Jenn Brown's blog

A famous director known by his alias. A strange stranger. A mystery from the past. An Almodóvar film. Things are going to get complicated.

Broken Embraces (Los abrazos rotos) is Spanish auteur Pedro Almodóvar's latest romantic thriller, starring his muse Penelope Cruz as the beauty cast in a film and a victim of circumstance. A famous director going by the name Harry Caine, now blind and in seclusion, is approached by an unnerving stranger shortly after a man of some importance passes away. When Harry realizes who the stranger is, secrets start to unravel.

Hope everyone has had a wonderful Christmas, whether it's a holiday you celebrated or not. Or at least a better one than me, I had the flu. Movies were watched, just not in the theater. I still need to see The Road. I couldn't even muster up the concentration to watch my new District 9 Blu-ray.

Hollywood has no movies opening this week. The only films that aren't simply switching theaters or times are two special engagements at the Alamo Ritz.

Stingray Sam opens for a special three-night run. This crowd pleaser is an episodic space musical about Stingray and his friend the Quasar Kid, who are compelled to rescue a little girl from a planet with a surprisingly twist on genetics. This homage to old-school sci-fi serials as well as musicals has catchy music you'll be singing to yourself for days after. The twinkle in director/writer/star Cory McAbee's eye will win just about everyone over.

Can you believe it? Christmas is upon us. Only one more week left in 2009. The holiday-opening films are lighter than I expected, but there is something new for most tastes.

Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakuel --  Debbie was the trouper to sit through this, uh, sequel.  I refuse to type that "other" word some marketing hack thought up. See Debbie's review. (wide)

It's Complicated -- This romantic comedy about a divorced couple who rekindle at least their sex life with each other doesn't look so great from the trailers, despite two charismatic stars (Meryl Streep and Alec Baldwin). See Debbie's review to find out if it's just too complicated. (wide)

Nine -- A love song to female archetypes on pedestals and an homage to Fellini's 8 1/2, Nine is a musical best appreciated by those who love musicals and Fellini. And those who love gorgeous actresses. See my review for more details, or read Jette's review at Cinematical. (wide)

What do you get when Guy Ritchie directs a film about Sir Arthur Conan Doyle characters? Something that doesn't much resemble the work of either artist, in the case of the new movie Sherlock Holmes.

After solving a shocking mystery, the self-indulgent and manipulative Sherlock Holmes (Robert Downey Jr.) is sulking for lack of a case and the impending move of his best friend and roommate with Dr. John Watson (Jude Law). Their bromance is threatened not only by the resurgence of the case, but a future fiancée and a returning lover/nemesis. 

Sherlock Holmes is gritty, pretty and devoid of much substance, focusing instead on the flash and deception the villain in the film uses to pass as magic as tattered as Holmes's smoking jacket. Much the same can be said about the original script from Michael Robert Johnson, Anthony Peckham and Simon Kinberg. 

If you need a dose of Federico Fellini, you might get just that in Nine, the adaptation of the Broadway musical that re-interprets Fellini's film 8 1/2. The story is a slight shift from the original film, filling in backstory and turning it into a love poem to objectified women and their rebellion against a self-centered, childish and charming egotist.

(In)famous Italian director Guido Contini (Daniel Day-Lewis) is about to start filming his latest production, but he doesn't have a script, and can't escape his own celebrity status or his relationships long enough to concentrate on it.  His creative crises is exacerbated by his personal ones as he fails to balance his relationships with his wife Luisa (Marion Cotillard), his married mistress Carla (Penelope Cruz), his reluctant muse Claudia (Nicole Kidman), and brash fashionista journalist Stephanie (Kate Hudson) who makes it clear she wants to be one of his women, too.  

[Ed. Note:  The list of theatrical releases has been updated. See The New Daughter for details]

Now that BNAT is over, and the Austin Film Critics Association (AFCA) has chosen their favorites for the year (and the decade), we're seeing the last of the big films with award potential are finally getting released.  Next week, Christmas day is the Big Day for several films, but for now, there are still some films coming to a theater near you. 

Avatar --  Big bad mega-corp takes on the indigenous people living in harmony with their planet.  Don't go see it for an original story, as everything is very familiar. Go see it for some beautiful visuals, and Zoe Saldana's outstanding performance. See Debbie's review.  (wide)

Did You Hear About the Morgans? Do you really want to hear about the Morgans, because you've heard and seen it all before, several times, and it's a formula that needs to be put to rest.

On the run from organized crime, an estranged New York couple (Sarah Jessica Morgan, Hugh Grant) are forced into witness protection. They balk, but they, to the middle of nowhere, where they have to deal with their issues.

Beatdown is filming in the Austin area, and Paul Gandersman, who is working on set, snapped a picture of film stars Rudy Youngblood (Apocalypto), Danny Trejo (Desperado, Machete).  The Mike Gunther directed action/martial arts film also stars Eric Balfour (Hellride), and MMA fighter Michael Bisping.

[Photo Credit:  Paul Gandersman]

Need an antidote to the sentimentality to the holidays? Up in the Air is a breath of cinematic fresh air.  Jason Reitman's third film is another book adaptation, this time a novel by Walter Kirn, a 2001 novel.

Ryan Bingham (George Clooney), a "career transition" consultant, is happiest when he's up in the air, and upping his frequent flier miles to astronomical heights. He barely sees his own family, and may not even make it to his own sister's wedding.  This is the guy most of us fear; the guy delivering the deathblow to your paycheck as he tells you it's really a rebirth.  To Ryan, the less weight in your life, from relationships to possessions, the better. But when he's forced to team up with the upstart analyst (Anna Kendrick) has found ways to automate the system and threatens Ryan's way of life, and changing his perspective.

Clooney can play smarmy well, but he also adds humanity to a man whose only connections are at airports despite dramatically affecting the lives of dozens of people every new assignment.  Kendrick's Natalie holds her own with Clooney even as she trips over her own inexperience.  But it's Vera Farmiga's Alex who steals every scene, right from the moment she and Clooney (Ryan)  flirt over business traveler perks. 

After BNAT1138: The Beginning and  BNAT: The Middle, we're coming to the end of Butt-Numb-a-Thon (BNAT). Don't panic. There's plenty to make it a very memorable ending.

Inappropriate Clip:  Apparently it's tradition to show something tasteless.  This year it's sumo-diapered men in a ring allowing themselves to be dry-humped by dogs, from a variety of angles, with a special guest (perhaps the MC?) wearing a penis'd afro wig.  The truly disturbing part was at least one of the men seemed to be enjoying it.

Special Presentation:  "AICN True-ish Hollywood Story."  Birthday wishes and wisecracks from JJ Abrams, Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci, Damon Lindelof, Danny McBride, Michael Bay and Jon Favreau.  Favreau had a very special birthday/BNAT greeting, with an introduction to world premiere of the Iron Man 2 trailer. 

Trailers:  Iron Man 2, Fearless Frank, Animal Protector, The Return of Captain Invincible

Matthew Vaughn brought the not quite finished cut of Kick-Ass along with co-star Christopher Mintz-Plasse.