NetPix: MUD With Matthew McConaughey

I recently got a chance to see one of the sleeper indie hits of the summer, MUD. It stars Matthew McConaughey but really the stars of the film are two young boys, 14 year olds in the deep south on the verge of manhood played by Tye Sheridan and Jacob Lofland. Their performances are subtle and powerful by the end. And overall the movie is a wonderful piece of filmmaking telling a story that has many surprises along the way, especially towards the end. I didn't know much going into the film which I particularly like...I don't think I had even seen a trailer. I had just read online and heard from friends that it was a film worth seeing.

In addition to McConaughey, who gives a great performance as the eponymous and mysterious character named "Mud", there are a couple other well-known actors in surprising roles in the film. This was also great in that I had no idea they were going to be in the film and was impressed how they really immersed themselves in these particularly unglamorous roles in a rough-and-tumble milieu. Though I didn't see this one on NetFlix (which has lately not become a home for new films, unfortunately), you can catch it on iTunes or Amazon. It's a great corrective to the bloated and oversized films (many of which are bombing) of this summer.

NetPix: Judy's Last Film I COULD GO ON SINGING

Last night, I went to the monthly Queer Art Film series at the IFC Center, co-curated by fellow filmmakers Ira Sachs and Adam Baran. They screened Judy Garland's I COULD GO ON SINGING, a film I'd heard of but never actually seen. I'm so glad I did get to see it finally, on a big screen and with a wonderful audience too.

The film is practically a documentary as Garland plays herself, an extremely talented singer/actress who has a lonely and troubled personal life. There are even scenes that mimic Garland's real life, like a semi-wobbly performance at London's famed Palladium.  The fictional story line, about a son she left to her British lover (played by longtime real life pal Dirk Bogarde) to raise, is incredibly touching without being saccharine.

There are some wonderful moments, particularly a sequence where Garland attends a boys school production of Gilbert & Sullivan. Her young son, in British stage drag, actually resembles a young Garland as he belts out the number with gusto, delighting his mother to no end. Then there is a priceless backstage scene where Garland gathers the boys around the piano (half dressed as sailors and half in drag!) for an impromptu G&S sing-a-long. You can tell that Garland is having the time of her life, surrounding by these young talented performers.  

Later, there are more dramatic and heartbreaking scenes with her son as he realizes who his true mother is and must decide what his relationship with her is going to be. A scene of Garland on the phone with the boy is beautifully written, performed and directed, done in one continuous take. The director, Ronald Neame, does a great job with Garland (who was apparently a handful on set), and really draws out what is one of her best performances.

The film was selected for the QAF series by Heather Matarazzo, the actress formerly known as "Dawn Weiner" from the indie classic WELCOME TO THE DOLLHOUSE. There was an intensely personal Q/A afterward about how much Matarazzo was moved by the film and by Garland's raw performance in it. Matarazzo also got her start in show business quite young, at age 7, and picked the film as she related to Garland's upbringing in the biz. It was a wonderful, personal discussion about how one artist can inspire another..which is the point of this wonderful film series. Kudos to Adam and Ira for creating this unique and essential cultural conversation, now going into its 4th year.

NetPix: BBC's SHERLOCK Reboot Is Brilliant

Over the weekend, I got introduced to the new Sherlock....no, not Robert Downey Jr.  but a true British gentleman by the nam of Benedict Cumberbatch.  Yes, that's his real name.  It almost sounds like the name of a character who comes to Sherlock for help in one of Arthur Doyle's original novels.  But Benedict, who cut his teeth with a great deal of UK theatre (of course) and a surprising amount of radio dramas (don't you love that they still exist even?!), is a unusually articulate and oddly perfect choice for the detective of 221B Baker Street.

I only got to catch one of the episodes, "A Scandal In Belgravia" but it was brilliant.  I'm generally not a fan of crime procedural shows but this is quite far removed from the genre; sexy and literate and smart and funny.  These are not words that come to mind when thinking of, say, an episode of LAW & ORDER. So I was pleasantly surprised and a bit hooked too.  There are three "seasons" of this show which is really more like a mini-series as the episodes are feature length and there are only 3-4 per season.  A curious schedule but perfect for an equally curious show.

