Thank You for Smoking is an excellent satirical comedy, and is a perfect slap in the face to the politically correct agenda of the time. It stars Aaron Eckhart (The Dark Knight, Suspect Zero), and is directed by Jason Reitman (Juno, Up in the Air) in his feature film debut. 'R' rating is for language, and sexuality.
**spoiler alert**
Nick Naylor (Eckhart) is handsome, intelligent, and the smooth-talking lead spokesperson for "Big Tobacco". His job is to defend tobacco by publicly questioning research linking smoking to health impacts, and to advocate for personal choice to smoke. The story is narrated by Nick, and focuses on his relationships with his friends, his 12 year old son that he is trying to be a role model for, and how he does his job.
Every week Nick has dinner with friends Polly Bailey (Maria Bello) and Bobby Jo Bliss (David Koechner). Polly is a lobbyist for alcohol, while Bobby is lobbyist for firearms. The three humorously refer to themselves as the "Merchants of Death" and discuss the ups and downs they experience in each of their respective industries.
Because cigarette sales are down, especially among young smokers, Nick believes some product placement in movies will help boost the numbers. Nick is sent to Hollywood and he takes his son with him - teaching him about the "power of argument". Nick meets with Jeff Megall (Rob Lowe), an agent, attempting to convince him to have actors start smoking on-screen. Jeff seems onboard with Nick's ideas. Nick is also tasked with bribing Lorne Lutch (Sam Elliott), the original 'Marlboro Man', who now has cancer, to discontinue his campaign against smoking.
All seems to be going well for Nick until a tabloid reporter named Heather Holloway (Katie Holmes) - that Nick was sleeping with - blows the lid off all of Nick's recent spin tactics. Nick is fired, and it seems his hard work has been "undone". While initially depressed at this turn of events, Nick goes before a Senate hearing and argues successfully against over-zealous Senator Finistirre (William Macy), who wants to place a skull and cross bones on packs of cigarettes, getting this absurd measure defeated.
Reinvigorated, Nicks open a private lobbying firm, while Nick's son wins a school debate using the argument tactics his dad him throughout the film.
The beauty of this film is the writing and the dialogue execution. It is funny and sharp, with Eckhart still being able to come off as a very likable character, despite being a lobbyist for tobacco. I have to give extremely high praise to both Eckhart and to Reitman for the casting and direction. I highly recommend this film, I consider one of the best films of the 2000's. I would warn anyone who does not like satirical-type comedies because the air of this film is thick with it. (Get what I did there?)
Interesting Stuff:
- No one is seen smoking in the movie, which was intentional
- Sam Elliott's was based on the real-life Marlboro Man who did get cancer and advocated for anti-smoking legislation
- The screenplay is based on a book of the same name written by Christopher Buckley, whose father columnist William Buckley, died of emphysema.
Tuesday, June 25, 2013
Monday, June 24, 2013
Awesome movie quotes: Thank You For Smoking (2005)
"Bobby Jay works for S.A.F.E.T.Y., the Society for the Advancement of Firearms and Effective Training for Youth. After watching the footage of the Kent State shootings, Bobby Jay, then seventeen, signed up for the National Guard so that he, too, could shoot college students. But, the National Guard recruiter was out to lunch, so Bobby Jay ended up shooting Panamanians instead. Which is almost as fun as shooting college students, only they shoot back."
Thursday, June 20, 2013
RIP: James Gandolfini
Best known for his role as Tony Soprano on HBO's The Sopranos, but also had several dozen good supporting roles in film, as well.
My 2 favorites are in 8MM adn True Romance.
My 2 favorites are in 8MM adn True Romance.
Tuesday, June 18, 2013
(beyond a) Quick Look: Bully (2001)
People in the Movie: Brad Renfro (Apt Pupil), Nick Stahl (Terminator 3), Bijou Phillips, Rachel Miner
Director: Larry Clark (Kids)
Pigeonhole: Drama/ True Crime/ Indie
Basics: *spoiler alert* Bully is based on the real-life murder of Bobby Kent (Stahl), who was killed by a group of friends as a result of his continued physical and psychological abuse against several of them.
