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Amelia: Never Really Takes Flight

BuzzSugar — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 06:30:00 -0700

I love the way a biopic makes me feel - like I'm treated to a back-in-time look at an amazing life. They're epic, and that's why I'm willing to sit through the slow moments (and often for more than two hours) for the payoff. This is the experience I hoped for from Amelia, directed by Mira Nair and starring Hilary Swank as the pioneering aviator who was the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean.

There's plenty of opportunity for grandness, even though Nair chose not to focus much on the circumstances of Earhart's disappearance during her flight around the world. Earhart had an extraordinary life, eschewing social conventions for her gender and never giving up her one true love: flying.

Unfortunately, Amelia misses the epic mark and lands instead somewhere in the mediocre, underusing its cast's talents and history's treasury. However, it's not an altogether unpleasant journey, so to see my thoughts on the film, just read more.

First, the film is beautiful - Mira Nair knows how to shoot a gorgeous scene (she was behind the richly-styled films Monsoon Wedding and The Namesake), and she really takes advantage of the oceans, the landscapes of jungles, beaches, and moors. Much of it is seen through Amelia's eyes as she's soaring over it, and occasionally you feel the same freedom in flying that she so desires.

Along with the scenery, the minor success the film does achieve is ascribed to Hilary Swank's acting. I was expecting the two-time Oscar winner to be fantastic, and she didn't let me down. From transforming her looks to match the androgynous icon's to altering her voice to a Katherine Hepburn-ish gravel, she captures the pre-feminist aviatrix in all her glory.

The problem is that intriguing parts of Earhart's life are introduced but merely glossed over. For instance, Earhart's marriage to publisher George Putnam (played by Richard Gere) is complicated by the fact that she carries on an affair with Gene Vidal (Ewan McGregor). However, this affair is only briefly touched on (they meet, they kiss, it's suddenly over). For his part, Ewan McGregor is given little more than a cameo role, which is an unsatisfying tease for any fan of the actor.

While I'm on unsatisfying, if you've ever been fascinated by the mysterious circumstances of Earhart's death (she disappeared over the Pacific on a round-the-world-flight), you'll get no gratification here. Understandably, there's no speculation about what happened, but there's no closure either.

That seemed justified, because when this project was announced, it was reported that Nair wouldn't focus on the mystery, but Earhart's remarkable life instead. Unfortunately, there's not enough focus on that remarkable life to do the woman's memory justice.

Photos courtesy of Fox Searchlight

Movie Preview: Amelia

BuzzSugar — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 16:30:37 -0700

From the time it was first announced last year, everything about Amelia, the Amelia Earhart biopic, has sounded good to me: the subject matter, Mira Nair as the director, Hilary Swank in the title role. Today, the first trailer for the film is out, and it's only increasing my excitement.

Like all of director Nair's previous work (The Namesake, Monsoon Wedding), Amelia looks gorgeous and incredibly well-styled, from the sweeping landscapes to the kicky aviator goggles and scarves. It's been reported that the movie will focus on Earhart's early career, and maybe that's still the case, but this trailer looks largely at Earhart's plans to fly solo around the world and the famous, fateful outcome of the flight.

Swank plays Earhart with an appealing mix of determination and sass - exactly how I always imagined the pilot would be. We'll get to see the whole movie on Oct. 23, but to check out the trailer right now, just read more.

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Buzz News Roundup, 10/1

BuzzSugar — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 13:31:07 -0700

Showtime has set January premiere dates for the final season of The L Word and the Diablo Cody series The United States of Tara. - Zap2it
Michael Sheen is the latest to join Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland movie. - Variety
Pineapple Express director David Gordon Green is writing an animated comedy pilot for Fox. - TV Week
Hilary Swank is set to star in the dramatic film Betty Anne Waters. - ComingSoon
After four years apart, Phish has reunited. - AP

TV legend Norman Lear is working on a pro-wrestling drama for HBO. - TV Guide

Red Tails, the WWII action adventure about the Tuskegee Airmen which George Lucas will produce, has found a director in Anthony Hemingway. - Variety

The CW is developing a series based on Batman's sidekick Robin titled The Graysons. - ComingSoon

Oh yeah, actors could still go on strike. - Hollywood Reporter

Photos courtesy of Showtime

Hilary Swank Buys Up Rights to Something Borrowed

BuzzSugar — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 16:29:49 -0700

Soon, author Emily Giffin will find something of hers borrowed for the big screen - her stories. Hilary Swank and her producing partner Molly Smith have bought the rights to Giffin's popular novels Something Borrowed and Something Blue, and they may end up being "starring vehicles" for Swank. We were just talking about these producing partners and another book-to-movie deal that may star Swank: French Women Don't Get Fat. That Hilary Swank! She keeps busy.

