Waitress (2007)

Brief: Jenna (Keri Russell) finds herself unexpectedly pregnant, putting a kink in her plans to leave her husband, Earl (Jeremy Sisto). Despite the support of her best friends (Cheryl Hines and Adrienne Shelly), Jenna feels more and more depressed about the prospect of bringing a child into the world. She finds herself confiding in Joe (Andy Griffith), the crotchety owner of the pie diner where she works, and falling for her new doctor (Nathan Fillion).

When I saw the trailer for this movie prior to The Lookout, two things occurred: 1) the lovely young lady seated to my right said, upon seeing Fillion, "Hey, it's Mr. Sexy!" I was forced to agree, as Nathan Fillion is, in fact, very sexy. 2) I remembered it was Adrienne Shelly's final film, and I was sad. But we went to a special sneak peek anyway (gift bags!).

And now I feel sad that there are a limited number of Shelly pictures left for me to see. Her writing and direction are so hilarious and honest and off-kilter, and I wish there was more of it to go around. I wish she could go on balancing terrible things with funny things and making the juxtaposition seem fresh. I wish someone else would think to put Felicity with Captain Mal. I wish a lot of things.

It's been a long time since Felicity was on the air, and it's easy to forget how wonderful and natural Russell was in the role. As Jenna, she is just as fresh-faced, but her innocence is gone. Jenna's a woman who has gone without happiness for a long time, and the only moments when her worry and anxiety melt away are the moments when Jenna closes her eyes to create a new pie. It is then that something magical plays across Russell's face. It makes us believe, however briefly, in the possibility of stepping outside ourselves.

Although the chemistry wasn't as fiery as I would have liked, Russell is well paired with Fillion, who manages to hit that exact right mark of when a man in a hurry finally realizes he has time for a deep breath. It's shocking enough to almost take his breath away, and Fillion relays that split-second with aplomb. Romantic comedies are a dying breed, but Fillion's confidence and levity give me hope for the future.

Alright, so Russell's accent's a little spotty, and some of the stuff is obvious, and no one talks like Griffith (even if his little speeches did bring tears to my eyes every damn time). It's supposed to be sweetly fanciful. It's ridiculous, to be sure, but it's the kind of ridiculous where you smile despite yourself. B+

Pop Culture Round Up

Emo Spidey?

Quantum Leap, Children of Men, and Heroes? That's what I'm talkin' about.

New York mag thinks there are ten movies you need to see this summer. I'm sure they are right about at least three of them. Better yet, just read the entire guide.

Premiere, on the other hand, thinks you should see 25 movies . Too bad I could do without so many of them.

By the power of Greyskull!

Spider-Man 3 (2007)

Story: As Peter (Tobey Maguire) prepares to take the next step in his relationship with Mary Jane (Kirsten Dunst), they each struggle professionally, putting a strain on their relationship. Peter competes with Eddie Brock (Topher Grace) for a newly available staff position at the Daily Bugle, while Harry (James Franco) puts his plan for revenge in motion. At the same time, Flint Marko (Thomas Haden Church), a new suspect in Uncle Ben's murder, escapes from prison. All of these things are set on edge when a symbiote space attaches itself to Spider-Man's suit.

I've been reading a number of interviews with director and co-writer Sam Raimi over the last little while, and he talks a fair bit about a) what kind of person Peter is and b) his concerns about having Peter go dark. Makes sense to me. It's Peter, not Spider-Man, that makes the more compelling character. His struggles are far more relatable and interesting. At the same time, there's something messed up about Peter. There's something wrong with a person who believes it is his duty to operate outside the law. All those things come together to provide the true tension of the Spider-Man movies.

As for the going dark bit, I had the following reaction: part of me said, "Ack! Not my dreamy, moony, ageless, semi-sexless Peter/Tobey!" and the other part of me wished it had gone on a lot longer.

I was kind of surprised by how much I liked Franco in this movie. Recently in the Ask the A.V. Club, someone wondered why critics all seem to like Franco in reviews even when they complain about the crappy, crappy movies he's in. The answer was pretty simple: Freaks and Geeks. To be honest, I haven't really liked him in anything since either. Well, I liked him in these movies, but that was more the movies than anything he was doing. And yet, here? I began to think that F&G wasn't a one-off. Maybe there is something to him.

Now, Harry's revenge as been two movies coming, so it was nice to see that finally come to a head. His sub-plot kept me engaged. Less engaging was, say, Marko's subplot. Oh, look, a little girl is on oxygen! Now I care! Except . . . meh. I know Sandman's old school, and I am sure that there are a lot of people out there waiting to see what would happen when he came to the big screen. I found it hard to connect. Church holds a lot back for a lot of the movie, and it's not that he can't act (you see him do it). It's just that he plays up how dim Marko is to the point of pushing everything else aside, which isn't that fun to watch.

Grace is a lot more fun to watch. I'm pretty sure he's always fun to watch: the over-the-top confidence that barely masks a vast ocean of self-doubt, the sarcasm, the (kind of hilarious) desire for revenge. He makes a wonderful Venom if for no other reason than the fact that I totally believe he's got it in for Peter/Spidey.

