In the trailer bin, Geoffrey Rush channels Inspector Clouseau, Dr. Strangelove, and countless others in The Life and Death of Peter Sellers, also featuring Charlize Theron (Britt Ekland), John Lithgow (Blake Edwards), Stanley Tucci (Kubrick), and Emily Watson (Long-Suffering Wife.) Well, it looks like more fun than Shine.
Tag: Emily Watson
Love, Sex, and Balance.
I should’ve posted this yesterday, but forgot. Rather than see the fireworks last Friday, I decided to stay in and have a Blockbuster night. And, since I don’t feel like giving these films the full treatment at the moment, I’ll just say in passing that, despite attempting an open mind, I hated Punch Drunk Love (with the exception of the beautiful color fades.) I found it self-consciously arty and pretentious in true P.T.A fashion (Oooh, harmonium = love), and Emily Watson was a complete cipher throughout. Adam Sandler made the best of a bad hand, but I’ll still take Happy Gilmore over this any day of the week. Equilibrium, starring Christian Bale, Sean Bean, Taye Diggs, and Emily Watson again, was cheesy C-grade sci-fi fun in a Dr. Who kinda way despite having the most implausible fight sequences since Gymkata. And Roger Dodger started out well enough, but I eventually became bored with Campbell Scott’s character. The opportunities for telling LaBute-like satire were rich, but instead we find out that all Roger needed was his lost innocence? What a waste of a good setup. Still, there’s some nice character work here, so I’d say Roger Dodger is a moderately enjoyable rental.