One step forward, two steps backward (actually, make that three)

So many movies, so little time. That was the thought that popped into my head over the past few days and realized that as many movies as I try to see in/from a year, there are still so many that it will likely take a while for me to get around to. Though we're five months into a new year and new decade, I'm balancing my viewing selections between what's current, and films from 2009 that I wanted to see. Unfortunately, I haven't had the best luck with my choices; hopefully The Secret in Their Eyes (2009), in some cities now, will be better, because these first two films are 'blah' marks on the otherwise good reputation of 2009, while the third is a disappointment of the moment.

First is The Young Victoria (2009), or as many of us like to think of it, Emily Blunt's Oscar vehicle. All of the elements are there: period setting, romance, courtly intrigue, and pretty things. Yes, there's a lot of prettiness in Jean Marc-Vallee's film, but unfortunately, there isn't much of anything else. Despite having assembled quite the cast, Julian Fellowes' (writer of the wonderful Gosford Park) screenplay doesn't offer much of interest. Aside from some hilariously over-the-top arguing between Blunt and Mark Strong ("You must sign it!" "I WILL NOT!" "How DARE YOU!"), the acting is fine, and it's a shame that someone as talented as Blunt wasn't giving something meatier to work with. The real problem is that it's just, well, plain, and no amount of pretty-but-uninspired costumes can change that. The theme music is lovely, possibly the best artistic aspect of the whole show, but it's over-used, even feeling too strong in scenes that seem to require softer music. In the end, it is a sweet, well-intentioned film, but while its heart is in the right place, the other elements just come off as lazy.

Grade: C+

Next we come to the big puzzler of the triad: Terry Gilliam's The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (2009). Oy, where do I begin? I'm not sure what it is, maybe I've started to lose my hearing (although the results of my latest physical beg to differ), maybe I wasn't being a good audience member, but I don't think I've ever seen a film whose dialogue so poorly explained/clarified its plot. Worse is the terrible quality of sound recording on said dialogue. It's difficult to understand a film when the characters' voices are presented at a volume level so neutral that even with the volume on my TV nearly at maximum, I was struggling to really hear what was being said. I understand that characters shouldn't spend every second spoon-feeding us the plot, but discussing plot elements is nothing new, and it's really not hard to do...it's done in most movies, good and bad. Credit should go, however, to the marvelous production design; once the film finally delves into the heart of the titular Imaginarium (and the first Ledger stand-in, Mr. Depp, appears), there are a few moments of visual delight. Sadly, everything else in Gilliam's film is murkily presented and falls flat, especially the performances (although Tom Waits does have the perfect voice to play the Devil). Had I not read the back of the DVD case beforehand, I would have zoned out a lot quicker than I did.

Grade: C-

We've come upon a trend lately in our blockbuster fare: origin stories coupled with gritty revisions. It's worked marvelously for Batman, but for Robin Hood and his merry men, the result isn't exactly good. It's far from good. It's boring. Taking a look at Robin's "origin" (as an archer in Richard the Lionheart's army), Ridley Scott's film winds up a long, dull, mess. Despite stellar production values and a strong cast, the characters are beyond flat, not helped with the constant switching of locations to cover as many different angles of the story as possible (a great drinking game would be to take a shot every time a location title appears on screen). Crowe is all scowls and gruffness, much like his Gladiator role only without anything remotely interesting to drive him, while Cate Blanchett's Maid, sorry, Lady Marion could have been fun had the role been more fleshed out; these two, like other characters, feel haphazardly thrown together. Three of Robin's merry men practically blend together, while Friar Tuck feels like a non-entity and Oscar Isaac's King John is a rehash of Joaquin's Phoenix's Commodus. William Hurt, Eileen Atkins, and Max Von Sydow are also thrown into the mix, while Mark Strong plays, you guessed it, the kind-of-sort-of main bad guy, since King John isn't quite the villain yet. But the real crime of it all? It's. F_cking. Boring. Hell, at least the god-awful racist robots in Transformers 2 kept me awake (albeit in an irritated state). After the initial castle siege, during which everything is filmed not only in staccato low-frame rate, but also with a shaky camera, it just becomes flat out dull. There's a lot of talk and plot build up, but it's never interesting. The attempts at humor fall flat, and the political/royal intrigue isn't terribly intriguing. As a result, none of the performances register; it's hard to either root for our band of heroes or really hate the villains. And if you can't feel anything, why bother?

Grade: C-

"The Young Victoria" secures a 2009 US release date

Not to sound dismissive, but the part of this article that really interests me is the mention of "Tree of Life". So...is a 2009 release a sure bet for this secrecy-shrouded film also? I REALLY hope so....

Source: Indiewire.com

Over the weekend, Apparition closed a U.S. distribution deal for Toronto Film Festival closer The Young Victoria, starring Emily Blunt in what could be her breakout role carrying a movie as the youngest British monarch. As is typical these days, the new distrib run by Bob Berney and backer Bill Pohlad did not put up a minimum guarantee, but rather beat out several competitors (including Miramax, Overture and Roadside Attractions) by committing to $4.5 million in P & A and a 250-screen release. Apparition will open the movie November 13. Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions Group will handle all domestic ancillary rights. Alliance will release in Canada.

Producer Graham King showed Berney the film a month ago—again, he did not wait to screen it at Toronto. “It feels like an Anne Hathaway breakout role,” says Berney, “Emily Blunt could be very awards-friendly.”

