Factory Girl (Unrated) (2007) Review

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(More customer reviews)This film got an exceptional amount of poor reviews by people who had a faint idea of who Edie Sedgwick was and the effect she still has on people today. She was the underground, self-indulgent, addict version of Audrey Hepburn. Everyone wanted to be her. She couldn't help herself, but everyone wanted to help her until they realized the enormity of that task. Edie was a poor little rich girl, yes, but she was raised to be that way. She was someone who was heavily medicated from a young age, someone who was taught to go to others for your problems. She wanted to escape, but the foundation of who she was was never solid enough for her to make it on her own, hence her inability to be completely independent. Enter Andy Warhol, the sychophant who relished in her beauty, charm, and complete lack of self-awareness. She was everything he wasn't, and vice versa. Once Warhol had capitalized on her and milked her dry, he left her wanting, so she found other means. Therewithin is her demise.
Knowing Sedgwick, and especially the nuances of this film, makes you look at it in a different light. The too-fast pace marked by subtleties such as "is the salmon fresh?". If you don't know that era, those people, the Warholian group, you'll dislike this film. Simply because you won't appreciate how much went into developing the characters. Any press will show you that Sienna worked on the role well over a year, Guy lost loads of weight, and Miller had to master a voice that crept away from the person who possessed it in a very short time. Not an easy task.
It's a fantastic film. If nothing else, appreciate the artistry of it.

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(Drama) "Factory Girl" tells the story of the rise and fall of the original "IT GIRL" Edie Sedgwick.When Edie meets famed artist Andy Warhol, she is thrust into a life of glamour, parties and ultimately…tragedy.

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The Ramen Girl (2008) Review

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(More customer reviews)The late Brittany Murphy shines in this heartwarming movie about self-discovery. Abby (Murphy) moves to Japan to be with her boyfriend but when she gets dumped, she finds herself in a fix. Unwilling to return to the States, thinking she still has a chance to make it up with her BF, Abby finds a new purpose in the ramen place across the street from her apartment. One rainy night, a despondent Abby wanders into the ramen shop after closing, and starts weeping. The chef Maezumi (Toshiyuki Nishida) and his wife are puzzled as they can't speak English and Abby can't converse in Japanese, so they offer some ramen to comfort her. It does that and more - inspired by the wonderful taste of the ramen, Abby is seized by a sudden desire to learn how to cook ramen, and like an annoying gnat, keeps harassing the chef until he finally takes her on as his apprentice - but not without giving her a really hard time (Abby's initial duties include cleaning the kitchen and the dirty toilets as well as waiting on tables).
The heated exchanges between Abby and Maezumi make for great entertainment- Maezumi as played by Nishida is an irascible taskmaster, who hides a lot of pain beneath his prickly demeanor. Abby, portrayed brilliantly by Murphy, is an initially naive, lost soul trying to find a purpose in life, and struggles to adapt to a foreign environment - not speaking Japanese doesn't help either. There is also a cast of secondary characters, such as the American woman who works as a call girl/mistress, the handsome, young Japanese executive who forms a relationship with Abby, the chef's wife, and a few eccentric regulars at the ramen place. The story does not get overly sappy, and the story, though predictable, is not without a couple of twists. The story might not be original, but it certainly is well-cast and the leads make this an engaging watch. I took away one star because I felt some of the secondary characters deserved more development, e.g. the call girl/mistress who just disappears half-way through the movie. On the whole, this is an interesting, and uplifting drama about searching for one's path in life, and showcases Brittany Murphy's acting talents to good effect. The movie is in both Japanese and English, with a lot of Japanese dialogue accompanied by English subtitles. Also recommended for those who'd like to watch another ramen-themed movie is Tampopo, a highly-entertaining movie.

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An American slacker (Brittany Murphy, 8 Mile; Girl, Interrupted) abandoned by her boyfriend in Tokyo finds her calling in an unlikely place: a local ramen house run by a tyrannical chef who doesn't speak of a word of English. Undaunted by the chef's raging crankiness, Abby convinces him to teach her the art of ramen preparation...and despite hilarious clashes of culture and personality, she learns how to put passion and spirit into her life as well as her cooking.Stills from The Ramen Girl (Click for larger image)

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Away We Go (2009) Review

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(More customer reviews)Like all road pictures, AWAY WE GO is about a couple in their early thirties trying to discover themselves (and what kind of home and family they want to create for themselves) through a round of visits in the sixth month of the pregnancy. I've never been a huge fan of Dave Eggers, but the script that he wrote with Vendela Vida is a brilliant one. The structure of the film is simple: Burt (THE OFFICE's Jim Krasinski) and Verona (SNL's Maya Rudolph) have moved to a small, cold house entirely so that they can live near Burt's parents. But after learning that they will be moving to Antwerp a month before their baby is due, they realize that they don't need to live any longer in a town where they have no friends and, now, no relatives. They plan a long trip that will see them visiting friends and relatives in a number of locations, including Scottsdale, Tucson, Montreal, and Miami. They see people whose lives they would like to emulate and those they would not.
And along the way hilarity ensues. The scenes between Burt and Verona are frequently hysterical, though when they are meeting their friends or relatives they tend to become "straight men" and the humor shifts over to the others. Although several people are absolutely outstanding, two actors deserve special mention. First, Allison Janney is absolutely hysterical as Verona's former boss in Chicago (more about Chicago in a second). She is, putting it simply, a nightmare of a mother. But in the most hysterical of ways. (Now on Chicago. Verona mentions working in Chicago and she is shown to be a medical illustrator. This is not unconnected with Chicago; in fact, there is a direct correlation between medical illustration and Chicago, since the most important medical illustration program is at the University of Illinois at Chicago Medical School. Odds are that if someone has studied medical illustration, they did it there.) The second actor who stands out is Maggie Gyllenhaal, who plays a college professor and old friend of Burt who and the embracer of more fringe and nutzoid ideas than one can imagine. Her ideas, and those of her husband, are so absurd that given gentle, placid Burt can take no more.
But the major kudos have to go to Krasinski and Rudolph, who manage to create two characters we come to like a great deal and who we very much hope will come to understand precisely what they and where they want to have it. This is an especially enjoyable film given the overwhelming amount of special effects fare at this time of the year. This is an intelligent film that also manages to be very, very funny. It is currently in somewhat limited release, but when you get a chance to see it, do so.

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John Krasinski (The Office) and Maya Rudolph (Saturday Night Live) star in the heartfelt film that explores the comedic twists and turns in one couple’s journey across contemporary America. Anticipating the birth of their first child, longtime couple Burt (Krasinski) and Verona (Rudolph) embark on an ambitious itinerary to visit friends and family in order to find their perfect home. Featuring a remarkable soundtrack and an incredible ensemble cast – including Jeff Daniels, Allison Janney, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Catherine O’Hara and Jim Gaffigan. It’s the hilarious, witty film that critics are hailing as “absolutely extraordinary!" (Peter Travers, Rolling Stone)

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