The Holiday

Somewhere between holiday movie and guilty pleasure lies The Holiday. The tale of two women from opposite continents who escape to each other’s homes & lives to escape their own at Christmas is much more fun and touching that you might think.

What I like most about The Holiday is that this is the film that made Jack Black more than a crazy comic to me; here he plays Miles, a nice guy and a film composer who gets cheated on but ends up rescued by Kate Winslet. And who would have ever thought Winslet and Black would be a cute couple? Nancy Meyers scores points for that one.

Perhaps what makes the LA portion of the story all the more enjoyable is the addition of Arthur Abbott – a writer from the golden age of Hollywood afraid to venture back out into the world. He manages to reset Iris’s world view and in the process resets his own.

This might be a chick-flick, but I do enjoy this film.




Iris: Well, I just wanted to get away from all the people I see all the time!... Well, not all the people... one person. I wanted to get away from one... guy. An ex-boyfriend who just got engaged and forgot to tell me.
Arthur Abbott: So, he's a schmuck.
Iris: As a matter of fact, he is... a huge schmuck. How did you know?
Arthur Abbott: He let you go. This is not a hard one to figure out. Iris, in the movies we have leading ladies and we have the best friend. You, I can tell, are a leading lady, but for some reason you are behaving like the best friend.

Repo Men

Repo Men : une histoire d’organe avec Jude Law
Originally uploaded by El Allaoui Omar

In a world where inflation has run to the point that the class system is ever more evident, Remy works as a repo man for The Union a company that among many things offers mechanical organs at a high price to those that need a medical solution. If you can’t make your payments, Remy or one of his partners will come and repossess your implant. The problem is Remy never sees this as murder, merely as a business transaction, until he ends up on the receiving end of a transplant. With a new perspective Remy becomes unable to continue being a repo man and ends up running from The Union.

Repo Man is an entertaining movie – entertaining but not great. This has nothing to do with Jude Law, Liev Schreiber or Forest Whitaker but more to do with the fact that this is a film that thinks it’s a Philip K. Dick story – the only one that can pull off a Philip K. Dick idea is Philip K. Dick. The world of Repo Men is a world where dystopia reigns, the government and corporations extort the people and the poor have no option but to run. The entire time I watched this film I felt like it was an homage to Bladerunner but wasn’t aware of it.

Also, whether it was unrelated or not I found it odd that this film follows so closely on the heels of Repo: the Genetic Opera. I have not seen Repo but it’s not every day that films about a future society that collects the organs of people who can’t pay comes out and yet Repo Men comes out only a year after the rock opera…

The great thing about this film was Jude Law. I’ve never really considered myself a die hard fan of Law, but the more I see him in the more I appreciate him. Even though Repo Man falls just short of being a great film, Law is charismatic, entertaining and manages to make Remy into an engaging and sympathetic character. Law is an incredibly talented actor of this Hollywood generation and I look forward to the journey he will take as he continues to expand his resume through the next few years.

I wish I had more to say about Repo Men but honestly, one of the reasons the film stops short of being a great film is that the film itself is a little confusing to figure out – it makes a left when the entire length of the film it tells you it’s making a right – and I’m not sure how I feel about that yet. I mean no disrespect to Miguel Sapochnik, but I almost feel that if the film were in the hands of another director perhaps the feeling of being cheated by the third act and the Philip K. Dick homage would be gone…

Director: Miguel Sapochnik
Writers: Eric Garcia & Garrett Lerner
Remy: Jude Law
Jake: Forest Whitaker
Beth: Alice Braga
Frank: Liev Schreiber

Sherlock Holmes

My mother and I have a tradition. Every Super Bowl Sunday she and I do what we can to avoid the big game and that usually involves a movie. This year that movie was Sherlock Holmes; even though I’ve already seen it I put up no protest – a Robert Downey Jr. film that I love? Don’t you think it must be so hard to get me to that.