NetPix: Bridesmaids

Somehow I missed the party on this movie last summer, probably because I was in the midst of my own play and film's premieres when the film was out in theatres.  Anyway, it recently came up on my Netflix queue and, on a day that I was home sick and not doing much but sitting on the couch, I popped it in and was laughing my ass off from the film's opening minutes.  This movie is not only one of the best studio comedies I have seen in a few years, it is easily one of the best films of last year.  The reason is that not only it is funny but it is also charming and somewhat real (in a Hollywood way, of course) about the characters and their dilemas in the run-up to an over-the-top wedding.

I have to say, I expected this movie to be about being a bridesmaid (thus the title).  And though that situation sets the framework for the film, (spolier alert) the wedding does not happen until the film's final minutes. Up to that point, the movie goes in all sorts of unexpected directions as Kristen Wiig's lovable loser of a character comes to terms with the fact of her best friend's marriage as her own life implodes. The movie strikes the perfect balance between the reality of her sad life and the humor of her situations, especially when it comes to her own romantic situations (which I am not going to spoil here at all!).

Today, Oscar ballots are due out in Hollywood and I can only hope that Academy voters ignore all the hype about THE ARTIST and honor BRIDESMAIDS with a Best Picture nomination.  There has been much talk about how Melissa McCarthy deserves one for her hilarious performance, not to mention Wiig and Paul Feig for writing and directing this film.  But, by far, it is clearly one of the best films of the year and deserves to be recognized as such.

NetPix: Marwencol

In the midst of summer movie madness, I've been trying to do a little counter-programming on my Netflix queue. I found a rare recording of a revised Tennessee Williams play THE ECCENTRICITIES OF A NIGHTINGALE, the original TRON newly re-released, the first Barbara Streisand TV special, James Franco as Allen Ginsberg in HOWL and a documentary about the folks behind Pixar.  But recently, I discovered another doc that just blew me away called MARWENCOL.

I had read about this film when it had a limited release here in NYC last year and put it on my queue.  It's about a man in upstate New York, Mark Hogancamp, who was drinking heavily and got assaulted outside a bar by a group of five youths.  He survived but his memory was basically wiped out as were his skills as an artist.  He had to relearn how to speak, write, everything.  However, he was sent home from rehab early because he couldn't afford it. Thus, he was forced started his own unique physical and emotional therapy by building a fictional, WWII-era Belgian town filled with toy soldiers and Barbies.

I have to admit that, when streaming on Netflix I often stop and start and sometimes never even finish films.  But with this one, I was riveted.  This is a fascinating story of a unique man who channels his fear and rage into his art in the most surprising way.  The photos he takes of the town and the people are stunning; they are at turns graphic, melancholy, creepy but totally unforgettable.  Mark's story has many surprises and revelations along the way so I'm not going to say more other than I have not been so moved by a documentary in a very long time.

NetPix: The Story Behind The Stonewall Riots

I was watching PBS last night and saw an intense documentary about the Stonewall Riots, which marked the beginning of the gay rights movement in the summer of 1969.  STONEWALL UPRISING was the most detailed recounting of events I had ever seen including interviews with patrons who were inside the bar, Village VOICE reporters (whose offices were across the street) and even the police officer who headed up the raid that started a revolution.

Seymour Pine, of the 6th Precinct, was the officer in charge of the six man raid on the bar which quickly spiraled out of control.  The police were so overwhelmed by the mob that crowded Christopher Street that they hid inside the bar, waiting for backup.  During those tense minutes, Pine took each officer aside and told them in no uncertain terms not to fire their guns unless he gave them the order to by name.  It was a chilling aspect of the Stonewall story I'd never heard.  Pine knew that the riot could have turned into a massacre in the flash of one officers' gun and prevented that from happening.

In the end, though, scores were injured when riot police arrived and the real fighting began. The melee, which started around 1am and went until 4am, left the bar in a shambles and the streets of the village littered with debris. But it was the beginning of the modern gay rights movement.  And this film tells the remarkable story of the night with incredible detail and emotion.  Well worth ordering on NetFlix or seeing the next time it airs.

