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March Movie Log

As you can tell by this post's tardiness, it is embarrassing. The grand total of two gets me to double figures for the year, but I've got a lot of work to do to hit 100 films by 2011.

As for the month that was:

1) Conversation(s) With Other Women (2005): A two-person film featuring Helena Bonham Carter and Aaron Eckhart that follows a divorced couple's meeting at a wedding. Extremely funny, sweet and sad while never looking for a tidy ending or to make grand pronouncements about the human condition. It's really just two people negotiating the space between, and it's lovely in its simplicity.

2) Hot Tub Time Machine (2010): Okay, so I did think it was funny. Keep that in mind as we go through this. And no, I'm not going to rant about the plot or structure or anything else. But what the movie seemed to be missing was a semblance of heart. We never really care for the characters, so while the film is funny leading up to the third act, there's no way to satisfactorily end it. If you're going to ignore a solid plot, it needs to make me care. It didn't. However, John Cusack is still my hero.

(By the way: If you're a reporter for Spin and you look like Lizzy Caplan, please email me at the following address: willyoumarryme@robertspuhler.com. I will ask for proof, however. No fakers.)

February Movie Log

February was THE month. This was my chance to get back on track, with so many Oscar nominees to watch and free screeners from Film Independent for the Spirit Awards. After January's six films (off pace from the 8+ I need to watch each month to hit my resolution of 100 films in 2010), I was going to catch up, maybe even get ahead.

Or, I would watch two.

Ranked in order of awesomeness (most to least awesome):

1) Anvil: The Story of Anvil - A likable enough documentary following the Canadian metal band Anvil as, 25 years after it's biggest hit, it tries to carve out a living in the music business. An ongoing story like this is tough to capture in two hours, and the director and editor didn't seem to try. No arc, just moments. The moments are great, but don't go in expecting any sort of emotional payoff.

2) A Town Called Panic: What the holy hell was that? A Belgian cult favorite cartoon, evidently. The trailer was better.

January Movie Log

For an aspiring filmmaker, I've seen a shockingly paltry number of films. So one of my resolutions for 2010 is to watch 100 movies over the course of the year. That doesn't need to be 100 trips to the multiplex; at Los Angeles prices, I'd be heading to the poorhouse in that scenario. The point is to get in the habit of watching many more films than I have to this point.

My "New Moon" full review from AM New York

The only - and I mean ONLY - drawback to writing for printed publications is the lack of space. I've been really thankful to have a great group of editors at am New York, who can excise portions of my writing to fit it into the space constraints of the paper without leaving a bloody corpse behind.

Of course, the Internet has no such problem, so when my stories find the pages of AMNY in truncated form, I'm going to post the full versions here at RS.com.

Up first - my "New Moon" film review.

By Robert Spuhler

The middle film of any series presents a difficult needle to thread; the filmmakers must keep the story going while also exploring and deepening the world created in the first installment. “New Moon,” the second of the “Twilight” saga, does the latter in spades, but fails to provide any forward momentum to the series.

The film shatters the Bella/Edward love affair almost immediately, with the vampire (Robert Pattinson) walking out on the now-18-year-old Bella (Kristen Stewart), ostensibly to keep her safe. She falls into a deep depression without her immortal beloved, turning self-destructive until her old friend Jacob (Taylor Lautner) tries to rescue her. Meanwhile, Edward is heading towards an ugly confrontation with the Volturi, a sort of “vampire government” in Italy.

Screenwriter Melissa Rosenberg has made a mess of the adaptation of Stephanie Meyer's novel in an effort to stay faithful to the book. No single moment or character revelation is given time to sink in or be meaningful, since there's too much to try to accomplish. It ends up as a shopping list of a film, simply touching on moments rather than reveling in them.

It's a shame, because many of the actors in ”New Moon” put in solid to winning performances, even with the poor material. Lautner is a star on the rise, and veterans Michael Sheen and Dakota Fanning (yes, she's a “veteran” – especially in this cast) both seem to be having a blast as Aro and Jane, respectively, of the Volturi.

"New Moon" eventually ends where it started, though, with only an unintentionally-hilarious "cliffhanger" separating the film's final frames from its first. It's a glorified placeholder which will only be satisfying to those who already squeal with delight from the mere mention of Bella or Edward.

Reviews: Away We Go, Whatever Works

(NOTE 1: I'm rusty.)
(NOTE 2: There aren't any big spoilers here, but if either of these films interest you, go see them before reading this anyway. Who the hell am I to tell you what to watch?)

Why is Hollywood Broken?

The Incredible Shrinking Man is set to star Eddie Murphy and be directed by Brett Ratner, says The Hollywood Reporter.

On Patronage

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Poster of the Year

Runners-up after the jump...