And With This Entry.....I've Met My Goal! And Surpassed It (with a few more days til December 31)

Film 362
"View From the Top"
starring: Gwyneth Paltrow, Christina Applegate, Kelly Preston, Candice Bergen, Mike Myers, Mark Ruffalo, Marc Blucas, Rob Lowe, Stacey Dash, Jon Polito

This was actually a surprisingly decent film, I mean, if you know what you're getting: a romantic comedy, at its heart. It's a sweet and innocent film about a bubbly, small-town girl named Donna (Gwyneth Paltrow, looking great as usual, but especially so in a flight attendant's outfit). She has a dream of becoming a flight attendant so that she can escape her dead-end life and not end up like her mother. Along the way she meets some friends who help her and are genuine; she meets some friends who double-cross her. She has a boyfriend who dumps her. She finds a guy who loves her.

Sure, it's definitely a silly, sometimes ridiculous movie with gags (Mike Myers shows up as a cross-eyed flight attendant trainer and there's a girl-flight on board a plane), but it also has quite a heart. Paltrow is very lovable and adorable in these kind of roles, so I'm glad she can mix it up in between more serious roles.

Donna (Paltrow) dreams big but feels stuck, until she sees and then meets Candice Bergen's character, who becomes her mentor during flight attendant training. She literally starts from the bottom, taking a job on Sierra Airlines which contains flights to and from Fresno, CA. Then, she enrolls in the prestigious training school for Royalty Airlines (watching the credits is worth it for the song and dance they all do). She graduates at the top of her class, but her friend (played by Christina Applegate, in a decent role as a bitchy back-stabber) switches their tests, so Donna ends up on direct flights while Applegate's character is living it up, Royalty style on their business, first-class flights. Her flights are through the Royalty Express, which stations her in Cleveland (ugh). She does happen to meet the love of her life in the form of Mark Ruffalo, who is a law student. They fall in love, but Donna is still dreaming of a better life on Royalty's transatlantic routes. When she finally lands her dream job, their relationship ends abruptly and she is seemingly enjoying her life, but there's something missing. She spends a lonely Christmas in Paris, missing Ruffalo's character.

This is definitely not a movie for everyone, in fact, teenage girls who are dreaming of bigger things for themselves will probably appreciate this film the most. That being said, I really enjoyed it and was entertained the entire film. There was really no lull in the action or comedy.

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Film 363
"Bruno"
starring: Sasha Baron Cohen, Gustaf Hammarsten
written by: Sasha Baron Cohen
directed by: Larry Charles

Sasha Baron Cohen has a specific movie audience (and thankfully I'm included in that audience) who appreciate his brand of comedy, but at the same time Cohen doesn't seem to care at all if people love him or hate him. He thinks he's the funniest guy in the world, and if you don't agree with him than there's something wrong with you! He might now be the King of Bad Taste Comedy (taking the reigns from John Waters). His movies are: hilarious, shocking, disgusting, and appalling; but at the same time you can't help but appreciate, admire, and hold in disbelief at what you are watching. You wonder how he is able to stay in character so well and also how you might react if you actually have the (mis)fortune of running into his characters in real life. There are definitely moments in his films where you want to close your eyes, but you'd probably watch the scenes through your fingers anyway.

In this film, Bruno is another of Cohen's creations. He is a flamboyantly gay fashion model who is disgraced in his home of Austria after wearing a Velcro suit to a fashion show during Fashion Week and he gets stuck to the backdrop, curtains, and models. This type of slapstick, physical comedy is very familiar to anyone who remembers Jerry Lewis. After being shunned from his native Austria, Bruno decides to fly to Los Angeles with his assistant, Lutz where he wants to become famous in America.

When he gets to America, Bruno, as a character, is put into situations that involve targets that may or may not be in on the joke, may or may not have heard of Bruno (a made up character anyway), or even heard of Sasha Baron Cohen and his sense of humor and antics.

The victims and scenes include:
the first setup is an interview with Paula Abdul that lasts about 30 seconds thanks to the Mexican men acting as furniture

Ron Paul, lured into a hotel room by Bruno in the anticipation of an interview, but really Bruno is hoping to get him to have sex

an appearance on a Dallas morning talk show

the test screening of a TV pilot show in front of a focus group that finds him utterly disgusting

and then there's the black baby Bruno adopts and takes onto the "Richard Bey Show" in Dallas, TX in front of an all-black audience that was probably not in on the joke at all, but the host had to be

counseling meetings with 2 Alabama ministers who are dedicated to "curing" homosexuals

a hunting trip with two straight, macho hunters who sit around the campfire and sleep in separate tents only to get accosted by Bruno in the middle of the night

and the grand finale is absolutely genius and quite uncomfortable because of its utter realness: a "gay" wrestling match toted as just another MMA match in Arkansas. Bruno plays an allegedly gay-hating straight wrestler in a scene promising gay bashing, and then shows the two men in the cage getting turned on as they grapple. 

