Tag: 1999 films

Reel 88: Backstage Drama II

Where have we been?

Fair question. Not to get into too many details, but we decided to take a short break and then we each had our own little medical misadventures. Nevertheless, we’re back on our respective feet and ready to go!

In another day or two we’ll be providing you with our tribute to Robert Redford, specifically his legacy to the film industry through the Sundance Festival. But for now, enjoy Reel 88.

If you’ve been with us long enough you may remember all the way back to our 12th episode, when we gave you the backstage drama of Stage Door and All About Eve. Both of those shows were firmly set in the Broadway milieu. This time around we take on a more international flair.

We open with a look at Topsy Turvy, a 1999 British film written and directed by Mike Leigh. It’s played largely for comedy and it brings us the mostly-true story of how Gilbert and Sullivan managed to stage perhaps their best-known play, The Mikado.

From there we take a sharp tonal shift with the psychological drama Clouds of Sils Maria (shut up, I know I misspelled it in the cover art). Kristen Stewart is the American assistant to an internationally-famous star of stage and screen played by Juliette Binoche. As we move through the film, everyone is forced to confront questions about life, love, time, aging, culture in general and, once Chloe Grace Moretz appears on screen, the blurring of lines between actors, their roles, and their personal relationships. It’s a kind of All About Eve-meets-Persona story, and I’m really underselling how compelling it all is.

Oh—and Sean will be happy to learn that my stance on Kristen Stewart is softening a little bit.

A little bit.

COMING ATTRACTIONS: 

In Reel 89, we look at a couple of self-aware adaptations. We’ll start with Adaptation (2002), then move on to Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story (2005). Join us, won’t you?

Reel 86: The Magnificent Andersons

And this, children, is what happens when you don’t hit the “Publish” button. Enormous apologies and thanks for your patience. I’ll make up for it by publishing another episode tonight, since that was the plan anyway.

While I’m at it, I also apologize for the cover art. I couldn’t come up with anything good.

This episode looks at a pair of films by two (unrelated) directors whose last name is Anderson.

We open up with MAGNOLIA (1999), directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. This is a story that doesn’t so much have a plot as it has several plots, each bumping into one another from time to time (think of Altman’s SHORT CUTS, which we talked about back in Episode 34). It’s a fun ride, even if you sit there wondering what one thing has to do with the other. And the answer is: sometimes, not much. But P.T. Anderson sets you up for that early in the film, so you have nothing to complain about. And it’s a long film, so we have a lot to talk about, so don’t complain about that either.

In Part Two we move on to Wes Anderson and his 2001 film THE ROYAL TENENBAUMS, starring Gene Hackman (RIP), Anjelica Huston and a small company of actors as their children and other relatives. The family is in bad shape, until a lie brings them all together. Then it splits them up. Then…well, we presume that if you’re reading this you already knows what happens. But if you haven’t, what are you waiting for? Go see it! Come back and let us know what you thought!

 

COMING ATTRACTIONS:

In Episode 87 we’re keeping our focus (heh) on directors, with two films that are semi-autobiographical in nature. We’ll begin with MEAN STREETS (1973), directed by Martin Scorsese, and finish with DINER (1982), directed by Barry Levenson. Join us, won’t you? 

 

Reel 66: The Remake Was Better 2

As noted in the previous episode, once in awhile a film  gets remade that actually manages to eclipse its predecessor for one reason or another. This is the second of two episodes wherein we look at two films that stand as a good example.

We begin with The Thomas Crown Affair, from 1999. It was directed by John McTiernan and stars Pierce Brosnan and René Russo, along with Denis Leary and Frankie Faison. It’s the story of a billionaire art collector who’s suspected of stealing a valuable painting, and an insurance investigator’s efforts to catch him. And, what happens when the sparks begin to fly between them. In fact, what happens is probably the thing that makes this the better version of the film. You’d think you can’t go wrong with 1968-era Steve McQueen and Faye Dunaway,  and in general you can’t. But Brosnan and Russo really light the place up. That’s not the only reason it’s better, but it’s a pretty good one.

From there we move to 2001 and Ocean’s Eleven, a remake of Ocean’s 11  (see what they did there?), from 1960. This film, directed by Steven Soderbergh, follows Danny Ocean and his crew, as played by George Clooney  and many other superstars as they plot a huge heist in Las Vegas. In both versions, the actors are clearly having fun with what they’re doing, but the latter version has them doing it in service to the film, not just to hang with each other, and the whole thing just generally works better.

That’s our opinion, though. Feel free to disagree in the comments.


COMING  ATTRACTIONS: 

In our next episode, we look at a couple of modern-day fairy tales. We start with Ball of Fire, from 1941 and directed by Howard Hawks. From there it’s onto 1986 and Mona Lisa, directed by Neil Jordan. They’re both a bit of odd drama with endings you may not anticipate. Join us, won’t you?