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Synecdoche, New York: Frustrating, Unsettling, and Worth It

BuzzSugar — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 08:15:16 -0800

Synecdoche, New York, is a haunting film. In the weeks since I saw it, I'm not sure a day has gone by that I haven't thought about it. It's also a humongous, confusing mess. But I'm willing to forgive Charlie Kaufman that; the high points are too high not to.

As the writer of such films as Being John Malkovich and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Kaufman has become known for his surreal - and, yet, ultimately, very real - explorations of humanity. Synecdoche, New York, his directorial debut, is maybe his most precise work on that theme, tracing his main character through years of middle age, declining health, and the potent desire to do something while there's still time. Kaufman may be suffering from a bit of that desire himself, as he tosses all kinds of twists into his story, some of which lead it astray. But that doesn't keep it from being a moving mood piece of a film.

Synecdoche, New York actually has a mostly logical main story: Philip Seymour Hoffman plays Caden Cotard, a local theater director producing a lowish-rent production of Death of a Salesman and struggling to maintain his marriage with his more-famous wife, Adele (Catherine Keener). When she takes off for Germany with their daughter and Caden receives a MacArthur grant, he decides to stage a giant-scale theater piece about life (yes, just that: life), setting it inside a towering replica of New York. Everything else spins off from there, so just read more.

Beyond that general outline, trying to make sense of Synecdoche, New York is largely a losing battle. It's best to just take the developments as they come - oh, of course Caden is seeing himself as a TV cartoon; naturally, that's his daughter all grown up and covered in tattoos. The plot is not necessarily the point; it's more about what the plot evokes. And what it evokes (other than some powerful, sweeping images) is a deeply unsettling feeling about what it means to grow up and grow old. Illness is a major presence, as Caden stumbles into affliction after affliction - some from unfortunate coincidence, some from unknown cause. Time is practically a character of its own, with Kaufman occasionally fixing the story at a given point and then drifting from it, letting his audience wonder if it's been weeks, months, or (in one case) 17 years since a particular event.

Not everything works: The subplots involving Caden's family life and sexuality feel particularly flimsy and occasionally even uncomfortable. But in the world of Caden's theater piece, things start to click. Michelle Williams, Samantha Morton, and Emily Watson deserve a chunk of the credit for that, as they deftly play the three women drifting in and out of Caden's life. Each of their performances is subtle and yet memorable, a particularly notable feat considering that before the film is over, they've each played a version of the same character. And to say too much about Tom Noonan's role would spoil it, but suffice to say it speaks directly to the movie's central theme of identity.

Watching Synecdoche, New York can be a frustrating experience. There's so much that doesn't make sense, that doesn't fit that just doesn't seem possible. And yet at the end, as I watched the credits roll over a gorgeous, haunting tune (Jon Brion's "Little Person"), I felt like I'd just had a cathartic cry or some really intense therapy. Synecdoche, New York has its stumbles, faults, and flaws, but in the end, the experience is worth the trouble.

Photos courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics

Movie Preview: Fireflies in the Garden

BuzzSugar — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 16:30:46 -0700

I feel compelled to give a warning before showing this trailer: Proceed only if you're feeling emotionally strong. Fireflies in the Garden boasts an impressive cast (Julia Roberts, Willem Dafoe, Emily Watson, Ryan Reynolds, Hayden Panettiere) and it looks to be well-made - though I'm not sure I saw it very clearly through my tears. This film looks gut-wrenching.

The plot description is basic ("The semi-autobiographical story centers on the complexities of love and commitment in a family torn apart when faced by an unexpected tragedy"), but you get a pretty clear sense of what the movie's all about from the international trailer, which you can see after the jump. The family drama screened at the Berlin Film Festival, but it's unclear when it will arrive in American theaters. To see the international trailer, read more.

There are also some clips from the movie online: here, here and - if you've thoroughly steeled yourself - here.

Source

Book-to-Movie News of the Day: Die a Little and The Memory Keeper's Daughter

BuzzSugar — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 15:20:18 -0700

Another day, another couple film projects based on books. First, there's Die a Little, a crime thriller based on Megan Abbott's novel. The movie will star Jessica Biel and "explores how the lives of a schoolteacher and her LAPD detective brother are turned upside down by a mysterious woman." The story is set in 1954 but the movie will take place in present day.

I haven't read that one, but I have read The Memory Keeper's Daughter, a weepy dramatic book by Kim Edwards. This project, which will star Emily Watson and Dermot Mulroney, won't make it to the big screen, but will be a TV movie made for Lifetime. In the telepic, "Mulroney plays a doctor who delivers his own twin babies - one with Down's syndrome. In order to spare his wife heartache, he tells her the child with Down's died at birth. The doctor tells his nurse, played by Watson, to put the girl in an institution, but instead she raises the baby as her own."

Reading The Memory Keeper's Daughter, I could easily envision it turning into a film and figured it was just a matter of time. Now that they have Emily Watson on board, too, I'm intrigued to see this heartstrings-yanker brought to life.

Biel photo source
Watson photo source

Twilight Leads the People's Choice Awards Nominations

BuzzSugar — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 10:43:12 -0800

The 36th annual People's Choice Awards nominees are here, and last year's Twilight is leading the charge! American Idol's Kris Allen was among the announcers this morning for the nominees, which also include lots of nods for The Proposal - but of course, everyone's favorite bloodsucking love story landed in many categories, including favorite on-screen movie team.

Why didn't they look to 2009's New Moon? Because last year's nominations debuted before the first movie in the Twilight saga.

