I went to see Where the Wild Things Are on Saturday, but it was sold out. Ay-ay-ay. That was a surprise! I mean, anticipation for this movie seemed pretty high, but anticipation for lots of movies seems high, especially when you spend most of your days following movie anticipation trends on-line. Now, of course, we know that Where the Wild Things Are was the number one movie in the country, and it earned a WILD (sorry) $32.5 million. That is so many million! But we didn't know that back then when we were like, "Sold out? That is not very enchanting." So I went to the movie on Sunday instead. They had added a second, simultaneous screening, and both of them were packed. But packed with whom? There were certainly plenty of children with their parents in my theater, but there were also plenty of man-children, if you know what I mean. The dude sitting to my left was in his mid-30s, and he was alone. The young couple sitting next to me pulled books out to read before the movie started, and she was reading Jean Paul Sartre's No Exit. Of course she was! This movie was really hitting on all cylinders, if there are only two cylinders, and they are children and over-educated upper-middle-class white people in their late 20s-mid-30s.
Also, security was super tight? Like, they wouldn't let me into the theater at all because I had a banana in my bag, which I had to eat in a fury, like some kind of forest creature, cowering in the corner next to the garbage can. And then when I got to my particular screening the security guard hassled me about my ticket stub? And actually made a call to the head of security on his walkie-talkie before letting me into the movie? We're still talking about a movie written by Dave Eggers based on a children's book published 43 years ago, right?
Yes. We are. So let's talk about it!
Continue reading The Videogum Movie Club: Where The Wild Things Are...
Posted by Gabe at 12:45 PM in
Tags: Catherine Keener | Chris Cooper | Dave Eggers | Forest Whitaker | James Gandolfini | Lauren Ambrose | Mark Ruffalo | Maurice Sendak | Max Records | Spike Jonze | Where The Wild Things Are
latest by proposals
[Ed. note: in a very special edition of the Videogum Movie Club, our chief America's Next Top Model correspondent, Gabe Liedman, leads the Koffee Klatsch.]
When I first heard that Drew Barrymore was set to direct her first feature film, I immediately whipped out my No Doy Diary, scribbled five stars in puffy paint, and burnt the house down. Obviously: this was going to be a movie that I would enjoy. Perhaps it DEFINITELY goes without saying that I am not a film critic. I've never "seen" most "classics." Netflix stopped recommending movies to me, and sent me a coupon for a brain transplant instead.
I'm a big, big fan of Drew Barrymore's. I know that some people couldn't give two shits about her, and that makes sense. But think about this: her public identity is the real life Benjamin Button (tweaked out disco MILF at 10, quirky tween goof at 34...Osh Kosh Bgosh runway model at 70?).
Continue reading The Videogum Movie Club: Whip It!...
Posted by Gabe Liedman at 3:00 PM in
Tags: Drew Barrymore | Ellen Page | Whip It!
latest by Up, Up, and Away!
Summer movie season has definitely ended. When I walked into the theater on Friday night, OPENING NIGHT, there were only about 10 other people there. Now, granted, the discrepancy between the appeal of a thoughtful comedy about corporate malfeasance in the world of agro-business versus Harry Potter and the Temple of Mordor is greater than just seasonal changes. But with a 10.5 million dollar take for the weekend, The Informant! was still the number two movie in the country (behind Cloudy with a Chance of 6-Year-Olds), so, you know, the world has changed, I can feel it in the water.
All of that being said: The Informant! was a really good movie!
Continue reading The Videogum Movie Club: The Informant!...
Posted by Gabe at 12:00 PM in
Tags: Archer Daniels Midland | Mark Whitacre | Matt Damon | Steven Soderbergh | The Informant!
latest by Rezpect
Let me just say, first and foremost, that I was wrong. I often am! I did not love Inglourious Basterds. I didn't even really like it very much. But it was not the disastrous, self-indulgent, World War Grindhouse shitshow that I had anticipated. It was decent, actually! There were parts of it that were very good! Personally I found it way too long, and kind of boring, and I have other problems that I will get to in a second, but being too long and boring are not the kind of problems I thought I would have going into it. And I'm sure many people didn't even think those were problems. I'm sure many people didn't find it long and boring, but captivating and fun, and to those people I say: that's a very respectable and understandable opinion! I don't share it, but sure! I stand by my contention that based on the marketing, Inglourious Basterds looked like one of the worst movies of all time. I still think that's true. But as it turns out, the movie they marketed was not the movie that Quentin Tarantino made.
