Movies Archives - Page 62 of 85

Nora Ephron and the Screenplay She Almost Never Finished

The sad news that writer-filmmaker Nora Ephron passed away yesterday at the age of 71 reminded me of one of my favorite stories about her that I read in an essay she wrote in The New Yorker. (Nora Ephron, “My Life As An Heiress,” The New Yorker, 8 Oct. 2010: 54-57.)

In 1987, Ephron was struggling with trying to write a screenplay to make some money. She did not think her work was very good, but she continued working on it because she needed the money.

Then, she got a call that a rich uncle had died. Because he was a widow and did not have children, Ephron and her three sisters began talking about how they would spend the millions of dollars they would inherit. During this time, Ephron put away her screenplay, planning to never work on it again. She no longer needed the money and did not enjoy writing the screenplay she saw as worthless.

In the next few weeks, though, Ephron and her sisters discoverd that the uncle was not as rich as they thought. He had lost a lot of money in bad investments, and he left half his money to his housekeeper. Ultimately, Ephron and her sisters each received $40,000.

For Ephron, the money was not enough to retire, of course. So, she went back to working on her screenplay. She eventually finished the screenplay that became When Harry Met Sally… (1989), one of the greatest romantic comedies of all time. While she had already written screenplays for successful movies like Silkwood (1983), the success of When Harry Met Sally changed her life. She went on to work on other films as a screenwriter and/or director such as Sleepless in Seattle (1993), You’ve Got Mail (1998), Michael (1996), and Julia & Julia (2009).

Her uncle never knew the gift he left to us by not making Nora Ephron a wealthy heiress.

Check out our previous post on why When Harry Met Sally with Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan has one of the greatest New Year’s Eve kisses in movie history. What is your favorite Nora Ephron film as screenwriter or director? Leave your two cents in the comments.

Best New Year’s Eve Scene in a Film

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How Does Moonrise Kingdom Rank Among Wes Anderson’s Films? (Short Review)

Movie fans probably already know if they will like the new film Moonrise Kingdom (2012). If you like director Wes Anderson‘s other films, you will probably like Moonrise Kingdom. It has a similar look to his other films and his usual quirky characters. So the most helpful question for a review is: Where does Moonrise Kingdom fall on the scale of Wes Anderson films?

Moonrise Kingdom follows the exploits of a boy and girl who run away together while parents, a sheriff, and a scout troop search for the two. The colorful movie stars Jared Gilman and Kara Hayward as the two runaways, along with Bruce Willis, Edward Norton, Frances McDormand, and Anderson-movie-regular Bill Murray. There are smaller appearances by Harvey Keitel, another Anderson regular Jason Schwartzman, and a funny narrating role by Bob Balaban dressed in red. The movie has the usual Anderson touch of using classic songs to provide mood, and he uses some Hank Williams recordings like “Kaw-Liga.”

In the interest of full disclosure, I have enjoyed all of Wes Anderson’s movies. I think Rushmore (1998) is a wonderful film, and I also thoroughly enjoyed The Royal Tennenbaums (2001). I also enjoyed his one foray so far into animation and using another author’s story in Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009). I liked his debut movie, Bottle Rocket (1996), although he has surpassed that work. For me, Moonrise Kingdom did not exceed Rushmore or The Royal Tennenbaums, but I enjoyed it much more than The Darjeeling Limited (2007) and The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2001).

Moonrise Kingdom has a more linear story than some of his movies, like the intertwining The Royal Tennenbaums. So in some ways it may seem like a smaller film than his other works. But it has genuine laugh-out-loud moments while also being a lyrical memory of early 1960s childhood innocence. Overall, it is thoroughly enjoyable.

Conclusion? Moonrise Kingdom may not blow you away, but it is a welcome entertaining escape from the summer blockbusters. In the following video, Bill Murray takes you on a tour of the film.

