Haywire is, partly, the same-old same-old, and partly, it's the same-old updated. It stars Gina Carano as a secret agent who has been betrayed, and will stop at nothing to get her revenge on the people who betrayed her. That's the same-old.
The updating, I guess, comes from Steven Soderbergh is directing. He sets most of it in a cute flashback, with Carano telling the backstory to a young guy whose car she has commandeered. He's just an ordinary civilian, her age (young), which makes the frame story seem more like a youth comedy road trip than a thriller.
Then there are the action scenes in the flashback, set to electronica instead of gunshots and explosions, which is a nice distancing effect.
Then there are the supporting actors, including Channing Tatum, Michael Fassbender, Michael Douglas, Antonio Banderas, Ewan MacGregor and I don't know who else. So we have a kick-butt girl for the guys in the audience, but plenty of candy for the ladies as well.
All in all, fun, interesting action movie. I had only one objection: I didn't believe that Gina Carano could fight. Sure, you can do a lot with rehearsal, fight choreography and film editing, but she just seemed too scrawny and cute. Probably used to be a model or something. (Looks her up in IMDB.) Hm, no, she's apparently a mixed martial arts champion. Huh.
So, now I don't what to think. Did Soderbergh mess up the fight scenes? Was I not reading the scenes properly? Is Carano a good fighter, but not as good a stunt fighter? I guess I need to watch it again to find out, and I'm not sure I'm ready for that. So, anyone else have an opinion?
Sunday, December 16, 2012
Saturday, December 15, 2012
Tropical Punching
When we lived in Florida, I used to buy a tropical liqueur called Passoã. It's based on passion fruit and other tropical flavors, it's thick and syrupy and tastes a lot like Hawaiian Punch. In large doses, it's cloying, but add a teaspoon to a margarita, and it's delicious.
When we moved back to California, I headed out to BevMo to re-stock my bar. I couldn't find any Passoã, but did find a bottle of something called Kinky, promising a similar profile of passion fruit and clementines. Got a bottle, and found it to be even better than Passoã, not as sweet, not as bright pink.
Of course, I don't get to BevMo that often. In California, we can get our liquor in the grocery store. Our local Safeway doesn't carry Kinky, but I did find something called X-Rated. Again, passion fruit and clementines, again, less sweet, less shocking pink. More sophisticated, I'd say. Cleaner. More fruity than syrupy.
Drinking this teased my brain - it reminded me of another drink, but what was it? Then it came to me - Hpnotiq, the weird blue stuff. Now, I don't have a source for this, but I am guessing that X-Rated is an imitation of Hpnotiq, pink instead of blue. Kinky is am imitation of that, and Passoã and imitaion of that.
Or maybe it's just a coincidence, and these are all pretty much independent.
In related news, our Safeway was selling Hpnotiq for a little under $20 a bottle, a pretty good price, so I picked one up, you know, for research. My theory was:
Passoã < Kinky < X-Rated < Hpnotiq
But the Hpnotiq had an off-flavor, a little bitter or musty. Either it isn't the peak tropical juice liqueur, or Safeway was getting rid of some old or heat-damaged stock. Either way, I'm still putting it in my margaritas.
When we moved back to California, I headed out to BevMo to re-stock my bar. I couldn't find any Passoã, but did find a bottle of something called Kinky, promising a similar profile of passion fruit and clementines. Got a bottle, and found it to be even better than Passoã, not as sweet, not as bright pink.
Of course, I don't get to BevMo that often. In California, we can get our liquor in the grocery store. Our local Safeway doesn't carry Kinky, but I did find something called X-Rated. Again, passion fruit and clementines, again, less sweet, less shocking pink. More sophisticated, I'd say. Cleaner. More fruity than syrupy.
Drinking this teased my brain - it reminded me of another drink, but what was it? Then it came to me - Hpnotiq, the weird blue stuff. Now, I don't have a source for this, but I am guessing that X-Rated is an imitation of Hpnotiq, pink instead of blue. Kinky is am imitation of that, and Passoã and imitaion of that.
