Last weekend, Daniel and I saw two movies, both of which inspired unexpected reactions from me.
The first was “In Good Company,” the new Dennis Quaid / Topher Grace / Scarlett Johansson flick about a man in his 50s who is replaced an unexperienced lad half his age. From all the publicity associated with the movie (which I tend to inherently distrust), I expected it to be cute but entirely predictable and generally unremarkable. Instead, I was amazed at the cleverness of the writing and the unexpected twists along the way. The film didn’t really try to sew up everything at the end or give a falsely contrived happy ending for everyone. I really, really liked it.
By contrast, “The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou,” which I had heard and expected to be outstanding, disappointed me greatly. It was pretty slow (especially at the beginning), not exactly outstanding acting, and not the dry humor flick I was expecting. I’m not saying it was utterly worthless, but I doubt I’d see it again and wasn’t really all that impressed. It was very “Royal Tennenbaums” / “I Heart Huckabees,” except without enough humor. I did laugh, don’t get me wrong, but it was only in very isolated moments. Unfortunate, really — it had such potential.
Speaking of movies, though, has anyone heard what the Coen brothers are up to?
According to IMDB, their next project is "Paris, je t'aime (2005)." Sounds a bit artsy-fartsy, but I'm sure you'll love the location.
Here's the beginning of the plot summary … you know where to find the rest.
Paris, je t'aime is about the plurality of cinema in one mythic location: Paris, the City of Love. Twenty filmmakers will bring their own personal touch, underlining the wide variety of styles, genres, encounters and the various atmospheres and lifestyles that prevail in the neighborhoods of Paris. Each director has been given five minutes of freedom, and we, as producers, carry the responsibility of weaving a single narrative unit out of those twenty moments.
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Almost sounds like an improv bit (do the scene in the style of Spielberg … bzzt! now, Tarantino).