NYFF: Gone Girl's Gone Wild

Tonight marked the opening of the 2014 New York Film Festival with the world premiere of David Fincher's Gone Girl -- here's Jason's take on the film.

In the deeply darkly funny world of Gillian Flynn's bestselling murder mystery Gone Girl, Nick and Amy Dunne's wedding vows are like cliffhangers or dares - in sickness and in health, for richer, for poorer, I do... she does, he does... what exactly? All manner of unspeakables, it turns out. The book's at its sharpest as a ghoulish fun-house mirror reflection of deranged marital compromise - the hollowing out of our interior spaces for the exterior presentation of platonic ideals; a jack-o-lantern propped on the front porch with a pumpkin pie in the oven, all is pretty and home and sugar and spice on the windowsill... save that horror show, smashed glass coffee tables, mopped blood, behind closed doors. And what happens when the nightmare tumbles out into the street for all the world, and all the world's cameras, to see? Who pulls the mess back in once its spilled, and how...

David Fincher's Gone Girl is at its best when it has everybody grabbing their pails and their shovels and frantically trying to scoop up those spilled Humpty Dumpty pumpkin guts and make sense of it. For a two and a half hour movie it's shockingly spry on its feet, bouncing from Clue One to Clue Two in its own emotional kind of scavenger hunt, trying to piece together the What Went Wrong And How, and in its finest moments it vibes on a surprisingly loose Coen-esque sense of danger - as the sharp tools in the shed try to stay one step forward and find themselves in up to their necks, there's fun to be had in their catch-up, watching games change and rules rewritten mid-play.

[more...]

Click to read more ...

YNMS²: Foxcatcher & Gone Girl

Unless you count the LEGO Movie's probable Best Animated Feature bid and the Sundance bow of Love is Strange (I'm still hopeful - it's playing Tribeca right now) 2014 hasn't seen much in the way of Oscar contenders just yet. Recent trailers are changing the collective shrug to raised eyebrows - between The Homesman (previously discussed), Jersey Boys (if you're feeling very generous), the Cannes lineup announcement and these two trailers from past nominated directors Bennett Miller (Foxcatcher) and David Fincher (Gone Girl) the body is ready for the first wave of Oscar predictions. We'll manage them before April wraps.

Both of these trailers have been around for a bit and both blissfully play more like teasers despite their length; the job of a trailer is to sell a future ticket, not to make you feel like you've already seen it so you don't need one.  Foxcatcher's traiser was actually released last year and then swiftly pulled before we could get to it but it recently resurfaced and Gone Girl has been kicking around for a week but I've heard your plea to discuss so a couple of quick notes follow

GONE GIRL

Yes. What's not to love really? Remarkable use of music and uncomfortable juxtapositions in the montage. Plus, Rosamund Pike's gorgeousity turning to the camera just in time for the vocals of "She" is just a marvelous 'we're-making-a-star here' relief given that her career, though healthy, deserves more fame and a richer choice of scripts. That final shot of her in the water is so disturbing. (Yikes). And though they aren't prominently featured in this trailer the supporting cast is really good with a lot of underused faces like Sela Ward and Missi Pyle. 

No. I got nothing though I guess I hope Fincher takes a break from crime thrillers soon and that greenish color palette which was fun for a couple of films but three in a row. It's approaching Eastwood's inky black and Soderbergh's yellow as a default rather than an artistic choice.

Maybe So. Casting Ben Affleck as your leading man has to be considered kind of risky, right? Aristically speaking. He's not the terrible actor some say he is but neither has he ever proven himself a great one. 

FOX CATCHER

Yes. Another minimalist peak at a crime drama, this one being a horrible and super weird true story. It has a very good chance of being riveting given the cast, the story and the writer/director (Bennett Miller of Capote and Moneyball fame). The "A coach is..." speech here is beautifully judged as a teaser framing device, especially with that pathetic shuffle into the gym with the pistol out. Steve Carell, Mark Ruffalo and Channing Tatum seem like a pretty great trio to hang a movie on. And did I just spot Vanessa Redgrave?!? ( "Yes, please" times so so so many.)

Also Yes. Channing Tatum in a singlet

No. I dread any potential "sweepers" in any of the acting categories -- just on principle because there are ALWAYS more than four great performances in a film year -- so though I've long thought Steve Carell was an Oscar calibre actor (I nominated him right here for Little Miss Sunshine) I don't relish seeing him win everything because he went the prosthetic and vocal affectation route. He looks good in the trailer, don't get me wrong. I just know that no matter how brilliant he is, he'll be wildly overpraised merely because of this and the meat of the role. 

Maybe So. I suppose the ultra specific details of this tale might not help it with accessibility for the masses, or even to feel potent thematically. But we'll worry about that later if it happens.

Are you a Yes, No or Maybe So ?
And does the strength of your answer coincide with your faith in their Oscar play? 

We Can't Wait #12: Gone Girl

[Editor's Note: We Can't Wait is a Team Experience series, in which we highlight our top 14 most anticipated films of 2014. Here's Deborah Lipp on Gone Girl.]