Or maybe it's just a coincidence, and these are all pretty much independent.
In related news, our Safeway was selling Hpnotiq for a little under $20 a bottle, a pretty good price, so I picked one up, you know, for research. My theory was:
Passoã < Kinky < X-Rated < Hpnotiq
But the Hpnotiq had an off-flavor, a little bitter or musty. Either it isn't the peak tropical juice liqueur, or Safeway was getting rid of some old or heat-damaged stock. Either way, I'm still putting it in my margaritas.
Sunday, December 9, 2012
Silent Running
I knew of course, that The Artist (2011) was a black-and-white silent film, but I hadn't realized that it was a silent film about talkies. Brilliant!
Although I am aware that this film won an Oscar, the reason we watched was for the team of director Michel Hazanavicius and star Jean Dujardin, who we loved in the OSS 117 films, Cairo and Rio. As in those films, they weave a mixture of detailed reproduction, loving tribute and biting spoof of their genre, in this case, showbiz pictures of the silent era.
Dujardin plays a Douglas Fairbanks-like silent films star. Like Fairbanks, he swashes buckle and laughs, ha ha! He encourages pretty callow ingenue Berenice Bejo as Peppy Miller. With the coming of sound, she prospers while he descends into obscurity, poverty and alcoholism. The old story.
We also get John Goodman as a bigshot producer, James Cameron as Dujardin's loyal servant and a lovable Jack Russell terrier. Completely enjoyable. And there's a boffo ending!
Although I am aware that this film won an Oscar, the reason we watched was for the team of director Michel Hazanavicius and star Jean Dujardin, who we loved in the OSS 117 films, Cairo and Rio. As in those films, they weave a mixture of detailed reproduction, loving tribute and biting spoof of their genre, in this case, showbiz pictures of the silent era.
Dujardin plays a Douglas Fairbanks-like silent films star. Like Fairbanks, he swashes buckle and laughs, ha ha! He encourages pretty callow ingenue Berenice Bejo as Peppy Miller. With the coming of sound, she prospers while he descends into obscurity, poverty and alcoholism. The old story.
We also get John Goodman as a bigshot producer, James Cameron as Dujardin's loyal servant and a lovable Jack Russell terrier. Completely enjoyable. And there's a boffo ending!
Disposables
OK, we saw The Expendables 2, the second film in the series of action films featuring every action hero they Sylvester Stallone could round up. They lost Mickey Rourke from this one, but got Chuck Norris and Jean-Claude Van Damme.
This outing has the team on a "routine" extraction in from China. We meet a guy who wasn't in the last movie, Liam Hemsworth, playing Billy the Kid. Since he's wearing a red shirt with a target on the back, and he spends a lot of time talking about his beautiful wife and how he was going to quit this dangerous business after one last mission, and everybody calls him "Dead Meat", you can kind of guess how long he lasts in this one.
So, the rest of the movie is a revenge tale set in some Balkan country, due to low cost of filming. JCVD plays the villain, named Vilain (which I think is kind of funny). Jet Li isn't used much, because he was doing another movie at the same time. Chuck Norris works alone and drops the occasional one-liner. Randy Couture doesn't have anything to do, because, I guess, Randy Couture. Jason Statham has the decency to look embarrassed. Stallone seems to be having a ball, and starts to let the kitsch out towards the end when Schwarzenegger and Bruce Willis show up to fight, instead of just jaw like in the first film.
Look, you know me - I like stupid action films. But I like them better when they have a little self-respect. Sticking your tongue in your cheek and pretending it's all just a goof is fine unless you just add that in at the end when you realize you can't keep a straight face.
Oh well, maybe I just wasn't in the right mood, but this one didn't work for me. But I'll probably watch Expendables 3.