I loved this film probably more than Cohen's "Borat" because ultimately he's got a message for American people- that many of us are still bigoted and hateful people, especially towards the homosexual population. We can be very intolerant of people different from us or our expectations. Each scene is wildly inappropriate at times and quite uncomfortable to watch, but that's what Cohen and director Larry Charles seem to master in and it works every single time.
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Film 364
"The Kitchen"
starring: Laura Prepon, Dreama Walker, Bryan Greenberg, Matt Bush, Tate Ellington, Amber Stevens, Pepper Binkley, Catherine Reitman, Baron Vaughn, Jillian Clare, Adam Chambers

The premise is simple: Jennifer's (Laura Prepon) 30th birthday party
the setting is even simpler: the kitchen (hence the title) of the house Jennifer shares with another friend, Stan (Matt Bush) who also has had a crush on her for quite awhile and sees this as his opportunity to make a move, since he's masterminded the party (he even went to the trouble of getting her a cake).

It just so happens that Jennifer finds out her boyfriend, Paul (Greenberg) has been cheating on her with several girls, one of which is one of her friends, for some time. Jennifer's bad luck goes as such: this friend and Paul will most likely be at her party, which will make it the worst night/birthday of her life.

As a writer myself, I really appreciate the idea of keeping a narrative in one centralized location (people do come and go out of the kitchen throughout the film, but the major action happens in the kitchen, so the characters interact with each other in the kitchen). It's an interesting concept, because it has been said that a lot of the action happens to take place in the kitchen. I haven't really been to enough parties in my lifetime, but the ones that I have been to- this seems to be the truth. Maybe it's because that's where the food and drinks are usually located. I don't really know the answer, but the director and scriptwriter did an excellent job with this indie film in really making sure we know and feel the action is all happening in the kitchen. We don't really get a look at the other rooms, even though people even say where they're going. It doesn't matter to the viewer, because as soon as someone leaves the kitchen, someone else is entering and having a conversation (hell, they are almost in mid-dialogue when they enter the kitchen). The dialogue flows nicely and there certainly isn't a lull in the action; in fact, there really cannot be a lull for the film to work.

The kitchen is the hub of the action, which includes gossip, conflict, and emotions running amok. All the juicy stuff happens in the kitchen. Hot-button topics like abortion are discussed and debated (because it just so happens that one of the party-goers, who is also Jennifer's sister, Penny (Dreama Walker) is pregnant). Most of the conversations are not necessarily had to be serious, instead the characters share laughs for the majority of the party, because let's face it- it's a party, it's supposed to stay light.

Since the characters all seem to be in the twenties or entering their thirties (like Jennifer), they are all quite self-obsessed/absorbed, jaded, selfish, not to mention sardonic and sarcastic, in nature. They've all been keeping at least one secret from their friends or family or even lovers. But it's all exposed, for the most part, at this party.

It was nice to watch a smart movie about a party (and maybe it was because the characters were older and not high schoolers partying with no regard) that flowed well and the characters were believable. I think it was also great to see some female characters written to be strong, independent ladies with heads on their shoulders and opinions of their own. You could tell they would not stand for being used or taken advantage of by any of the guys in their lives.  It's also great to see Laura Prepon in bigger, decent leading roles, after years as the red-headed, girl-next-door love interest on "That '70s Show." For even more credit see her role in the Netflix original- "Orange is the New Black." It's like once she got rid of her red hair, people started taking her more seriously, or at least saw her differently.

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Film 365
"Serenity"
starring: Nathan Fillon, Gina Torres, Alan Tudyk, Morena Baccarin, Adam Baldwin, Jewel Staite, Sean Maher, Summer Glau, Chiwetel Ejiofar, David Krumholtz
written and directed by: Joss Whedon

After watching the documentary, "Done the Impossible" about the TV show titled "Firefly" and this film "Serenity" and the love and devotion the fans have for this Joss Whedon futuristic world that is every bit exciting as it is entertaining, in the form of a space odyssey as it is a western adventure of fugitives, I had to watch the entire "Firefly" series (all 14 episodes of the unfortunately short-lived Fox show) and then see the film that was made about 3 years later, thanks to a fan-based uproar, titled "Serenity" which was written and made to sate fans for a conclusion to the story that was cut short thanks to the cancellation of the show.

