Tag: John Cusack

By Christopher Stipp

The Archives, Right Here

I was able to sit down for a couple of years and pump out a book. It’s got little to do with movies. Download and read “Thank You, Goodnight” right HERE for free.

Check out my new column, This Week In Trailers, at SlashFilm.com and follow me on TWITTER under the name: Stipp

PARIS – DVD REVIEW

A movie that speaks to the short story lover in me, what you have here is a great film starring Juliette Binoche and a multitude of other Parsian luminaries who act in a multiple narrative that delivers on being interesting, insightful and a passionate ride through the city of lovers.

Director Cédric Klapisch should be applauded for making a movie that not only tells the tales of lives who tangentially intersect one another throughout the film but that makes Paris itself part of the movie. Often times it is just story that is able to carry a movie along but this movie makes the city its own character. Indeed, it is the environments we all live in that inform the actions of the people who live in it and Klapisch takes full advantage of this. From a story that deals with love that ought to go unrequited to a story that deals with the current socioeconomic climate, namely the inhabitants who haven’t lived in Paris all their lives or at least don’t look the part to Parisians that remind me of racist idiots who live here in the States, how funny that there are some things that we all seem to share across the globe, the movie moves around through all kinds of stories. Starring one of my favorite actresses to ever utter the word “oui”, Juliette Binoche, the movie is worth the time it will take you to get it queued up in your Netflix account.

About the film:

One of the Biggest Foreign Hits Of Last Year — Cedric Klapisch’s Award-Winning Love Letter to the City OF LIGHTS Featuring a Premier Cast Led by Juliette Binoche — Comes To Blu-ray/DVD Fresh Off Its U.S. Theatrical Run

A seriously ill young man faces an uncertain future but learns that hope comes in the most unlikely forms in PARIS , the Cesar-nominated box-office hit from acclaimed director Cedric Klapisch. The sterling cast of PARIS includes Oscar-winner Juliette Binoche (The English Patient) as Elise, Romain Duris (The Beat That My Heart Skipped, Klapisch’s L’Auberge Espagnole) as Pierre, Fabrice Luchini (star of several Eric Rohmer classics), Albert Dupontel (Irreversible), Melanie Laurent (Inglourious Basterds), Francois Cluzet (Tell No One) and Karin Viard (Time Out).

Klapisch follows up the worldwide successes L’Auberge Espagnole, Russian Dolls and When the Cat’s Away with his biggest, most sweeping movie yet. Pierre is a dancer with the famed Moulin Rouge in Paris , but his career has been put on indefinite hold: he has heart disease and is on the waiting list for a transplant. His sister, Elise, a social worker and single mother of three, moves into to Pierre ‘s apartment, ostensibly to help care for him. The depressed dancer, while slowly gaining a new appreciation for his struggling sister, spends his days on his balcony observing the dance of life unfolding in the street below and the apartments across the way ““ and learns that laughter and love hide within every balcony, apartment window, street corner and market stall.

BRIEF INTERVIEWS WITH HIDEOUS MEN – DVD REVIEW

Watching this movie made me frightened when the truth was too much to bear and in love when the moment hit too close to reality.

The directorial debut from John Krasinski is a curious one in that he takes David Foster Wallace, a man not known for his brevity, and takes a handful of short stories to make one cohesive whole about the tumultuous relationship that men have with women. Yes, it’s territory we’ve all been down before but this one is a little more snarky in a way, more like a version of In The Company of Men meshed with a When Harry Met Sally and smooshed together in a dramatic way. Yes, it sounds intriguing, and the end result is a classy compendium of compelling 1:1 interviews where actors like Will Forte, Will Arnett, Josh Charles and many others who just shine as they are allowed to just let their talent shine with your average dramatic story weaved in and out of these shorter narratives.

The end result is a movie that is funny at times, makes you stop and think at other times, but you do have to admire John Krasinski’s work as a first time director. No one expects you to hit it out of the park on the first try but he does a serviceable job on this movie and, slack as it is in some parts, he manages to edit together wildly disparate stories around a central story and is able to make it work. While this isn’t the most illuminating movie about the things that men and women do to one another the story is nonetheless worthy of your time if only to see Forte’s performance as a man who really wants to express his love for the ladies. Funny stuff and thankfully Krasinski is able to capture the thing that actors do best: inhabit interesting roles.

