Movie Diary 11/17/2009

Everybody’s Fine (Kirk Jones, 2009). De Niro in a remake of a Giuseppe Tornatore film. This was one of those digitally-projected screenings where the image is so crisp (every blade of grass in De Niro’s lawn standing out in relief) it leads to questions about what the experience is like in theaters projecting it in 35 mm. Is it the same movie? Warmer, more sculpted in 35? Is the light different? I wish I knew, but I’m not going to see the movie again. (full review 12/4)

The Open Road (Michael Meredith, 2009). A straight-to-DVD picture to review for Amazon. Jeff Bridges is a cocky old ballplayer, Justin Timberlake his sober son, come to retrieve Dad to Mom’s sickbed. Director Meredith is the son of Don Meredith, former NFL QB, longtime broadcaster, sometime actor – one of those guys everybody likes, as is Bridges’ good ol’ boy.