Episode 2 7
This Week in Movies #27 with Recording Artist Natasha Bedingfield
Sundays at 8pm PDT
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Hosts
Guest
Natasha Bedingfield, Recording Artist
Introduction
Farrell opened the show by discussing a run-in she had with actress Cameron Diaz at her gym. Lon noted that she goes to a particularly star-studded gym, which Farrell explained is the reasoning behind her membership.
In Theaters
Directed by Michel Gondry
Written by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg
Based on the radio series by George Trendle
Starring Seth Rogen, Jay Chou, Cameron Diaz, Tom Wilkinson and Christoph Waltz
In this comic take on the superhero genre, Britt Reid (Rogen) uses his recently-deceased newspaper magnate father’s fortune to fight crime as The Green Hornet. Along with his trusty sidekick, the mechanical genius and karate master Kato (Chao), he battles LA’s underworld kingpin, Chudnofsky (Waltz).
Lon: The film is lazy and directionless. It plays as comedy not because there are any jokes, but because it so completely fails to invest in its own characters, story or fantasy universe. Writer/star Rogen essentially revisits both his script and his character from the mediocre “Pineapple Express” to even lesser effect. Avoid.
Farrell: It’s not a perfect film, but it’s fun, particularly in the humorous, bromantic interplay between Reid and Kato. The film is a light, harmless romp.
Directed by Richard J. Lewis
Written by Michael Konyves
Based on the 1997 novel by Mordecai Richler
Starring Paul Giamatti, Rosamund Pike, Scott Speedman and Dustin Hoffman
This film, based on a novel by acclaimed Canadian writer Mordecai Richler, traces 35 years in the life of the irascible, unpredictable but ultimately good-hearted Barney Panofsky (Giamatti). During this time, Barney gets married 3 times, has kids, is suspected in the disappearance of his best friend Boogie (Speedman) and faces illness and old age.
Farrell: The film is well-acted, and it had kept her interest before the first hour before just running out of steam. She felt like too much time passed before introducing Barney’s primary love interest, Miriam (Pike), and that not enough time was spent developing his relationship with Boogie.
Lon: Though Giamatti and Hoffman both give great performances (particularly Giamatti’s, whose role involves a good amount of realistic aging on-screen), the movie is overstuffed with incident and ultimately unsatisfying. Rather than allow any of these stories to play out, Konyves and Lewis race from storyline to storyline trying to squeeze 35 years of a guy’s life into one 2.5 hour film. As well, the loss of Barney as narrator (the novel is written as his auto-biography) robs the story of its perspective and its comic voice.
Hollywood Headlines
Golden Globe Winners Announced
Lon and Farrell discussed some of the notable winners, including “The Social Network’s” wins for Screenplay, Director and Score. Lon also lamented that “The Fighter” seems poised to perform well at the Oscars, with both Christian Bale and Melissa Leo taking home honors for the film in the Supporting Actor and Actress categories. Both Lon and Farrell agreed that Natalie Portman, winner of the Globe for Best Actress in a Drama for “Black Swan,” is a lock for Best Actress at the Academy Awards.
First Photo of Rooney Mara as Lisbeth Salander
The “Social Network” star will appear in David Fincher’s film versions of Steig Larsson’s “Millennium Trilogy” as Lisbeth Salander. The first photo of Mara in her Salander costume appeared on the Net this week. Farrell and Lon both agreed they are eagerly awaiting these films, the first of which – “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” – opens in December of 2011.
“Tetsuo: The Bullet Man” Trailer
[CAUTION: The trailer contains some disturbing imagery]
The trailer for the third-film (and first English-language film) in Shinya Tsukamoto’s Tetsuo series of films has hit the Web. Each film features an ordinary man experiencing some kind of accident or trauma that triggers a transformation into a hideous metallic creature. “Bullet Man” will feature a score by Golden Globe-winner Trent Reznor.
DVD and Netflix
The story of documentarian Ben Steinbauer and his search for, and eventual discovery of, YouTube sensation Jack Rebney. Rebney stars in a collection of profane, hilarious outtakes from an ’80s Winnebago ad that has been in underground circulation throughout America ever since.
Farrell enjoyed the film, which is not only funny but instructive about the impact that online infamy can have on a person’s life. Though Rebney and the film are frequently funny, she also found the story of someone so excited by yet unable to process attention and fame kind of sad.
An alcoholic NYPD detective (Albert Finney) and his new partner, a terrorism expert (Diane Venora), investigate a string of murders that appear to be the work of a wolf, or possibly a shapeshifter
Lon recommended this 1981 werewolf feature, which is now available via instant streaming on Netflix. One of 3 werewolf films released in 1981, “Wolfen” is the most straight-forward and serious. In some ways, this makes it the least fun. But it does feature a great performance from Albert Finney, a creepy almost post-apocalyptic New York setting, some well-developed tension and a few well-done gory sequences. Definitely recommended for werewolf and horror fans.
Interview with Natasha Bedingfield
Recording artist Natasha Bedingfield stopped by the studio to chat with Farrell about her background and music career, as well as her love of movies.
Her songs have been featured in multiple hit films and TV shows, including “Bride Wars,” “Morning Glory,” “27 Dresses” and, perhaps most memorably, “Easy A.”
Closing
Farrell said goodbye and reminded everyone that you can subscribe to our show on YouTube or iTunes! See you next week!
