Get Out (2017) - Peele arrives in a big way with funny American race nightmare

♥♥♥♥♥

 

Star Daniel Kaluuya screaming from intense emotion in a lounge chair on this striking B/W poster for Jordan Peele's Get Out

Chris is an African-American man, who is going with his Caucasian girlfriend Allison away for the weekend to visit her family's country estate, defying his misgivings about her not informing them of the color of his skin in advance ...

 

Get Out is written and directed by great New-Yorker filmmaker, debuting Jordan Peele (Keanu (2016, writer)).

It is terrifically awkward and amply shows what it feels like to be the new (literally) black sheep of a family; and then it is funny, really funny, - not least in the scenes of repartee between Chris and his friend (Lil Rel Howery (Good Boys (2019)). Get Out cultivates racial paranoia, (SPOILER whites overtake black bodies with brain transplants!), and the reluctance among blacks for other blacks to become 'too white'.

In the horror part of the film it is especially the 'sunken place' scenes, where this nightmarish hell is achieved through hypnosis, which is rather frightening, and Catherine Keener (The Soloist (2009)) functions well as a stoic hypnotist. You might have to be black to find Allison Williams (College Musical (2014)) actually scary here, SPOILER and the culmination in which Chris murders his way through the house to escape it, could have been achieved to greater effect.

But Daniel Kaluuya (Chatroom (2010)) is outstanding as Chris, and Get Out has a timely electricity to it that must have been most powerful in an American cinema around the time of its release. It is original and, in my opinion, more funny than frightening, - and hopefully it brought its multi-racial audiences closer together than it divided them further?

 

Related post:

 

Jordan Peele: Us (2019) - Get in line to scratch your head (writer/director)

Watch a trailer for the film here

 

Cost: 4.5 mil. $

Box office: 255.5 mil. $

= Mega-hit (returned 56.7 times its cost)

[Get Out premiered 23 January (Sundance Film Festival) and runs 104 minutes. Shooting took 23 days from February 2016 - ? in Alabama. The film opened #1 to a 33.3 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it spent another 3 weekends in the top 5 (#2-#3-#4) and grossed 176 mil. $ (68.9 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were South Korea with 15.5 mil. $ (6.1 %) and the UK with 12.7 mil. $ (5 %). Deadline Hollywood calculated the film's net profits at 124.8 mil. $. It was nominated for 4 Oscars, winning for Best Original Screenplay. It lost Best Picture to The Shape of Water, Actor (Kaluuya) to Gary Oldman in Darkest Hour and Director to Guillermo Del Toro for The Shape of Water. It was also nominated for 2 Golden Globes, 2 BAFTAs, won an AFI award, won 2/5 Independent Spirit award nominations, 3 National Board of Review awards, among countless other honors. Peele returned with Us (2019). Kaluuya returned in Robot & Scarecrow (2017, short), Great Performers: Horror Show (2017, short) and theatrically in Black Panther (2018); Williams in Girls (2012-17), Patrick Melrose (2018, miniseries) and theatrically in The Perfection (2018). Get Out is certified fresh at 98 % with an 8.40/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Get Out?

Cyrus (2010) - The Duplass brothers score hilarious dramedy gold

♥♥♥♥♥

+ Best Independent Movie of the Year

The simple, effective poster for Jay and Mark Duplass' Cyrus

John is a despairing, divorced man, who is thrilled to meet a genuinely sweet woman at a party, who becomes his girlfriend. The only problem is that she lives with her bizarre, 21 year-old son.

John C. Reilly (Carnage (2011)) is brilliant and really funny here in great New Orleanian writer-director brothers Jay and Mark Duplass' (Jeff, Who Lives at Home (2011), both) small dramedy pearl. It plays on our tendency towards manipulation and lies when under pressure.
The vivacious camera concept (cinematographer Jas Shelton (The Stanford Prison Experiment (2015))) works well in this intimate story. Jonah Hill (21 Jump Street (2012)) and Marisa Tomei (Before the Devil Knows You're Dead (2007)) are also outstanding.
Cyrus has a good story and is funny as hell. - Don't miss it!