Marty Puccio (Renfro) and Bobby, both 20 years old, have been "friends" for years. Bobby comes off like sociopath - we see him beat up Marty at several points in the movie, unprovoked. At another point Bobby breaks in on Marty and his girlfriend Lisa Connelly (Miner) having sex, knocks Marty unconscious and rapes her. To complete the trifecta of abhorrent behavior, Marty rapes his own girlfriend Ali (Phillips).
Lisa soon discovers she is pregnant, and wants Marty to get away from Bobby so they can be together without the continued abuses Bobby delivers. Marty, however, seems either unwilling or unable to just "walk away" from Bobby. Lisa decides that the only way she and Marty will truly be free of Bobby is to kill him, and she feels genuinely justified in her actions because of Bobby's cruelties. Lisa and Marty, with the assistance 4 others lure Bobby out one night and kill him in cold blood. However, being young, somewhat naive and unable to conceal their involvement in the murder by keeping quiet about it, all of the conspirators are soon arrested and prosecuted for the crime.
My take: This film is almost difficult to watch at points because even though some elements were fictionalized, it is hard to stomach that this group of young adults have such little regard for themselves, as far as their behaviors go, and that Bobby Kent ends up dead, as a result. However, Larry Clark's films all tend to highlight despondency and self-destruction, with Bully being no exception.
Those elements noted, Bully is a very good film with excellent performances being turned in by the 4 leads. Stahl as Bobby came off perfectly in his role; violent with all his friends, the "perfect" young adult around his dad, and exhibiting OCD behaviors when alone at different moments. While I would not consider Marty likable, I think we feel genuinely sorry for him, in that he cannot ever seem to stand up for himself. He even begs his parents at one point to move away from this neighborhood, to "escape", but without elaborating about his plight, the discussion is dropped. Ultimately, the interactions of the characters all lay the path for Bobby's eventual demise.
Sex and drugs seem to be the only fuel in the daily lives of Marty, Bobby, Lisa, and Ali, beyond the violence that Bobby is inflicting. In an almost strange irony, they all seem to have semi-stable home lives, so they do not appear to be stuck in cycle of abuse; more that their lives are nihilistic and they are passing time for some unknown end. That is, of course, until it is time to face the music for the murder/conspiracy charges.
Art imitating life, or life imitating art?
- Sadly, Brad Renfro died from a drug overdose in 2008, with documented drug use and arrests going back to 1998.
- Nick Stahl has supposedly been know to "disappear", and in 2012 had documented issues related to him going in and out of rehab.
- Bijou Phillips had noted drug and alcohol problems in her teen years.
Recommendation: I highly recommend seeing Bully, it is a very raw, hard-hitting drama. That it is based on a real crime only adds to impact. The soundtrack is excellent, I purchased the CD shortly after seeing the movie.
The version I have is 'Not Rated', although there may be 'R' version out there on DVD. Either way: there is continued use of profanities, drug and alcohol use, nudity, sexual situations, and violence, so I would highly caution anyone who is sensitive to those elements.
Director: Larry Clark (Kids)
Pigeonhole: Drama/ True Crime/ Indie
Basics: *spoiler alert* Bully is based on the real-life murder of Bobby Kent (Stahl), who was killed by a group of friends as a result of his continued physical and psychological abuse against several of them.Marty Puccio (Renfro) and Bobby, both 20 years old, have been "friends" for years. Bobby comes off like sociopath - we see him beat up Marty at several points in the movie, unprovoked. At another point Bobby breaks in on Marty and his girlfriend Lisa Connelly (Miner) having sex, knocks Marty unconscious and rapes her. To complete the trifecta of abhorrent behavior, Marty rapes his own girlfriend Ali (Phillips).