You have to give Berney credit for convictions. He’s taking three big expensive swings at bat. I’ve seen Jane Campion’s Bright Star and while I know that it’s austere, period, and boasts no star names, it has power and should play for critics, upscale audiences (especially women) and the Academy. It’s a gorgeously mounted movie. Terrence Malick’s Tree of Life is anyone’s guess. But it could be fabulous, and Brad Pitt is starring. Check out the trailer below for GK Productions’ The Young Victoria.

The trouble with period costumers is that they don’t always play on DVD—unless they hit it out of the park. While Sony Pictures Classics releases plenty of period pics, they tend not to pay more than $1 to 2 million to distribute them, and to handle them on a limited basis.

Word from those who’ve seen the film: it’s well done and romantic, if a tad slow. Julian Fellowes ( Gosford Park) wrote the film, which is directed by Jean-Marc Vallée (C.R.A.Z.Y.) and produced by King, Martin Scorsese, Tim Headington and Sarah Ferguson. Berney praises Blunt and the ensemble, including Paul Bettany, Rupert Friend and the irrepressible Jim Broadbent. The film grossed $7 million in the UK with an aggressive 400-print release by Momentum, and played better for older women than young ones. Berney is a canny marketer, so we’ll see.

Survival in the new indie world is about containing costs. Berney had plenty of money to work with at Picturehouse. We’ll see how he manages to find a workable new profit model.

First review of "The Young Victoria"

Also known as: Emily Blunt's Oscar Vehicle

Source: Variety

Anyone who complains they don't make love stories like they used to will get a kick out of "The Young Victoria," a biopic of the early years of Blighty's longest reigning queen and, in particular, her courtship with the love of her life, Prince Albert. Tip-top casting and playing, led by young thesps Emily Blunt and Rupert Friend as the royal lovebirds, a succulently crisp script by Julian Fellowes ("Gosford Park") and trim helming by French-Canadian Jean-Marc Vallee ("C.R.A.Z.Y.") combine in well-groomed, upscale, three-hankie entertainment for the Masterpiece Theater crowd. Pic bows in the U.K. March 6.

A brief intro with Victoria as an 11-year-old (Michaela Brooks) sets her up as a victim of her position, caught between the machinations of two royal uncles and a prisoner of protocol and social rules. But in Blunt's beautifully modulated perf, which balances royal reserve, girlish enthusiasm and lightly tempered steel, the film is in no way a morbid study in self-pity. The biggest compliment one can pay Blunt is that the more familiar Queen Victoria of later life can already be glimpsed in her perf without ever getting in the way of her youthful portrait.

Story proper begins in 1837, just prior to the 18th birthday of the then Princess Victoria of Kent (Blunt), who, in the absence of any other heirs of King William (Jim Broadbent, hilariously ornery), is next in line to the throne.

However, so far Victoria has been kept away from the court by her domineering mom, the Duchess of Kent (Miranda Richardson), and mom's ambitious adviser, Sir John Conroy (Mark Strong). If the sickly William soon kicks the bucket and mom and Conroy can get the still underage Victoria to sign a Regency Order, the Duchess will be able to rule in her name and Conroy can rule through the duchess.

Victoria holds out against their bullying, but across the Channel her uncle, Belgian King Leopold (Thomas Kretschmann), is plotting to get his nephew, Albert (Rupert Friend), married to Victoria for political convenience. Albert, who is as dominated by his father as Victoria is by her mom, is coached in Victoria's likes and dislikes, but when the two finally meet, Victoria takes a fancy to him when he drops his act.

Blunt and Friend quickly establish the screen chemistry vital to the movie's success in a delicious scene where the two play chess under the watchful eyes of their scheming elders. The complicity they develop forms the basis for a long-distance courtship by letters which slowly ripens into love.

However, after becoming queen at the age of 18, Victoria still feels unready to commit to marriage before establishing her own authority. Artfully manipulated by pol Lord Melbourne (Paul Bettany), whom she takes to be a friend, she finally gives in to her own heart and Albert's patient courting, and the two, who are only months apart in age, finally marry three years later, in 1840.

The lead up to the proposal of marriage is played as a romantic-political triangle between Victoria, Albert and Melbourne. Blunt's controlled portrayal of the young woman's fractionally different attitudes to the two main men in her life is one of the pic's major delights. When she finally reveals her true feelings at the movie's 70-minute mark, the remainder of the film, sketching her and Albert's first years of marriage, movingly surfs on the tide of emotions unleashed.

Fellowes' screenplay packs in a host of characters, and some background politics such as Victoria's edgy relationship with Tory prime minister Sir Robert Peel (Michael Maloney), in a series of brief, pithily dialogued sequences. What could have been a bumpy dramatic ride -- and is, in the early stages -- is gradually smoothed into longer, more satisfying arcs by Vallee's fluid direction, smooth cutting by Jill Bilcock and Matt Garner, and especially by Ilan Eshkeri's copious score. The score lacks any strong musical motifs but its classical, vamp-till-ready style lends both dignity and romance to the material.

It's Blunt's show, but both Friend, who bears an uncanny resemblance to the real Albert, and Bettany, playing way older than he is, are almost equal partners. Both their characters nicely modulate as the movie progresses, with Bettany's Melbourne becoming almost sympathetic.

Supports are solid down the line, with both Richardson's mom and Harriet Walter's aunt the main standouts. Both thesps, like Friend, sport realistic German accents, emphasizing how many of the senior royals of the time were in fact Teutons. Realism doesn't quite extend, however, to Blunt's accent, which is pure British cut glass, even though Victoria's first lingo was German and she never quite mastered English grammar.

Trailer for "The Young Victoria" with Emily Blunt and Paul Bettany