About the film:

In His Directorial Debut, ‘The Office’ Star John Krasinski Creates a Hilarious Look at the Battle of the Sexes ““ and the Viewer Is the Winner in This Sundance Grand Jury Prize Nominee

For his directorial debut, actor John Krasinski tackles nothing less than the work of a modern literary master ““ and comes through with flying colors. BRIEF INTERVIEWS WITH HIDEOUS MEN, based on the same-named short story collection by David Foster Wallace and featuring a star-filled cast, arrives on Blu-ray disc and DVD.

Krasinski, the heartthrob star of TV’s “The Office” brings the late Wallace’s famous ““ and allegedly unfilmable — cascades of words to glorious life in a dark comedy about man’s inhumanity to “¦ women. Wallace, whose sweeping novel “Infinite Jest” ranks as one of the greatest novels of the late 20th century, presented his short stories as transcripts of interviews conducted by an unseen and unheard moderator. To help bring these engrossing tales to the screen, Krasinski cast Julianne Nicholson (“Law & Order: Criminal Intent”) as the interviewer, Sara Quinn, a young woman who has been dumped by her boyfriend with little explanation. Sara, a doctoral candidate in anthropology, decides to put her training in scientific examination to work by interviewing random men about why they have mistreated the women in their lives.

The revealing results ““ the interviewees are played by, among others, Oscar winner Timothy Hutton, Bobby Cannavale (“Will & Grace,” “The Station Agent”), Christopher Meloni (“Law & Order: SVU”), Chris Messina (“Julie & Julia”), Will Arnett (“Arrested Development”), Frankie Faison (“The Wire”) and Krasinski himself ““ range from savagely funny to disturbing to poignant as the men confess their desires, failures, frustrations and resentments. In the process, Sara learns more about men, and herself, than she bargained for.

THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF NEW JERSEY – SEASON 1 – DVD REVIEW

Run, do not walk to your local DVD purveyor and buy yourself this season of The Real Housewives. You could not pick a better “reality show”, next to Jersey Shore, which captures the infantile goings on of women who have way too much time, and money, on their hands.

A show that defies logical explanation, I popped this into the player not expecting anything more than just a fun diversion but, oh man, this show is like a cold tube of cookie dough.

You just can’t stop at one episode.

From yentas measuring their self-worth against the consumption habits of their other friends, from arguments with each other that I don’t think I would have with my worst enemy, to a set-ups that feel as false as the implants stuck in the chests of some of these women I was blown away at how much I detested this series. Yet, I could not look away and I dare you not to should you decide to dip your toe into the waters with these sharks. I am amazed at how much humanity some people don’t have and this series only renews my faith that I know I am still not at the bottom of that list.

Explaining some of the episodes here would only prove to be useless as the outrageousness of this show. All I can do is say that if you were a fan of the hit MTV show that launched a craze for all things Jersey this is a show that proves that keeping your friends close and your enemies closer still won’t help you when these women have a meltdown. I realize I have never showcased a show like this in my column but if you watch this all the way through I give you an iron clad guarantee that You. Will. Not. Be. Disappointed.

About the DVD:
NEW YORK, NY ““ This April, Bravo heads to the Garden State to follow five of the “Jersey-est” Jersey Girls — Teresa, Jacqueline, Caroline, Dina and Danielle — as they live lavish lifestyles and deal with all the drama that money can buy in the DVD debut of THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF NEW JERSEY : SEASON ONE. This fourth installment of Bravo’s headline-making franchise premiered in May 2009 and quickly became the highest-rated REAL HOUSEWIVES series ever, averaging 2.5 million viewers per episode. And now, before the second season of table-flipping drama begins, consumers can bring the Jersey Girls home with an extras-laden, collectible 3-disc set, available for $29.95srp.

In THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF NEW JERSEY — for the first time in the history of the series — the ladies are more than just friends, as the cast includes two sisters (Caroline and Dina Manzo), who are married to two brothers, and one sister-in-law (Jacqueline Laurita), bringing a whole new level of familial drama to the table. Raising the emotional stakes and making things even a bit more volatile is Danielle Staub, the most controversial cast member with an ugly secret that ultimately tests alliances and friendships. And, while family remains a priority for each of these women, their shopping, decorating, dating and even fighting are all over-the-top in an explosive, bling-filled season you’ll not soon forget.

