Barney's Version

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: Based on a book by Mordecai Richler, Barney's Version is the story of some guy named Barney (Paul Giamatti), as he partakes in life, loves, and possibly the murder of his best friend. It's a character piece.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: Paul Giamatti, Rosamund Pike, Dustin Hoffman, Scott Speedman, Minnie Driver, Bruce Greenwood, Rachelle Lefevre, Saul Rubinek, Mark Addy, Jake Hoffman, Anna Hopkins, Macha Grenon

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Proceed with Caution. The first two hours are very compelling, even though the final extraneous 20 minutes, meanders around until it became clear that the rest of the movie isn't really about anything either.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: Paul Giamatti plays his usual slightly lovable curmudgeon, so there are a fair number of laughs from that, but my favorite humor comes simply from the names of the places. You see, he works at Totally Unnecessary Productions, and drinks at Grumpy's bar. And you even believe these locations are real, because the movie takes place in Canada... Oh, those silly Canadians!

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: The extraneous 20 minutes at the end are pretty sad, but I would've rather just cut that part altogether. Why? Because it's extraneous.

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: It's currently in a one week Oscar qualifying release in Los Angeles, so that it can be considered for Academy Awards even though it's really coming out in a month, after it's too late to be considered for 2010. So obviously they think they have something.

Q: How is the Acting?

A: Dustin Hoffman is fantabulous. His son, Jake, while much better looking than his father, seems poised to follow in the footsteps of John Ritter's and Tom Hanks' sons, by not even deserving to carry the same last name as a man whose shoes he will never come close to filling. Minnie Driver plays the most annoying character in the world, and yet, this may be the most attractive she's ever looked on screen. (Kristen Bell may want to take some pointers from her.) And Rosamund Pike, when her hair is dyed brown, looks indisputably half-Asian.

Q: How is the Directing?

A: Most of the time it is fast-paced and engaging, and then suddenly, in just one or two places, it slips into photographic montages that don't match the style of the rest, and therefore come off like fixes to parts of the film that probably weren't working.

Q: How is the story/script?

A: If you've been reading along with me, you already know my feelings about why biopics rarely work. So what kind of person makes a biopic about a made-up person who's not even real or famous?

Q: Where can I see the trailer?

A: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5OBd5jPBzOI

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Taking Woodstock

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: To avoid going broke, a young man (Demetri Martin) agrees to host the Woodstock Music Festival at his parents' motel, and you all know what happened from there.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: Demetri Martin, Imelda Staunton, Henry Goodman, Eugene Levy, Emile Hirsch, Paul Dano, Kelli Garner, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Don Fogler, Jonathan Groff, Liev Schreiber, Gabriel Sunday, Mamie Gumer, Kevin Sussman, Adam LeFevre

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Proceed with Caution. Mostly due to a severe lack of period music, you never get lost in that 1960s feeling that was probably the main reason you chose to attend this movie in the first place.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: For all the silly places my sister, my dad, and I used to tell people they'd reached when they called our home, none of our attempts to be funny when we answered the phone were as hilarious as the way in which Demetri Martin answers the phone, in all seriousness, at his parents' motel.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: Only if watching people go from flat broke to rich to richer in seconds flat makes you feel sad for your own insurmountable debt.

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: Considering the amount of nudity in the film, I was amazed to look around the theater at the vast number of blue hairs in the audience. Then it dawned on me, that these old geezers are about the right age to have actually attended this momentous event. And since the Academy is also made up of old farts, I'm going to assume that they too have a nostalgic affinity for smoking dope, dropping acid, and enjoying free love, and therefore, I'm not going to rule out awards consideration quite as fast as I should.

Q: How is the Acting?

A: I don't know if you've ever seen Imelda Staunton in a film before, but I've seen her in two. And based on that tiny sampling, I would venture to say that everything she does is genius, and she should be doing a lot more of it. She is the highlight of the film, the source of most of the comedy, and in all seriousness, I would be shocked if she didn't win the Best Supporting Actress Academy Award.

Q: How is the Directing?

A: Ang Lee puts his artistic mark on the thing, but the pace is over-indulgent and self-important, at the same time. Also, I blame him for this film's greatest shortcoming-- which is the measly 3 recognizable songs on the soundtrack. You see, we know the problem wasn't that the budget was too low to afford more songs, because they had enough money to hire Ang Lee to direct.

Q: How is the story/script?

A: There is a nice story about family at the center of it all, and a few scenes that are particularly special. But the film starts out slow and never reaches the speed limit. So it's like driving behind an old person, and then having to smell them next to you in the theater... Probably sitting in a better seat than you, because they made you late.

Q: Where can I see the trailer?

A: http://www.moviefone.com/movie/taking-woodstock/34750/trailers

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Two Lovers

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: After a broken-off engagement, a suicidal man (Joaquin Phoenix) suddenly finds himself choosing between two beautiful women (Gwyneth Paltrow and Vinessa Shaw).

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: Joaquin Phoenix, Gwyneth Paltrow, Vinessa Shaw, Moni Moshonov, Isabella Rossellini, Elias Koteas, Jay O. Sanders, Bob Ari, Julie Budd

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Proceed with Caution. Despite the high profile cast, this plays like another depressing indy movie that some people will call a beautiful portrait of love and its effect on the human condition, and which I will call a downer that was hardly worth the zero dollars I paid to see it.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: The scene that introduces Gwyneth Paltrow is pretty funny. But that's about it.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: While the experience of unrequited love will always summon tears in real life, this film doesn't transmit the experience beyond the actors' own sense memory exercises.

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: It was nominated for a Golden Palm at Cannes, which some of my friends who saw The Class (the winner of the Golden Palm), will tell you doesn't mean squat! Not my words, theirs... They know who they are.

Q: How is the Acting?

A: Joaquin Phoenix gives the type of performance that often gets lauded. Personally, I found him to be totally creepy. Gwyneth Paltrow, on the other hand, who I haven't been much of a fan of in the past, gives a vibrant performance that jumps off the screen. Apparently, the role was written with her in mind. Meanwhile, Vinessa Shaw gives a performance that explains why she's been in a fair amount of high profile movies for the past ten years, and people are still asking "Who's this Vinessa Shaw person?" In other words, she'd be awesome as the lead in a procedural TV series.

Q: How is the Directing?

A: James Gray clearly makes an effort to step away from the standard angles and coverage for this imitation art film, and for that I give him credit. I know that sounded like half an insult, but it's just hard to give the director of We Own the Night the same "indy film" pass that I might give to a first time director who has no money, no stars, and no resources.

Q: How is the story/script?

A: It introduces some interesting characters and an interesting dynamic between them, but I'm not sure what enjoyment or insight the writer was hoping to give the audience with this story, besides that some forms of entertainment just aren't very uplifting.

Q: Where can I see the trailer?

A: http://www.moviefone.com/search/two%20lovers/trailers

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