Variety explains that Something Borrowed follows "a Manhattan attorney who becomes involved with her best friend's fiance following her 30th birthday." Something Borrowed is my favorite of all of Giffin's books (it even inspired a Buzzworthy Challenge way back when) so I really hope they don't mess this up! Along the same lines, I don't really envision Swank in this role. At all. I might be on a Rebecca Hall kick after seeing her in Vicky Cristina Barcelona, but I really think she'd be a better fit. Or. . .anyone else. What do you think? Have you read Giffin's books?

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Hilary Swank to Produce French Women Don't Get Fat

BuzzSugar — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 05:30:44 -0700

Apparently there's enough meat on the bones of this self-help book to make a whole romantic comedy - or at least Hilary Swank and her production company think so. Swank and her producing partner Molly Smith have signed on to turn Mireille Guiliano's French Women Don't Get Fat into a feature-length film.

Variety explains that the non-fiction book offers "insights on how French women manage to stay slim despite enjoying such calorie-rich fare as wine and pastries." There are a few plot details for the film version:

Swank may star in the adaptation that's being envisioned as a romantic comedy about a manager of champagne company who learns some tough life lessons which help her become the woman she's always wanted to be.

Have you read this book? Does this all make sense to you? And is it me, or is Swank not particularly well-suited for the romantic comedy genre?

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Hilary Swank to Play Amelia Earhart

BuzzSugar — Sun, 10 Feb 2008 13:00:00 -0800

Good news in three parts: Amelia Earhart, Hilary Swank and Mira Nair
It's been rumored for a long time but now we finally have confirmation that an Amelia Earhart biopic will move forward, with Mira Nair named as director and Hilary Swank playing the famous courageous aviator.

The story itself.
Interestingly, the film will focus on the formative years in Earhart's career, rather than her mysterious disappearance. Variety writes, "George Putnam, a publisher and publicist, was engaged by society denizen Amy Guest to set up a daring nonstop flight across the Atlantic Ocean. When Guest was talked out of trying to become the first woman to make the trip, she dispatched Putnam to find a female pilot, and to turn the flight into a media event."

I can't wait.
Amelia Earhart's life is completely fascinating to me, and while I know Swank has fallen out of favor in recent years, I think she's wise to return to meatier stuff than, say, P.S. I Love You. And Mira Nair is a beautiful director, from Monsoon Wedding to Vanity Fair to last year's gorgeous film The Namesake she has consistently produced visually stunning work.

Do you think the Nair-Swank duo will do Earhart's story justice?

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P.S. I Don't Love the Movie, But Kinda Love Gerard Butler

Molly — Fri, 21 Dec 2007 14:33:53 -0800

Note: My buddy Molly wrote this review because I was unable to attend the screening for the movie. Thanks, Molly!

To be fair, P.S. I Love You isn't as bad as I feared it would be, but it also wasn't nearly as sweet a movie as the premise could have created. Instead, Hilary Swank further proved that she's far better at serious dramas than slightly endearing romances. Hey, on the bright side, Gerard Butler was on screen more than I thought he would be and he spent much of the time either shirtless or in a tight tank top. No complaints there.

The premise of the movie is nothing more than it seems. A young couple in love is ripped apart when Gerry (Butler) dies fairly suddenly of a brain tumor. But before he passes he writes Holly (Swank) a series of letters and arranges for them to find her in various ways over the course of the year following his death. On the one hand, it's heart-meltingly sweet, the kind of movie that you just know you'll cry watching. On the other, is there something a little sadistic about forcing your widow to wait every day hoping for word from you only to draw out the heartbreak of your death over a whole year? It's an interesting conundrum, and one that P.S. doesn't quite figure out.

To read the rest of my review just read more.

The movie opens on a fight between Holly and Gerry in their Lower East Side apartment. It's dramatic and passionate, as fights between lovers tend to be, and a lot of threats are thrown around. In the end, they make up but don't actually resolve anything, and then, bam! Just like that, in the next scene we're at Gerry's wake. It's an incomplete photo of this love story the viewer is supposed to see as huge and important, but the blanks aren't ever really filled in. We get bits and pieces of their history (and swoon-worthy Gerard moments), but Hilary Swank rarely seems anything but whiny and insufferable.

Kathy Bates, who plays Holly's mother, has her reasons for disliking Gerry and his letter-writing, but mostly seems pretty unsupportive of her grieving daughter. Thankfully, she's a strong enough actress to make it work. Other bit players are all equal parts high and low, Lisa Kudrow is 80% just playing Phoebe, for better or for worse, and Harry Connick Jr. is kind of quirky/sweet, but to be honest he made me uncomfortable.

Overall the movie is fine, but nothing more. It'll make you cry if you're into that sort of thing and it will probably make you roll your eyes at least a few times. To its merit, it doesn't go the easiest possible route with the ending, but along the way there are moments when it seems like the kindest gesture is just too intentionally heartbreaking. I'm sure there will be a few people who love this movie, but for most it's a love story that (like the bad karaoke in the film) just doesn't hit the right notes.

