Punch-Drunk Love (2002) - Sandler breaks out of his routine in Anderson's delightful romcom

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+ Best Romance of the Year

 

A wonderful still image of a kiss with wavy dark, mellow colors underneath makes up this elegant poster for Paul Thomas Anderson's Punch-Drunk Love

Barry lives in his own socially cautious world, in which he is saving up a ton of frequent flier miles by purchasing pudding. Then he meets a woman, who knocks him off his feet and gets him to fly for the first time in his life, - to Hawaii.

 

Punch-Drunk Love is written, co-produced and directed by Californian master filmmaker Paul Thomas Anderson (Hard Eight (1996)), whose 4th film it is.

It is strange to enter the anxiety-ridden world of Barry; well-achieved through feministically-diabolical sisters, led by Mary Lynn Rajskub (Hero Mode (2021)), and an untraditional, unharmonic score (by Jon Brion (Lady Bird (2017))). The film also has neat if strangely, purposely 'off' cinematography (by Robert Elswit (Inherent Vice (2014))).

SPOILER A phone sex subplot and Philip Seymour Hoffman (A Late Quartet (2012)) work exceedingly well as elements in Punch-Drunk Love and both are also some of its original parts. Adam Sandler (The Wedding Singer (1998)) and Emily Watson (Chernobyl (2019, miniseries)) are a delightful match. The film is a salute to the first, overwhelming feelings of falling in love.

 

Related posts:

Paul Thomas Anderson: 2017 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]
Phantom Thread (2017) - Anderson's exquisite drama of an English dressmaker and his Alma 

The Master (2012) - Anderson's stunning post-war reflection 

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

1997 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess 
Boogie Nights (1997) - Anderson's irresistible porn 'Casino'

1996 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess 

Hard Eight (1996) - Anderson debuts with downbeat crime drama 

 

 

Watch a trailer for the film here

 

Cost: 30 mil. $

Box office: 24.6 mil. $

= Huge flop (returned 0.82 times its cost)

[Punch-Drunk Love premiered 19 May (Cannes Film Festival, main competition) and runs 95 minutes. The film came about due to Anderson's fandom of Sandler and his wish to make a 90-minute romcom with him. Sandler was paid 7 mil. $ for his performance in the film. Shooting took place from February - March 2001 in Hawaii and California, including in Los Angeles. The film opened #23 to a 367k $ first weekend in 5 theaters in North America, where it peaked at #7 and in 1,293 theaters (different weeks), grossing 17.8 mil. $ (72.4 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were France with 1.6 mil. $ (6.5 %) and Australia with 840k $ (3.4 %). It was nominated for a Golden Globe and won Anderson the Best Director prize at Cannes (tied with Im Kwon-taek for Painted Fire), among other honors. Roger Ebert gave it a 3.5/4 star review, equal in rating to this one. Anderson returned with Jon Brion: Here We Go (2002, music video), Couch (2003, video) and theatrically with There Will Be Blood (2007). Sandler returned in Mr. Deeds (2002); Watson in Red Dragon (2002). Punch-Drunk Love is certified fresh at 79 % with a 7.40/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

 

What do you think of Punch-Drunk Love? 

The Proposition (2005) - Stars and images stand out in Hillcoat's outback western

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A man on a high-point pointing a gun towards something unseen - along with cast pictures - make up this poster for John Hillcoat's The Proposition

1880s Australia, British colonization of the enormous land still in process: The Burns brothers are by nature it seems merciless killers. A small town has a captain that wants to expand civilization. He has a proposal to one of the brothers.

The Proposition is written by Nick Cave (Ghosts ... of the Civil Dead (1988)), who also co-composed the film's score, and directed by Australian master filmmaker John Hillcoat (To Have & to Hold (1996)), whose 2nd feature it is. 

The ending is a bit provocative, but also rather predictable, - especially for those with a bit of existing knowledge of screenwriter Cave's lyrical universe as a dark rock musician, the man's main calling. The film is centered around very visual violence and somewhat pretentious poetry, (again courtesy of Cave's pen.)