Let's talk about that movie.
Continue reading The Videogum Movie Club: Inglourious Basterds...
Posted by Gabe at 12:40 PM in
Tags: BJ Novak | Brad Pitt | Christoph Waltz | Diane Kruger | Eli Roth | Holocaust | Inglourious Basterds | Jews | Melanie Laurent | Mike Myers | Nazis | Quentin Tarantino | Samm Levine
latest by BloggerDude
YES!
Do you know about ketchup? You see, there are five known fundamental tastes in the human palate: salty, sweet, sour, bitter, and umami. And ketchup, or at least Heinz ketchup, combines all five of these, to create an overwhelmingly satisfying taste. Yum. It is a little salty, a little sweet, a little sour, a little bitter, and most importantly: it has umami. For those of you unfamiliar with umami, it is the rich and hearty taste of "protein," for lack of a better description. It's meaty. Thick. (That is what she said.) And it is present in ketchup, which is why ketchup is such a popular condiment. There are very few individual foods that combine all five tastes so perfectly.
Is District 9 the Heinz ketchup of movies, or what?
Continue reading Videogum Movie Club: District 9...
Posted by Gabe at 12:30 PM in
Tags: Aliens | District 9 | Neill Blomkamp | Peter Jackson | Racism | Sharlto Copley | South Africa
latest by woozefa
As I mentioned on Friday, I was not able to go to the movies this weekend. You know how it gets. It's life, jump into life. I know some people who went to the movies, though. Rich FourFour went to see G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra. He had this to say:
A child playing with action figures would have been more convincingly lifelike.
Yoikes! And I know for a fact that Rich was really looking forward to that movie (for some reason)! Oh well. I'm going to go out on a limb here and ruffle some feathers by saying: it does not surprise me that G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra might be a really bad movie! I haven't seen it, though. Maybe it's amazing and Rich should shut up. It's the number one movie in the country (and the fourth biggest August opening in history, which people keep citing as an interesting fact, when in reality I don't think it's very interesting at all. That seems like a meaningless statistic to say the least!), which is almost always a sign of true quality. Isn't that right, Oscar winner Beverly Hills Chihuahua?
Meanwhile, here is a compelling observation about Julie & Julia from the Awl:
Continue reading The Videogum Movie Club: Julie & Julia Vs. G.I. Joe: The Rise Of Cobra...
Posted by Gabe at 12:30 PM in
Tags: Amy Adams | Channing Tatum | G.I. Joe: The Rise Of Cobra | Joseph Gordon-Levitt | Julia Child | Julie & Julia | Julie Powell | Meryl Streep | Nora Ephron | Sienna Miller | Stanley Tucci
latest by Rezpect
They say that art lies in taking something very personal and making it universal. Or whatever. The idea is that in exploring life as you understand it, from your own unique perspective, you actually find a way to relate to lots of other people who have their own experiences, and this interchange of thoughts and ideas allows everyone to feel interconnected, part of something big and important, at the very least to feel less alone in the world. We share enough common experiences that the larger themes will be evident and meaningful and open to individual interpretation, and the smaller, individual observations provide the charm, insight, and intangible quality of realism. "You can't make this stuff up," etc. And in that sense, Judd Apatow did everything right. He made a very personal film, and held faith as all creative people must that what was interesting to him would be interesting to other people.
Except this time not so much.
Continue reading The Videogum Movie Club: Funny People...
Posted by Gabe at 1:30 PM in
Tags: Adam Sandler | Aubrey Plaza | Aziz Ansari | Comedy Nerds | Death | Funny People | Health | Jason Schwartzman | Jonah Hill | Judd Apatow | Seth Rogen
latest by Garmanbozia
Accio Your Opinions! • We didn't do a Videogum Movie Club for Harry Potter this weekend because it seemed kind of pointless. What is there even to say about Harry Potter anymore? Well, you can be the judge of that in this Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince open thread.
latest by Shaz