Related posts:

Jay & Mark Duplass:  Jeff Who Lives at Home (2011) or, Signs of Jeff
2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III]
2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]
2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]
2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess

The Duplass brothers give an interview about the film here

Cost: 7 mil. $
Box office: 9.9 mil. $
= Big flop
[Cyrus premiered January 23 (Sundance) and runs 91 minutes. It was shot in and around January 2009. It opened in just 4 theaters to a solid 181k $ first weekend in North America, where it peaked in 454 theaters and grossed 7.4 mil. $ (74.7 % of the total gross). It screened in 14 other countries with the 2nd and 3rd biggest markets being the UK with 1.9 mil. $ (19.2 %) and Mexico with 0.1 mil. $ (1%). Reilly got nominated for the Best Male Lead Independent Spirit award for his performance in the film. Cyrus is certified fresh at 80% with a 6.9 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Cyrus?

Friends with Money (2006) - Holofcener's poignant midlife-crisis dramedy

♥♥♥♥

+ Best Dramedy of the Year

The four great actresses top this simple poster for Nicole Holofcener's Friends with Money

Friends with Money is the third feature by great New Yorker writer-director Nicole Holofcener (Enough Said (2013)).

Olivia is the black sheep in her group of friends, who have all three married and become wealthy. She is single, lonely and works as a maid. But as it turns out, she is not the only one of them who has problems.

Holofcener has established herself as a strong chronicler of modern American urbanite lives and issues, and her intelligent and warm, sardonic humor shines through in Friends, which is filled with solely realistic characters.
They, - especially the ones around Olivia, who have "made it" and are off-puttingly aware of this at times, - are sometimes unsympathetic, but through the efforts of a great cast, we still never have enough of them:
Jennifer Aniston (Cake (2014)) proves her weight as a fine dramatic actress, and Catherine Keener (Into the Wild (2007)) and Jason Isaacs (Good (20008)) share especially one piercingly written and played scene SPOILER as a man and wife whose marriage has really hit the rocks. Frances McDormand (Olive Kitteridge (2014), TV-miniseries) and Simon McBurney (Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation (2015)) are also great as a married couple who are pulled in each their own problematic directions as well, and particularly McDormand shines as a menopausal woman with an anger problem.

Simon McBurney and Jennifer Aniston in Nicole Holofcener's Friends with Money

The details:

The score is composed by the great Rickie Lee Jones (Femme (2013)) with Craig Richey (A Marine Story (2010)), but unfortunately, it doesn't add very much to the film.
Friends with Money is a fine film about menopause and midlife crisis for married and unmarried people, more than a film much about the issue of money between friends. One might have wanted to stay with the characters and story a little longer. Also, the film isn't funny enough to excel as a drama-comedy, and the drama also isn't really stirring enough for it to break out as more than 'good' as a drama.
Still this is a sensitive and smart film with some lovely actors.
Since Enough Said, Holofcener has jumped back on the TV wagon, and I'm sure I'm not alone in hoping that she comes out with a movie for us again some time soon. 

Related posts:

Enough Said (2013) or, The Southern California Mix-Up 
Enough Said (2013) or, There Is One For All of Us (by guest reviewer)
2013 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]
2013 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]

2006 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III]

2006 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II] 

2006 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]

 

This poster for Nicole Holofcener's Friends with Money presents the film as a happy-go-lucky, a-laugh-a-minute chick-flick, - which it isn't

 Watch the trailer for the film here

Cost: 6.5 mil. $
Box office: 18.2 mil. $
= Box office success
[Friends with Money premiered as the opening night film at Sundance January 19 and runs 88 min. It opened wide to 4.9 mil. $, but was mostly a limited release at less than 600 screens in North America, where it grossed 13.3 mil. $ (73.1 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were Australia with 1.3 mil. $ (7.1 %) and the UK with 0.8 mil. $ (4.4 %). Friends with Money is fresh at 72 % with a 6.6 critical average on Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Friends with Money?

Enough Said (2013) or, The Southern California Mix-Up

♥♥♥♥♥

+ Best Los Angeles Movie of the Year 

Understandably selling itself on the sheer lovability of its stars, Nicole Holofcener's Enough Said

Our very sweet single mother/masseuse heroine meets a new client/friend and a charming man at the same party. The problem presents itself only too soon: The two used to be married.

