TMMC Classic Collection - Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

In this installment of the TMMC Classic Collection, we visit the 1966 movie Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?  Starring Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, don't let this black and white movie fool you, it certainly stands up to, if not outweighs, any of its modern counterparts.  The movie was so edgy for its time, it's credited with being responsible for the creation of the MPAA rating system and theoretically is the first R rated movie of all time.  Based of Edward Albee's play of the same name, the film was nominated for a whopping 13 Oscars and deservedly won 5, including a Best Actress nod for Taylor.

Taylor and Burton (who at the time were husband and wife) play the fictitious couple George and Martha, and in a sick way are meant to be the modern versions of the first First Family.  I say in a sick way because George and Martha don't like each other...no, I take that back.  They hate each other.  So what makes the most sense when you hate your spouse and want to kill them?  Throw a party of course!  Because nothing says "this is going to be a hell of a night" more than being around a fighting couple.

The movie focuses on the never ending cocktail party from hell, an unforgettable night for its four participants.  George and Martha and their guests, a young couple and colleague of George's, spend a tormented night together that goes from bad to worse, as they peel away the layers of their marriages.  The poor young couple have no idea what they've gotten into as they blindly fall into the night's abyss.  It's a night filled with fury, lust, deceit and sadness, making the Real Housewives of Orange County look well adjusted.  And you have a front row seat for the fireworks!

Witty, sharp-tongued and psychological, the movie is fantastically quick paced at times, while quiet and contemplative at others.  And with enough hatred, physical and emotional abuse, it plays out like Precious for the upper white middle class; except all these actresses shave their legs.  Watching the movie is like watching a train gong down the track at break-neck speed, taking out people left and right, wrecking their lives along the way.

The fights go from the hilarious to the frightening very quickly, and you spend half the movie somewhere in between laughter and pity.  You learn these people are hurting under the surface deeper than you could've imagined.  At times you can't believe what you're watching, and when you consider that this came out in 1966 you can completely understand the controversy that surrounded it.  It truly must have turned American society upside down, showing a very ugly underbelly of marriage.

What makes this movie what it is, is the sublime acting from all four main actors, all of whom were nominated for Academy Awards for these roles.  It's Elizabeth Taylor at her finest, before she started howling at the moon (seriously folks, if you haven't seen the clip of her interview where she howls, you have to check it out now).   Her performance is remarkable and surpasses many of today's best actresses, drawing you into the movie within the first five minutes.   Also kudos for some really great camera work that mimicks the intensity of the scenes.

There's enough rich themes and material to keep you thinking and talking about the movie for hours.  My only problem with it is that it goes off the psychological, existential deep end at a point, which makes it a bit hard to follow by the conclusion.  Apparently, it's all just a metaphorical question of perception vs. reality - which was difficult to grasp, at least for me.  It's the only reason why I don't give the movie my highest rating.  Nonetheless, this is a fantastic departure from today's Blockbuster hits and deserves your attention.  So don't be afraid of this big, bad, black and white Woolf, and check out a movie well worth a DO A MATINEE! 

Click here for the trailer, but it really doesn't do the movie justice.

TMMC Wants You...

Do you like movies?
Do you make your friends laugh with your witty banter?
Do you like to see your name in lights?
TMMC wants YOU!

It's hard out here for a movie pimp and TMMC is looking for some help from you, my fearless readers.  Unfortunately, TMMC interns have been slacking lately and starting to complain about being chained to their computers.  As it's against my beliefs to hire child labor, and since it's apparently not socially acceptable anymore, I turn to you readers to chip in and help out for the good of the cause.  Oh shut up, I'm not nearly as socialist as Obama.  

If you've ever had an opinion of a movie, and if you're desperate for attention, you're invited to submit your own reviews for posting on TMMC.  Contrary to other popular blogs, I'm seriously interested in what you have to say.  So put your thoughts onto the computer screen and share them!  Requirements for submissions...

• A posting reviewing a movie - any genre or release date (no movie is too old and porn reviews are welcome!)
• 400-900 words in length
• Keep things PG-13

That's it!  I won't edit anything without your consent, so what you submit is what you'll see posted.  This is all about your voice.   If you're interested, and I hope that you are, just submit your entries to TMMCritic@gmail.com.  So get out there and watch some movies and let the world know what you think.  It's the best way to celebrate a democracy besides throwing bricks through windows and making death threats to opposition members.

It's a Small World After All

No today's blog post isn't about the ancient, and now overtly stereotypical, Disneyland ride (because in 2010, every Asian you meet is clad in a kimono, obviously).  Instead, it's a warning to start donning your glasses, and not the 3-D kind.  A string of great foreign films has started hitting theaters so you'll need your reading glasses for these subtitles.  Oh stop whining, you could use some culture.  Besides, the following that I've selected will keep you on the edge of your seat and are worthy of any Hollywood blockbuster.  And since they weren't made in Hollywood, that means they're probably even better!

First up, the biggest film to come out of Argentina since Evita, and this one doesn't come with Madonna OR Antonio Banderas.  You had me at hello.  Academy Award winner for Best Foreign Language Film, The Secret In Their Eyes follows a former criminal court investigator turned writer as he attempts to solve a 25 year-old unsolved rape and murder case.  In theaters April 16, this thriller looks like it might actually pack some punch, so it might be hard to read the subtitles with your hands over your eyes.  Regardless, I'm excited.  Check out the trailer.