NetPix: Bored To Death, Season 1

I haven't had a good NetPix in a while as I haven't really seen any good movies on DVD.  I've been mainly watching a lot of TV in my queue.  But a newish show that I recently saw was last year's freshman season of "Bored To Death".  This HBO series starring Jason Schwartzman, Zach Galifanakis and Ted Danson, is one of the funniest shows I've seen in quite a while.  It's unique brand humor treads that fine line between the sublime and ridiculous, like the original "Seinfeld" did though in a much more subdued manner.

The series is centered around a Brooklyn writer named "Jonathan Ames" (who also happens to be the real-life scribe behind the show) who becomes an amateur detective after placing an ad on Craigslist.  It's a simple setup for some complicated story lines which often lead to hilarious shenanigans.  My favorite episode was one in which Jonathan attempts to retrieve a married man's sex tape and enlists his friends for a long, loopy night of adventure in New Jersey. Ted Danson, playing a magazine editor who is a bit of a senior stoner, is fantastic as he yearns for adventure after tiring of his wealthy, A-list, Manhattanite existence.  It seems that he, more than Jonathan, is the one who is bored to death.

Another charm of the series is its mixture of real-life and fiction, especially when it comes to the Ames character.  Jonathan is very much a TV doppelganger for the author's publicly stated interests and obsessions, such as boxing, Brooklyn and beer (or wine or vodka).  There is even an interesting collaboration with Zach's character, who is a graphic artist, which mirrors Ames' work with Dean Haspiel on their incredible graphic novel "The Alcoholic".  The show's focus on Brooklyn is unique as well, with a number of famous (Brighton Beach) and not so famous (Prisoner's Monument) local spots showing up and looking gorgeous.  The show is a true love letter to the BK and all it's quirky charms.

Season 2 just finished its first run on HBO recently.  It almost makes me want to get cable so I can watch it on-demand.  Almost.  I am dying (ha) to see what happens to this happy gang in the next go-round.

NetPix: Square Pegs

In 1982, CBS aired a quirky high school comedy starring a teenaged Sarah Jessica Parker called "Square Pegs".  Created by Anne Beatts (one of the original staff writers on SNL) it was critically well-received but had trouble getting decent ratings and was cancelled after just 20 episodes.  


When this show originally aired, I was fairly obsessed with it and even wrote a letter to CBS when word came down it was not going to be renewed. I recently heard SJP being interviewed on Studio 360 and the host played a clip from the show which sent me into a nostalgia-spin.  I immediately searched for it on NetFlix and found the one and only season of the show now on DVD.  


Despite all the 80's "fashion" and references (remember the Budweiser "Taste Buds"?), the show holds up pretty well and is very entertaining.  Then again, given my love of GLEE, this show is pretty much my sweet spot.  As for SJP, she is totally adorkable.  She almost didn't get cast on the show as the lead geek because she was too pretty.  But when she put on a pair of the casting directors big owl glasses, a sitcom star was born.  


The other standout in the cast is Merritt Butrick as Johnny Slash.  Watching it now, he is pretty much the gay guy on the show before you were allowed to say it.  It's pretty funny the various ways they telegraph this....like everyone think's he's punk but he keeps insisting he is "New Wave", leading to his catch phrase: "it's a totally different head, man...totally." Yeah, totally.  He also has a nicely braided rattail.....god, remember those?!  And the coolest moussed-up hairdo.  Sadly, despite going on to star in "The Wrath Of Khan" and "Star Trek: The Next Generation", Merritt died suddenly in 1990 of complications from AIDS.  He was just 29.  It's a tragic footnote to what has been a truly joyous viewing experience.  


So if you're desperate for a goofy look at high school in the 80's, this show may be geeky at heart but it's a winner in my book...and the rare TV show that is laugh-out loud funny too.

NetPix: The Men Who Stare At Goats

Last November, a weird little movie called "The Men Who Stare At Goats" was released in the annual run up to awards season.  Unfortunately, it didn't hit with audiences or critics.  It had a A-list cast (George Clooney, Kevin Spacey, Ewan McGregor, Jeff Bridges) with a  Z-list premise; a story about the history of pysch-ops in the U.S. Army from the 1970s to the war in Iraq.  Not exactly the stuff that Oscar dreams are made of. 

