I Am So Popular: Billie Jean Is Also Not MY Lover!
![Snapshots: Patrick Wolf @ Antone's [Last Night]](http://austinist.com/assets_c/2009/07/3681926004_a0e4378bf2_m-thumb-110x110-364431.jpg)
Snapshots: Patrick Wolf @ Antone's [Last Night]
Faith/Void: Bill Callahan at the Parish, Being Great
![Preview: <em>Henry V</em> at The Off Center [Theatre]](http://austinist.com/assets_c/2009/07/HenryV_RF-thumb-110x110-362751.jpg)
Preview: Henry V at The Off Center [Theatre]
Weekend Music Preview: Sky Sunlight Saxon Memorial + 4th of July events
After a manmade virus wipes out 99% of earth's population and reduces the rest to feral, mutated cannibals, a lone uninfected virologist named Robert Neville (Will Smith) searches for an antidote to the mutant-making disease. But after years spent searching for a cure, loneliness and desperation begin to take their toll on his sanity as the increasingly crafty mutants close in around him.
Despite what the trailers might lead you to believe, this big-budget adaptation of Richard Matheson's post-apocalyptic sci-fi novel is not a blow-'em-up action film. For the most part, it's actually a moody, existential drama. Don't get us wrong--there are some explosions and some effects-heavy monster fights, but the most affecting bits are the long stretches of quiet contemplation that happen in between the CGI budget busters. Where Director Francis Lawrence (whose only other film credit is the 2005 stinker Constantine) succeeds is in his exploration of Neville's slow march toward isolated madness. After all, being the last man on earth can raise some serious questions about the meaning of your existence, and Smith gives the role a brilliantly nuanced treatment.
Unfortunately, the overblown, over-animated monsters aren't nearly as convincing, and as the film builds towards an all-out mutant battle royal, it loses virtually all emotional momentum, turning instead toward bizarre, half-hearted religious allegory. And ironically, the hokey Hollywood ending is so lame and faux-spiritual that it didn't seem to please most of the crowd at the screening we attended. Why do good movies sometimes end so badly?
When cantankerous short-story writer Margot (Nicole Kidman) decides to attend her estranged sister Pauline's (Jennifer Jason Leigh) wedding, things quickly become uncomfortable as sisterly conflicts reemerge and new personalities collide. Jack Black co-stars as Pauline's fiancé Malcolm, a slackerly, Jack-Black-like artist who Margot severely dislikes.
Much drier and darker than Writer/Director Noah Baumbach's debut feature The Squid and the Whale, Margot at the Wedding is an affecting, yet overwhelmingly gloomy study of familial bonds and personal neuroses. Kidman does a near-perfect job as Margot (a character so emotionally volatile that she's almost impossible to like), and Leigh offers a solid counterpoint as a character who seems to find happiness no matter how bad the situation.
The film works best when it explores the shifting definitions of success and happiness; Margot, though financially and personally successful, just can't seem to overcome her jealous insecurity, while Pauline, living in her parent's house with her unemployed fiancé, is ready to make the most of whatever life throws at her. On some level, they hate each other--but as sisters, they're not allowed to hate each other, and it's this setup that yields the most interesting results.
But as more and more bizarre characters are introduced, the movie begins to slide off the rails, bouncing from family drama to quirky comedy with all the grace of a ballerina bear. The supporting characters are so randomly, annoyingly, unnecessarily strange and mean that they sometimes just don't seem real, and at some point it becomes unclear what Baumbach is driving at.
There are a lot of funny moments in Margot at the Wedding (mostly courtesy of Jack Black), and the film will certainly find some fans among folks who like dark, acerbic banter. But ultimately, we're not exactly sure what we were supposed to take away from it. And we're not sure Baumbach knows either.
What Would Jesus Buy?
This Morgan Spurlock-produced documentary follows the exploits of Reverend Billy and the The Church of Stop Shopping Choir as they travel cross-country spreading the gospel of anti-commercialism.
Part road movie, part social commentary, part comedy, What Would Jesus Buy? is a fun watch. Reverend Billy's larger-than-life sermonizing is mesmerizing, and you can't help but admire his commitment and spirit. We had a great time at the film's SXSW screening earlier this year, where Reverend Billy appeared with the entire choir in tow for a post-screening performance.
Don't expect much in the way of actual social criticism though--the film spends more time grandstanding and reiterating than it does contemplating its position. That's not to say that it isn't good--only that it works better as a doc about Reverend Billy than it does as a doc about the commercialization of Christmas. Either way, you'll leave the theatre smiling.
Alvin and the Chipmunks
Hollywood ruins another childhood memory by recreating it in CGI. Early word is actually fairly positive, but come on... did this really need to be made? And are you actually going to pay to see it? Why, Jason Lee? Why?!
