Watch Where You Step

Beware of thin ice and dog poo.

Every time I think I’ve missed the timing boat for the review of a book that came out in February 2012 and a movie that “premiered” in October 2011, more tales of wildly privileged people behaving badly revivify their relevance.

First, the ice.

The Darlings: A Novel by Cristina Alger (Pamela Dorman Books, 2012)

In The Darlings: A Novel, her fiction debut, Cristina Alger, a Harvard-trained former financial analyst and former lawyer, gives us a roman à clef with a little bit of Madoff, a little bit of (son of the South) Walter Noel, a dash of Sir Robert Maxwell, and a nod to Bonfire of the Vanities (when nice cars go to bad neighborhoods).

The Darlings’ picture-perfect world is revealed to be just that: a shiny image reflected by a slick surface. It’s voyeurism at its best to watch the cracks form and widen until the ice shatters, and they all get a series of nasty shocks.

And on a technical side note, Alger did a masterful job with point of view, telling each section of the story from the perspective of a different main character.

And now for the poo.

If you prefer movies to books, here’s one of the best Oscar-nominated films (Best Original Screenplay) that never appeared in a theater near you.

Margin Call on DVD

Kevin Spacey, Demi Moore, Paul Bettany, Jeremy Irons, Zachary Quinto, Stanley Tucci, Simon Baker, Mary McDonnell and Penn Badgley.  In one movie.  After seeing the trailer for Margin Call, I could hardly wait for its October 21, 2011 release date.  But then, nothing.  It was never in any theater that I could find, and I set the search parameters for 100 miles.  I finally gave up waiting and watched it via Amazon Instant Video.

According to the movie’s plot, the 2007 collapse of the housing market started with a sincere effort to minimize volatility in the related financial market.  The disaster was triggered by an unfortunate math error.  The response to the disaster was, of course, a moral failing.

PALATE CLEANSER:

You’ll need one.  Go perform at least one act of hands-on charity to get the the stench out of your hair and clothes and get your head back in the right place after your emerge from The Darlings: A Novel and Margin Call.

In faith, hope & love,

Debo

} Date Posted: 9 months ago

More Movie Mania

In a movie-centric week that is excessive even by my love-that-$5.50-matinee standards, I will have seen four movies by midnight on Thursday.  I promise not to blog at length about all of them.  In fact, I can sum up three in three bullets:

  • Brave is on Tuesday with my niece and nephews and will be typically Disney/Pixar brilliant. 
  • Thursday is Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter with my household’s testosterone contingent and will be gory. 
  • An unexpected outing is a test screening of an unreleased film on Wednesday.  (A market research team was recruiting audience members at the theater yesterday.  That’s all I’m allowed to say.)

The surprise is Seeking a Friend for the End of the World, which I saw yesterday with a girlfriend.  The trailer was winsome, I love Steve Carell’s deadpan delivery, and I’m always willing to sit in admiration if not awe of Keira Knightley’s eyebrows, eyes, cheekbones, and jawline.

Image courtesy of Focus Features

Well, it’s a good thing Keira had those going for her in this film because Penny, her character, is a scatter-brained twit.  And as the movie opens, her heart of gold is way over the line into lack-of-healthy/any-boundaries territory.  But impending planetary doom can bring out the best—or worst—in people.  To give her credit, Penny tries to rise to the occasion.

Steve Carell’s Dodge is a decent man who finds he’s still decent when his friends lose their inhibitions in the face of their coming annihilation.  Apartment neighbors for three years, Dodge and Penny have never met but are thrown together as the social fabric frays around them.

The movie was ticking along, giving me my $5.50’s worth when, all of a sudden, several disparate plot elements came together in an out-of-the-blue way and culminated in a sweet gesture that had me in instant tears when I realized what was happening.  And if you see the movie, I’m pretty sure you won’t see it coming even after I’ve told you it is.  I hope you’ll go and be as moved as I was.