But The Proposition impresses with is ensemble cast of Emily Watson (On Chesil Beach (2017)), Guy Pearce (The Seventh Day (2021)), Ray Winstone (Jawbone (2017)) and John Hurt (Jackie (2016)) as a Darwin-skeptical racist, among others. Benoît Delhomme's (Minimata (2020)) cinematography is another beautiful feature to the film, which is carefully tinted in post production. Watson's milky-white skin has rarely been more beautiful than in The Proposition.

 

Watch a trailer for the film here

 

Cost: 2 mil. $

Box office: 5 mil. $

= Even (returned 2.5 times its cost)

[The Proposition premiered 12 September (Toronto International Film Festival) and runs 104 minutes. Shooting took place in Australia. The film opened #46 to a 32k $ first weekend in 3 theaters in North America, where it peaked at #19 and in 200 theaters, grossing 1.9 mil. $ (38 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were Australia with 1.5 mil. $ (30 %) and the UK with 1.1 mil. $ (22 %). Roger Ebert gave the film a 4/4 star review, translating to 2 notches over this one. Hillcoat returned with 3 music videos prior to his theatrical return The Road (2009). Pearce returned in First Snow (2006); Winstone with a voice performance and in 2 TV movies prior to his theatrical return in Breaking and Entering (2006); and Danny Huston (Marlowe (2022)) in Covert One: The Hades Factor (2006, miniseries) and theatrically in Marie Antoinette (2006). The Proposition is certified fresh at 85 % with a 7.30/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of The Proposition?

War Horse (2011) - Spielberg visits WWI with problematic horse drama result

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An excessive sense of aestheticism either adorns or plagues the poster for Steven Spielberg's War Horse, depending on your viewpoint

QUICK REVIEW:

A little family is facing the prospect of losing their home, if their expensively bought show horse doesn't plow a stony field. - It does! But is then, by necessity, sold as a war horse for World War I.

War Horse is a grandiose epic by Steven Spielberg (Jaws (1975)), which, however, it's hard to see who is for: The story of the boy's (Jeremy Irvin (A Night in Old Mexico (2013))) relationship with his horse seems to be tailored for older kids, but the film's war scenes are decidedly not suited for children.
War Horse starts well with Emily Watson's (Breaking the Waves (1996)) fine performance as the boy's stouthearted mother, but then the story continues along a sappy, powdered path, in which man after man, during the horrors of war, is profoundly touched by the beautiful horse. It punctured my interest in War Horse, which has a fine John Williams (Munich (2005)) score and a handsome cast, but which seems to me as a mediocre serving from an aging Spielberg, who might have simply grown too comfortable in his plush producer-director's chair to give us something with the teeth that he once could. (Admittedly, he saddled up in a different way the year after with the great Lincoln (2012).)
War Horse is an adaptation of English Michael Morpurgo's (The Nine Lives of Montezuma (1980)) same-titled 1982 novel by Lee Hall (Billy Elliott (2000)) and Richard Curtis (Notting Hill (1999))

Related reviews:
 
Steven Spielberg: Super 8 (2011) - Abrams' nostalgic family crowdpleaser (producer)
Band of Brothers - TV mini-series (2001) - WWII-sacrifice and -comradeship portrayed with skill and integrity (producer)
A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001) - A robot fairy tale with both heart and mind
Amistad (1997) or, Must... Free... Slaves! 
Twilight Zone The Movie (1983) - Fear takes many forms in tragedy-struck anthology
1941 (1979) - Spielberg's bizarre 'comedy spectacular' sinks like a rock

Watch the picturesque trailer for the movie here

Cost: 66 mil. $
Box office: 177.6 mil. $
= Box office success
[War Horse was released December 25th to mostly good reviews. It made 79.8 mil. $ (45 % of the total gross) in North America and an impressive 16.4 mil. £ in the UK. It was 6 times Oscar-nominated, for Best Picture, Cinematography, Score, Sound Mixing, Sound Editing and Art Direction, winning none. Spielberg returned to the Oscars the year after with the much better Lincoln.]

What do you think of War Horse?