However, I'm happy to report this quirky little movie is a real treat.  It tells a mostly true story about the bizarre goings-on in the post-Vietnam era Army which led to the formation of a unit of so-called Jedi warriors who thought they could win battles with their minds.  Apparently, President Ronald Reagan was such a fan of their "work" that he kept the unit going even after it hit some seriously Congressional skepticism.  

As for the movie, it's kinda like a very modern Bing Crosby-Bob Hope road movie....On The Road to Baghdad. It has a certain shaggy dog charm and is surprisingly entertaining.  Expertly directed by first-timer Grant Heslow, the film follows a journalist (played by McGregor) and a former Army psychic kook (played by Clooney) as they make their way from Kuwait into the war zone.  It's all inspired by the true story of the Army's pysch-ops as reported by Jon Ronson in his 2004 book .

The best thing I can say about this movie is that I had absolutely no clue where it was all going, which is a total rarity in mainstream American filmmaking these days.  The movie is filled with surprises, and laughs and even some genuine emotion.  It's also beautifully shot by cinematographer Roger Elswit, who has made some stunning images for many of Paul Thomas Anderson's movies. And yes....George Clooney does kill a goat by staring at it.  He also kills the audience too.  Is there any role this guy cannot handle?    

Film Editor Extraordinaire Dede Allen

The NY Times noted the passing yesterday of film editor Dede Allen.  She cut such notable films as "Bonnie and Clyde" and "Dog Day Afternoon".  I am esepcially a fan of "Dog Day" which, in and of itself, is a self-contained master class in how to edit suspense.  It is a thrilling story which remains so even after multiple viewings due to the remarkable craft of Ms. Allen.


Her obit states that she started as a sound editor way back during the studio era on films like the landmark "Citizen Kane".  She received credit for editing more than 20 films during her career and worked into the new century.  One of my favorite, recent films she did was the undrerrated screwball comedy "Wonder Boys" that came out in 2000.  It's a delightful character study, starring Robert Downey Jr. at the height of his crazy years and Michael Douglas in possibly his best and most natural performance.  


Directors often get all the credit when it comes to filmmaking...but not with Ms. Allen.  The directors she worked with universally praised her genius and her devotion to a career that made for a remarkable body of work.  Anyway, if you're looking for something to add to your Netflix queue, just type her name into IMDB and you'll find more than a few cinematic gems.  

NetPix: Tulpan

Critics are putting together their year-end lists of the best films of 2009.  One of my personal favorites has popped up on a few lists, namely topping the list by the New York TIMES' Manohla Dargis.  It is probably a movie you've never heard about as it had a very limited release here in the US.  But it is one of the most unusual, bleakly beautiful and cinematically incredible films you will ever see. There is also a scene about halfway through that is the most unbelievable 15 minutes I have ever seen in a movie.  Ever.


The movie is called "Tulpan" and it's a romantic dramedy set in the steppes of Kazakhstan.  OK--I know that one line description is likely setting off alarm bells.  But trust me...this movie takes you to a place you will likely never go in your life and makes it something of an adventure.  Basically, "Tulpan" is a love story at it's heart about a family's attempt to marry it's daughter while raising some very peculiar animals on a wind swept plain.  With a stark realism and a simply told story, this movie is almost documentary-like in its clear-eyed look at a way of life that is hard and hard to describe.  


Currently, "Avatar" is everywhere, promising to take you to a world you've never seen before.  Sure...but it's a world that doesn't exist.  Remarkably, Kazakhstan is an actual place on this planet with real people and a group of animals with more personality than a Pixar barnyard.  The only warning I need to give is that this movie is long and takes a certain amount of patience. It also helps if you have a massive TV to appreciate the film's epic landscape and  gorgeous cinematography.  But I guarantee that if you stick it out, this movie and the people in it will stay with you forever.  