P.S. There is not nearly enough Jeffrey Dean Morgan.

To see the trailer and more clips from P.S. I Love You, check out movies.ivillage.com.

Photos courtesy Warner Bros. Pictures

Movie Preview: Gerard Butler, Hilary Swank in P.S. I Love You

BuzzSugar — Fri, 21 Sep 2007 08:30:00 -0700

Back when this movie was a part of my tearjerker movies Fall Movie Preview post, there was no trailer available, but I was looking forward to seeing what the tone of this movie would be. Now, judging from the newly released trailer, it looks a little sappy, but also cute and endearing - if you're in that kind of mood. Plus, I recently learned that Swank injured herself during a scene in which Gerard Butler is stripping, and somehow that makes me like the movie more.

Opening December 21, the movie is based on a novel and stars Hilary Swank as Holly, a young widow who discovers that her husband wrote out messages for her just before he died. Some of the notes include unusual requests, and before long, Holly and her girlfriends (played by Lisa Kudrow and Gina Gershon, pictured) are going on a string of adventures that Holly's late husband planned for her.

I think the best parts of the trailer feature Lisa Kudrow's character's ill-fated attempts to pick up men (well, those moments and Jeffrey Dean Morgan's extremely adorable smile are my favorite parts), but you can see what you think of the trailer yourself if you read more

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The Reaping: Plagued By Mediocrity

BuzzSugar — Fri, 06 Apr 2007 11:00:43 -0700

Former ordained minister Katherine Winter (Hilary Swank) has turned her back on her faith after losing her husband and daughter while doing missionary work in Sudan. When The Reaping opens, she’s a skeptical scientist who debunks religious miracles.

Katherine’s skepticism is challenged when she’s summoned by Doug (David Morrissey) to Haven, Louisiana, where the locals insist they’re being visited by Biblical plagues. She and her colleague, Ben (Idris Elba), are told that shortly after a local boy died, the rivers turned to blood. The culprit, according to the townsfolk? The boy's sister and the one witness to his death: a creepy little girl named Loren McConnell (AnnaSophia Robb). After witnessing a scourge of boils and lice, frogs falling from the heavens, and the death of cattle, Katherine is drawn into a mystery that science can’t explain.

But while The Reaping has all the ingredients of a great horror film, it doesn't come close to approaching greatness. For the highlights and lowlights,

The Reaping benefits from interesting characters, an eerie setting, hints of Devil-worship, and great visual effects. And yet everything in this film seems like a poor imitation of devices seen before in superior flicks: The Exorcist, The Omen, Deliverance, and even the lukewarm but at least coherent Skeleton Key. If The Reaping were a roller coaster ride, it would be one that lurches from one cheap thrill to another, but you know where it’s going, and you can’t wait to get off.

There are some chilling and beautiful scenes in The Reaping, no question. The aerial view of the river of blood is a spectacular sight. Also heart-stopping is the moment we meet Loren, the hauntingly beautiful, backwoods child who suddenly appears at the river’s edge, setting in motion Katherine’s memories of her dead daughter. The film also captures the decaying beauty of the Deep South. Late at night, in Doug’s old mansion, Katherine discovers an old blues tune playing on a Victrola. Alongside weeping willows and a moonlit garden, the myth of the Gothic South seems to come alive.

But occasionally arresting moments cannot save a poorly edited movie that becomes so plodding that my friend was actually counting which plague we were on so she could figure out when the movie was going to end. Also, I never quite understood how Haven was significant enough for plagues of Biblical proportions, or why Doug sounded more Irish than he did Southern. (To be fair, the actor masters the Southern accent by the end.)

Ultimately, The Reaping is an incoherent mess, as murky as the swamps of Louisiana. Unless you’re a die-hard fan of horror flicks, I’d stay away or save your money and rent it. I for one, have not lost faith in the horror genre. It definitely gets better than this.

Photos courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures

Movie Preview: The Reaping

BuzzSugar — Mon, 02 Apr 2007 07:15:11 -0700

When I first started watching the trailer for The Reaping, which comes out this Thursday, April 5, I was like, "Hey, this looks pretty cool!" But then, just as quickly, I was like, "Nah." The premise sounds really interesting: A small town in Louisiana appears to be suffering through the 10 Biblical plagues, attracting the attention of a Christian missionary-turned-scientific expert. Yet the woman - played by a girlish Hilary Swank - begins to regain her faith in religion when she can't explain away the town's mysterious happenings.

The execution of said premise, however, looks hokey, and what should be chilling is instead kind of "eh." You can check out the trailer and tell me what you think of The Reaping if you read more

Photo courtesy of Warner Bros.