From their wild weekend in Atlantic City to the infamous “Last Supper” finale, THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF NEW JERSEY: SEASON ONE includes every episode from the debut season. Also featured are both “Watch What Happens” reunion episodes, “The Lost Footage” the “Director’s Cut” of the season finale, and an interactive quiz.

HOT TUB TIME MACHINE – REVIEW

There is obviously no way the movie could live up to the advertising fire hose that has been turned on the unsuspecting public that has been drenched with television spots and trailers for a movie about a pack of schlubs (John Cusack, Rob Corddry, Craig Robinson, Clarke Duke) who are transported from our time back to 1986.

What ought to be a concept that nowhere near comes close to being a satisfying film actually turns out to be a breezy comedy that tries to offend on all levels while being broad enough with its humor that it feels like the script was endlessly combed for ways to insert one-liners and visual gags. The former comes mostly in the form of Corddry’s character who has a mouth that is fueled by aggro and sexual intolerance while the latter is shared by everyone in the movie. From a bit that has a three way going south, to a porter who is on the verge of losing an appendage all throughout the film to a moment in a bathroom that should, at the very least, make any descent person squirm a little the funny is just relentless as it is hurled at you.

One of the issues, however, for a movie that deals with men who are trying to feel their way out of a life that seems beset with failure ever since this one magical moment back in the 80’s is that feels so hurried. Writer Josh Heald is credited for the story but co-writers Sean Anders and John Morris (both of Sex Drive fame) have their fingerprint on a movie that just rockets past with virtually no rest from the moment they leave this time and go back in it. It’s not an egregious act of something so unforgivable, this is after all a movie about a time traveling jacuzzi, but we never get to know these characters beyond the small moments we’re given about what they were doing around the time when their lives supposedly started taking their downward trajectory. For the most part these are all very likable people, with the obvious exception of Corddry who just tries too hard to be offensive and his jokes reflect that, and the situations they’re put in play with the space/time continuum in a manner that not only asks you to suspend disbelief, it wholesale demands you just go along of the illogical ride.

There are clever nods to 80’s pop culture that overtly and covertly make its way across the screen. From cameo’s from The Karate Kid’s William Zabka who surprises with his ability to be funny without cracking wise, Crispin Glover who absolutely was one of the most amusing characters in this film, and even Lizzy Caplan turns in a performance that adds some romantic weight to a movie that threatens to be too light and airy to be a movie worth recommending. It is Caplan’s short relationship with Cusack’s Adam who has no last name. In fact it’s been a while since none of the characters in a film are given last names but the fact that there aren’t any speaks to the idea that in a movie like this there shouldn’t be any, honestly.

The characters barely warrant first names but that’s kind of the point of the film. You’re not really allowed to linger too long to get to know who these people are, to get attached to them in any meaningful way, but to get attached would mean less time to throw jokes at the screen. Dare I say it, the movie is better off for this efficiency. No, not all the jokes work here and the dialogue at times tries too hard to be funny but there is something to laugh at when you wonder when Glover’s arm is going to come off or when a bet goes very bad and it’s time to pay up. There is something to smile about but it’s just not the laugh riot that the marketing makes it out to be. One of the higher compliments I think any film like this can be given is that, no, not all the funny moments are in the trailer. We have seen a proliferation of movies that really only have two-minutes worth of jokes in their arsenal but Hot Tub Time Machine at least provides some more entertainment which hasn’t been given away already. Faint praise, I realize, but it is praise.

Chevy Chase is really the only enigma of this movie. His role is clearly defined, that much I know, but he manages to zap any comedy happening before he appears on the screen. Either he wasn’t given much to do or this role was simply perfunctory in the way it was designed because he’s useless to anything pertaining to the comedy of this movie.

Hot Tub Time Machine may not be worth a full admission but it certainly is worth half of that during a matinee or, better yet, when it comes out as a rental because what you see here isn’t exactly groundbreaking or necessitating your immediate attention. It does deserve the support, however, when its price reflects precisely what it’s worth.