NetPix: Sweet Charity

What is it about the 1960's? 40 years later and counting, the Mod Decade somehow remains a cultural touchstone of cool with shows like "Mad Men" and looks like Gladiator sandals all the rage this summer. Other decades haven't aged so well; the 50's seem silly, the 70's ridiculous, the 80's embarrassing and the 90's smirk-worthy. Yet still, when you look back at the 60's, from fashion to music to science to theatre to politics to movies to design, that decade had it going on.

Lately, the films of the 60's have been popping up on my queue. Some have been interesting, but none have really been NetPix-worthy until this week when Bob Fosse's directorial debut "Sweet Charity" arrived in my mailbox. Based on a Broadway musical, it's the story of a dance hall girl with a heart of gold, played by a bubbly Shirley McClaine, who struggles through some odd romances as she tries to pull herself out of the gutter and into respectability...and even marriage. Whether or not she succeeds is something you'll have to find out when you watch the movie. All I can say is that the DVD has two endings, one which is featured as an "alternate ending" on the DVD extras. You can be the judge as to which one really works.

As an adaptation of a stage musical that was already an adaption of a movie (Fellini's "Nights of Cabiria"), the movie is a bit clunky in terms of plot and story. But as a movie musical, it is totally hot! The numbers are the thing here and, as a first-time filmmaker, Bob Fosse makes them his own. The fingerprints from his infamous jazz hands are all over the screen. Fosse's inimitable style is stamped onto each dance sequence, each one of them somewhat stretched out to fabulous effect. There's some dazzling location lensing in 1960's NYC, including a crazy marching band dance number on Wall Street. And no, that is not a typo.

The film also boasts a wonderful performance from Shirley McClaine, who sings and dances and high kicks her way through the movie with sheer charisma. There are some notable co-stars and cameos too; Chita Rivera playing a saucy dance hostess in her first screen role, Ricardo Montalban as an Italian(?!) cad, Ben Vereen making his big screen debut in the "Rich Man's Frug" and the legendary Sammy Davis Jr. as Big Daddy Brubeck in the "Rhythm of Life" number, which is worth re-watching, oh, at least 3 times. Set in a parking garage as the cars headlights somehow provide flashing psychedelic illumination, it's a brilliantly staged song and cleverly shot sequence that seems like one big outtake from "Hair" (though it would be 10 years before that made it to the screen).

In the end, "Sweet Charity" is not exactly a classic musical, like "Sound of Music" or "Singing In The Rain". The sum of its parts don't exactly add up, no matter which ending you prefer. But it is a highly entertaining and a very fun movie to watch, especially with a group of friends. And completely filled with glam 60's styles. With costumes by Edith Head to marvel at (oh the hats!) not to mention camp-kitsch anthems like "Hey Big Spender", I'd advise having a group of The Gays over and the evening will be a guaranteed gas. Dig?

NetPix: Out of The Past

One of my guilty cinema pleasures is film noir. This is the genre that was most popular from the 1940s and 50s in which crime doesn't pay, but sure as hell makes for some entertaining movies. There are the all-time classics like "Double Indeminty", "Sunset Boulevard" and "The Maltese Falcon". But one of my personal favorites is a little gem from 1947 called "Out of the Past." I've seen it more than a few times but recently came up on my Netflix and I enjoyed it thoroughly.

If you've ever wondered why Michael Douglas has a career, you can thank his father Kirk who turns it out as one of the coolest bad guys of all time. Also, there's a ridiculously young and sexy Robert Mitchum playing the sap in this story of love and revenge all centered around one feisty dame, as they used to say. The lady in question is Kathy Moffat, played by the smoldering Jane Greer, who Mitchum is sent to look for when she goes on the lam in Mexico. From the moment they meet in a dark bar, you know this one's gonna be good. And bad. Not to mention everything in between.

Stylishly directed by Jacques Tourneur ("Cat People", "I Walked With A Zombie" and even a classic episode of "The Twilight Zone"), this is one of the most beautifully shot b/w movies you'll ever see. The compositions are precise and the lighting always accentuates the mood. And dramatically, it's a roller coaster. I still I found myself reacting audibly to some of the film's crazier twists and turns. And check out some of the killer dialogue:

Ann Miller: She can't be all bad. No one is.
Jeff Bailey: Well, she comes the closest.

