As for Michael Cera, it will be interesting to see if his screen/TV career evolves into that of his spiritual father Andrew McCarthy. I'm probably the only person on planet Earth who prefers Cera in Miguel Arteta's YOUTH IN REVOLT to Cera in SCOTT PILGRIM.
Showing posts with label Andrew McCarthy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Andrew McCarthy. Show all posts
Sunday, August 15, 2010
SCOTT PILGRIM, Edgar Wright and Michael Cera.
I give the Edgar Wright-directed (previous credits include SHAUN OF THE DEAD and HOT FUZZ) graphic-novel-to-screen adaptation SCOTT PILGRIM VS. THE WORLD **1/2 on a scale of ****. Enjoyed it up to a point (including Kieran Culkin's amazing homage to Hank Azaria), but was a bit irritated by Wright and his DP's choice to stage and shoot the film in slam-everyone-against-the-frame 1.85 to 1 (or "flat") ratio for the most part.
Friday, August 7, 2009
John Hughes, comedy auteur, RIP.
From the John Hughes canon, there are a few films which are keepers for me: NATIONAL LAMPOON'S VACATION, THE BREAKFAST CLUB, SHE'S HAVING A BABY (which, in the Hughes canon, is the equivalent of Judd Apatow's FUNNY PEOPLE), SOME KIND OF WONDERFUL, PLANES TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES and, yes, HOME ALONE.
Hughes, using his Repetitive Formula Machine, also cranked out a lot of underachieving junk--some of which (DUTCH, the inexplicably-beloved WEIRD SCIENCE and FERRIS BUELLER'S DAY OFF, THE GREAT OUTDOORS, CAREER OPPORTUNITIES, the live-action remake of 101 DALMATIANS) that I saw and some (DENNIS THE MENACE, BABY'S DAY OUT) I instinctively knew to avoid.
An irony (which Hughes obituaries will probably ignore) is that one-time Hughes ally Chris Columbus recently had a flop with the 80's-teencom homage I LOVE YOU, BETH COOPER--a film I also avoided. From the trailer, it was obvious that BETH COOPER offered some shoutouts to earlier Hughes fare such as WEIRD SCIENCE and FERRIS BUELLER (with Alan Ruck cast as a parent).
But there will be a run on DVD copies of SIXTEEN CANDLES, THE BREAKFAST CLUB, WEIRD SCIENCE, PRETTY IN PINK, FERRIS BUELLER, PLANES TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES, UNCLE BUCK and the first two HOME ALONEs later today as thirty-and-fortysomething adults express a desire to relive their lost middle-to-upper-middle-class suburban youth watching Hughes' movies in shoebox multiplexes.
Hughes, using his Repetitive Formula Machine, also cranked out a lot of underachieving junk--some of which (DUTCH, the inexplicably-beloved WEIRD SCIENCE and FERRIS BUELLER'S DAY OFF, THE GREAT OUTDOORS, CAREER OPPORTUNITIES, the live-action remake of 101 DALMATIANS) that I saw and some (DENNIS THE MENACE, BABY'S DAY OUT) I instinctively knew to avoid.
An irony (which Hughes obituaries will probably ignore) is that one-time Hughes ally Chris Columbus recently had a flop with the 80's-teencom homage I LOVE YOU, BETH COOPER--a film I also avoided. From the trailer, it was obvious that BETH COOPER offered some shoutouts to earlier Hughes fare such as WEIRD SCIENCE and FERRIS BUELLER (with Alan Ruck cast as a parent).
But there will be a run on DVD copies of SIXTEEN CANDLES, THE BREAKFAST CLUB, WEIRD SCIENCE, PRETTY IN PINK, FERRIS BUELLER, PLANES TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES, UNCLE BUCK and the first two HOME ALONEs later today as thirty-and-fortysomething adults express a desire to relive their lost middle-to-upper-middle-class suburban youth watching Hughes' movies in shoebox multiplexes.
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