On second viewing I still love Sherlock Holmes. The fact that Guy Ritchie and crew could take the great detective, keep his essence and world intact and somehow make it exciting and vibrant on screen is astounding. Sherlock Holmes has been a lot of things, but he’s rarely been exciting when put on the silver screen. Holmes himself is a character that is always in his head, thinking steps ahead of the other players, and when put on screen in everything I can think of prior that makes for a film that is intellectual with a good mystery, but suspense, excitement and the threat in Holmes world never makes it to screen.

I have to give props to Rachel McAdams as well. This is an actress that I adore and isn’t in nearly enough movies; however, since she is so selective she tends to make really damn good movies and Sherlock Holmes is no exception. What becomes truly astounding about her character in Holmes is that of everyone on screen (from the books) her character is one that had the least source material to work with. Irene Adler is only in one short story, very briefly and somehow the writers and McAdams formed Adler into a fully formed, well rounded character that belonged in the majority of the film second only to Watson.

I’ve heard plenty of people say they are unwilling to see Sherlock Holmes because it looks like all action and no story. To those people I say to not just a film by it’s trailer and go and make a judgment from the actual film. You might be surprised by what you find.

Inspector Lestrade: In another life, Mr. Holmes, you would have made a excellent criminal.
Sherlock Holmes: Yes, and you an excellent policeman.

The Holiday

Hday_1024x768_04
Originally uploaded by ns520za

I said it once and I will say it again, I like The Holiday. It’s a chick movie, but that doesn’t eliminate the fact that it’s a good movie. If I had any criticism about this movie it would have to be that I want to spend more time in the world that Iris visits in LA, and watch more of her adventures with Miles and Arthur.

I think this movie is becoming a holiday tradition for me. I actually think of The Holiday every time the Santa Ana winds blow in and annoy the heck out of me. The only think they fail to say about the winds in the film is that they turn your weather about 20 degrees warmer and suck all moisture out of the air so along with being blown around you become uncomfortable. But that’s not really important to the story is it?

Arthur Abbott is the character in The Holiday that I adore. He’s a crusty, whimsical old man that’s lived through Hollywood’s glory days and watched it all pass him by for years now until Iris comes into his life. Iris helps Arthur see himself as a viable, vibrant person again and he manages to do the same for Iris. This is a great friendship on screen and I find myself hoping that one day I will meet someone like Arthur to regale me with stories and encouragement about their past in the industry.

I enjoy this movie. It’s light hearted, funny, well acted and everything a good romantic comedy should be.

Arthur Abbott: Iris, in the movies we have leading ladies and we have the best friend. You, I can tell, are a leading lady, but for some
reason you are behaving like the best friend.
Iris: You're so right. You're supposed to be the leading lady of your own life, for god's sake! Arthur, I've been going to a therapist for three
years, and she's never explained things to me that well. That was brilliant. Brutal, but brilliant.

Sherlock Holmes

Sherlock Holmes
Originally uploaded by edieamber

I was excited and confused when I found out Guy Ritchie would be doing a Sherlock Holmes film. I was even more excited once I realized that Robert Downey Jr. would play Holmes. However, despite my excitement I still remained slightly doubtful; while Sherlock Holmes is a very interesting character I didn’t understand how he could fit Ritchie’s style or how exactly it would be a more entertaining film than the past Holmes films, yet still have that core being we all know to be Sherlock. I am here to tell you that Sherlock Holmes was an amazing film.

Somehow Ritchie did what I thought might be impossible, he married his very modern style to a period piece. This blend of classic literature and modern Ritchie gives Holmes the edge that was always under the surface of the character and makes the carriages, waistcoats and constables relatable to a modern audience. Sherlock is a character not a part of his time or the society around him so Ritchie adding his stylized flair to the film is a perfect match.

I know some people that were doubtful that this modern, cheeky Holmes would be at all accurate to the Holmes they remember from the novels. To those that say this I challenge you to reread a Holmes story after seeing the film. Holmes has always been a willing outcast and rebel; he’s bored by convention, doesn’t like society and would prefer to drink, experiment and leer at those below him. Holmes is not neat and tidy; his intellect renders the world around him dull and lifeless and the only escape he has is to solve mysteries. If Holmes doesn’t have a mystery to solve he goes into a state of isolation and depression – just as he did in the books.

