man in the chair Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Christopher Plummer gives a black hole of a performance in Man in the Chair, which opened in New York last week and in Los Angeles this weekend. Every time he appears, he inexorably sucks attention away from anyone else on screen. Eventually, everything revolves in orbit around him, even when he's not present. Somehow, though, even as Plummer merges his soul with his character at the molecular level, he does so in a modest manner. The seams between actor and role are not readily apparent. It's a pity that the film as a whole doesn't rise to level of his magnificent performance, but he elevates the material by his grizzled presence.

Plummer plays Flash Madden, a retired gaffer with a permanent scowl etched on his face. We meet him in a darkened cinema, muttering to himself, talking back to Orson Welles in Touch of Evil, and flashing back to his moment of glory when he was fired, then instantly rehired, on the set of Citizen Kane. He's a moviegoer's worst nightmare, the annoying old guy who keeps up a running commentary while you're trying to enjoy a classic, so our sympathies run toward the man who asks him to shut up. Flash tells the man off, which amuses Cameron Kincaid (a wisely subdued Michael Angarano, who also served as associate producer), a high school senior who wants to win a film school scholarship contest.

Flash puts on a great show of being irascible and irritable, but doesn't seem to mind very much when Cameron begins stalking him. Having overhead that Flash used to work in the movies, Cameron seizes on the thought that the old guy might be able to help him make his student film. From the movie posters hanging in his room and snatches of conversation with his only friend, we get the message that Cameron loves movies. (When he decides to steal a car for a joyride, he insists that it be the same make and model as the titular automotive character in John Carpenter's Christine.) Apparently in common with many young filmmakers today, Cameron wants to make his own movies but doesn't really have anything to say.

Call them what you will -- progeny, small fry, rug rats -- this week it's all about the kids. Welcome to Trailer Park: The Ankle Biter edition.

The Orphanage
This latest trailer has me stoked to see this Spanish language creep-fest. Directed by Juan Antonio Bayona, produced by Guillermo del Toro, and positively reviewed by Cinematical's own Scott Weinberg, this looks like one worth seeing when it goes into limited U.S. release on December 28. The preview is light on plot details, but creepy as hell with enough atmosphere to get not just the horror fans excited but a more mainstream audience as well. A woman reopens the orphanage where she was raised, and her son develops relationships with some new "imaginary" friends. The boy soon goes missing and the plot is off and running. The kid with the bag over his head that you see several times in the trailer just gives me the willies (that's a good thing).

In Bruges
As is pointed out in the trailer, Bruges in in Belgium, a fact I was aware of, but only because part of a Harry Kumel's Daughters of Darkness takes place there. At any rate, be advised this is not a green band trailer and F-bombs (among other expletives) are hurled left and right. Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson (Mad Eye Moody from the Harry Potter films) are two hit men who have been ordered by their boss (Ralph Fiennes) to lay low in Bruges after whacking a priest. Apparently two working class mobsters in Bruges is a bad fit, and cultural clashes and a disagreement with Fiennes leads to some fun bits. This one barely makes the cut for the Ankle Biter edition, but there's a pretty funny bit where Gleeson's character insults Fiennes' kids using the aforementioned "other expletives." I'll definitely be trying to find this when it goes into limited release on February 8. If you're going to be at Sundance this year, In Bruges will be the opening night selection. Here's Jessica's take on the trailer.

Santa Barbara seems like a pretty cool place to hold a film festival; nice people, fancy cars, great weather, swanky restaurants ... and oh yeah, the movies. The Santa Barabarians are presently gearing up for their 22nd annual film festival, and I'm here to tell you what they'll be playing. Well, some of what they'll be playing. Well, the big titles anyway.

Based on what Variety tells me, the SBIFF will be offering a solid handful of world premieres, including Joel Schumacher's The Number 23 (which stars Jim Carrey and Virginia Madsen), Lake of Fire (a documentary about abortion that comes from the guy who directed American History X) and Christopher Plummer in Man in the Chair, which is a story about the last-surviving Citizen Kane crew member. Interesting.

Not premieres, but potentially quite interesting are "that Dakota Fanning movie" Hounddog, George Hickenlooper's controversial Factory Girl, Michael Apted's Amazing Grace and Sue Kramer's Gray Matters. The fest folks will also take some time from their busy screening schedule to honor filmmakers like Forest Whitaker, Bill Condon, Helen Mirren and Will Smith.

Plus a whole lot more. So if you live within, say, 40-some miles of Santa Barbara and you want to see some interesting flicks between January 25 and February 4, now you have something to do.