I think we already know that Maguire rocks harder than anyone in these movies. Well, except for Rosemary Harris as Aunt May. And maybe Bruce Campbell because he makes everything better. Anyway, I'm not going to press the point of how Maguire is the one of the most wonderfully naturalistic actors I have ever seen. Nope, not pressing the point. And he has lovely chemistry with the generally underrated Dunst. Okay, now I'm done.

Now you're thinking to yourself, "What's with all this character crap? When is she going to get to the good stuff?" You've hit the nail on the head there, gentle reader. That's what an impatient person might be asking Raimi right now. That person might say, "Listen, that sequence where Sandman tries to reform out of sand for the first time is really cool, and I was moved at the end when we learned what really happened the day Ben Parker died. But what was with the rest of it?" I feel like it was more of a going out of business sale (despite what the studio may want) than a movie. Maybe if I wasn't so invested in Harry or dark Spidey or Venom, I could have spared some empathy for Marko or for Mary Jane's (unbelievable) professional problems.

Of course, it doesn't help that Spider-Man 2 was not only a great comic book movie but also one of the greatest movies I have ever seen. That's a lot to live up to, and, in a lot of ways, this movie does (minus Christopher Young's egregious score). If only it weren't so character heavy. B

Pop Culture Round Up

This reminds me a lot of this.

Yay! So much fun.

Excited!

This list doesn't seem so long when you realize that the artists and entertainers portion of it is about one fifth.

GAK! Okay, well, it's been dying a slow death since, oh, the end of season four, but still. Also, what does this mean for my beloved Veronica Mars?

Inside Man (2006)

RE-view!

Sometimes you can put enough distance between yourself and a movie you panned that you forget what you thought about it in the first place. So when my aunt, sister, and I were trying to pick a movie to watch this weekend, and they asked me if they would like this one, I said, "I think I liked it, but I don't know if you will." We watched it with the two of them tutt-tutting over every swear and "inappropriate" line of dialogue. When the credits rolled, my sister announced, "Well, I think that was a flop!" My aunt agreed.

And I? I thought it was a lot better than I had originally suggested. The pacing didn't seem as slow, the camera didn't seem as off, and, while they were wondering what was up with an asynchronous music in the opening sequence, I was smiling. Suddenly it seemed more smart and hip and New York.

What really convinced me that Russell Gerwitz's script was a lot smarter than I gave it credit for? A lot of the theories coming from my viewing partners were off. They are smart ladies: if Lee and Gerwitz could keep them guessing, that's an accomplishment.

I actually started to like the way Owen and Washington were playing off each other. I liked it when Foster got into the mix. Willem Dafoe played the straight man, and it worked. Chiwetel Ejiofor rocked his small roll. It was all a lot more fun than I remembered. And maybe that was my problem last time. Maybe I got so caught up in figuring out the mystery, in the cat and mouse game, in trying to keep track of the various cats and mice in any given scene, that I forgot to just watch.

I think I was a little too harsh last time. This time, I'm bumping it up to a B-.

Hot Fuzz (2007)

Premise: After performing a little too well as a PC in London, Nicholas Angel (Simon Pegg) is shipped off as a Sergeant to Sandford. Partnered with the Chief Inspector (Jim Broadbent)'s dimwitted son, Danny (Nick Frost), Sgt. Angel suspects a suspicious spate of accidents are murders connected to manager of the local grocery store (Timothy Dalton).

Think back. Think way back. Think way back to 2004. In that year, many a good movie came out. In fact, several were great. One of the great ones, as you may recall, was Shaun of the Dead. "Dude," you think, "that movie was hilarious!" Yes, it was, gentle reader. It was funny and smart and gory, and you totally loved it. You loved it so much that you still talk about it three years later, and you enjoy nothing more than having an opportunity to add, "Have a sit down?", "I ran it under a cold tap, Barbara", or "Okay . . . gay" to your everyday conversations.

Unfortunately, it's been a few years, and people are starting to look at you weird. What you need, my friend, it something just as funny, just as smart, just as gory. Above all, you need something just as quotable to refresh your conversation. Fortunately, those lovely lads behind Shaun of the Dead (director and co-writer Edgar Wright, co-writer and star Simon Pegg, star Nick Frost) figured out that this might be happening to you, and they made another fantastic parody to ease your troubles. I can hardly wait for the opportunity to tell someone to "pack it in, you silly bastard!"

This movie is so jam-packed with action movie references that a few are bound to pass you by, but who cares? That'll just make it more fun for subsequent viewings. In the meantime, sit back and admire the brilliance that goes into pairing a Sergeant with an overdeveloped sense of right and wrong with an officer who doesn't think too far beyond cornettos and lagers and sending them after an escaped swan. Look out for uncredited cameos by Cate Blanchett and Peter Jackson. Giggle your way through the revelation even if it does send a chill up your spine. In short, have some fun. This movie's got it in spades. A