The Rape of Europa
This looks awesome. A documentary exploring the theft, destruction and occasional miraculous survival of Europe’s art treasures during the Second World War. If you love art and hate Nazis, this one's for you.
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I'm interested in seeing I Am Legend to see the ending, because I can't imagine it'll be faithful to the book. After all, Robert Neville is supposed to be a white dude with blonde hair and a beard living in California which is about 180 degrees from Will Smith's character.
I'm hoping someone will just ruin the ending in the next comment and save me $8.
So I was going to let my Noah Baumbach fanboy out and tell you about this awesome movie by him I saw just out of high school called "Kicking and Screaming", but then I went to IMDB and realized I was a pretty crappy fanboy since I've only seen three of his movies and yet he's written nine of which he's directed six. I'm off to update my Netflix Queue. But rent Kicking and Screaming. The version without Will Farrell.
Oohh, good call Tim. I stand corrected.
I've actually seen Kicking and Screaming, and I have no idea why I wrote "debut". Well, other than that I'm stupid. I haven't, however, seen any of Baumbach's other movies either.
The funny thing about the CGI in I Am LEgend-- it's not just the interactions with the creatures that are CGI-supported. All those emotional, brooding scenes with Will Smith walking around in a deserted, dilapidated Manhattan are CGI-rendered. Very convincing panoramas.
The movie does a great job. People in my group were crying. It scared all of us. The climax approaching the end is pretty stressful. The 'spiritual' ending is no more so than the ending of Charlton Heston's "Omega Man."
If you liked "Omega Man" like me, you'll enjoy "I Am Legend." It's got a LOT of faithful references to that movie but redone in modern times, such as the obvious Ford Mustang product placement.
Not giving anything away, there are some fun borrowings from other great movies like Mad Max and a dog movie that I won't name.
Go see it at the Alamo so you can see the trailer from the Omega Man before hand.
Seth
oh, another cool part in "I Am Legend" is when he lipsynchs to Shrek and the dialogue is a metaphor for his own situation, like how Charlton Heston's Neville lipsynchs to "Woodstock" in a somewhat ironic manner.
Seth
Oh, totally, Seth. CGI isn't the devil or anything--most of the "deserted Manhattan" scenes were super well done. And for the most part, they didn't look CGI at all (with a few exceptions).
I just think that the decision to make the infected humans completely CGI was, well, completely crappy. Mostly because they look so computer generated that you never get the sense they were once human, which kind of drains the emotion out of Neville's interaction with them.
What I mean is--one of the most interesting parts of the story is that these monsters used to be human (maybe even some people Neville knows and loves), and that he's obsessed with curing them. But instead of "humans-turned-monsters", they just seemed like plain old monsters, and consequently I didn't really care if he cured them or not. In Omega Man, the monsters weren't all that well executed either, but at least they seemed real.
I liked Omega Man for the most part, and I liked I Am Legend for the most part. But I'm not sure I agree that liking one guarantees liking the other.
As expected, I was completely let down by the ending of I Am Legend. It was so hokey in the big movie zombie fight kind of way. I knew I shouldn't be shocked, but that combined with the complete lack of what made the end of the book so cool... it just let me down, because I enjoyed the rest of the movie (which also had nothing in common with the book, other than the title and Neville's name). The end of the book is just as moving and interesting as the movie attempted to be, but in a different way. I guess with how they set up the bad guys being human eating zombies vs old fashioned vampires, the book's ending would be almost impossible to imagine.. though when it appeared that the zombie dudes could begin to tolerate a little sunshine/UV light, I thought "Shit, they're going to do the ending like the book! Amazing!"
I also thought Will Smith's descent into crazy land was done better than the book. In the book, Neville is just a raging alcoholic which is understandable.. but not quite as compelling as the way they handled it in the movie with the video store scenes.
What confuses me slightly more is I saw a copy of I Am Legend in BookPeople with Will Smith on the cover. Any person who picks that up expecting to read about a black dude living in Manhattan in the year 2012 is going to be completely shocked by the book. Talk about bad marketing, though I bet most people who would pick up a book with Will Smith on the cover aren't really book readers to begin with.
Not a bad movie though and the CGI for the NYC scenes was awesome/worth price of admission. And again, Will Smith really played his part amazingly.
Another credit to "I Am Legend" is that there was no love story. It's nearly impossible to get major blockbuster funding for a PG-13 movie that doesn't have something 8th grade girls can relate to.
Seth
i know molly posted on this weeks ago.
that's okay.
if you haven't seen no country for old men, do it.
hoo, boy! it's delectably sick. javier bardem gives a performance that is *legend*. you're gonna wish you could nestle your head in his hair.