The 1930s – more films about women, more films about working life. And often the two overlapped. You watch a film made today, it’s brutally clear that the people who made it rarely have to be anywhere In the ‘30s, at the height of the studio system, the entire creative force behind a picture worked 9-5 on the studio lot, just like anyone else. They had a workplace. And while many made a great deal more money than the characters they were depicting, they knew what it was to hold a job. That mindset, that constant awareness of money and office work and routine, bleeds into the pictures of the period.
Take a film like Rafter Romance, which played at TCM Classic Film Festival Friday morning. Ginger Rogers and Norman Foster star as two broke strangers living in the same apartment building (and they say people knew their neighbors back...
Take a film like Rafter Romance, which played at TCM Classic Film Festival Friday morning. Ginger Rogers and Norman Foster star as two broke strangers living in the same apartment building (and they say people knew their neighbors back...
- 4/12/2017
- by Scott Nye
- CriterionCast
I love, love, love Neil Cross’ BBC America drama, Luther, and that makes me one lucky girl because today’s the day we unveil a brand spanking new Luther, season 3 trailer! The intrepid star, Idris Elba, is back and this time his battle hardened copper has a new foe and a new love interest to tango with. Check it out!
Luther earned Elba the 2012 Golden Globe for Best Actor. The crime series returns this September, which means I’ll be waiting on pins and needles for episodes to hit Netflix. When it returns, Luther will be embroiled in the investigation of two conflicting crimes. His work becomes all the harder when a ruthless ex-cop pursues a personal vendetta against our hero. It is one other than Scottish actor David O’Hara playing this nemesis. You know him from Braveheart and The Departed.
To distract him from all the ugliness, is a beauty,...
Luther earned Elba the 2012 Golden Globe for Best Actor. The crime series returns this September, which means I’ll be waiting on pins and needles for episodes to hit Netflix. When it returns, Luther will be embroiled in the investigation of two conflicting crimes. His work becomes all the harder when a ruthless ex-cop pursues a personal vendetta against our hero. It is one other than Scottish actor David O’Hara playing this nemesis. You know him from Braveheart and The Departed.
To distract him from all the ugliness, is a beauty,...
- 6/10/2013
- by Sasha Nova
- Boomtron
Writer-director Todd Looby's Be Good begins as Mary (Amy Seimetz) prepares to return to work after being on an abbreviated maternity leave. Since Mary's husband Paul (Thomas J. Madden) works from home as an independent filmmaker, he will watch the baby while Mary works. Paul begins his first day of solo parenting with a naive air of self-confidence. He plops the baby on the floor of his office and begins working on his screenplay. It does not take very long before Paul discovers that solo parenting is not as easy as it looks, especially when the baby requires constant attention and refuses to sleep. Paul is only able to write for brief spurts of time, primarily whenever Mary is home from work. Of course this means even less restful downtime for Paul, making him an exhausted ball of stress; it also means that Mary and Paul have no alone time together.
- 2/4/2013
- by Don Simpson
- SmellsLikeScreenSpirit
Sam (Craig Roberts) is a bellhop, groomed in the personal styling of Harold and Maude-era Bud Cort, who dreams of a better life. The tyrannical owner (Geoff Bell) of the posh hotel where Sam works could care less if the bourgeois patrons love Sam; he seems intent upon riding Sam's back, just waiting for Sam to screw up. On the fateful day on which this particular story takes place, Sam is sent by the hotel's owner on a very important errand. He must walk to a swank antique shop around the corner to get a watch band belonging to one of the hotel's guests adjusted. Despite transporting a very expensive watch, Sam takes the task rather lightly. He stops off at a nearby cafe to grab a bite to eat where he meets the lovely Mary (Imogen Poots). Though Mary is a wee bit out of Sam's league, he...
- 11/14/2012
- by Don Simpson
- SmellsLikeScreenSpirit
A jazzy ensemble sex comedy with a strong cast playing eccentric showbiz types in New York, the fourth film of independent filmmaker Tom DiCillo ("Box of Moonlight") is a bit cluttered with name actors and subplots, but overall, the Paramount release is insightful and entertaining.
Needing real good reviews and word-of-mouth to make a splash, "The Real Blonde" should garner some of both and generate healthy business in major markets. With a potent appeal to adult women, DiCillo's often hilarious, poignantly honest portrayal of the sexual attitudes of urban couples and diverse singles is probing but nonjudgmental.
What is real and what is not? In keeping with the movie's theme, "The Real Blonde" is far from perfect, but it's adept storytelling not dependent on narrative hooks. Humor arises from the engaging characterizations, and there are a few outlandish gags that work beautifully ("Il Piano"?), while there's satisfaction in watching the performers have fun with the sharp-witted dialogue and sometimes-terrific comic flourishes.
The lead couple is Joe (Matthew Modine) and makeup artist Mary (Catherine Keener), lovers for seven years who are not interested in children or marriage. Indeed, their sex life is stalled, along with his acting career, and she is growing frustrated. Their minor and major spats, in and out of bed, are among the film's best moments, with his moneyless situation and her hostility fueling ugly-but-over-quick shouting matches.