The absolute pitch-perfect element in the middle of an already entertaining movie is Downey as Holmes and Jude Law as Watson. These two have fantastic chemistry playing off each and every twitch, sigh or smirk of the other person. The movie is alone worth watching for those two sharing screen time. It’s beyond entertaining to watch Watson try to back out of Holmes’ world out of a sense of duty while Holmes knows just what carrots to drop casually that have Watson eagerly running back into the fray, even though he thinks he doesn’t want to. Law and Downey might be my favorite pairing on screen this year.

I hope that you take the time to go see Sherlock Holmes while it is on the big screen. Not only is the film one of the most entertaining things you would do with your holiday, but now that Guy Ritchie is climbing back to the top of his game it is more than worth applauding.

Director: Guy Ritchie
Writers: Michael Robert Johnson, Anthony Peckham & Simon Kinberg
Sherlock Holmes: Robert Downey Jr.
Dr. Watson: Jude Law
Irene Adler: Rachel McAdams
Lord Blackwood: Mark Strong

Holmes: You've never complained about my methods before.
Watson: I've never complained! When have I ever complained about you practicing the violin at three in the morning, or your
mess? Your general lack of hygiene or the fact that you steal my clothes?

The Holiday

Hday_1280x1024_01
Originally uploaded by ns520za

If you know that I loathe most romantic comedies and holiday films you would be surprised to find out that I adore The Holiday. In fact, I am a little shocked that I like The Holiday as much as I do. However, I do blame this on another of my likes and dislikes – I love movies about movies and The Holiday has a main character that edits trailers, one character that is a film composer and another character that was a screenwriter in the golden age of Hollywood.

At its core The Holiday is a film about Iris and Amanda. It’s Christmas time and Iris, a columnist from England is heartbroken to discover Jasper the man that has been leading her on for two years is engaged to one of her coworkers and didn’t even have the decency to tell her before making the announcement. In the states Amanda makes movie trailers and has just dumped her boyfriend Ethan for cheating on her with his secretary. Both women are devastated and don’t want to stay home for the holidays; through chance Amanda finds that Iris has listed her home on a home exchange website and the women decided to switch houses for the holiday. Iris heads to Hollywood and meets Miles a film composer who seems to have her luck in love, and Arthur who is Amanda’s elderly neighbor and a prolific screenwriter from a Hollywood era long gone. In England Amanda meets Graham, Amanda’s brother and the two hit it off only for Amanda to discover that he is a widower with two small daughters. Both women begin complicated relationships with the men – Amanda’s romantic and Iris’s at first purely friendship with both men, at first.

I do have to say that I have nothing against the characters in England but the storyline of Iris, Miles and Arthur are my favorite part of the movie. Not only do I love the old Hollywood influence in the story but I find Iris to be the character that I can empathize with the most. I also adore Kate Winslet and Jack Black together which I didn’t think was possible. It’s an odd pairing but it’s kind of like Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan in When Harry Met Sally, once you see Billy Crystal in the role you can’t imagine anyone else playing that – I think Jack Black did that in The Holiday. I think Kate Winslet needs to be in more movies. I love watching her act.

I really think that The Holiday is just a really good film, not just a holiday film. It is able to transcend it’s categorization because it uses the time of the year as a catalyst, not as an overarching theme by which the movie is driven.

Director & Writer: Nancy Meyers
Amanda: Cameron Diaz
Iris: Kate Winslet
Graham: Jude Law
Miles: Jack Black
Arthur Abbott: Eli Wallach
Ethan: Edward Burns
Jasper: Rufus Sewell
Maggie: Shannyn Sossamon

Arthur Abbott: Iris, in the movies we have leading ladies and we have the best friend. You, I can tell, are a leading lady, but for some reason you are behaving like the best friend.
Iris: You're so right. You're supposed to be the leading lady of your own life, for god's sake! Arthur, I've been going to a therapist for three years, and she's never explained things to me that well. That was brilliant. Brutal, but brilliant.