trinityvixen | (no subject)

So after my bad-movie marathon (which was really twenty nonconsecutive minutes each of Doom, Cube Zero, and Alone in the Dark, which is twenty minutes more than I needed to see), I put on what is considered a "good" movie for a comedy: The 40-Year-Old Virgin.

I remembered when I saw this in the theaters not finding it ever laugh-out-loud funny (except for the end and the "There were two sides to that billboard, and both of them hurt" line). It was more awkward funny in an abstract way. There were bits played for humor that were humorous as a result, but never gut-busting or even all that tickling.

umeyard put it really well when I talked to her while watching in saying that there are just some movies where you're so embarrassed for the character that you just can't watch, and that's definitely part of it. I think it's just that I find almost everyone in the movie repulsive, men and women, though the men are the more disgusting, degrading and therefore irritating of the two genders (mis)represented. I resent the fact that the misogynist pals of the titular character don't really ever get their comeuppance; two of them score hot chicks despite having no redeeming personality traits and one of them is even punished by being tied to his girlfriend because she got pregnant (worse, the only time he's shown giving two shits about his girlfriend is once he's knocked her up and she's making his baby, who, of course, must have a huge cock because that's really what having a baby proves he's got, or, rather, what he is). Great, love that.

This is not to say anything bad about Steve Carrell. In fact, I think he's supremely awesome and amazing for being able to do some of the more cringe-worthy scenes over and over without wanting to die a little inside. Forget that he's not the main character (he's married with kids, so yeah, really not), it's just damned impossible to sit there and be as clueless and teased while still trying to salvage pride and defend it against assholes who think because you haven't had sex you're some kind of freak. I admire his straight-face skill, and I love the true romantic relationship Andy (Carrell) forms with Catherine Keener's character because that's real, or at least a lot more so than the shitty dating and talking about fucking and stuff that goes on around it.

It's just not funny ha-ha. What else can I say?

Then today I went out to see The Illusionist, which was highly enjoyable despite being predictable and familiar from the outset. The story isn't exactly outstanding--boy meets girl problems, the grand illusion pulled off by the end and the montage of how--just what you'd expect from this sort of movie. What impressed me most is the acting, with Paul Giamatti standing at the fore. All the actors are doing an accent that, in lesser hands, I'd have been wearied and annoyed by: Austrian-affected English. As it is, it's extremely subtle, with the right amount of emphasis and accent on each syllable--you can almost imagine that every line in the script was gone over for each actor by a voice coach so they got it just right. Because I cannot fathom how a bunch of Americans got such a nuanced accent so correct otherwise.

Paul Giamatti excelled above all on all accounts, turning on dimes to present his character's seriousness, his humor, his humanity and his darker side in every flash you got with him. It made the framing story more tolerable that Giamatti was so good (even the framing was recycled from a hundred other movies, but he saved it). He brought gravitas and a slow burn rage to this character who wants so desperately to be considered on the merits of how much he has accomplished with his life (as opposed to the people in the position to reward him who got there by being born to good family). His police inspector is troubled yet determined, and you can see how much each turn towards the inevitable end pains him, yet you revel in the small delights that surprise and enthuse him throughout. Really, words cannot do it justice; Paul Giamatti was fantastic.

Edward Norton, of course, was brilliant, too. He retains some of that sense of dangerous innocence that he's had all along in all his roles. It's the sort of thing that makes you really believe he could be a total victim even as he lashes out and unforgiveably hurts others (Primal Fear, American History X). As he's gotten older, there's sort of this air of regret and loss added to his potential for retribution that's replaced some of the innocence with guilty acknowledgement. He appears calculating enough to know that not all he does is for the greater good or even for the good of those he likes yet still ultimately unaware of how far his desires will corrupt him and harm others, as if he plans just so much and then is surprised at the collateral damage. This, I might add, does not spoil the movie in the slightest; it just gives you an idea of how his style and mannerisms affect the reading of his character, Eisenheim, a trickster as harmless as, say, Puck, when all is said and done.

A worthy outing, with a nice preview for The Prestige (had it been entirely in focus, it would have been better), which was the movie

feiran thought we were seeing because they're both about old-timey magicians and such. It looks interesting, and the crowd gone to The Illusionist with me was all keen on it, so maybe I'll see who else wants to make it come October, okay?