This outing has the team on a "routine" extraction in from China. We meet a guy who wasn't in the last movie, Liam Hemsworth, playing Billy the Kid. Since he's wearing a red shirt with a target on the back, and he spends a lot of time talking about his beautiful wife and how he was going to quit this dangerous business after one last mission, and everybody calls him "Dead Meat", you can kind of guess how long he lasts in this one.
So, the rest of the movie is a revenge tale set in some Balkan country, due to low cost of filming. JCVD plays the villain, named Vilain (which I think is kind of funny). Jet Li isn't used much, because he was doing another movie at the same time. Chuck Norris works alone and drops the occasional one-liner. Randy Couture doesn't have anything to do, because, I guess, Randy Couture. Jason Statham has the decency to look embarrassed. Stallone seems to be having a ball, and starts to let the kitsch out towards the end when Schwarzenegger and Bruce Willis show up to fight, instead of just jaw like in the first film.
Look, you know me - I like stupid action films. But I like them better when they have a little self-respect. Sticking your tongue in your cheek and pretending it's all just a goof is fine unless you just add that in at the end when you realize you can't keep a straight face.
Oh well, maybe I just wasn't in the right mood, but this one didn't work for me. But I'll probably watch Expendables 3.
Saturday, December 8, 2012
High Seas
China Seas (1935) is just a crazy, fun romantic adventure movie. It stars Clark Gable as the captain of a ship running from Hong Kong to Singapore. He drinks hard on shore, but runs a tight ship once under weigh. Jean Harlow is China Doll, the party girl who is stuck on him. Rosalind Russell, on the other hand, is the society dame that he always loved. Since she was married to his friend, he went to China to forget. Now she shows up on his ship, a widow and open to offers.
This little love triangle sets up romance for a whole movie, but we also get Malay pirates, a secret shipment of gold, a taiphoon, a disgraced sea captain with a chance at redemption, and on and on. We even get a perpetually soused Robert Benchley for comic relief. Plus Wallace Beery as a villain, C. Aubrey Smith as the ship's owner, Hattie McDaniels as (guess what) the maid, Akim Tamiroff, Ed Brophy and so on.
I don't know how deep this is, although there are many affecting scenes. But it sure is fun.
This little love triangle sets up romance for a whole movie, but we also get Malay pirates, a secret shipment of gold, a taiphoon, a disgraced sea captain with a chance at redemption, and on and on. We even get a perpetually soused Robert Benchley for comic relief. Plus Wallace Beery as a villain, C. Aubrey Smith as the ship's owner, Hattie McDaniels as (guess what) the maid, Akim Tamiroff, Ed Brophy and so on.
I don't know how deep this is, although there are many affecting scenes. But it sure is fun.
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
Total Bummer
I mainly wanted to see Hallelujah, I'm a Bum (1933) for the Harry Langdon, but I was also interested in Al Jolson. I didn't realize that I was getting Rogers and Hart as well.
This is the story of the Mayor of Central Park, a bum named Bumper (Al Jolson). That name - savor it. It contains "bum", but connotes richness, fullness, a bumper crop. Also, to drink a bumper - a toast to "bon pere", the good father. He leads a life of homeless luxury in the park (wintering in Florida), and consorts with his good friend the Mayor of New York, Frank Morgan. He has an African American friend, Acorn, played by ever-smiling Edgar Connor. He has an enemy as well - Egghead, the socialist street sweeper, played by baby-faced silent comedy star Harry Langdon.
The story is about how Morgan's girlfriend Madge Evans gets amnesia and falls in love with Jolson, but never mind that. It's touching and all and there's a decent song or two if you like Jolson's style, but this doesn't really make the picture stand out.
What is really interesting is that about half the dialog is spoken in rhyme, written by Rogers (or Hart?). This makes it even more of a fantasy than the usual Depression era musical.
Also, Harry Langdon as Egghead. He is a devoted socialist worker, and as such condemns and despises the bums and loafers of the park as parasites on the system. His ideological purity, combined with his peculiar man-child appearance make him quite sympathetic. I am interested in his viewpoint and would like to subscribe to his newsletter.