Cold Souls (2009) - Barthes debuts with drily humorous story of Paul Giamatti's (missing) soul

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The fiercely grey poster for Sophie Barthes' Cold Souls

QUICK REVIEW:

Paul Giamatti (Sideways (2004)) has a problem: His identification with his part as uncle Vanya in the Chekhov play is overtaking his life, as he discovers a way to rid himself of the oppressive weight of his own soul.

This exciting premise gets life from an outstanding performance from Giamatti, playing himself. He gets secondary help from strong actors David Strathairn (Good Night, and Good Luck. (2005)), Lauren Ambrose (Six Feet Under (2001-05)), Michael Stuhlbarg (Boardwalk Empire (2010-13)) and Emily Watson (Breaking the Waves (1996)).
Cold Souls' grotesque situations are at times funny. Writer-director Sophie Barthes (Madame Bovary (2014)), whose feature debut this is, has made the film on a script that's missing a suspense-leg, I think, but has a great character (Giamatti's Russian-souled mule of a man), whom we only really get to understand about an hour into the film.
Still, I liked Cold Souls and recommend it.
Barthes' new adaptation movie Madame Bovary was shown at The Toronto Film Festival, but no further release plans are out yet. It has an exciting cast of Mia Wasikowska, Ezra Miller, Giamatti and others, so Film Excess is very eager to see it.

David Strathairn and Paul Giamatti in Sophie Barthes' Cold Souls

Watch the trailer for the movie here

Cost: Unknown
Box office: 1.1 mil. $
= Flop
[The film was a Sundance hit, and was nominated for Spirit and Gotham awards etc., but only managed to make 0.9 mil. $ in the States (80 % of the gross), and no substantial international earnings, despite generally good reviews.]

What do you think of Cold Souls?
Any information on Madame Bovary is welcomed

The Boxer (1997) - Excellent film of boxing and love in grim Ireland

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+ Best Boxing Movie of the Year + Best Irish Movie of the Year

Two of the best UK actors of their time make up most of this dark poster for Jim Sheridan's The Boxer

Set in the Belfast area in the 1990s Irish civil war between Protestant and Catholic Christians, The Boxer tells the story of Danny, an former IRA terrorist, who is released from prison after a long stint and wants to turn things around by opening up a boxing club. He falls for another prisoner's wife in the mix.

 

The Boxer is written by Terry George (In the Name of the Father (1993)) and great Irish filmmaker, co-writer/co-producer/director Jim Sheridan (My Left Foot (1989)).
The boxing and the love are the strong elements that lift up this very dark period piece of Irish and British history out of a gutter of utter despair. Daniel Day-Lewis (There Will Be Blood (2007)) delivers one of his best performances ever, accomplishing total credibility as the low-down boxer Danny. In other big parts, Emily Watson (Breaking the Waves (1996)) and Brian Cox (L.I.E. (2001)) excel.

Sheridan achieves a great portrayal of the division between the societal groups in The Boxer, which elevates it historically. It is an excellent story about a grim chapter in Irish history.

Related posts:

 

Jim Sheridan: Get Rich or Die Tryin' (2005) - Sheridan's hiphop biopic riddled with weak spots 

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

1997 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess

In the Name of the Father (1993) or, The Scapegoats 

 

 

Watch a trailer for the film here

Cost: 4.7 mil. $
Box office: 16.5 mil. $
= Big hit (returned 3.51 times its cost)

[The Boxer opened 31 December (North America, Philippines) and runs 114 minutes. Day-Lewis reportedly prepared by boxing for 3 years for the performance. Shooting took place from April - July 1997 in Ireland, including in Dublin. The film opened #19 to an 86k $ first weekend in 3 theaters in North America, where it peaked at #13 and grossed 5.9 mil. $ (35.8 % of the total gross). In the UK, including Ireland, it made 2.2 mil. $ (13.3 %). It was nominated for 3 Golden Globes, among other honors. Roger Ebert gave it a 3/4 star review, translating to a notch under this one. Sheridan returned with In America (2002). Day-Lewis returned in Gangs of New York (2002); Watson in Hilary and Jackie (1998). The Boxer is certified fresh at 81 % with a 7.20/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

 

What do you think of The Boxer?