VENICE 2012: "To the Wonder" stuns, but why the booing?

I don't think anybody truly expected Terrence Malick's "To the Wonder" to be received in a negative fashion on the critical front, but what the hell is with the booing over in Venice? Even at my most blatantly pissed off, I never express vocal disappointment at a film screening. As a matter of fact, I don't say a word, letting the film get all the attention from everyone in the audience as I can give. The reviews that have found their way to us since the film's screening in Venice have been quite resoundingly positive, so the reason for all this booing is beyond me. All the same, a film that retrieves such a vocal response from a room of "professionals" almost immediately demands attention.

Guy Lodge (In Contention): "One could wonder why a director as famously indifferent to actors (and commerce) as Malick -- Rachel Weisz's role, incidentally, has been given the old Adrien Brody heave-ho here -- continues to hire such big-name actors. (You might think he of all directors would be in favor of non-pro casts.) The combined attractiveness of this star quartet runs the risk of making the film's least integrated or resonant sequences -- those in which Bardem wearily calls on all manner of buck-toothed, poverty-stricken local parishioners -- the teeniest bit condescending to boot. Even this faint absurdity, however, seems parcelled up in Malick's restless, tender, unfashionable quest for beauty in its highest physical and spiritual forms." 

For Your Anticipation: That Rabbit Hole in Iraq

Suddenly, now that we have some conceivable idea of what Midnight in Paris is, it looks like something considerably more than just your regular Paris travelogue. If I wanted to marvel at the beauty of Paris, I'd either take out my copy of Ratatouille or I'd go to Paris myself. Unfortunately I don't get paid to make deliveries to France, so the transportation of cinema will have to do. However, as beautiful as Paris may be, there's some intriguing story behind Woody Allen's latest. It's not just a look at Paris, but a look at Paris in the 1920s, and I find it so much more rewarding when a film references the period it's set in. With reviews pouring out of Cannes, it's easy to lose your own critical footing, and I remain interested but cautious in terms of this film.

Teaser Trailer: Midnight in Paris

Still not a fan of Owen Wilson, and I'm not going to start anytime soon, but I actually didn't mind him too bad in this trailer for Midnight in Paris. I thought that he'd be just a small part of an ensemble cast in the film, but it turns out that he's the main character. After I let that initial sense of melancholy get past me, I was able to respect this trailer as a potential return to form for Woody Allen. I obviously don't expect him to pull off an achievement similar to Vicky Christina Barcelona, but this actually seems like a pretty likable crowd-pleaser. That's something that you can't exactly say about most of Woody Allen's films. Maybe it's the wonderful cast, aside from Wilson, or maybe it's Paris' natural charm. In any case, I liked this trailer moderately enough, and it's hard for me to discount a film with Michael Sheen and Marion Cotillard in it.

For Your Acknowledgement: Lunch With Dick Cheney

On the long list of lame white comedies, the latest installment just happens to come from producer J.J. Abrams. The man has had quite a bit of trouble recently, what with his latest television show Undercovers canceled, the man really needed another win. Unfortunately, Morning Glory isn't it. It's not the sort of film you go out to the theaters to see. It's the film you wait for the DVD release to rent, but never actually watch. The film comes out on Wednesday, which gives it a bit of a head start before the rush of the weekend, but I doubt it will benefit much.