To see the full list of nominees, just read more.

MOVIES

FAVORITE MOVIE
Twilight
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Star Trek
The Hangover
The Proposal

FAMILY MOVIE
Hannah Montana: The Movie
Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs
Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian
Up
Where the Wild Things Are

COMEDY MOVIE
17 Again
Bride Wars
He's Just Not That Into You
The Hangover
The Proposal

INDEPENDENT MOVIE
(500) Days of Summer
District 9
Inglourious Basterds
Paranormal Activity
Tyler Perry's Madea Goes to Jail

FAVORITE MOVIE FRANCHISE
Twilight
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Star Trek
Transformers
X-Men

FAVORITE MOVIE ACTOR
Brad Pitt
Hugh Jackman
Johnny Depp
Robert Pattinson
Ryan Reynolds

FAVORITE MOVIE ACTRESS
Anna Hathaway
Drew Barrymore
Jennifer Aniston
Kristen Stewart
Sandra Bullock

FAVORITE ACTION STAR
Christian Bale
Gerard Butler
Hugh Jackman
Shia LaBeouf
Vin Diesel

FAVORITE COMEDIC STAR
Adam Sandler
Ben Stiller
Jim Carrey
Ryan Reynolds
Vince Vaughn

FAVORITE BREAKOUT MOVIE ACTRESS:
Anna Kendrick
Emily Osment
Ginnifer Goodwin
Miley Cyrus
Zoe Saldana

FAVORITE BREAKOUT MOVIE ACTOR
Chris Pine
Joseph Gordon-Levitt
Sam Worthington
Taylor Lautner
Zachary Quinto

FAVORITE ONSCREEN TEAM
Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds, The Proposal
Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart and Taylor Lautner, Twilight
Shia LaBeouf and Megan Fox, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
Hugh Jackman, Liev Schreiber, Ryan Reynolds, will.i.am, Dominic Monaghan and Daniel Henney, X-Men Origins: Wolverine

TELEVISION

FAVORITE TV DRAMA
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
Grey's Anatomy
House
Lost
NCIS

FAVORITE TV COMEDY
Desperate Housewives
How I Met Your Mother
The Big Bang Theory
The Office
Two and a Half Men

FAVORITE TV DRAMA ACTOR
Hugh Laurie
Kiefer Sutherland
Mark Harmon
Matthew Fox
Patrick Dempsey

FAVORITE TV DRAMA ACTRESS
Anna Paquin
Blake Lively
Jennifer Love Hewitt
Katherine Heigl
Mariska Hargitay

FAVORITE TV COMEDY ACTOR
Alex Baldwin
Charlie Sheen
Jim Parsons
Neil Patrick Harris
Steve Carell

FAVORITE TV COMEDY ACTRESS
Alyson Hannigan
America Ferrera
Amy Poehler
Eva Longoria Parker
Tina Fey

FAVORITE TV OBSESSION
Dexter
Gossip Girl
The Hills
The Secret Life of the American Teenager
True Blood

FAVORITE TV TALK SHOW
Chelsea Lately
Live with Regis & Kelly
The Ellen DeGeneres Show
The Oprah Winfrey Show
The Tyra Banks Show

FAVORITE TV SCI-FI/FANTASY
Heroes
Lost
Supernatural
The Vampire Diaries
True Blood

FAVORITE TV COMPETITION SHOW
American Idol
Dancing With the Stars
Project Runway
So You Think You Can Dance
Survivor: Samoa

FAVORITE ANIMAL SHOW
Animal Cops
DogTown
Dog Whisperer
It's Me or the Dog
Rescue Ink

FAVORITE NEW TV DRAMA
Eastwick
FlashForward
Melrose Place
Mercy
The Forgotten
The Good Wife
The Vampire Diaries,
Three Rivers
NCIS: Los Angeles
V

FAVORITE NEW TV COMEDY
Accidentally on Purpose
Brothers
Community
Cougar Town
Glee
Hank
The Cleveland Show
The Middle
Modern Family

MUSIC

FAVORITE MALE ARTIST
Eminem
Jason Mraz
John Mayer
Keith Urban
Tim McGraw

FAVORITE FEMALE ARTIST
Beyonce
Britney Spears
Carrie Underwood
Pink
Taylor Swift

FAVORITE COUNTRY ARTIST
Brad Paisley
Carrie Underwood
Keith Urban
Rascal Flatts
Taylor Swift

FAVORITE BREAKOUT MUSIC ARTIST
Adam Lambert
Demi Lovato
Kris Allen
Lady Gaga
Susan Boyle

FAVORITE HIP-HOP ARTIST
Eminem
Flo Rida
Jay-Z
Lil' Wayne
T.I.

FAVORITE ROCK BAND
Daughtry
Green Day
Kings of Leon
Muse
Paramore

FAVORITE MUSIC COLLABORATION
Cobra Starship & Leighton Meester, "Good Girls Go Bad"
Jason Mraz & Colbie Caillat, "Lucky"
Jay-Z, Rihanna & Kanye West, "Run This Town"
T.I. & Rihanna, "Live Your Life"
The Lonely Island & T-Pain, "I'm on a Boat."

FAVORITE R&B ARTIST
Alicia Keys
Beyonce
Jennifer Hudson
Mariah Carey
Usher

FAVORITE POP ARTIST
Britney Spears
Katy Perry
Lady Gaga
Taylor Swift
The Black Eyed Peas

FAVORITE WEB CELEB
Andy Samberg
Ashton Kutcher
Miley Cyrus
P. Diddy
Will Ferrell