Meanwhile, Joe's fellow actor and friend Bob (Maxwell Caulfield) gets a job on a soap opera, starts earning good money and pursues an ideal of womanhood, though he's not exactly the girl toy he wants. His career starting to take off, Bob backs off from a relationship with a sweet, sensitive model (Bridgette Wilson) and starts a fling with his seductive co-star (Daryl Hannah).
The most ironic development is that likable rogue Bob is unhappy searching for perfection, but hapless Joe encounters an unreal blonde on the prowl (Elizabeth Berkley), first as an instant-fantasy object on the street and later as a stand-in for Madonna on the set of a video shoot.
How cocky, persistent Joe gets his first acting job is a story involving a crabby casting agent (Kathleen Turner). How tough, tender Mary takes the advice of her demure shrink (Buck Henry) and enrolls in a self-defense course taught by a rugged hunk (Denis Leary) is likewise a plot line with surprises and crowd-pleasing moments.
Other veterans in small-but-memorable roles include Marlo Thomas as the commanding fashion photographer Mary Works for -- who creates erotic tableaus using Wilson's character -- and Christopher Lloyd as the dour catering-service owner.
THE REAL BLONDE
Paramount Pictures
Lakeshore Entertainment
A Marcus Viscidi production
Writer-director: Tom DiCillo
Producers: Marcus Viscidi, Tom Rosenberg
Executive producers: Sigurjon Sighvatsson,
Ted Tannebaum, Terry McKay
Director of photography: Frank Prinzi
Production designer: Christopher Nowak
Editors: Camilla Toniolo, Keiko Deguchi
Costume designer: Jennifer Von Mayrhauser
Music: Jim Farmer
Casting: Avy Kaufman
Color/stereo
Cast:
Joe: Matthew Modine
Mary: Catherine Keener
Kelly: Daryl Hannah
Bob: Maxwell Caulfield
Tina: Elizabeth Berkley
Blair: Marlo Thomas
Sahara: Bridgette Wilson
Dr. Leuter: Buck Henry
Ernst: Christopher Lloyd
Dee Dee Taylor: Kathleen Turner
Doug: Denis Leary
Running time -- 106 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
Needing real good reviews and word-of-mouth to make a splash, "The Real Blonde" should garner some of both and generate healthy business in major markets. With a potent appeal to adult women, DiCillo's often hilarious, poignantly honest portrayal of the sexual attitudes of urban couples and diverse singles is probing but nonjudgmental.
What is real and what is not? In keeping with the movie's theme, "The Real Blonde" is far from perfect, but it's adept storytelling not dependent on narrative hooks. Humor arises from the engaging characterizations, and there are a few outlandish gags that work beautifully ("Il Piano"?), while there's satisfaction in watching the performers have fun with the sharp-witted dialogue and sometimes-terrific comic flourishes.
The lead couple is Joe (Matthew Modine) and makeup artist Mary (Catherine Keener), lovers for seven years who are not interested in children or marriage. Indeed, their sex life is stalled, along with his acting career, and she is growing frustrated. Their minor and major spats, in and out of bed, are among the film's best moments, with his moneyless situation and her hostility fueling ugly-but-over-quick shouting matches.
Meanwhile, Joe's fellow actor and friend Bob (Maxwell Caulfield) gets a job on a soap opera, starts earning good money and pursues an ideal of womanhood, though he's not exactly the girl toy he wants. His career starting to take off, Bob backs off from a relationship with a sweet, sensitive model (Bridgette Wilson) and starts a fling with his seductive co-star (Daryl Hannah).
The most ironic development is that likable rogue Bob is unhappy searching for perfection, but hapless Joe encounters an unreal blonde on the prowl (Elizabeth Berkley), first as an instant-fantasy object on the street and later as a stand-in for Madonna on the set of a video shoot.
How cocky, persistent Joe gets his first acting job is a story involving a crabby casting agent (Kathleen Turner). How tough, tender Mary takes the advice of her demure shrink (Buck Henry) and enrolls in a self-defense course taught by a rugged hunk (Denis Leary) is likewise a plot line with surprises and crowd-pleasing moments.
Other veterans in small-but-memorable roles include Marlo Thomas as the commanding fashion photographer Mary Works for -- who creates erotic tableaus using Wilson's character -- and Christopher Lloyd as the dour catering-service owner.
THE REAL BLONDE
Paramount Pictures
Lakeshore Entertainment
A Marcus Viscidi production
Writer-director: Tom DiCillo
Producers: Marcus Viscidi, Tom Rosenberg
Executive producers: Sigurjon Sighvatsson,
Ted Tannebaum, Terry McKay
Director of photography: Frank Prinzi
Production designer: Christopher Nowak
Editors: Camilla Toniolo, Keiko Deguchi
Costume designer: Jennifer Von Mayrhauser
Music: Jim Farmer
Casting: Avy Kaufman
Color/stereo
Cast:
Joe: Matthew Modine
Mary: Catherine Keener
Kelly: Daryl Hannah
Bob: Maxwell Caulfield
Tina: Elizabeth Berkley
Blair: Marlo Thomas
Sahara: Bridgette Wilson
Dr. Leuter: Buck Henry
Ernst: Christopher Lloyd
Dee Dee Taylor: Kathleen Turner
Doug: Denis Leary
Running time -- 106 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
- 2/20/1998
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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