Theoretically released on March 12, but just now appearing in theaters, at least in my area, comes another stirring foreign film, Mother.  This one isn't just a thriller, it looks downright terrifying.  And not just because it has a mother screaming in Korean - believe me, I had a Korean friend growing up and nothing is as intimidating as a Korean woman screaming at you to wake up after a sleepover.  In the movie, when her son is wrongly accused of murder, one mother stops at nothing to find the true killer.  I'll tell you one thing, if she was a Greek mother all she would've said is, "it's o.k., I make lamb."  Check out the trailer.

If you don't want an Argentine steak or Korean rice for dinner, why not have some Italian pasta?  Not the most horrifying movie I've selected for today, Vincere is surely scary in the fact that it's the only one to be based off a fascist Nazi supporter.  The movie is based on the secret true story of Benito Mussolini's mistress, considered by some as the dictator's muse and inspiration.  Nothing says I love you like war and mass murder.  "Happy Valentine's Day baby, I brought you a revolution."  Gee thanks Moose, way to make me look like a chump.  In theaters as of March 19, though I still haven't seen it around in my neighborhood, this movie looks stunningly beautiful and has something very Shakespearian about it.  Check out the trailer.

Ghost Writer; the health care debate had more suspense

While Roman Polanski prepares to incorporate orange jumpsuits into his wardrobe, his latest, and perhaps last, movie Ghost Writer is now out in theaters. Several weeks ago, TMMC brought you a sneak preview of the movie and I noted with excitement my anticipation for the political thriller. Unfortunately, thrilling is not a word I would use to describe this movie now after seeing it. Thrill-less is more like it.

In Ghost Writer, Ewan McGregor plays a writer who finds himself ghost writing the memoirs of a controversial former British Prime Minister (obviously a Tony Blaire metaphor), played by Pierce Brosnan.  Caught in the PM's inner circle as a web of scandal untangles, McGregor finds himself way over his head and uncovers a secret with the potential to drop the political bomb of the century.  Sounds great, doesn't it?  I'm running out the door to see it right now!  Too bad a 50 word summation is more exciting than the real deal.

Ghost Writer holds so much potential and you'd think it would be well protected in Polanski's capable hands. Unfortunately, it packs more bark than bite.  It draws you in very quickly with its suspense and intrigue and a very Hitchcock-ian brooding and mysterious feel.    The audience is guided down winding paths of plot that lead to one dead end after another, opening up new cans of worms which you would expect of any good political thriller.  But with so little action, there's little pay off.  And as more and more layers of the onion are peeled away the pace of the movie slows down to a snails crawl, to the point of "get on with it!"

Yet still, you hold out for hope that at some point something big is going to happen that will turn the world upside down.  Something big does happen, but it's not the pay off you expect or even desire.  In the end, it all seems so simple and you're left feeling unsatisfied, if not downright angry that you've invested so much time and energy into staying awake the entire time.  The ending could be considered clever, but by the time it rolls around you're so disenchanted with the movie you don't much care.

With some great art direction Polanski gets credit for setting a great tone and mood and credit must also be given to the sophisticated writing, for the most part.  But alas, when the crux of the movie boils down to America peeing on the carpet like a dog again, you just feel like you've been there, seen that.  Bad America...bad girl!  Now I'm going to rub your nose in it again, that's the only way you're going to learn.  We got it already - America bad, everyone else good.  Let's move on, can't we?

McGregor, Brosnan and Olivia Williams (playing Brosnan's wife) deliver strong performances that only make you feel further cheated.  I trusted you Ewan McGregor!  I followed you blindly, was your companion in adventure, and you let me down!  If Polanski was trying to channel the great Hitchcock, it comes to no surprise that he included a famous Hitchcock blond (if you're unfamiliar with Hitchcock's obsession with including blonds in his movies, you should read up on it, it's fascinating).  What is surprising is that they decided to cast Kim Cattrall in the role.  And even more surprisingly, she didn't entirely blow it!  Don't get me wrong, she delivers the weakest performance  but I was just impressed that she didn't ruin the movie entirely.  The most you'll hate of her is that she can't keep a British accent for two lines in a row, so you vaguely feel like you're watching Sex and the City's Samantha Jones disastrously trying to pull off some kinky role play.  The nice thing about lowering the bar so much for her is that she actually exceeded my expectations.  Good for you Kim Cattrall!

Confusingly, there's one aspect of the movie that drove me nuts more than anything else.  What can only be considered a sloppy attempt to lower the movie's MPAA rating, all the F-bombs have been dubbed over and replaced with less harsh language.  And it's not like it's smoothly handled with the magic of editing - it's absolutely blatant.  The character's face is 20 feet tall on the screen and looking directly at the camera saying "f*#!," but all you hear is "bloody bastards."  Excuse me?  Did you really think we wouldn't notice that?  It's not even the same number of syllables!  And it happens not once, but at least three times on my count!  What are we doing here people, watching the movie on TBS?

Despite receiving critical acclaim, I'm not quite sure how Ghost Writer will fare with audiences.  When I read things like "Polanski's best movie since the 70's," it makes me wonder if he was that good of a director to begin with.  Certainly for all its similarities, a Hitchcock triumph it was not.  If you're a fan of the genre, check it out, but lower your expectations...lower....lower....lower....there you go.  I may not be the best writer in the world, but the Ghost Writer is so transparent it deserves a BREW & VIEW IT!

Check out the trailer, makes it look real good, doesn't it.

Quit Knocking, Nobody's Home!

Due to unforeseen circumstances, TMMC is taking a short break to make some more popcorn, but I'll be back as soon as you can say the longest movie title in history, 2005's...

Night of the Day of the Dawn of the Son of the Bride of the Return of the Revenge of the Terror of the Attack of the Evil, Mutant, Hellbound, Flesh-Eating Subhumanoid Zombified Living Dead, 

Part 3