Lisa soon discovers she is pregnant, and wants Marty to get away from Bobby so they can be together without the continued abuses Bobby delivers. Marty, however, seems either unwilling or unable to just "walk away" from Bobby. Lisa decides that the only way she and Marty will truly be free of Bobby is to kill him, and she feels genuinely justified in her actions because of Bobby's cruelties. Lisa and Marty, with the assistance 4 others lure Bobby out one night and kill him in cold blood. However, being young, somewhat naive and unable to conceal their involvement in the murder by keeping quiet about it, all of the conspirators are soon arrested and prosecuted for the crime.
My take: This film is almost difficult to watch at points because even though some elements were fictionalized, it is hard to stomach that this group of young adults have such little regard for themselves, as far as their behaviors go, and that Bobby Kent ends up dead, as a result. However, Larry Clark's films all tend to highlight despondency and self-destruction, with Bully being no exception.
Those elements noted, Bully is a very good film with excellent performances being turned in by the 4 leads. Stahl as Bobby came off perfectly in his role; violent with all his friends, the "perfect" young adult around his dad, and exhibiting OCD behaviors when alone at different moments. While I would not consider Marty likable, I think we feel genuinely sorry for him, in that he cannot ever seem to stand up for himself. He even begs his parents at one point to move away from this neighborhood, to "escape", but without elaborating about his plight, the discussion is dropped. Ultimately, the interactions of the characters all lay the path for Bobby's eventual demise.
Sex and drugs seem to be the only fuel in the daily lives of Marty, Bobby, Lisa, and Ali, beyond the violence that Bobby is inflicting. In an almost strange irony, they all seem to have semi-stable home lives, so they do not appear to be stuck in cycle of abuse; more that their lives are nihilistic and they are passing time for some unknown end. That is, of course, until it is time to face the music for the murder/conspiracy charges.
Art imitating life, or life imitating art?
- Sadly, Brad Renfro died from a drug overdose in 2008, with documented drug use and arrests going back to 1998.
- Nick Stahl has supposedly been know to "disappear", and in 2012 had documented issues related to him going in and out of rehab.
- Bijou Phillips had noted drug and alcohol problems in her teen years.
Recommendation: I highly recommend seeing Bully, it is a very raw, hard-hitting drama. That it is based on a real crime only adds to impact. The soundtrack is excellent, I purchased the CD shortly after seeing the movie.
The version I have is 'Not Rated', although there may be 'R' version out there on DVD. Either way: there is continued use of profanities, drug and alcohol use, nudity, sexual situations, and violence, so I would highly caution anyone who is sensitive to those elements.
Awesome movie quotes: Heathers (1988)
"..let's face it, our way is 'the way'... we scare people into not being assholes..."
Sunday, June 16, 2013
Review: Chernoybl Diaries (2012)
Chernobyl Diaries is a small budget horror/thriller written and produced by Oren Peli (of Paranormal Activity fame). It is directed by Bradley Parker; 'R' rating is for language, gory images, and implied violence.
2 Sentence Version: A group of six people (4 Americans, and a recently married foreign couple) go on an "extreme tour" of the ghost town of Pripyat, Ukraine, now abandoned due to the Chernobyl nuclear power plant disaster, which sits just a few hundred meters from the town. Pripyat, they discover, is hiding secrets beyond the crumbling buildings and lingering radiation.
*spoiler alert*
Chris and Natalie (a couple) with their friend Amanda are cavorting around Europe and decide to meet up with Chris' brother Paul, who is currently living in Kiev, Ukraine. Paul meets a man named Uri, an ex-Soviet Special Forces operative who now runs a tourist business. One of Uri's tours goes to Pripyat, to visit the site of the formerly thriving city before that fateful day in 1986. While somewhat reluctant at first, the other three agree to go with Paul and Uri. Michael and Zoe, a couple back-packing through Europe, also join in with this trek.
