Which is Better?

Nicole Kidman

10 sample films:

Moulin Rouge!
The Others
Eyes Wide Shut
Dogville
Cold Mountain
Practical Magic
Birth
The Hours
Dead Calm
Rabbit Hole

or

Julianne Moore

10 sample films:

Boogie Nights
Far From Heaven
A Single Man
Magnolia
Psycho
Nine Months
An Ideal Husband
The Big Lebowski
Safe
The Kids Are All Right

Which do you prefer? Let me know in the comments section

The Kids Are All Right So Stop Asking

The Kids Are All Right

As a newlywed the one question I always get is “so how is married life treating you?” To which I usually respond “good so far, just taking it one day at a time.” The latter part of my response always seems to evoke a peculiar look from the person who initially asked the question. I guess they expect me to be wearing the same rose colour glasses that many wear just after the “big day”. Yet that has never been my style, I have always taken a more realistic approach to relationships. I am fully aware that relationships take a lot to maintain and it only gets harder as the years go by.

It is this understanding that makes Lisa Cholodenko’s film, The Kids Are All Right, flow so well. Nic (Annette Benning) and Jules (Julianne Moore) have been in a committed relationship for 18 years. Living with their two teenage children, Joni (Mia Wasikowska) Laser (Josh Hutcherson), the couple appear to have the perfect life. The cracks in their relationships only begin to surface when their kids decide to seek out their biological father, Paul (Mark Ruffalo). The presence of Paul comes as a huge shock to Nic and Jules, and forces them to re-evaluate the dynamics of their relationship.

The Kids Are All Right examines how easily people fall into particular roles in relationships. These roles often become a prison of sorts as they inadvertently serve as the thing that defines them most in their relationships. Nic has always been the assertive one in the union. She is the bread winner who strives for excellence. These traits have been passed down to Joni, who Nic gave birth to. Jules on the other hand is the free spirit who never follows through with things. Her passions are often fleeting which makes it hard to for Nic to truly get behind Jules’ latest plan to start a landscaping business.

In many ways, Paul represents the sides of Nic and Jules that they have lost during their lengthy relationship. Paul has managed to turn his lack of formal education into a successful restaurant business, while still maintaining that passion for the finer things in life. In Paul’s case this includes music, wine and women. This is why Nic and Jules find themselves in such a tailspin around Paul. Jules sees everything she fell in love with about Nic in Paul. Paul also serves as a reminder to Nic of what her life was before everything became so serious.

Although there are several levels at play, Cholodenko’s film is able to express them all well through her wonderfully written script. While Benning, Moore, and Ruffalo will receive praise for their great performances, and rightfully so, it is the screenplay that makes this film a must-see in my opinion. Similar to her work in both High Art and Laural Canyon, Lisa Cholodenko has a way with words that is not appreciated the way it should be. There is rarely a moment where the plot or the situation feels forced. There are many moments in The Kids Are All Right where you can identify with the elements of their relationships. The excellent script coupled with the great performances allows The Kids Are All Right to standout above other recent films that have tried to show just how complicated relationships really are.

Who Is In Your Acting Dream Team?

Recently Anomalous Material brought together 27 movie bloggers to take part in a Hollywood Fantasy Draft. Over the course of 10 rounds, and several days, each blogger assembled their own film dream team. Below is the team I ended up with after the draft. Although I was near the bottom of the draft order I am very happy with the team I sekected. Now I just need to figure out roles for them all.

The Actors

Johnny Depp, Brad Pitt, Julianne Moore, Rosemary Dewitt, Denzel Washington, Salma Hayek, Don Cheadle, Charlotte Rambling, and Zooey Deschanel

The Director

Spike Jonze

Starting next Monday each participant will be sharing their movie ideas for their dream cast. Each day a new movie pitch will be featured on both the bloggers main website and the Anomalous Material website. At the end of the three weeks, all the pitches will be collected and featured in a special edition of Pitch the LAMB over at the Large Association of Movie Blogs.

What type of film would you make with this cast? Action flick? Comedy? Drama? Horror? Romance? Etc. Let me know in the comment section.

That Chloe Is Such A Tease...

Chloe

Atom Egoyan is often on the receiveing end of a lot of blogger’s tongue lashings. I am not sure why he strikes up so much venom in some people. Egoyan is a skilled director who has made some very good films over the years. I feel it has to do with the way critics, especially here in Canada, tend to fawn over him a little more than they do David Cronenberg. Despite his accolades even Atom Egoyan can stumble every now and then. I would not call Chloe a major misstep, as there are many good moments in the film, but it does not reach the level of intrigue it really should.

