DCT Episode 32: DCT Classics: The Sopranos (HBO)

The Hollywood Reporter

Da Couch Tomato Podcast, Episode 32, a DCT Classics episode, discussing HBO's The Sopranos, why it is not a structurally perfect TV show, and the pros and cons of too accurately reflecting the misogynistic and macho culture of the Mafia.

Hosts: Sting Lacson and Rachel


Rating: 8.65/10

Hollywood Icons: James Gandolfini

Movie City News

Tony Soprano, during the days when he had no criminal record.

Most people will remember Jim Gandolfini for only one role: as mobster Tony Soprano in HBO's series The Sopranos. But even that single iconic role has had a big influence on me. I've referenced him in both spoken word and written poems. I've designed my family name to resemble The Sopranos logo.

Zero Dark Thirty

YouTube

Wanna know what the title means? Google it.

For a woman, director Kathryn Bigelow sure knows how to capture the very masculine military life. She made her mark with 2008’s The Hurt Locker, where she beat out her ex-husband James Cameron for the Best Director Oscar. This year, she is not nominated for directing Zero Dark Thirty, a film about the manhunt for Osama Bin Laden (or Usama, because they refer to him in the film as UBL, which sounds like an amateur basketball league).

Salon

"Uh... Ukranian Basketball League?"

Where the Wild Things Are

By Mary Quite Contrary
Sun, 18 Jul 2010, 15:49.

Like with any form of fiction, the imagined is used to arrive at a deeper understanding of reality. So it is with Max’s stories, reflecting his thoughts, emotions and experiences with his family. Most of the time he is left to play by his lonesome because his sister Claire is preoccupied with her friends, and Mom with her work; we can only infer that his father is not part of the household because his mom had invited her boyfriend over for dinner. The film commendably makes the father’s absence causative with a shot of a globe in Max’s room. Inscribed: “To Max, the owner of this world,” introducing the desire for control. His loneliness and fear of abandonment, which his father may have been the first one to instill, is reinforced with a storytelling scene with his mom about a toothless vampire. Though the story didn’t provide much comfort to a mother of two kids in danger of losing her job, we are surprised—as we always are of children—of his sudden insight.

Childhood is so difficult to portray in all its raw tenderness and complexity. Its difficulty lies in experience because the storytellers are often adults,jaded with the world and looking for their own childhood, which is a different perspective entirely. Where The Wild Things Are is a winning portrayal of a nine-year-old boy’s ego, and it does so without a moralizing/othering voice. On the contrary, it preserves a child’s innocence in anger and in violence. Max runs from home in the middle of the night after a pulling a violent fit with his mother. He sails on a boat night and day, and discovers an island where big, hairy monsters live. They want to eat him but he tricks them into making him their king. They wish that he could be king forever. But there were promises he couldn’t keep. Like how he couldn’t keep everybody together and how he couldn’t keep sadness away. The monsters love him and are sad to see him go. Max runs home to find his mom waiting for him with his dinner. In his mind, Max is able to literally deal with his own demons, namely: Carol, Judith, Ira, Douglas, Alexander, The Bull and KW. Screenwriters Dave Eggers and Spike Jonze are noteworthy in characterizing imaginary monsters of depth and resisting stereotype. Later in the movie, Max divides them into “good guys” and “bad guys.” We see how favoritism affects family members. The “bad guys” feel neglected and need the same understanding Max does in real life.

Carol's attitude resembles Max’s in real life. He is angry at KW and eventually towards Max, because he feels abandoned and betrayed by them. He has a destructive tendency towards himself and others around him, but that doesn’t make him bad. He just needs to learn how to control his emotions. Max learns that kings and mothers don’t have the power to protect the ones they love from being hurt, or lonely.

Spike Jonze rocked so hard in directing this masterpiece. The music is edgy and touching with a boost of raw emotion. It was a delight hearing Karen O of The Yeah Yeah Yeahs on vocals! The resounding scream, in the scene where Carol is enraged from being tricked by Max (he wasn’t really a king with superpowers), was so pivotal in the climax for signaling danger, creating urgency and giving energy to the chase that follows. At first I thought it was Max screaming, but realizing that it was the part of the music made it all the more memorable and brilliant. Cinematography is by Lance Acord. A shaky camera follows Max whenever he chases his dog or runs away from home to a world of his own. For balance, the film gives us superb geographies, beautiful sceneries in long shots. Production design was the first question in my head after reading the book, as to how extensive the graphic/special effects would be. Using gigantic stuffed monsters, gave a uniqueness to the film, which is also internal to the story. They are after all inspired by Max’s toys in his room. They have a wide variety of facial expressions, can jump around and throw big things (I want to have a Douglas for myself). The set also was amazing in size and detail, from the stick houses to the tree holes, to the fortress, to Carol’s miniatures. And where would we be if not for the special effects and seamless animation? I was, upon seeing the film, nothing short of ecstatic and content. Sound, image, and timing are in perfect unity to rival anyone’s imagination of this storybook by Maurice Sendak.

A perfect ten.

Source: Warner Bros.


(Read more on Where the Wild Things Are after the jump.)

The Taking of Pelham 123

There are very few directors I'd watch without even knowing what their movie's about. And Tony Scott is one of them.

