The Conical Glass: See the movie, don't read the reviews

Sunday, October 21, 2007

See the movie, don't read the reviews

I love going to sneak preview screenings because I think it's so cool to see a movie before every plot twist has been dissected in the media. Sure, sometimes you wind up seeing a "Fur" or "American Dreamz," but getting to experience a gem without knowing anything about it first makes it all worthwhile.

The poster for "Dan in Real Life" is a close-up of Steve Carell's face, looking out at the viewer as he rests his head on a stack of pancakes. His expression is sort of forlorn and resigned. This was enough to convince me that "Dan" must be a Sad Steve Carell movie, and I will always go see Sad Steve Carell ("Little Miss Sunshine," "The 40 Year-Old Virgin"), while skipping Wannabe Blockbuster Steve Carell ("Evan Almighty," "Bewitched"). Indeed, "Dan" is a tour de force of S.S.C., as he plays a widower struggling to raise his three daughters, one an adorable fourth-grader, the other two surly teenagers.

There is a plot twist that happens about 15 minutes into the film that I'm sure every single reviewer will give away, since usually if something takes place that early on, it's considered fair game. But I really enjoyed getting to experience the film without knowing the twist was coming. So if you're a Carell fan, or just a fan of quirky romantic comedies, I implore you to see "Dan" without reading anything about it first. Heck, if a TV commercial comes on, turn it off. (I just watched the trailer on YouTube, and of course it gives away most of the plot.)

This afternoon, while our third open house was going on, we went to see George Clooney's new film, "Michael Clayton." I really don't like it when movies are named after their lead characters, unless that character is already a known quantity (e.g. "Gandhi"). The title "Michael Clayton" tells you nothing. He could be a football player or a jewel thief or a dentist. As it turns out, he's a lawyer. I had already read a couple reviews of "Clayton," but it's got a pretty complicated plot, so in this case, knowing a little bit of the story in advance probably helped me get into it. Clooney is excellent, as is Tilda Swinton as the icy lead counsel for a big agrochemical company. It's not what I would call an entertaining film, as it deals with pretty heavy topics (evil corporations, mental illness, crushing personal debt, etc.), but it's well made and worth seeing if you wish Hollywood was making more serious issue pictures for grown-ups along the lines of "The Verdict" or "Missing."

Maybe I should say "issue pictures that aren't about the war," since there seems to be a bumper crop of topical war pix this fall -- "In the Valley of Elah," "Rendition," "Redacted," "Lions for Lambs," etc. I'm hoping maybe there'll be something on the fall/winter slate that's not quite as much of a downer as "Redacted" and not quite as idiotic-looking as "Fred Claus" or "Alvin and the Chipmunks."

posted by 125records @ 6:37 PM

6 Comments:

At 8:12 PM, 2fs said…

I think Clooney should play a football-playing, jewel-thieving, tooth-pulling lawyer.

Unfortunately, there are fewer adults in America than adolescents and overgrown adolescents - so until nominal adults with real jobs cease thinking that "fun" = "being entertained by movies pitched at a 12-year-old's worldview," we're doomed.

Doomed, I tell ya. Like, Dennis DeYoung-level doomed.
At 9:18 PM, 125records said…

Well, autumn is OSCAR BAIT SEASON, so there are plenty of pictures aimed at grown-ups, since the "Superbad"s of the world never rack up award noms. I think both "Dan" and "Michael Clayton" are aimed at adults and won't insult your intelligence. Though I won't call them "adult films." But you know what I mean.
At 7:15 PM, yellojkt said…

I was in one of those sneak preview programs back in the 80s and we saw a lot of bad movies. Glad you got to see some good ones.
At 10:34 AM, Paula said…

The preview for DAN contains the "twist," if I am interpreting you correctly. I just wanna see it cuz it's a romantic comedy where the lead actress isn't 25.

And, am I really the only one who didn't think SUPERBAD was that good? I was checking my watch a lot towards the end.
At 4:38 PM, 125records said…

Paula, I didn't care for SUPERBAD at all. I can't believe there were people who thought it was somehow pro-woman or had fully realized female characters. Bull. And it was too long.
At 11:33 AM, flasshe said…

The review in my local paper this morning gave away the plot twist in DAN, but I think I had already saw it mentioned somewhere else. The reviewer did not like the movie. (BTW, the Rocky downsized out most of its entertainment/spotlight columnists a few months ago, so now we get these generic AP movie reviews, mostly by Christy Lemire, whom I'm convinced Richard Roeper has a huge crush on.)