TheMysteriesOfPittsburgh Tagged Articles at Cinematical
Spin-ematical: New on DVD for 8/4
Filed under: New Releases », DVD Reviews », New on DVD », Home Entertainment »
The Soloist
It seemed like the sort of project to explode with praise and critical acclaim -- Robert Downey Jr. and Jamie Foxx in the story of a talented homeless musician who once went to Julliard. The reality, however, didn't live up to expectation. In her review, Jette Kernion said: "the overall film isn't compelling, and the plot falls into the easy traps of traditional melodrama." Still ... Rent it. Also on Blu-ray.
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Obsessed
One of the classic cases of reviewer v. audience. The story of a psycho Beyonce didn't charm the critical eye, and Scott even said: "Obsessed feels a lot like a refugee from the Lifetime Network that just happened to have a budget." Nevertheless, it exploded. I say Skip It ... but I have a feeling that won't matter. Also on Blu-ray.
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Review: The Mysteries of Pittsburgh
Filed under: New Releases », Theatrical Reviews »
By: Scott Weinberg (from his 2008 Sundance Festival review)
Most directors' first effort is NOT a huge blockbuster smash of a comedy starring Ben Stiller and Vince Vaughn, but that's how writer/director Rawson Marshall Thurber hit the scene: with Dodgeball. But based on the filmmaker's second effort, I'm guessing that Thurber took a lot of good-natured ribbing from his film-school friends and decided to snag some "indie cred" by doing a smaller movie for his second feature. That's all well and good, but it's too bad that the resulting movie -- The Mysteries of Pittsburgh -- is such an inert, episodic, and familiar piece of very typical festival fare. It's as if Mr. Thurber watched six Sundance films at random, and then just copied his favorite scenes from each one.
Based on the novel of the same name by Michael Chabon, The Mysteries of Pittsburgh is about the son of an infamous gangster who spends his last summer before "adult life" roaming around with two "free-spirited" pals. The year is 1983, and young Art Bechstein (Jon Foster) is at a serious crossroads. Completely opposed to his father's lifestyle, Art (reluctantly) plans to become a stockbroker in a few months' time -- but that means a few open months in which he can A) work at a chintzy discount book store, B) cast lovesick glances towards his new friend Jane (Sienna Miller), and C) become close pals with a bisexual street thug called Cleveland (Peter Sarsgaard). Oh, and D) nail his slightly unhinged boss (Mena Suvari).
Quickhits: Nolte Joins Pittsburgh, April in December Optioned and More Heathers 2 Coolness
Filed under: Casting », Deals », RumorMonger », Scripts », DIY/Filmmaking », Newsstand »
Odds and ends from Wednesday:
- The other day, we told you how a bunch more people have joined the cast of The Mysteries of Pittsburgh, an adaptation of Michael Chabon's coming-of-age book. Well, you can now add Nick Nolte's name to a list that already includes Sienna Miller, Peter Sarsgaard, Max Minghella, Jon Foster and Mena Suvari. Nolte will play the lead character's (Art Bechstein) mobster father.
- The Motion Picture Group, Inc. has optioned its second original screenplay, written by Tyla Berchtold and How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days co-author Michele Alexander. The romantic/fantasy comedy, April in December, "revolves around a high-powered professional who thinks she is losing her mind when she starts seeing fantasy characters." Um, wait -- that happens to me every day. If this isn't normal behavior, I need to get out more.
- Hey, remember when we told you how Winona Ryder was keen on doing a sequel for the 1980's cult comedy, Heathers? Well, apparently, she talked more about it to Entertainment Weekly and revealed just a tad more about the film's production timeline, setting and special cameo appearances. Says Ryder, "I don't know how much is official; it's a ways away. But it takes place in Washington and Christian Slater agreed to come back and make an Obi-Wan-type appearance. It's very funny." Wow, so it seems this thing is actually happening. Cool. Wait, we're excited about this, right?
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