Enough Said is a very warm and welcome romcom drama: Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Seinfeld (1990-98)) is really good in it and manages to keep our sympathy as her character treads into deeper and deeper waters. - She plays especially with her big eyes and eyebrows to a degree that is worthy of a Disney character. Co-starring James Gandolfini (The Sopranos (1999-07)), in one of his last roles, is cozy, honest and fun as Albert. It is welcome to see Catherine Keener (Begin Again (2013)) in a different kind of part for her as a very annoying woman here. And Toni Collette (Muriel's Wedding (1994)) and Ben Falcone (Bad Words (2013)) are good as the friends, whose marriage you DON'T want to have.
This is not the largest story, but it is served with tenderness, insight and some hilarious dialog. And thanks to the two extraordinary leads Enough Said becomes a work with that special Holofcener magic.
Enough Said is written and directed by Nicole Holofcener (Six Feet Under (2003-04)), and it marks the greatest success in her career so far. She has most recently written a crime drama, Every Secret Thing (2014), starring Elizabeth Banks, which premiered at Tribeca in April but curiously doesn't have a release date yet.

Related posts:

2013 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED VI]
2013 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED V]
2013 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED IV]
2013 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III]
2013 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]  
2013 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]

James Gandolfini feels like a good friend you wish you knew personally, in Nicole Holofcener's Enough Said

 Watch the trailer here

Cost: 8 mil. $
Box office: 25.2 mil. $
= Box office success
[Enough Said opened very small in just 4 theaters, where it made a remarkable 60.000 $ per screen, boosting it for a good nationwide US run, where it made most of its earnings (17.2 mil. $).] 

How did you like Enough Said?

Begin Again/Can a Song Save Your Life? (2013) - Carney's welcome New York music treat

♥♥♥♥♥

+ Best New York Movie of the Year 

The promising, light poster for John Carney's Begin Again

Gretta is about to leave New York when an old friend forces her to perform one of her songs at a bar. Among the crowd sits a fired, unsuccessful record producer, who sees and hears possibilities in her.

Begin Again is a really good and very welcome film that I will warmly recommend. It is a tribute to creative DIY-spirit, and it is also in itself a very frank and unpolished project, which is shot over large parts of the beautiful metropolis. The shot continuity is at times not too great, but most will forgive it due to the film's unperfectionist creed.
The comedic music drama story is well told and sweet, - without ever becoming sentimental. Marc Ruffalo (Zodiac (2007)) and especially Catherine Keener (Enough Said (2013)) are truly wonderful. CeeLo Green (Hotel Transylvania, voice (2012)) is funny; and you don't have to be a Keira Knightley-fan to enjoy Begin Again, (I'm not.) She's credible in her role as the slightly awkward but sweet Gretta.
There's something anachronistic about this film, which is written and directed by Irish John Carney (Once (2006)). - Ruffalo's character seems painfully aware of his own outdatedness, which seems to characterize the film in general. But that feeling only makes it so much more of a pleasure to experience that there is a definite space in 2013/2014 (when Begin Again has been in theaters) for such a charming film.
The highly musical Carney is already shooting his next film, Sing Street (2015), which is an Irish music film about going to London. After Begin Again, I am full of great hope for this film.

Related posts:

2013 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED VI]
2013 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED V]
2013 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED IV]
2013 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III]
2013 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]  
2013 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]

Watch the nice trailer here

Cost: Estimated 8-10 mil. $
Box office: 63.4 mil. $
= Big hit
[Begin Again has had a slow release, beginning at Toronto International Film Festival in September 2013 under the title Can a Song Save Your Life?, reaching several other festivals before its limited American release in June '14. It was released nationwide in August, and still has premieres coming up in Italy (October 16th) and Japan (February 2015). It has done very well commercially.]

What do you think of Begin Again?
Other music films that you think are recommendable?