In faith, hope & love,

Debo

} Date Posted: 10 months ago

Coming Soon: What to See Next

As proclaimed in yesterday’s post, many theaters offer bargain matinees.  My neighborhood theater sells tickets for movies starting between 4:00 and 5:30 p.m. for $5.50 each.  Seven days a week.

That’s less than the price of a small popcorn!  (Which is why, if you go to the movies more than four times a year, you should buy the bucket for and then buy cheap refills!)

So being a veteran of 18 movies so far this year, what trailers have I seen that have piqued my interest?  The ones with semi-known start dates (the studios sometimes change them) are as follows:

Friday, June 22, 2012 - Brave with my red-haired daughter Esme, one of my nieces, and all my nephews, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, and Seeking a Friend for the End of the World

Friday, June 29, 2012 - People Like Us, and Tyler Perry’s Madea’s Witness Protection

Image courtesy of Wikipedia (and I want credit for not choosing the poster for People Like Us in order to get a shot of Chris Pine in the post)

Friday, July 20, 2012 - Batman:  The Dark Knight Rises

Friday, August 3, 2012 - Bourne Legacy

Thursday, August 30, 2012 - The Odd Life of Timothy Green

Friday, September 28, 2012 - Won’t Back Down

Image courtesy of Imp Awards 

Friday, October 5, 2012 - Taken 2 (we made our daughter watch Taken before she made her first solo trip to Europe so this is loyalty)

What’s on your list?

In faith, hope & love,

Debo

} Date Posted: 11 months ago

How Much Fun Can You Have for $5.50?

Well, that depends.  Look around and see if a theater near you offers bargain matinees.  Each and every day, weekends included, MY neighborhood cineplex sells tickets for movies that start between 4:00 and 5:30 p.m. for $5.50 each.

I don’t have to pick up my kids from school or shuttle them to after-school activities anymore, and Sir Shining is retired.  Even if that weren’t the case, though, there’s always school vacations and weekends.  At this price, I’m at the theater almost every week with my husband, at least one of my children, or at least one girlfriend or some combination of the above.

So far, most of the movies I’ve seen this year have been worth at least $5.50.  None have made me want those two hours of my life back, although a few have come close.  If you’re looking for something to rent as they go to DVD or are inclined to catch one of these while they’re still in theaters, here’s my two cents’ worth:

  • The Iron Lady ▲ of course, with Meryl Streep offering a very personal portrait of the Iron Lady and her marriage

Image courtesy of Wikipedia

  • Haywire - eh, but worth $5.50 to look at Antonio Banderas and Michael Douglas
  • Red Tails ▲ hang my white head in shame but also stand up and cheer time
  • Safe House ▲ Denzel Washington being intense, Ryan Reynolds being delicious
  • This Means War ▲ Chris-he’s-too-young-for-me-Pine, Nashville’s own Reese Witherspooon, and Tom Hardy all being adorable with Chelsea Handler and Angela Bassett providing bite

Image courtesy of FilmFilia

  • Hunger Games ▲ in accordance with the opinion of 300 billion other people…
  • Mirror, Mirror ▲ I want Lily Collins’s eyebrows, and my niece and nephews and I loved the musical finale
  • The Raven - bit of a mess but it was only $5.50 
  • The Avengers ▲ in accordance with the opinion of 300 billion other people…
  • Battleship ▲ at the risk of what I may be saying about myself, I couldn’t get anybody, not even my 20-year-old son, to go with me but I liked it and loved the last-minute heroes at the end
  • Men in Black 3 - the franchise has lost some steam but it was worth $5.50

Image courtesy of Wikipedia

  • Rock of Ages - surprisingly ▲ the music alone is worth more than the ticket price, Tom Cruise nails it, and the rest of the cast is fun to watch

Do you agree or disagree with my findings? 

What did you see that I missed?

Tomorrow:  Coming Soon:  What to See Next.

In faith, hope & love,

Debo

} Date Posted: 11 months ago