Upon arrival at the 'Exclusion Zone', the Ukrainian military standing guard at a gate inform Uri he cannot take the group in. Uri drives away from the checkpoint, but heads into the woods nearby onto a dirt road and goes through an old, unmanned checkpoint towards Pripyat. The group wander around outside for a bit with little fanfare, but then head into an old apartment building. Uri points out a view the old power plant, and then wanders alone into another apartment where he discovers a small recently-extinguished fire. Sensing trouble, he suggests they leave - when a large bear comes running through the building without seeing the tour group. After having the "fun scare", they all pile into Uri's van which now won't start because the wiring has been chewed up by "something". Everything goes downhill from here.
Night has fallen and Uri has been unable to reach the military guys on a walkie-talkie to come pick them up. Chris and Uri ignorantly head outside to investigate a noise; Uri gets killed and Chris' leg gets mauled. The 6 surmise to remain in the van for the night, deciding to walk it out during the day to avoid another attack, but before daybreak we see some wild dogs jump up on Uri's van. Were these the animals that attacked Chris and Uri? Of course not.
Chris, unable to walk, stays in the van with Natalie while the other 4 venture back out to Pripyat. They venture in and out of some buildings and realize they are being stalked by "something" - in addition to having to dodge the wild dogs. Finding an old parking lot still full of cars, Michael gets the piece needs to repair Uri's van, so they head back narrowly avoiding the dogs, only to find it flipped over and Natalie and Chris missing. Back to the buildings they go to find their two missing friends, and one by one the group gets killed by a horde of human-looking creatures.
Paul and Amanda (the only ones alive at this point), making their way through sub-tunnels, eventually end up in the old Chernobyl power plant and begin getting radiation poisoning. The skin starts to blister on both of them, and Paul soon goes blind. Finally making their way back outside after having avoided their pursuers, Paul is shot to death by the military guardsmen (all who are seen wearing radiation suits), while Amanda is taken to a "hospital". She is questioned about what happened by two doctors, and she is told the creatures she saw are "escaped patients". The film ends with Amanda being thrown into a dark room with the same creatures they had been evading throughout, because she "has seen too much".
Glowing:
- The basic premise of visiting Pripyat and a brief teaser trailer drew me to this movie. The setting, as well as the unknown elements of what could happen to nature with extended exposure to high radiation levels both lend themselves well to a horror movie plot. I think that using Pripyat as a backdrop was single the best element of the film. The movie is shot very well, as if we were seeing the events unfold as another member of the tour group - but without this being a guerrilla/handheld/ POV style, that seems to be dominating the lower budget horror landscape right now. The apartments and surrounding grounds were eerie, beyond just being deserted; the shots we see make the area look very foreboding. Towards the end, the scenes in and around the power plant were equally hair-raising, even ignoring the fact the characters were being stalked/followed by the creatures. I especially liked that there was a scene inside the old control room. I want to give very high marks to the cinematography to create such an excellent backdrop.
- None of the actors stood out as "excellent" to me, but none of them degenerated into a cliche caricature, either. Every part was acted to what his/her role called for, and I appreciated that. By choosing unknown actors, the audience is much better able to take in everything else going on, in this case.
-Most of the violent action was kept off screen. The creatures were also not shown for any length of time, so we were left to let our minds imagine the horrors the were taking place off-screen.
Radioactive:
- In most horror films there always seems to be an opportunity for the main characters to make a good decision about escape and survival, which they typically fail at. And it happened here; there are moments when the characters could have left the area, but didn't.
- I don't really understand the title using the word 'diaries'. Had this been a "found footage" or POV style film, it would have made much more sense to be called Chernobyl Diaries.
- Ambiguity in film can be an excellent tool to let the audience make their own decisions about what "could be" as far as motivations, actions, character traits, off-screen details, etc.. However, this element is a double edged sword in that "not knowing" what is happening at any given point in a movie can detract from the experience. I bring this up because as far as this film is concerned we did not really "see", nor did we learn anything useful about the humanoid creatures who were attacking the protagonists. They were called "escaped patients" at the end, but that's really it. Based on the action, they must primarily attack in the dark, and somehow may be immune to the effects of radiation. We do not know if these are mutated humans, if they were victims of the 1986 disaster, if this is a Russian experiment, etc.. I think giving us even a skinny fragment of info could have gone a long way to make the events just slightly more palatable.