Capote (2005) - The writing of one of the 20th century's finest non-fiction crime novels comes to life

♥♥♥♥

+ Best Biopic of the Year

Gorgeously colored poster for Bennett Miller's Capote

QUICK REVIEW:

In Capote, we follow the New York socialite author Truman Capote's (Breakfast at Tiffany's (1958)) journey to the middle of nowhere, Kansas, and his 4 year long involvement with a quadruple murder case and especially one of the imprisoned murderers, Perry Smith.
Capote is a masterly told crime biopic drama about a very exciting period of a very unusual, American writer's life. Philip Seymour Hoffman (A Most Wanted Man (2014)), - winning his only Oscar for the part, - is perfect in the title lead and gets solid support, especially from Clifton Collins Jr. (Pacific Rim (2013)) as Perry, but also from Oscar-nominated Catherine Keener (Begin Again (2013)) and Chris Cooper (American Beauty (1999)).
Only the somewhat unrefined alternation between cold images and preemptive pathos in the film's beginning seemed less auspicious to me. But a very strong film nonetheless, directed by Bennett Miller (Moneyball (2011)), whose coming film Foxcatcher (2014) is attracting quite a lot of buzz.

 

Related post:

 

2005 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I] 

Watch the original trailer here

Cost: 7 mil. $
Box office: 49.2 mil. $
= Huge hit
['Sleeper' hit with a long American run (October 2005-April 2006), fueled by outstanding reviews and Oscar-attention; good reception overseas as well, (US box office only accounts for 28.7 mil. $ of the total gross.)]

What do you think of Capote?
Other films of condemned men that you can recommend?

Being John Malkovich (1999) - Jonze, Kaufman and Malkovich's great triumph

♥♥♥♥♥♥

 

+ Best Movie of the Year

+ Best American Movie of the Year + Best Actress' Breakthrough of the Year: Catherine Keener + Best Dramedy of the Year + Best Fantasy Comedy of the Year + Most Undeserved Flop of the Year

 

How would you like to be a world-renowned actor? That is the possibility that presents itself on this praise-filled poster for Spike Jonze's Being John Malkovich

We meet a very nerdy couple: The man works at the 7½th floor of a building as an archive clerk, even though he really is a puppeteer. Here he locates a portal into the brain of famous actor John Malkovich. This amazing discovery leads to a whole  bunch of things.

 

Being John Malkovich is written by Charlie Kaufman's (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)) and directed by debuting Marylander master filmmaker Spike Jonze (Her (2013)).

Kaufman's writing style blends Kafkaesque absurdism and American cinematic virtues such as neurotic, full and original characters with the concept of celebrity in what arguably remains his and Jonze's best work to date. The many eccentric, original and often funny or thought-provoking ideas that are somehow garbled coherently together in Being John Malkovich is the film's strongest triumph.
Former music video maverick Jonze captures the dark humor, drama and developments of the story excellently and relays them with visually creative exuberance (cinematography by Lance Acord (Marie Antoinette (2006))) that matches the soaring script.
Co-starring in the film, Catherine Keener (The 40 Year-Old Virgin (2005)), Cameron Diaz (There's Something About Mary (1998)), John Cusack (High Fidelity (2000)) and John Malkovich (In the Line of Fire (1993)) himself are all four just wonderful.
Especially the idea of desire as a living thing in itself was very interesting to me, but watch this movie for yourself and you'll likely catch things from it that the person/s next to you might not even think about. It is a rich experience. Being John Malkovich is totally unusual, extraordinarily conceived and carried out; full of weighty ideas and laughs, a true masterpiece.

 

Related posts:

 

Spike Jonze: The day after ... The Oscars 2014

Her (2013) - Jonze's disheartening hipster sci-fi romance 

2002 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I] 

Top 10: Best films about filmmaking 

2002 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess 

Adaptation (2002) or, Charlie Kaufman's Fictional Life 

1999 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess 

Top 10: Best fantasy movies reviewed by Film Excess to date

Watch a trailer for the film here

Cost: 13 mil. $
Box office: 32.3 mil. $
= Minor flop (returned 2.48 times its cost)

