Movie Diary 9/14/2010

They’re here already

Easy A (Will Gluck, 2010). Official: after Fired Up! and this, Will Gluck is an auteur. Seriously, the guy’s got it, and this is another funny wisecracky movie with a great cast and a sprung rhythm. (full review 9/17)

Heartbreaker (Pascal Chaumeil, 2010). A dumb movie that will be popular. At least you get to look at Romain Duris and Vanessa Paradis (although Chaumeil doesn’t really know how to photograph them). (full review 9/24)

The Town (Ben Affleck, 2010). Boston crime saga, with a big impressive cast and not much time to go deeper than the surface excitement – but the surface is pretty exciting. Jeremy Renner, Rebecca Hall, and Jon Hamm make the most of their chances. (full review 9/17)

Hell Is for Heroes (Don Siegel, 1962). Lean and serious war movie, with McQueen feeling his oats, plus a touch of the gimmick casting that crept into some movies of this era (namely Bobby Darin and Bob Newhart in key roles). The final couple of minutes absolutely kill.

Invasion of the Body Snatchers (Don Siegel, 1956). Watched this Sunday night and wondered how old Kevin McCarthy must be these days; turns out he was already dead, as of 24 hours earlier or so. Classy performance, such a smart movie, and Siegel provides strong (but not rushed) forward motion in the storytelling – as well as suggesting the quiet “difference” in people and places that the invasion has already touched. And of course every year it seems to get relevant. Watching it again for a talk I plan to deliver a few times in the coming year (see Upcoming Events tab, above).