Chloe is a remake of the 2003 French film, Nathalie, which starred Emmanuelle Béart, Fanny Ardant, and Gérard Depardieu. In Atom Egoyan’s version of the tale, Catherine (Julianne Moore) suspects that her husband David (Liam Neeson) is cheating. Unable to shake her suspicions, Catherine hires a prostitute, Chloe (Amanda Seyfried), to see if David will succumb to temptation. Soon Chloe is providing Catherine with regular updates of her encounters with David. As the two women spend more time together, Catherine becomes increasingly more aroused by the sordid details of Chloe’s reports.

It has been over a week now since I watched Chloe and I must admit I am still on the fence about it. There are elements I thought worked very well in the film, but there are times where the film does not live up to its potential. Despite making a film with all the trappings of a salacious Fatal Attraction-style tale, Atom Egoyan never seems comfortable with fully committing to the genre. There is a great scene in the film where Amanda Seyfried’s Chloe, on the brink of tears, stops and gives a chilling look directly into camera. The look clearly says that the gloves are off and all hell is about to break loose. Instead of capatilizing on this scene, Egoyan pulls back the tension and tries to make the film more artsy than thriller. Unfortunately the more he tries to avoid the conventional route, the deeper within it he actually falls. Atom Egoyan’s uneasiness is most evident in the final act of the film. It is at this point where the director backs himself into a corner with no other choice but to go the traditional Hollywood style ending. The ending of the film is sloppy and almost laughable. It is hard to believe that any of the characters would end up in the state they are in by time the final scene hits.

I think it would have been wiser for Egoyan to go with a completely different path in regards to the way the film plays out. I understand that he is remaking another person’s work, but he should have taken more liberties with the script if he wanted to make a serious character study. Instead of turning the ending into a straight thriller, he could have found another way highlight the consequences of desire and betrayal. The interesting thing is that for the first two-thirds of Chloe, Egoyan really seems to understand what is driving all of his characters. Catherine is disgust by the thought of her husband cheating, but she is also turned on by the youthful recklessness of it all. She feels abandoned by all the men in her life and wonders how she ended up in this state. The relationship between Chloe and Catherine is intriguing because both women are having their different needs met. Chloe thinks she is getting the love that has evaded her, partly due to her line of work, for so long.

Personally, I found Chloe to be the real victim in the tale. She is the only one I actually felt something for by the end. A large reason for this is the great work that Amanda Seyfried does in the film. Instead of making Chloe a deranged character, Seyfried brings a human element to every one of Chloe’s actions. Her scene with Julianne Moore are what really keep the film interesting; they play off each other so well that it I wanted to see their relationship develop far more than it actually does. Liam Neeson is good in the film though his character is fairly stunted overall.

If the film had to be graded on the first two acts then I would highly recommend it. Unfortunately the last half really derails the overall film. At best I would have to give Chloe a mild recommendation as the potential was there. I just wish Atom Egoyan had been more daring and confident in regards to his direction this time around.

Moore Acting Roles Needed In Order To Afford School Fees

Just a quick post today as I need to do some prep work for a function I am attending tomorrow. As some of you already know, I occasionally do two features for The LAMB. One of them is the LAMB Acting School 101 in which a different actor or actress is highlighted each month. Basically it is a way for people to see what bloggers think about a particular actor's/actress' canon of work. Plus the LAMB Acting School 101 also offers bloggers a free forum to promote their blogs as well.  Next week the feature will be focusing on the works of Julianne Moore! So if you are a blogger, or know of a blogger, who has written a review, posted a commentary, recorded a podcast about Julianne Moore (or her films) be sure to forward it along to the email address below.

Here are the type of things I am looking for:

• Articles on her best performances
• Articles on her worst performances
• General thoughts on the actress
• Reviews of the films she has starred in

Send the link of the blog post to bigthoughtssmallmind@hotmail.com. Please note that multiple submissions are encouraged. The deadline for submissions is Monday August 2, 2010.

Fricassee Five Friday: Julianne Moore

Spiced Just Right

Far From Heaven
While the film may be a nod to classic films from yesteryear, Moore’s performance was by no means an imitation. Her fresh, and heartbreaking, approach transcended the film into something truly magical.

Boogie Nights
As Amber Waves, Julianne Moore proved that not all of P.T. Anderson’s characters have daddy issues. Sometimes mothers get in on the dysfunctional family act as well.

Safe
Short Cuts may have been the film that helped usher Moore to a wider film loving audience, but Safe is the film that solidified her as a legitimate actress. Of all the damaged characters Moore has played this one ranks as one her best.

A Single Man
I wrote a review on this film earlier in the week so I will not dwell on it too much. Julianne Moore is only in the film for a brief time but it is memorable nonetheless.

The Big Lebowski
This is another film where Moore made a strong impact in a small role. There were so many great films featuring Julianne Moore that could have made this list. Yet The Big Lebowski earns a spot simply for the fact that Moore somehow managed to standout in a film that featured: a pot smoking hero, nihilist, a hairnet wearing bowler name Jesus, a severed toe, and a musical number. Quite a feat if you ask me. Plus who does not love The Big Lebowski?