Langdon is a bit of an acquired taste, or maybe he should just be taken in small doses. This is just right. I'm not sure about Jolson. You'll have to decide for yourself.
This is the story of the Mayor of Central Park, a bum named Bumper (Al Jolson). That name - savor it. It contains "bum", but connotes richness, fullness, a bumper crop. Also, to drink a bumper - a toast to "bon pere", the good father. He leads a life of homeless luxury in the park (wintering in Florida), and consorts with his good friend the Mayor of New York, Frank Morgan. He has an African American friend, Acorn, played by ever-smiling Edgar Connor. He has an enemy as well - Egghead, the socialist street sweeper, played by baby-faced silent comedy star Harry Langdon.
The story is about how Morgan's girlfriend Madge Evans gets amnesia and falls in love with Jolson, but never mind that. It's touching and all and there's a decent song or two if you like Jolson's style, but this doesn't really make the picture stand out.
What is really interesting is that about half the dialog is spoken in rhyme, written by Rogers (or Hart?). This makes it even more of a fantasy than the usual Depression era musical.
Also, Harry Langdon as Egghead. He is a devoted socialist worker, and as such condemns and despises the bums and loafers of the park as parasites on the system. His ideological purity, combined with his peculiar man-child appearance make him quite sympathetic. I am interested in his viewpoint and would like to subscribe to his newsletter.
Langdon is a bit of an acquired taste, or maybe he should just be taken in small doses. This is just right. I'm not sure about Jolson. You'll have to decide for yourself.
Sunday, December 2, 2012
Revisiting a Small Planet
Look, I saw Visit to a Small Planet when I was a little boy - possibly at a church kids' theater in a barn in New Hampshire with my grandmother. Of course I have fond memories of it. Also, it was from a play written by Gore Vidal.
The plot: immature but powerful space alien Jerry Lewis lands in suburban Richmond and mixes stuff up. As an adult, I can see the seams where the sophisticated light comedy butts up against the mugging of Jerry Lewis. For example, he controls people's minds by twitching his nose, crossing his eyes, tugging his ear, etc. - literally mugging, making faces.
Then the American teenagers he befriends take him to a beatnik coffeehouse, where he feels he fits in because everybody is so far out. But the beatniks think he is too far out and flee. I guess this passes for sophisticated comedy in 1960.
Anyway, although I can't say I still love it on rewatching, but I did remember my favorite part, which I had entirely forgotten: Rags the dog. Lewis can talk with the dog, who hates and fears him (naturally). But he does get a chance to run off his enemy, Clementine the cat. Who is played, by the way, by Rhubarb, last seen in Comedy of Terrors and voiced by June Foray (Rocket J. Squirrel).
Also, Buddy Rich is the drummer in the beatnik dive. Cool, daddy!
So, not as much fun to watch this time as last. But I got to see my old friend Rags again.
The plot: immature but powerful space alien Jerry Lewis lands in suburban Richmond and mixes stuff up. As an adult, I can see the seams where the sophisticated light comedy butts up against the mugging of Jerry Lewis. For example, he controls people's minds by twitching his nose, crossing his eyes, tugging his ear, etc. - literally mugging, making faces.
Then the American teenagers he befriends take him to a beatnik coffeehouse, where he feels he fits in because everybody is so far out. But the beatniks think he is too far out and flee. I guess this passes for sophisticated comedy in 1960.
Anyway, although I can't say I still love it on rewatching, but I did remember my favorite part, which I had entirely forgotten: Rags the dog. Lewis can talk with the dog, who hates and fears him (naturally). But he does get a chance to run off his enemy, Clementine the cat. Who is played, by the way, by Rhubarb, last seen in Comedy of Terrors and voiced by June Foray (Rocket J. Squirrel).
Also, Buddy Rich is the drummer in the beatnik dive. Cool, daddy!
So, not as much fun to watch this time as last. But I got to see my old friend Rags again.
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