Hmm. Having just read this article [link] complaining that Melissa McCarthy is playing too many loud crass and obnoxious characters, and also there is a joke made about her physical unfitness, and you shouldn't make that joke.

I'm a little sceptical of an article that says a woman should play sweeter and warmer characters and ease up on being a "spectacle".

The role she plays in Identity Thief has remarkable abandon. There is pretty much nothing that character will not do. But that also speaks to a range that the author is claiming she lacks. I don't remember the nuanced Bridesmaids character in such a way that Sandy 2.0 is a horrible thing--this character has two orgasms in this movie, at least--one solo, and one with a partner, and I think that alone is pretty remarkable. Never mind the fact that she is, yes, unfit (as we saw in some of the trailers) but she's also strong and able to defend herself. The whole fucking movie is about how remarkable she is--it's not just a redemption, it's a revelation. She's sexual, sweet, funny, insecure, looking for love, able to love back when she gains confidence, irrepressible-- she's a million things, and yes, a couple of them are loud and unable to run far, but the author is not mentioning anything you don't see in the trailer. There's a reason you pay money to see the whole thing--because there's more than in the previews.

Grr. I feel like the article is "Can't you just cross your legs at the ankles and not the knees?" whereas an "I don't like that kind of comedy" would be more apropos. That's a good enough reason to dislike the movie, but not a good enough reason for her to stop playing roles that include those facets.

I'm having (another) Chris Evans craving, so I marathoned Cellular (William H. Macey, never change, ILU), Push (I have an unholy love for the whump he takes in that movie), and took a risk on some Tennesse Williams movie. The latter was fairly engaging, although there was a lot of stuff that I wish I knew more about, like how long Jimmy had worked for the Willows, if he'd been there before his father, how he'd met Fisher. But CE was delish. Some prot-Captain America numminess there. And it was hilarious how he kept ditching Fisher without taking his leave. And I don't know if it's a TW thing, but the end was ambiguous, or maybe I'm just used to movies where the two main characters finally overcome their misconceptions and personal failings and prejudices when it turns out they've been mutually in love all along. But unless I'm being obtuse, it read like Jimmy was accepting her marriage proposal purely for convenience. Which is sad.

And then, what was with the random gay dude in the bathroom watching Jimmy pee with a leer, and Jimmy punching him out?

It felt like an unexplored thread. There seemed to be a lot of unexplored threads.

But, for CE lusting, defintely worth the rental.

I think Push is underrated. That was a good movie, and I love that it was set in Hong Kong instead of New York or L.A. or the usual.

Beau and I just got back from Side Effects. I was looking forward to seeing this movie - it is Soderbergh and I have tended to like his films.

Beau hated the film. I didn't hate it, but the movie was incredibly predictable. Far more predictable than I thought possible. I also think the trailers showed way too much of the film. Beau didn't like it because he thought it violated some tenets of storytelling (and let me tell you, that really gets his goat).

That kind of thing bothers me a bit less - but I thought there were logic holes you could drive a spaceship through. I think the movie needed to be a bit tighter because there were genre shifts that made me think the 3rd rewrite cut out a lot of the movie that was most interesting to me.

I thought there were logic holes you could drive a spaceship through.

See also, Ocean’s 11, 12 and 13.

The Loss of a Teardrop Diamond was the movie that convinced me Chris Evans had range well beyond playing douchey fratboy types. And could do passable regional accents; I think he did a more believable job than Ellen Burstyn in that respect.

Oh, and there was a trailer for Tyler Perry's movie that is coming out in April. Watching that trailer filled me with RAGE.

I hate that fucker.

How did Tyler Perry's non-Madea outing go? I don't even remember the movie being released, just the trailers stopping (thankfully).

How did Tyler Perry's non-Madea outing go? I don't even remember the movie being released, just the trailers stopping (thankfully).

The Alex Cross movie? I'm pretty sure it flopped, which is really bad considering it is based on a series of bestsellers. link

Interesting. I mean, taking over from Morgan Freeman is an interesting proposition if it's the 50% of his career where he was awake during filming. The NY Times article [link] seems to like Perry as Madea, but thinks the movie is crud from top to bottom, and that Perry doesn't have the chops to elevate the material (as Freeman or Elba would have).

I fell out of love with James Patterson a while back, but casting Perry was a big flashing not-even-on-instant-play sign for me.