Instead we are left to guess, and my initial thought as the credits rolled was that we were intentionally left hanging because Peli had already planned a sequel.
Recommendation: A great concept and a well filmed environment - but lacking in character development or plot beyond being "someplace we shouldn't, and now we have to run for our lives". I did not feel any real tension, probably because of the predictability, but I still enjoyed it enough to say "see it", and I have to give props for this being a small(er) budget film.
At the end I did feel like I was set up to watch another installment.
Extras:
- This was filmed in Hungary and Serbia, not actually at Pripyat. Looking at photos of the abandoned town, you can see it is much larger and spread out than what was portrayed. Pripyat does look very eerie, to this day.
2 Sentence Version: A group of six people (4 Americans, and a recently married foreign couple) go on an "extreme tour" of the ghost town of Pripyat, Ukraine, now abandoned due to the Chernobyl nuclear power plant disaster, which sits just a few hundred meters from the town. Pripyat, they discover, is hiding secrets beyond the crumbling buildings and lingering radiation.
*spoiler alert*
Chris and Natalie (a couple) with their friend Amanda are cavorting around Europe and decide to meet up with Chris' brother Paul, who is currently living in Kiev, Ukraine. Paul meets a man named Uri, an ex-Soviet Special Forces operative who now runs a tourist business. One of Uri's tours goes to Pripyat, to visit the site of the formerly thriving city before that fateful day in 1986. While somewhat reluctant at first, the other three agree to go with Paul and Uri. Michael and Zoe, a couple back-packing through Europe, also join in with this trek.
Upon arrival at the 'Exclusion Zone', the Ukrainian military standing guard at a gate inform Uri he cannot take the group in. Uri drives away from the checkpoint, but heads into the woods nearby onto a dirt road and goes through an old, unmanned checkpoint towards Pripyat. The group wander around outside for a bit with little fanfare, but then head into an old apartment building. Uri points out a view the old power plant, and then wanders alone into another apartment where he discovers a small recently-extinguished fire. Sensing trouble, he suggests they leave - when a large bear comes running through the building without seeing the tour group. After having the "fun scare", they all pile into Uri's van which now won't start because the wiring has been chewed up by "something". Everything goes downhill from here.
Night has fallen and Uri has been unable to reach the military guys on a walkie-talkie to come pick them up. Chris and Uri ignorantly head outside to investigate a noise; Uri gets killed and Chris' leg gets mauled. The 6 surmise to remain in the van for the night, deciding to walk it out during the day to avoid another attack, but before daybreak we see some wild dogs jump up on Uri's van. Were these the animals that attacked Chris and Uri? Of course not.
Chris, unable to walk, stays in the van with Natalie while the other 4 venture back out to Pripyat. They venture in and out of some buildings and realize they are being stalked by "something" - in addition to having to dodge the wild dogs. Finding an old parking lot still full of cars, Michael gets the piece needs to repair Uri's van, so they head back narrowly avoiding the dogs, only to find it flipped over and Natalie and Chris missing. Back to the buildings they go to find their two missing friends, and one by one the group gets killed by a horde of human-looking creatures.
Paul and Amanda (the only ones alive at this point), making their way through sub-tunnels, eventually end up in the old Chernobyl power plant and begin getting radiation poisoning. The skin starts to blister on both of them, and Paul soon goes blind. Finally making their way back outside after having avoided their pursuers, Paul is shot to death by the military guardsmen (all who are seen wearing radiation suits), while Amanda is taken to a "hospital". She is questioned about what happened by two doctors, and she is told the creatures she saw are "escaped patients". The film ends with Amanda being thrown into a dark room with the same creatures they had been evading throughout, because she "has seen too much".