Kathie Moffat: Oh, Jeff, I don't want to die!
Jeff Bailey: Neither do I, baby, but if I have to I'm gonna die last.

You'll find a million more lines like this throughout the film. As for how it all ends, I'm not gonna give away the shocker finale re; who actually dies last. So check it out and enjoy a wild trip to Hollywood's past.

NetPix: Ghost Town

I haven't had a good NetPix in a few weeks because the discs showing up in the mail have been subpar lately. Until "Ghost Town". Wow--this movie was awesome! Now I have to put a slight disclaimer up front here in that my favorite genre of movie is screwball comedy, especially those from the classic era of the '30s and '40s. But to those who say screwball is stuck in time, there have been many fine updates in recent years from 1974's What's Up Doc, 1994's Flirting With Disaster and even 1999's Fight Club (which even David Fincher himself admitted is basically a very f'ed up romantic comedy). I guess I should also mention that my first feature, the gayish wedding caper "I Think I Do" fits in this genre. [PLUG!]

Anyway, "Ghost Town" is a wonderfully screwy comedy written and directed with grace and old school panache by David Koepp. Who knew the screenwriter of "Jurrasic Park", "War of The Worlds" and "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" (gaaaahhh!) had such a sophsiticated sense of humor. Not to mention style. "Ghost Town" features "The Office"'s Ricky Gervais as a dentist who begins to see dead people to hilarious effect, namely Greg Kinnear who is trying in true screwball fashion to stop the pending marriage of his former wife to a Ralph Bellamy-esque do-gooder. Tea Leoni is not only the gorgeously sassy wife but also a mummy-ologist at the Met, a clever nod to Cary Grant's scientist in "Brining Up Baby" (which Koepp actually acknowledges in the extras).

There is some great ensemble work going on here, especially in the scenes with Gervais and Leone as Kinnear, unseen by his former wife, mugs and gestures and tries to offer advice as the hapless dentist works his not-so-seductive moves. There is also a lively ensemble of ghosts, including notables such as Alan Ruck (who will always be Ferris' "Cameron" to me), Dana Ivey and a friend of mine, Jeff Hiller, plays the naked guy!

I loved this movie not just once, but twice. I watched it again the day after because there is so much going on, so many brilliant little throw-aways in addition to the big laughs, that it demanded further study. I don't know how or why this movie didn't catch on last fall when it was originally released. Someone suggested to me that mainstream audiences do go for comedies about death. Maybe. Or perhaps this movie appeals to people older than 16 and a half, which is the average age of moviegoers these days. It is literate and smart and nothing explodes. And, as the summer movie season is upon up, that is a blessed relief.

NetPix: The Wackness

This was another movie I meant to see in theatres when it was out last year. However, despite being a hit at Sundance '08, this film was not such a hit in Summer '08 and it disappeared before I got the chance. So I popped it in last night and, though I wasn't crazy about it at first, this one really grew on me. By the end, this nostalgic story, with a solid and sweet central performance from Josh Peck, had thoroughly won me over.

At first glance, "The Wackness" seems to be your standard coming-of-age story about an 18 year old in NYC. What sets it apart, though, is that it's set in the summer of 1994 and the teenager in question has a thriving summer job as a pot dealer. At first, Peck's character comes off a little too depressed (i.e. flat). But as the movie ambles along at a stoner's pace, he slowly comes to life, as does the movie in general.

At first, I also had some trouble getting over the film's severe stylization, which was a little too hazy and sepia-toned for me. I don't remember the mid-90s being devoid of color...in fact it was sorta the opposite, right? But the script was really sharp and kept me interested. From the opening scene, where Peck is trading pot for therapy from the brilliant Ben Kingsley, I knew this movie had some potential. I mean, when you've got Gandhi doing bong hits, how can you lose? But more than that, Kingsley creates such a total fuck-up of a guy that you can't help care about him as he becomes a surrogate father to the lost, lonely Peck.

First time writer director Jonathan Levine has created some truly unique and memorable characters here which you really start to care about as the film makes it's way through a long, sexy summer. And sure, there's the prerequisite first love and first sex (at the beach even!) but all are dealt with in such a fresh way that to say more would be to spoil the lovely little surprises of this intimate and ultimately charming film.