Lay Off the Cheese

Hannibal
Julianne Moore had the tough task of trying to fill the shoes that Jodie Foster had made so memorable. Personally I thought Moore did a good job in the film, it is just too bad that the rest of the movie was so awful. Frankly, Manhunter and Silence of the Lambs is more than enough Hannibal Lecter to last a lifetime

Nine Months
What is wrong with a comedy about pregnancy and relationships starring Hugh Grant, Robin Williams, and Julianne Moore? Let’s start with the most serious offense, it was not that funny. There is a fine line between comedy and silly, Nine Months was just silly. Comedy works best when you do not foresee the punchline coming, the movie is the exact opposite of this logic. Every gag felt forced.

The Lost World: Jurassic Park
A young girl used gymnastics to kick a Raptor out the window…a Raptor!! There are many reason why I dislike this film, but I simply do not have the hours to go through all of them. By time the film turned into King Kong I had lost all interest.

Next
Sometime you stick with a film hoping that the payoff will be worth it; only to find out that you have been kicked in the groin at the end. Next is one of those groin-kicking movies. The movie is horrendous and the ending is a painful reminder that you just wasted two hours of your life that can never be replaced.

Freedomland
This film had to be a “money job.” In other words, something the actors agreed to do so that they could fund the smaller films that they truly want to make. That is the only way I can see Julianne Moore and Samuel L. Jackson justifying this awful movie. If you watch this movie closely, you will realize that every actor seems to be acting in a completely different movie. Julianne Moore’s performance, though extremely over-the-top, is the only one that really seems to fit the absurdity of Freedomland.

Stylish Single Man Seeks Shoulder To Cry On

A Single Man

After the sudden death of his lover Jim (Matthew Goode), George (Colin Firth) no longer sees any reason to go on living. Consumed by grief George decides that this is the day he will commit suicide. As George goes through the daily routine, for possibly the last time, he spends time with his best friend Charley (Julianne Moore) and discovers various opportunities for new love. One of which includes Kenny (Nicholas Hoult), one of George’s students

Is it possible that a film can be too pretty for its own good? If so, then I think A Single Man falls into that category. Tom Ford clearly has a keen visual eye. Every single frame in the film could be its own poster or magazine photograph. I really enjoyed the shots where George was observing the physical details of the various people he encountered. At times I found myself being so distracted by the visuals that I was starting to ignore aspects of the narrative.

Despite the strong visuals, Ford is determined to have A Single Man be more than just a stylish film. He really works hard to ensure that the story and characters are always at the forefront. This is what makes Tom Ford’s directorial debut such a memorable film. The story may revolve around George’s grief over losing his lover, but there is opportunity for him to find love around every corner. George is practically the gay kin of James Bond and Shaft, as it seems almost every person he meets wants to bed him. The refreshing thing about this is that George is completely aware of his sexual magnetism and often struggles not to give into his own urges.

The film is as much about moving on as it is about mourning loss. As much as I enjoyed the flashbacks segments between George and Jim, it was more exciting watching the cat and mouse like game that George plays with Kenny. The romantic tension is palpable yet it is George’s guilt, or at least his need to hold onto to the guilt, that is the wedge in their budding relationship.

The need to hold onto the past is also found in the George and Charley arc. To me this is the most gut wrenching part of the whole movie. George and Charley both have baggage to deal with but they display it in different ways. George wallows in his grief while Charley puts on the façade of being carefree. In my opinion it is Charley who is by far the saddest character in the whole picture. Her whole life is defined by the various men in her life. Now living alone, Charley drinks away her pain while secretly longing to rekindle the magical night she once had with George. The fact that George views their one encounter as a just a moment of fun is very telling. It represents how Charley has been viewed by most of the men in her life.

A lot of credit must be giving to both Colin Firth and Julianne Moore for their work in A Single Man. They do a wonderful job bring out the complexities of their individual characters. Their unique performances help to convey the sorrow and joy within George and Charley. Although there is a lot of grief that runs throughout A Single Man; the performances coupled with Tom Ford visual flare makes this film a rather joyous film to watch.

Movie Marketing Monday

Marmaduke

Marmaduke is an unfunny comic strip that I routinely avoid on a daily basis. So I guess it is fitting that I plan to avoid the movie adaptation as well. Speaking of adaptations, is there really no books left for Hollywood to adapt? Does this mean a Family Circus movie is coming down the pipeline?




The Kids Are Alright

Finally a new film from Lisa Cholodenko! This looks to be her most mainstream film to date. The fact that Julianne Moore and Mark Ruffalo are in the film is an added bonus.