casting crew: THE MUNSTERS – THE MOVIE
It’s been ages since I’ve featured a Casting Crew column on this blog! In fact, most of you current readers haven’t been around long enough to even remember it. A refresher then – it’s time to cast the hypothetical small-screen-to-big-screen adaptations of the future. The ‘crew’ has already stopped by many other old shows, but for this entry, it’s all about the other kooky family of the undead, The Munsters.
and now for reviews…
link rundown: march 30, 2010
All right, it’s time for some rockin’ links in the blog world. Take a look at these posts from out in cyberspace and enjoy!
best films: #37: RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK (1981)
All right, so this one’s kind of a no-brainer – it’s one of the greatest adventure flicks of all time, and there’s just no way around the fact that Raiders of the Lost Ark and the character of Indiana Jones are both essential viewing (just forget about that fourth movie). Boasting the best “Jones girl,” I guess you’d call it, of the series, Karen Allen is spunky (and a wee bit o’ action hero herself) as Marion Ravenwood. Let’s face it – Kate Capshaw was a shrieking mess in Temple of Doom and though Alison Doody was a formidable bombshell of an opponent in the quite good Last Crusade, she hardly counts (you know, because of that whole being a Nazi thing). But Marion is a feisty bar owner who would sooner deck Indy than kiss him. And then, of course, there are the iconic scenes that Raiders boasts. Who among us hasn’t attempted to reenact that opening montage of peril, with the giant ball and the dramatic removal of the sacred artifact from its pedestal? And then there’s Indy himself – Harrison Ford has never been better (yep, I think this character is seven better than Han Solo). He’s the ultimate action hero, and it’s a true shame that this sort of level of character can’t really surface these days. It seems that the Indiana Joneses and Hans Solos died with the 1980s. But every time we want to reminisce, we’ll just strike up that genius John Williams score.
best of the decade: rivalry showdown
best films: #38: THE DEPARTED (2006)
Say what you will about its validity as the Best Picture winner in 2006, but it’s hard to deny that at its core The Departed is a captivating thriller. From its expertly filmed and directed twists and turns to its killer lead performance from Leonardo DiCaprio (could this be his best and most underrated performance?), Martin Scorsese‘s modern masterpiece is more than a throwaway cop drama – which we seem to be barraged with excessive amounts of lately. It has a mesmerizing cat-and-mouse mystery at its core. And who but Scorsese could draw such a great performance out of the typically flat Mark Wahlberg? Top that off with a demented (as usual) role from Jack Nicholson and an astutely subtle one from Martin Sheen, and you’ve got an expertly assembled cast. Oh, and did I mention Vera Farmiga is in it as the torn-between-lovers post-traumatic stress therapist? Yeah, and she’s typically wonderful. But what seems to be the real person to watch in this film is Thelma Schoonmaker, Scorsese’s go-to film editor, whose Oscar-winning work on this film had the intense and steady touch that only she seems to offer in this genre.
then and now: THE ADDAMS FAMILY (1991)
It’s been an awfully long time since I’ve gotten around to a “Then and Now” column (that E.T. post was AGES ago!), but I’d like to present to you a little retrospective on the cast of the far too underrated film adaptation of the classic TV series, The Addams Family. It’s terribly funny and a perfectly kooky dark comedy. From Pugsley and Wednesday to Gomez and Morticia (isn’t this one of Anjelica Huston’s best characters?), the movie is a gem. Here are the cast members – back in the day and more recently. (And since we’ve recently covered both Christopher Lloyd’s “Then and Now” and Dana Ivey’s entire career, they’re absent here.)
guest post over yonder…
merylfest: DOUBT (2008)
Continuing with the host of recent Streep efforts being featured here in Merylfest, I give you Doubt – a fairly exceptional stage-to-screen adaptation from John Patrick Shanley. Meryl plays Sister Aloysius Beauvier, the stone-cold head mistress of St. Nicholas School in 1964. The plot follows Sister Aloysius as she attempts to unearth the truth about Father Flynn (Philip Seymour Hoffman) and his relationship with a young student. First thing’s first, I very much enjoyed this performance. It’s great to see Meryl as a tower of strength, and that head-to-head scene with Hoffman alone is bone-chilling. I understand that much of the scenes would probably be much more effective on stage, but Streep is believable as the staunch activist who’s in over her head.
I know that critics seemed to agree that the film was only okay, but I’ll be the first to admit that I rather enjoyed it – I’m fairly certain I’d place it on my top 10 of 2008. Now, the depth of praise the film received as far as accolades went was a little confusing. Oscar nominees Hoffman and Amy Adams both gave awfully by-the-book performances. Yes, I love Amy Adams as much as the next person, but you can’t tell me this was one of the five best supporting actress performances of the year. Rachel Getting Married alone can provide at least two viable alternatives. And even though the true scene stealer is Viola Davis, as the boy in question’s mother, she only has one scene to steal. So Sister Aloysius is left to impress throughout the duration.
From the scenes in which she clutches crucifixes dramatically to the ones in which she simply harshly disciplines students for their shenanigans, Streep’s nun is one of subtle depth. It’s awfully intriguing imagining what it was that formed this woman’s personality and psyche. Chalk that up to Shanley’s excellent character development, combined with Streep’s fierce tenacity in the character. So please, give Doubt a chance – it’s far better than you remember and it’s a very actorly showcase for Streep and Davis in particular.
Meryl’s Performance: A-
The Film: A-
Journalistic Skepticism 