later, some of the original behind-the-scenes participants struggle to select the final dancers. Bob Avian, who won a Tony (along with Michael Bennett) for the original choreography in the 1975 production, is in the thick of the audition process. Interviews with composer Marvin Hamlisch and the original "Cassie," Donna McKechnie, as well as archival footage of Bennett, help put the ongoing impact of this show in perspective.
The only qualm I have about this entertaining work is categorizing it as a "documentary." It loosely falls into that category - very loosely. And yet, "Every Little Step" is a film that should be watched by anyone with aspirations to perform as well as anyone who enjoys learning more about the behind-the-scenes process.
Rebecca Redshaw can be reached at r2redshaw@hotmail.com.
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