[Being John Malkovich premiered 2 September (Venice Film Festival) and runs 113 minutes. The script was written in 1994 and got to Jonze through his father-in-law Francis Ford Coppola. Malkovich reportedly liked the script but tried to have it focus on another star actor than himself, with him instead producing the film, until he eventually accepted to star in it. Kaufman and Jonze reportedly wanted Malkovich due to his mystic quality, and because there is a humorous effect in repeating his name over and over again. Shooting took place from July - September 1998 in England, New Jersey and California, including in Los Angeles. The film opened #17 to a 637k $ first weekend in 25 theaters in North America, grossing 22.8 mil. $ (70.6 % of the total gross). The film was nominated for 3 Oscars, winning none. It lost Best Supporting Actress (Keener) to Angelina Jolie in Girl, Interrupted, Director to Sam Mendes for American Beauty and Original Script to Alan Ball for American Beauty. It won 1/3 BAFTA nominations, was nominated for a César award, 4 Golden Globes, won 2/3 Independent Spirit award nominations and won a National Board of Review award, among many other honors. Roger Ebert gave it a 4/4 star review, equal in rating to this one. Jonze returned with 10 videos, mainly music videos, prior to his theatrical return with Adaptation. (2002). Cusack returned in High Fidelity (2000); Diaz in Any Given Sunday (1999); Keener in Simpatico (1999); and Malkovich in The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc (1999). Being John Malkovich is certified fresh at 94 % with an 8.10/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Being John Malkovich?

The 40 Year-Old Virgin (2005) or, Let the Sunshine In

♥♥♥♥♥

+ Best Debut Movie of the Year + Best Comedy of the Year 

What happens if it just never happens? That is the question in Judd Apatow's The 40 Year-Old Virgin

40 year-old Andy owns toy figures for upwards of 100,000 $, works in an electronic store (which he rides his bicycle to), - and is still a virgin.

Thank God, this movie is not as stupid as the title could lead you to believe. It is not a dumb package of frat boy humor, crazy comedy or a tacky sex comedy. In truth, The 40-Year-Old Virgin is a loving, very funny and intelligent romantic comedy, (which, however, might appeal more to men than women in general.)
Some of the funniest comedians of today are in it: Feature-debuting New Yorker master writer-director Judd Apatow (Trainwreck (2015)) regulars like Seth Rogen (The Night Before (2015)), Paul Rudd (Ant-Man (2015)) and Apatow's wife, Leslie Mann (This Is 40 (2012)), but also Jane Lynch (Paul (2011)) is hilarious as the extremely foul-mouthed store manager, and Jonah Hill (The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)) also has a very fun tidbit in the film.
Star and co-writer Steve Carell (Curly Sue (1991)) plays the protagonist Andy like a real human being, and he makes the film moving and (more) real, as he courts the lovely Catherine Keener (Into the Wild (2007)).
A few scenes in the film go on for too long for my taste, SPOILER especially the gross chest hair removal scene. SPOILER The Hair (1979) 'homage' during the end credits, on the other hand, is outrageously funny and surprising, a great feel-good final few minutes for a VERY funny movie.

Related posts:
 
Judd Apatow: Trainwreck (2015) - Amy Schumer's breakthrough is a lot of fun
2011 in films - according to Film Excess
Bridesmaids (2011) - Subversive comedy with laughs a-plenty (producer)

2005 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I] 
The Cable Guy (1996) - Stiller's dark comedy is a riot (producer) 

If nothing in the trailer for the film here makes you laugh, The 40-Year-Old Virgin might not be for you

Cost: 26 mil. $
Box office: 177.3 mil. $
= Huge hit (returns 6.81 times the cost)
[The 40 Year-Old Virgin premiered 11 August (Los Angeles, California) and runs 116 minutes. Filming took place in LA and Pasadena, California around January 2005. The shoot reportedly involved lots of improvisation and used over 1 mil. feet of film, prompting Technicolor to send free Champagne to the set. The film opened #1 with a 21.4 mil. $ first weekend in North America and spent another 4 weeks in the top 5 (#1-#2-#2-#4), grossing 109.4 mil. $ (61.7 % of the total gross), and becoming the 19th highest-grossing film in North America of the year. The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were the UK with 13.5 mil. $ (7.6 %) and Germany with 7.5 mil. $ (4.2 %). Apatow returned with Knocked Up (2007). Carell returned in Little Miss Sunshine (2006). The 40 Year-Old Virgin is certified fresh at 85 % with a 7.2 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of The 40 Year-Old Virgin?