Glowing:
- The basic premise of visiting Pripyat and a brief teaser trailer drew me to this movie. The setting, as well as the unknown elements of what could happen to nature with extended exposure to high radiation levels both lend themselves well to a horror movie plot. I think that using Pripyat as a backdrop was single the best element of the film. The movie is shot very well, as if we were seeing the events unfold as another member of the tour group - but without this being a guerrilla/handheld/ POV style, that seems to be dominating the lower budget horror landscape right now. The apartments and surrounding grounds were eerie, beyond just being deserted; the shots we see make the area look very foreboding. Towards the end, the scenes in and around the power plant were equally hair-raising, even ignoring the fact the characters were being stalked/followed by the creatures. I especially liked that there was a scene inside the old control room. I want to give very high marks to the cinematography to create such an excellent backdrop.
- None of the actors stood out as "excellent" to me, but none of them degenerated into a cliche caricature, either. Every part was acted to what his/her role called for, and I appreciated that. By choosing unknown actors, the audience is much better able to take in everything else going on, in this case.
-Most of the violent action was kept off screen. The creatures were also not shown for any length of time, so we were left to let our minds imagine the horrors the were taking place off-screen.
Radioactive:
- In most horror films there always seems to be an opportunity for the main characters to make a good decision about escape and survival, which they typically fail at. And it happened here; there are moments when the characters could have left the area, but didn't.
- I don't really understand the title using the word 'diaries'. Had this been a "found footage" or POV style film, it would have made much more sense to be called Chernobyl Diaries.
- Ambiguity in film can be an excellent tool to let the audience make their own decisions about what "could be" as far as motivations, actions, character traits, off-screen details, etc.. However, this element is a double edged sword in that "not knowing" what is happening at any given point in a movie can detract from the experience. I bring this up because as far as this film is concerned we did not really "see", nor did we learn anything useful about the humanoid creatures who were attacking the protagonists. They were called "escaped patients" at the end, but that's really it. Based on the action, they must primarily attack in the dark, and somehow may be immune to the effects of radiation. We do not know if these are mutated humans, if they were victims of the 1986 disaster, if this is a Russian experiment, etc.. I think giving us even a skinny fragment of info could have gone a long way to make the events just slightly more palatable.
Instead we are left to guess, and my initial thought as the credits rolled was that we were intentionally left hanging because Peli had already planned a sequel.
Recommendation: A great concept and a well filmed environment - but lacking in character development or plot beyond being "someplace we shouldn't, and now we have to run for our lives". I did not feel any real tension, probably because of the predictability, but I still enjoyed it enough to say "see it", and I have to give props for this being a small(er) budget film.
At the end I did feel like I was set up to watch another installment.
Extras:
- This was filmed in Hungary and Serbia, not actually at Pripyat. Looking at photos of the abandoned town, you can see it is much larger and spread out than what was portrayed. Pripyat does look very eerie, to this day.
Awesome movie quotes: Sixteen Candles (1984)
"I mean, I've had men who've loved me before, but not for six months in a row."
Tuesday, June 11, 2013
Happy Anniversary: Ferris Bueller's Day Off
On this day in 1986, one of the all time great high school comedies debuted on the big screen.
This is one of the few films that I can quotes daily, and no matter how many times I watch it, it is still funny every time.
This is one of the few films that I can quotes daily, and no matter how many times I watch it, it is still funny every time.
Awesome movie quotes: Back to School (1986)
"What's your favorite subject?"
"Poetry."
"Really... well maybe you can help me straighten out my Longfellow."
"Poetry."
"Really... well maybe you can help me straighten out my Longfellow."
Thursday, June 6, 2013
Awesome movie quotes: Sideways (2004)
"If they want to drink Merlot, we're drinking Merlot."
"No, if anyone orders Merlot, I'm leaving. I am NOT drinking any fucking Merlot!"
"No, if anyone orders Merlot, I'm leaving. I am NOT drinking any fucking Merlot!"
Monday, June 3, 2013
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