The question is: does someone have to watch the TV show to really understand and follow the film? Not necessarily (thanks to Joss Whedon's excellent writing), but it would certainly help. And since I'm a big fan of Whedon's other projects (most notably, "Buffy the Vampire Slayer"), I might be a little biased, but I think everyone should appreciate him and each of his different projects- on TV and on the big screen. It seems like he has quite a track recorder for being misunderstood and not really given much of a chance.

He started as a writer on Roseanne (4 episodes, in fact). Then he wrote the original "Buffy" which starred Kristy Swanson and Luke Perry (and was very underrated and under-appreciated and basically dismissed as a failure- in fact, it's rather weird that he was allowed to write the TV series based on the original film's 1992 failure at the box office, and even more unlikely that the TV series became quite a huge hit and success and has had a cult following ever since it first aired and even now, ten years after its last episode). Whedon also wrote "Toy Story"-- easily his most successful project. He wrote "Alien" Resurrection" and I bet he wishes he hadn't. He split his time between "Buffy" and then the spin-off "Angel" before giving his time to "Firefly." He also was the brains behind the excellent web-based series "Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along" during the writer's strike of 2008. Then came "Dollhouse" with Eliza Dushku (a "Buffy alum), which was futuristic and scientific in nature, so in essence, was doomed to fail because it was simply hard to understand (but I liked it, when I watched it on Netflix a few years later). It seems like he's just now getting the credit he deserves, thanks in large part to his involvement in the hugely successful film, "The Avengers." He also did "Cabin in the Woods" which is interesting and highly entertaining. He also reimagined Shakespeare's "Much Ado About Nothing" (which he shot in a weekend at his own house). And now he's during another television show- "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." for Fox and the next "The Avengers" film, which comes out in 2015. The anticipation is killing me! I'm so glad this guy is getting his credit, because he's certainly paid his (unnecessary) dues.

Anyway, so here's the plot of "Serenity" to catch you up to speed:

"Serenity" is an old-fashioned space opera, and differs from a horse opera mostly in that it involves space, not horses. It takes place in a solar system of a dozen terraformed planets and "hundreds of moons," and there is a war going on between the Alliance, which runs things and wants everybody to be happy, and a group of rebels who begin to make disturbing discoveries. As the film opens, a psychic named River Tam (Summer Glau) is rescued from Alliance mind-washers by her brother Simon (Sean Maher), and then we learn that River was unwisely exhibited to a roomful of important Alliance parliamentarians. Because she can read minds, she knows their secrets.

River and Simon are soon enough allied with a team of free-lance smugglers on a banged-up old ship named Serenity. Malcolm (Nathan Fillion) is the captain, and his crew includes the pilot Wash (Alan Tudyk), his wife, Zoe (Gina Torres), the engineer Kaylee (Jewel Staite) and the tough guy Jayne (Adam Baldwin). On their trail is the most competent and feared of the Alliance's agents, The Operative (Chiwetel Ejiofor).

Turns out the Alliance was simply trying to bring contentment to its crowded planetary system, by distracting them from their problems and making them feel like they had a life. River is in possession of a secret about this process that the Alliance would do anything to suppress. LikeBrave New World and 1984, the movie plays like a critique of contemporary society, with the Alliance as Big Brother, enemy of discontent. But as River observes, "Some people don't like to be meddled with."

Being a Joss Whedon film it contains some great, witty dialogue, the fight scenes have a lot of energy and it stays true to itself the entire time. This is such a great science fiction film, and I honestly cannot believe it took me this long to actually find the time and energy to watch his show, "Firefly" and then this film, because I knew I would enjoy it all. And, none of it disappoints, especially the film, given the larger budget, it's nice to see Whedon bring this futuristic world to the bigger screen.
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Film 366
"The Dictator"
starring: Sasha Baron Cohen, Anna Faris, Ben Kingsley, Sayed Badreya
written by: Sasha Baron Cohen
directed by: Larry Charles

You get exactly what you expect in this new Sasha Baron Cohen film. The only difference this time around is that it's an actually film, with a plot and characters. It's not Sasha Baron Cohen playing jokes on unsuspecting victims who probably never really get the joke. Now comes his film about political satire and our world's intolerance of other politics. And he puts it right in our faces, especially when his character Aladeen makes a speech towards the end of the film about dictatorships-- let's face it people of America, we are basically living in a completely different political climate than we think, under the guise of Democracy. The way Cohen chooses to explain it though is ultimately genius.