First of all, this was actually a remake of a 1974 film, which starred Walter Matthau. That version I haven't seen. But in this version, the screenplay wasn't that bad. But it wasn't that good either. It was just...plain. But a plain script in the hands of Tony Scott turns into something more beautiful. I just love Tony Scott's directing style, which at times makes his movies look like music videos. This is a far cry from the more serious filmmaking style of his brother Sir Ridley.

The performances, however, were terrific. John Travolta is always a treat to watch, as is my main man Denzel, who knows how to deliver an intense performance without overacting. Actually, both of them can. John Turturro is such a versatile actor that he works well both in comedic and serious roles. But I'm sorry, James Gandolfini...you will always be Tony Soprano to me.

I also couldn't help but notice that two stars from Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen are here, namely John Turturro and Ramon Rodriguez. (Told you this guy would go places. He has now starred in two summer movies.) And we also have James Gandolfini and Michael Rispoli, who both appeared in The Sopranos. And John Turturro and Luis Guzmán, who appeared together in Anger Management. Talk about reunions.

And finally, I'd just like to say that those who don't stay for a movie's end credits should start doing so. I stayed for the end credits of this film, and I found it interesting that there were not that many people who worked on this movie. Maybe Tony Scott just likes small production groups. Compare this to the end credits of Revenge of the Fallen, which was probably ten times as long. So shorter credits means less people, which means less special effects, which means more drama. And the dramatic showdown between Travolta and Denzel is the entire essence of this movie.


*some info from IMDb
pic from aceshowbiz.com


The Taking of Pelham 123. USA. 2009.


Rating: Seven out of ten.

Coming Soon: Where the Wild Things Are (With Trailer)

This is a repost from the 28 March 2009 entry, this time with the video trailer.



The monster's voice in this trailer is, I believe, James Gandolfini's. And the wild things here remind me so much of the monsters in Fraggle Rock, which the younger generations might not even remember.

Remember the golden rule: Never judge a movie by its trailer. But I trust Spike Jonze to do a great job.


And for more Where the Wild Things Are fever, check out bento artist Anna the Red's homage to Maurice Sendak (click here and here).


*video from TheFilmStage

The Sopranos. Season Two

The modern-day mobsters are back for the second season.

Well, we all know the premise of this series: The Sopranos is about a New Jersey crime family, and the life behind the gangster curtain─and all the domestic problems included with it.

Season Two sees the once-mighty Uncle Junior indicted, and he spends most of the season under house arrest─complete with the sensor strapped to his ankle. Because of this, his nephew Tony (played by James Gandolfini) now officially becomes the Don of New Jersey. We also see these mobsters dip their hands in anything that will make money, which include airline ticket scams and sales of bogus phone cards.

We also see some changes in the old characters. Aside from T running the show now, his shrink Dr. Melfi begins drinking vodka before their therapy sessions. AJ Soprano undergoes the normal confusion of puberty as he begins to question life after reading the works of Camus and Nietzsche, while Meadow Soprano graduates high school in the season finale. Chrissy Moltisanti (played by Michael Imperioli, who coincidentally wrote Episode 22 of this series) discovers his artistic side, and begins flirting with acting and the movies (watch out for cameo appearances by Janeane Garofalo and director Jon Favreau). But later on in the season, Chrissy encounters a near-death experience when two of his underlings make an attempt on his life. Silvio and Paulie are bumped up to the position of capo, and Tony finally breaks up with his hot Russian girlfriend Irina. And where is Pussy Bompensiero in all of this? He wasn't promoted, because he was a rat for the feds.

Of course, Season Two also has some new characters, including Richie Aprile, elder brother of former boss Jackie Aprile. Then there's Tony's sister Janice Soprano (who also goes by the name of "Parvati," part of some New Age name-change phase she's been going through). And then there's Furio Giunta, the ponytailed thug the Soprano crew brought home with them from Italy.

Season Two has love─Richie Aprile marries Janice Soprano; murder─Janice Soprano kills Richie Aprile; and an execution─Tony, Sil, and Paulie execute their close friend-turned rat Pussy on a boat in the high seas. This is only the second part of the Soprano saga, and there will definitely be more to come.


Rating: Four stars.

The Sopranos. Season One.

Critics call The Sopranos as the most beloved T.V. series of all time. Well, you can't call a series "beloved" after watching only the first season, but let me tell you that the first season is usually an indicator of how good a series is, and this show already displays signs of immortality.

Created by Italian-American David Chase, The Sopranos started out as a joke: What would happen if a mobster went to see a shrink? But more than this premise, the show actually gives deeper meaning to the word "family"─first, there's the organized crime family, obviously, of which Anthony "Tony" Soprano (portrayed naturally by James Gandolfini) is one of the top capos. Season One tells the story of the power shift, deciding who takes the place of acting boss Giacomo "Jackie" Aprile after he dies of cancer; the two likeliest candidates are either Tony Soprano, or his uncle Corrado "Junior" Soprano. Second, of course, is Tony's biological family. There's his Uncle Junior, of course, his main rival as the Don of New Jersey; there's his wife Carmela, and their non-mob-related kids; then of course there's his mother, slightly demented but still an ominous presence in Tony's life. It's his struggle between these two families that provides the fuel for the entire show.

The first season will make or break a show. It decides if a second season will follow. The Sopranos has everything people look for in gangster films─lies, deceit, murder, and Italian cuisine─and this show will hook gangster fans, and will create new fans as well. HBO shows are always a treat, and this first season will have you anticipating the second.


Rating: Five stars.