Other Reviews Because Why Should You Trust Me? Rotten Tomatoes currently has Moonrise Kingdom with an excellent 95% critics rating and a 92% audience rating. Joe Williams at the St. Louis Dispatch argues that it is the best movie of the year so far. Boo Allen at the Denton Record Chronicle (TX) is one of the few dissenters, claiming that the attempts at charming dialogue passages “end up sounding quaint, forced and often ridiculous.”

Rocket Science (Missed Movies)

What if Wes Anderson Made a Horror Movie?

Bruce Willis Was in “The Verdict”?

Sam Williams: “Can’t Fool Your Own Blood” (Song of the Day)

Hank Williams Live Show from July 1952 (Audio)

Picture Show Online Tribute to John Prine

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40th Anniversary of “Deliverance” Celebrated

This weekend, the mountain region of Georgia and South Carolina along the Chattooga River is recognizing the fortieth anniversary of the release of the movie Deliverance (1972). The Chattooga served as the fictional Cahulawassee River in the film about four businessmen canoeing the river and camping on a vacation when they encounter some trouble.

Understandably, some locals opposed celebrating the movie in an area unfairly stereotyped by the film, which does not portray the local residents in a very flattering light. For example, one of the most iconic scenes in the film features rapists telling one of the men to “squeal like a pig.” But organizers reasoned that Deliverance, which was nominated for a Best Picture Academy Award, helped draw other filmmakers as well as people interested in outdoor activities to the area.

Organizers plan to continue this new Chattooga River Festival after this year’s Deliverance-themed festival. This weekend, they will feature a screening of the film and a concert by singer-actor Ronnie Cox, who played the banjo on “Dueling Banjos” in this iconic scene from the film.

Ronnie Cox also will be signing copies of his new book about the making of Deliverance, entitled Dueling Banjos: The Deliverance of Drew. The movie, based on a novel by James Dickey and directed by John Boorman, also starred Burt Reynolds, Ned Beatty, and Angelina Jolie’s father Jon Voight.

Cover of the Day: Mo Pitney Sings “If Hollywood Don’t Need You”

Runaway Train (Missed Movies)

Total Recall, Total Waste (Short Review)

Rating the Lonesome Dove Series, Part 2: The Sequels

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South Atlantic League Inducts Bill Murray Into Hall of Fame

Minor League Baseball’s South Atlantic League yesterday inducted actor Bill Murray into the league’s Hall of Fame. Murray is the co-owner and “Director of Fun” of the Charleston Riverdogs, a Class A affiliate of the New York Yankees.

In his warm induction speech at a ceremony in Charleston, South Carolina, Murray explained why the honor means so much to him and recounted the first time he saw Wrigley Field. Watch his speech below.

What do you think of his induction speech? Leave your two cents in the comments.

Roberto Clemente: Twenty-One Feet Tall

Hammerin’ Hank

Jackie Robinson Takes the Field

Happy Opening Day!

It Wasn’t Easy: Sonny Brown’s Home Run

Second Chances and the Tragedy of Steve Howe

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Happy 70th Birthday Roger Ebert!

Monday is the 70th birthday of movie critic Roger Ebert, who was born June 18, 1942. Roger Ebert helped make many of us more thoughtful in our movie viewing with his outstanding TV reviews with Gene Siskel and Richard Roeper, his newspaper reviews, his online reviews, and his books. I could list numerous great movies I discovered because of him, which is a great gift he gave to me. Although he has battled health issues in recent years, we have been fortunate that he has continued to actively help shape how we think about movies.

This last week, Henry Hill — the inspiration for Martin Scorsese’s Goodfellas (1990) as well as the movie My Blue Heaven (1990), passed away. So it seems an appropriate time to look back on Siskel and Ebert’s perceptive take on Goodfellas when they first saw the film, before it had become the iconic classic that it is today.

Thanks for the reviews Mr. Ebert, and we look forward to many more.

What is your favorite review by Roger Ebert? Leave your two cents in the comments.