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I saw the Daniel Ellsberg doc in Toronto and found it stirring but fawning. Nobody cares about Tyler Perry films -- they're dependably bad, they make money, they go away. I saw 35 Shots of Rum, a worthy Claire Denis film, at last year's Toronto Film Festival. I don't know from Amreeka. I saw the better-than-decent The September Issue at Sundance and concluded that Anna Wintour wasn't half the monster she'd been portrayed to be. I wasn't even invited to see The Other Man, presumably for the usual reasons.

I can't keep up. Well, I can but not as comprehensively as I'd like. Too many films are opening. I'll feel better about this tomorrow.

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Posted by Jeffrey Wells on September 18, 2009 at 5:57 PM

comment #1

BoshBarnetWonkyDonkey says ...

I'm pretty sure The September Issue is as accurate a representation of Anna Wintour as Triumph of the Will is of Hitler.

Posted by BoshBarnetWonkyDonkey at September 18, 2009 6:19 PM

comment #2

btwnproductions says ...

Why bother? The eh-reviewed indies, in particular, are on and off NY screens in two-three weeks, tops. It's hard to say who cares about them or why they were even made in the first place; I'm sure the reviewers struggled to get out even 250 words about them. Beautiful weather is forecast; go outside, enjoy.

Posted by btwnproductions at September 18, 2009 6:48 PM

comment #3

BoshBarnetWonkyDonkey says ...

"Too many films are opening."

Yes. This is why people don't go to see The Cove. It's not because they're squeamish girls who don't want to see dolphins being killed. It's because there are more enjoyable films worthy of their $12.50. They know they can see The Cove on Netflix later if they really want to. There are so many so-so documentaries and indies out that there's no point trying to keep up.

I mean that Adam film that came out recently, about the guy with Aspergers or something. What is the point? Who can muster up the enthusiasm to go and see that? Why spend your cash on that?

Movies are being relegated to a less and less important role in many people's lives. There are often far better things to do with one's time than pay over the odds to see Paper Heart or Burning Plain. Especially when you can sit at home and watch Mad Men or John Adams or Arrested Development or The Wire with your Netflix subscription. Or go to a bar and have fun with your friends.

Posted by BoshBarnetWonkyDonkey at September 18, 2009 7:47 PM

comment #4

HAL8999 says ...

Bosh, you speak the truth...and it breaks my heart.

Posted by HAL8999 at September 18, 2009 8:22 PM

comment #5

lipranzer says ...

So, what? We should just all throw in the towel and see LOVE HAPPENS? Yes, I had problems with THE INFORMANT, and yes, while BRIGHT STAR was very good, it's not going on my top 10 list or anything, and yes, the subject matter of THE SEPTEMBER ISSUE doesn't interest me, and it may not interest you, but Claire Denis is an important filmmaker, and Daniel Ellsberg is an important subject for a movie.

And yes, Mad Men, John Adams, Arrested Development, The Wire - or, for a series that just ended and whose final season comes out on DVD next Tuesday, Brotherhood - are all great shows (John Adams is a great miniseries) and worth spending time watching, or even re-watching. But the so-called "second golden age" of television is over - despite the presence of dramas like Mad Men and sitcoms like 30 Rock, most of the shows on TV today are still formula sitcoms and procedural cop, doctor or lawyer shows, and even cable networks are getting leery about investing too much money in shows that fall outside the box if they don't get the ratings, which is why we get things like Jay Leno being on five nights a week. TV is no longer the oasis in the desert. Those of us who care about movies should check out the indies, just in case one of them is a nugget of gold among the fakes.

And some of us can't drink, so we can't go to bars.

Posted by lipranzer at September 18, 2009 8:34 PM

comment #6

scooterzz says ...

"Nobody cares about Tyler Perry films -- they're dependably bad, they make money, they go away".

actually, a lot of people (A LOT) care about tyler perry movies...they just don't have the same ethnicity you do so, i guess, they're easy to dismiss....
welcome home.....

Posted by scooterzz at September 18, 2009 8:53 PM

comment #7

Luke Y. Thompson says ...

I don't think any serious cinephiles care about Tyler Perry movies...but I'd be interested to be proven wrong on that score.

My impression is that his movies appeal to many older types who don't go to any other movies at all.

Posted by Luke Y. Thompson at September 18, 2009 8:59 PM

comment #8

LexG says ...

FOX POWER. BOW TO MEGAN.

The ONLY GAME IN TOWN this weekend.

See it six, seven times.

BODY POWER.

Posted by LexG at September 18, 2009 9:12 PM

comment #9

Vernon Hardapple says ...

Lex is off his meds. Oh, wait! He refused to tale them in the first place.

That explains everything.

Posted by Vernon Hardapple at September 19, 2009 12:12 AM

comment #10

Wiggumx says ...

LexG, the bad reviews coming in for Fox's new flick have seriously devalued it. Get with the program. Your furious masturbation schedule cannot save her career.

Posted by Wiggumx at September 19, 2009 1:39 AM

comment #11

BoshBarnetWonkyDonkey says ...

"So, what? We should just all throw in the towel and see LOVE HAPPENS?"

No, but you can see why more and more people are choosing to see only the "event" films on the big screen. Love Happens, despite not being an indie, is another one of the films that I absolutely can't imagine why anyone would want to make the conscious decision to make the trip to the cinema and pay the high cost of a showing in order to see it. I mean it'll be on Starz within 6 months, plus what about it demands that you see it on a large screen? Nothing.

Of course many indies still deserve attention, and I still go to check out little films like Moon on the big screen. And obviously 500 Days of Summer was a big indie smash this year because it had good enough WOM that people felt compelled to make the trip. It's just that there are so few "must-see" indies, like there were so many of in the late-90s, that you can see why they're not doing so well. Filmmakers kind of have to share some of the blame here. It's not all the studios fault.

Posted by BoshBarnetWonkyDonkey at September 19, 2009 6:22 AM

comment #12

G.N.A. says ...

The reviews for Tyler Perry's new one have actually been pretty good. It got raves from the Boston Globe and Entertainment Weekly.

Posted by G.N.A. at September 19, 2009 6:55 AM

comment #13

Terry McCarty says ...

I wasn't even invited to see The Other Man, presumably for the usual reasons.

Saw it last week in Encino at the Laemmle Town Center. Was sold as a thriller (with subtle comparisons/reference to Adrian Lyne's UNFAITHFUL), but was a so-so chamber drama about one woman who loved two men, doing her best to keep both in her life.

Wasn't as good as Richard Eyre's previous NOTES ON A SCANDAL, but worth a DVD rental.

And suffice to say that most of the Encino audience--expecting a thriller--were vocally disappointed after it ended.

Posted by Terry McCarty at September 19, 2009 3:04 PM

comment #14