Episode 2 6
This Week in Movies #26 with Carol Ramsey, Costume Designer of Dodgeball
Sundays at 8pm PDT
Hosts
Guest
Carol Ramsey, Costume Designer (“Meet the Fockers,” “Dodgeball”)
Introduction
Lon discussed his continued unemployment and how it makes it easier to prepare for the show. Farrell’s exciting news for the week was standing in the same room with Ashton Kutcher.
In Theaters
Written and Directed by Mike Leigh
Starring Jim Broadbent, Ruth Sheen and Lesley Manville
We follow long-time, happily married couple Tom (Broadbent) and Gerri (Sheen) over the course of one year in their lives. During that time, in a series of vignettes, they are visited by their son and his new girlfriend, as well as a series of friends and acquaintances, most of whom are deeply unhappy. The film was made with Leigh’s usual style, working with the actors in rehearsal for months creating their characters, and then using extensive improvisation while shooting.
Lon: A fascinating, almost troublingly ambiguous film about what it is to be happy, and why happiness seems to avoid some people. Tom and Gerri could be viewed either as warm, nurturing friends or smug jerks delighting in their superiority to others, depending on your perspective.
Farrell: An extremely well-acted and resonant, but also awkward and difficult-to-watch film. Lesley Manville is so effective as the needy, desperate Mary, it’s uncomfortable just to watch her.
Directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu
Written by Iñárritu, Armando Bo and Nicolas Giacobone
Starring Javier Bardem and Maricel Álvarez
Release date: January 28, 2011
Uxbal (Bardem) is a single father dying from a terminal illness who, over the course of a few days, tries to secure a viable future for his children.
Farrell: “This is one of the best movies I have ever seen.” She found, in particular, Bardem’s multi-layered performance staggering in its complexity and humanity, and hoped that he will be nominated for an Oscar for the film.
Directed by Dominic Sena
Written by Bragi F. Schut
Starring Nicolas Cage and Ron Perlman
Two 14th Century knights (Cage and Perlman) abandon the Crusades and find themselves on a different kind of holy quest. Now they’re transporting a suspected witch to a monastery where she can be put on trail for causing an outburst of plague. But is she really a witch, or is this just another instance of the church’s manipulations?
Lon: “There’s nothing overtly offensive about the film. It’s stupid but harmless…All the tension and conflict of the movie hinges on whether or not this person is a witch or just an innocent girl framed by a corrupt priest. But through the extensive, clunky, over the top use of foreshadowing, the answer is essentially given away immediately.”
Hollywood Headlines
McG is slated to direct a big-screen adaptation of the Hasbro “Ouija” board game. The new film won’t be a horror movie, but will instead be a family adventure.
Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann will get a “Knocked Up” spin-off
Rudd and Mann are set to reprise their married characters from “Knocked Up” in a new film from writer/director Judd Apatow. It’s not known if Seth Rogen or Katherine Heigl will appear in this new film (though it’s unlikely in Heigl’s case due to her post-”Knocked Up” public tension with Apatow.)
Stephen Sommers won’t direct “GI Joe” sequel
Despite being almost unwatchably terrible, the first “GI Joe” movie exceeded expectations, pulling in over $300 million worldwide, earning it a sequel. Most of the cast will be returning for a second film, but not director Stephen Sommers, who has announced that he will walk away from the franchse.
James Franco to direct two novel-to-film adaptations
Actor James Franco is set to make his directorial debut with not one but two new projects, both based on revered novels. Franco is prepping films based on William Faulkner’s “As I Lay Dying,” about a Southern family’s journey to bury their matriarch, and Cormac McCarthy’s “Blood Meridian,” a period Western about American guns-for-hire hunting down Native Americans. Franco says he is most committed to the Faulkner project, which he plans to begin first.
Red band trailer released for “The Mechanic”
This remake of a 1972 Charles Bronson thriller stars Jason Statham as an experienced hitman teaching a young protege (Ben Foster) the trade.
This Week in Netflix
In this new segment, Lon will highlight two archive films newly available to stream on Netflix that are worth a look.
Directed by Guillaume Canet
Written by Canet and Philippe Lefebvre
Starring François Cluzet and Marie-Josée Croze
This 2006 twisty French thriller has an intriguing premise: Dr. Beck (Cluzet), whose wife was murdered 8 years ago by a notorious serial killer, begins receiving strange e-mails. At the same time, he’s being wrongfully implicated in a string of strange murders. Could all these events be connected?
Though it’s intricate and carefully plotted, unfortunately, the film wraps up with one big chunk of exposition. But it’s still satisfying, and has a great final scene.
Written and directed by James Marsh
Starring Ian Holm
n Black River Falls, Wisconsin, between the years of 1890 to 1910, there were a large series of strange crimes, peculiar and violent goings-on, tragedies and other assorted problems. This 2000 documentary uses photographs from that era and filmed black-and-white recreations to depict life in Black River Falls in these years. It’s at once a fascinating look into the history of the Midwest – at a time when the rural 19th century way of life was giving way to modernity – AND a poetic look at snapshots taken from the lives of real people.
Interview with Carol Ramsey
Farrell and Carol talk about how she got started designing costumes, her preference for variety in terms of styles and genres and the day-to-day of what her job entails. Carol also gave advice for young people trying to break into the costume side of the film industry. (In particular, she suggests having a “leadership temperament” and an ability to make actors feel secure and safe.)
Closing
Next week, our guest is singer-songwriter Natasha Bedingfield, who will perform a song live in studio. Her work has been featured in numerous films, including “Easy A,” into which her song “Pocketful of Sunshine” figured prominently.
Be sure to subscribe to our show on YouTube and follow us on Twitter @TWiMovies!
