This week on the Simon & Jo Film Show the dream is real. Simon has seen Inception and shares his opinions on the latest cerebral blockbuster from Christopher Nolan, without giving any plot details away. Truly he is skilled. There's plenty of new news to enjoy, including details of a couple of Hollywood marriages and the latest casting speculation from the land of Marvel where Hulk is once again surrounded by controversy. Jolly stuff. As a special post birthday present to Simon Jo watched Jurassic Park. He offers a different perspective on the dino classic, as well as some choice words on Oscar winner Michael Clayton. They both have views on the new releases and London Box Office, as well as discussing the lengths Adrien Brody went to for the new Predators film. Crikey.
There's a shout out for She Blogged by Night, a fantastic blog currently featuring a timely Nolathon but spoiler alert. There are spoilers within.
The trailers they chat about are; It's Kind of a Funny Story & Due Date, Devil, Biutiful. The music this week is from Inception which Jo should have seen by next week. He's so behind the times!
Any feedback, aggressive or otherwise, can be sent here.
I must stand up for Michael Clayton. Simon, if you haven't seen it, do check it out for yourself. I thought it a very deserving Best Pic candidate, and one that improves with each viewing. It's not a terribly impactful film, but it's full of great acting and solid writing and direction by Tony Gilroy. It lacks flash, so don't go looking for sizzle - it can be a bit introspective at times, but it's still a timely, well-made drama with a terrific cast. Boo to you, Jo!
ReplyDeleteIn fact, it's not so relevant to that film, but do I detect an anti-American bias from Mr. Jo? Seems like every week that you guys'll be talking about an upcoming release and Jo will shun it for seeming "too American" or something (off the top of my head, Please Give, maybe The Kids Are All Right).
How rude!
ReplyDeleteMy criticism of Michael Clayton is based on the fact that the direction and acting is solid but it ain't nothing special. Given the cast and Oscar nods it should be so much more. The story is pretty boring and even predictable, despite a couple of sparks (Wilkinson is great, Clooney generally) it fails to ignite.
As for Anti Americanism sir, I do wish you'd look at the bigger picture. Indeed I dismiss bunkum like Twilight, A Team, etc on a regular basis, it's true and I can't deny it. It's just because there are so many US releases most of the year that it's easy to pick up on criticism of most of them without much just cause. However 8 of my top ten films of the year thus far have a least a little American in them. Unfortunately Please Give and The Kids Are Alright suffer from looking pretty average amidst the torrent of US indie releases.
Do I have to apologise for supporting French films? I hope you choke on your Freedom fries!
How rude!
ReplyDeleteWell, we can agree to disagree on Clayton.
As for the anti-American thing (which is a bit tongue-in-cheek), I should be more specific. Bag on Twilight and The A-Team all you want. My criticism comes from when you use the reasoning of a film as "looking too American" as a basis for not seeing it, as though there are some sensibilities at play within the film that you wouldn't understand or something or that it's aimed so directly at Americans as to potentially alienate you.