This is another film that is funny, while also being obscene, disgusting, scatological, vulgar, crude, and anything else you'd expect (or not expect) from the mind of Cohen, who has apparently named himself the best comic filmmaker these days. It's certainly his most conventional/mainstream film to date. It has a plot. It has a romance (however bizarre it seems for Aladeen and Anna Faris' character to be and end up together). Cohen never gets off topic throughout the story. Never goes off on comedic tangents. And Cohen is wise. His films are under 90 minutes, which means he gets up for and gets his laughs, then goes out on top. Here's the plot, in a nutshell:

Cohen plays General Admiral Aladeen of the North African nation of Wadiya, which seems superimposed upon parts of Egypt and Sudan and is a spitting distance from Saudi Arabia. Here he occupies a huge palace, used for addressing admiring throngs of his worshippers and having sex. Aladeen's premier is Tahir (Ben Kingsley), rightful heir to the throne, who is plotting to overthrow him. After an assassination fails, Tahir encourages Aladeen to address the United Nations, where he hopes another assassination will succeed. After being de-bearded by a security man (John C. Reilly), Aladeen finds himself wandering the streets of Manhattan while being impersonated in public by a body double. He finds his way into an extreme left-wing health food store run by Zoey (Anna Faris), and despite the radical difference in their beliefs the General Admiral finds himself falling for her.

If Sasha Baron Cohen does not make the comedy that entices you, perhaps you need to look elsewhere, or reevaluate your own sense of humor.
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Film 367
"Punching the Clown"
starring: Henry Phillips, Ellen Ratner, Matthew Walker, Audrey Siegel, Guilford Adams, Evan Arnold, Mark Cohen, Mik Scriba
directed by: Gregori Viens
written by: Henry Phillips and Gregori Viens

This is basically about a guy, Henry Phillips (playing a slight variation of himself), trying to make it in the entertainment industry. The trouble is, perhaps nobody can really put him in a specific niche. He's a musician (he plays guitar and sings), but he's also a comedian (he sings songs that are crude, uncomfortable, and hilarious- if you stick with him and appreciate his downtrodden sense of humor- where he's basically the butt of every one of his jokes). Phillips, the character, is a traveling modern troubadour who trudges from small town to town in search of his next gig- be it at a pizza parlor (where he performs, unsuspectingly, for a fundraiser crowd of older folks) or seedy bar just to make enough money to keep going, to keep his car running so he can make it to the next town. Each gig is as thankless as you'd imagine, but not necessarily humiliating, because you can tell that Phillips doesn't really care if you "get" him or not.

He eventually crashes on his brother, Matt's, couch in L.A. in the hopes of landing a steady income, finally, from perhaps landing a record deal, which he does land, but when he performs for the record executive, he doesn't think Phillips is funny and in fact compares his style of folk to "James Taylor on Smack."

Being a fan of independent films, I really appreciated "Punching the Clown" for its pace, dialogue, character in despair, and the presentation that life generally isn't as peachy keen as we've been made to believe with other Hollywood films about making it in the big time and living your dreams (re: "Coyote Ugly" for one, in particular). Henry Phillips, for really being a "nobody" as far as on anyone's radar, has great screen presence and comes off rather poignant. His mild manner is appreciated in this quiet, slow-moving, 90 minute film. I'd love to actually hear Phillips' songs in their entirety (if they actually exist) because they do have a folk taste to them, with how they start off with a tinge of sly anger, a bit of frustration, but then abruptly segue into blatant hostility (usually towards a girlfriend), sexual thoughts and feelings that really make you dismiss him as the nice guy that he presents himself to be, in which L.A. would most likely take advantage of, chew and spit out.

I could have done without the subplot of Phillips being misread as a bigot because of his lyrical topics, because it seems rather irrelevant in this day and age of comedians, but then again, you are never going to please everyone, and in fact, when you take to the stage (of any kind) you sort of put yourself on a target for anyone to throw insults or boycotts upon, which is exactly what happens to Phillips, which ultimately does lead to the third act of the film.

This is a decent indie film. Another gem in the rough.

P.S.- I dare you to look up the meaning of the phrase "punching the clown" if you don't already know what it means. I don't want to spoil it for you.