Another thing I loved about "The Wackness" is its title. It's one of those titles that make you go, whaaaa, until you see the movie and it is all explained about halfway through in a way that then makes perfect sense. My fondness for this sort of titling might come from the fact that I pulled the same trick on my last feature, "WTC View". People are always a bit confused by that title until a crucial scene in which all is revealed.

Anyway, I would throw this one in your queue if like a good coming of age story with a dash of 90's nostalgia. Oh--and on the special features, don't miss the dead-on spoof of a 90's cable access TV show called THE DOPE SHOW. What can I say other than it was dope...and the bomb....and the bum diggity. Word.

NetPix: In Bruges

This brilliant little movie is now my second NetPix which I nearly didn't see due to a really crappy trailer. The preview made this film look ridiculous. However, after hearing from a few friends that it was actually great, I put it on my queue and, like more than a few of the characters in this story of hit men run amok, I was blown away.

The first-time director, Martin Mcdonagh is a well-known playwright ("The Lieutenant of Inishmore", "Beauty Queen of Linane") but he's soon going to be a very well-known filmmaker. Black comedy is not the easiest of genres to master but his script makes it look easy, crackling with sharp repartee while peppered with some shocking acts of violence. McDonagh makes it all work and leaves you guessing up until the very last shot how this is all going to play out.

Colin Farrell turns in his best performance in years as a rookie hit man who's made a terrible mistake. He's not only somewhat insane in this role, going from puppy dog looks to berserk outbursts of mayhem in a split second, but actually manages to have a heart too. You actually care about the bastard which, given what he's up to, really is saying something. The other actors are excellent as well, especially Brendan Gleeson as Colin's world-weary partner and Clemence Poesy as a bright, shiny romantic interest. Ralph Fiennes turns in another badder-than bad guy turn as The Boss.  Remember when Ralph was more romantic leading man? I miss that guy, but have to say, his dark side is effective and used to excellent effect here.  

There are many jokes and fantastic one-liners in this grimly hilarious movie, many of which I'd like to quote right now. I've been repeating two of them with my roommate since we watched the film last night.  But I am going to restrain myself. However, I offer a small warning; try not to be in the act of drinking anything during the scene with the midget, the drugs and the Belgian prostitutes. If you do, it'll be one big spittake.

NetPix: Lars & The Real Girl

Ever since I was in film school, people have been asking me what movies they should see. Lately this question has evolved into friends looking for films for their NetFlix queue. Thus...one of the semi-regular features I'll be doing is "NetPix", where I tell you what you should see and, hopefully, you heed my advice and love my recommendations. If not, it's Netflix so it's not like you're out 12 bucks or anything!

My inaugural "NetPix" is a movie that ended up on my own queue reluctantly; "Lars And The Real Girl". I had heard about when it was released as it received some pretty decent notices and awards nominations. Still,I was wary of "Lars" premise, about a guy in a small town who starts dating a full-size, human sex doll. The whole thing sounded a little twee. (Does anyone use that word anymore?)

Well, I was completely wrong. "Lars" is a total trifecta hit; gorgeously shot, beautifully acted,and sharply written. It's a sweet and quirky story that is actually a bit more complicated than I expected it to be, probably due to the lightweight impression created by its TV commercials. (I think that, as a rule, good movies do not boil down into good 30-second TV ads.) "Lars" works so well because it takes its premise, that Ryan Gosling has fallen for a fake girlfriend, quite seriously. There is some real psychology in the movie explaining this phenomenon,presented credibly by Patricia Clarkson's smokey-voiced local doctor. But "Lars" does have a sense of humor too. In fact, it is quite funny as it delicately walks that very fine line between silly and sad.

I'm surprised the film did not get some more serious juice around awards time. Maybe if "Juno" (which gave quirky a bad name) hadn't taken up all the awards oxygen in '08, this lovely little movie could have breathed a bit more and taken home some honors. But, in the end it's still a damn good movie. And if it doesn't make you a little weepy (in a good way!), your tear ducts may need to be checked.