Gone Girl

Loosely based on Gillian Flynn's best selling noverl of the same name, the film tells the story of a woman who mysteriously disappears on the day of her wedding anniversary.
 

Talent
Directed by a modern master of American thrillers, David Fincher, and starring Ben Affleck, Rosamund Pike, Neil Patrick Harris, and Patrick Fugit.

Why We Can't Wait

Click to read more ...

Link Spot

Cinderoncé The complete Cinderella story set to Beyoncé music because of course
LA Times on the 20 year road to get Dallas Buyers Club made.
Pajiba on the "Fred"'s aka Lucas Cruikshank's adorable coming out
Crikey a review of Pain & Gain that actually makes me want to see the first movie. The last paragraph is blurb heaven and should be quoted on every poster
/Film Reality Bites, one of my personal definitive movies of the 90s, is going to TV series. I'm not against this in concept except that Winona Ryder is unimproveable as Leilana so you're starting from behind, you know? I've long thought it was her (arguably) her greatest performance in a career full of memorable ones.

MNPP suggests a movie for Domnhall Gleeson and David Wenham. Someone Kickstarter Ginger Heat please!
Cinema Blend whoa, I thought Tony Jaa (of Thai action Ong Bak film fame) was long gone from cinema but he's been added to the Fast and Furious 7 cast
Boy Culture pitch-shifting Madonna's vocals on MDNA. These lower versions sound so much better which leads you to wonder what was with all the up-shifting (p.s. I love the album as is, unlike most) 
Salon on why you should watch Project Runway again 
In Contention has a Venice Film Festival preview
Gawker defends Ben Affleck's casting as Batman by way of Heath Ledger's equally (at first) controversial casting as The Joker. Forgets to also notice that Heath Ledger was always an awesome actor before The Joker but yes, people do go on about casting notices for superhero films. 

Marion. I added the Damn Spot*Speaking of... ZOMG
I forgot to mention what you've already finished talking about. That Marion Cotillard replaced Natalie Portman in the upcoming Macbeth film. The one with Fassy as Macbeth. Yay, upgrade! I like Natalie more than Marion (historically speaking) but that part was such a weird fit for the ballerina.

*Lady Macbeth, and the Complete Character Gallery of Tennesse Williams plays are my equivalents to superheroes when it comes to casting notices. I'd definitely prefer a new Lady Macbeth or a new Maggie the Cat reboot every 5 years to a new Batman or Spider-Man origin story every 5, wouldn't you?

The Best Tweets About Ben Affleck As Superman

Last night on Twitter when the news broke that Ben Affleck was cast as Batman for the inevitable Batman vs. Superman movie, Ben Affleck and the internet reenacted that scene from The Dark Knight Rises where Batman "dies" in a nuclear explosion over Gotham. Here were my favorite tweets from that "event"... 

Have we learned nothing from 'Daredevil?'

— Ashley Reynolds (@Ashley_Reynolds) August 23, 2013

You guys, I'm really worried Affleck isn't up to acting challenge of the 2 or 3 scene where Batman isn't entirely CGI.

— Michael Cusumano (@SeriousFilm) August 23, 2013

I swear I can hear Matt Damon giggling wherever he is.

— Josh Horowitz (@joshuahorowitz) August 23, 2013

The person most disappointed by the Ben Affleck news is Matt Damon, as he is now legally required to play Robin.

— James Martin (@Pundamentalism) August 23, 2013

Lee Daniels' Batman vs. Superman (a.k.a. Mo'Nique vs. Oprah with Lenny Kravitz as Alfred the Butler)

— itsonlyzach (@itsonlyzach) August 23, 2013

Hey, remember when Affleck was Superman? pic.twitter.com/rD4xn9U8RU

— Mike Ryan (@mikeryan) August 23, 2013

Batman fuck yourself?!?

— Andreas (@astoehr) August 23, 2013

In the Ben Affleck version, Batman's parents kill themselves.

— Chase Mitchell (@ChaseMit) August 23, 2013

On a more serious note, I don't get why they need a Star when Batman is the draw. Superman movies understand this and this is a Superman movie (sort of... being the Man of Steel sequel that's become a Batman vs. Superman thing in the latest example of Hollywood's fandering.) It's just setting fire to your production budget is all. It buys you one day of notoriety on the internet for heaps of millions but ticket sales will be there regardless. 

And, finally, the perfect rude 'hair of the dog' cure this morning to get this out of your system once and for all...

Not even Jennifer Garner sucks Ben Affleck's dick as much as the internet did just 6 months ago.

— Maxwell H. (@cinemaxwell) August 23, 2013

Not even Jennifer Garner fucks Ben Affleck as hard as the internet has over the last 10 hours.

— Maxwell H. (@cinemaxwell) August 23, 2013

p.s. why aren't you following me on twitter? do it!
p.p.s. and while we're social media'ing - like us on facebook