A Conversation with I Don't Know How She Does It

Most of you probably haven't seen Sarah Jessica Parker's latest War Horse I Don't Know How She Does It, but that doesn't matter. Our 'interviewer' Christopher (named after the ginger cat I never got for my birthday) is going to interview it since it is the perfect film to interview (you'll see why). Basically, if you're new to all of this: I rebooted this series about a couple of weeks ago - missing those weeks because of the Oscars and a school trip - where my fake interviewer Christopher 'chats' to a specific movie. You can find past entries here. Let's get into it, shall we?

CHRISTOPHER: Hi there. I think the obvious question to start with is why the hell do you have such a stupid title?
I DON'T KNOW HOW SHE DOES IT: Because, silly, who does know how she does it?

C: What, how does Sarah Jessica Parker still keep getting work?
IDKHSDI: No. What I intend for the audience to see is the ins and outs of being a mother. And everyone has to look up at our heroine, Kate Reddy and say "I don't know how she does it!" every five minutes. It is all about girl power, girlfriend.

C: Well in that case, I'm glad that I'm fake so I don't have to have children and have a wife running around like her.
IDKHSDI: I'm obviously not for males. I'm for mothers to put their hands up to and worship, since I am obviously the bible for the working mother.

C: With Sarah Jessica Parker playing your heroine?
IDKHSDI: ...yes. You saw Sex and the City. That was the bible for the fashionable woman! This is like, the sequel.

C: The sequel where Carrie Bradshaw catches lice?
IDKHSDI: Yes.

C: And doesn't bake anything for the bake sale so she just buys a pie from the shop?
IDKHSDI: ...yes.

C: And just about has an affair with Pierce Brosnan?
IDKHSDI: ...yes...

C: Wow, I really don't know how she does it.
IDKHSDI: Exactly. She has to deal with all of those problems.

C: Okay, so you are a girl power movie being the bible for the working mother. But why are you made in such a strange way?
IDKHSDI: I am made in a documentary style so it all feels more real. So everyone can somewhat relate to it. And how else could we get across the point that Kate Reddy is so amazing? We had to tell the audience all the time just to remind them. Just in case the title wasn't enough of a clue.

C: Have you ever heard of something called subtlety? It is in right now.
IDKHSDI: Considering one of the highest grossing movies of the year was Transformers: Dark of the Moon - which was not very subtle - I was going with the crowd. I was just expanding that idea.

C: But why did you have to have so many annoying characters explaining a character just as annoying?
IDKHSDI: Have you not read the chick flick handbook? It says that behind every lead female character, you need the trusty best friend who feels the need to crack dirty jokes all the time (Christina Hendricks), the sassy guy friend (Seth Meyers), the nemesis who may look like the perfect mother but actually isn't and has anger issues (Busy Philipps), the younger girl who idolises the heroine but can't get her life straight (Jessica Szohr) and the uptight career obsessed woman who won't let anything get in her way, including emotions (Olivia Munn). And then there's the people who don't have to explain them: the men. The doting husband who is so sensitive of course we have to feel sorry for him (Greg Kinnear), the over-powering 'I wish I was more family-oriented' workaholic (Pierce Brosnan) and the mean 'I don't give a shit' boss (Kelsey Grammer). All of these people are supposed to generate support and emotion towards Kate Reddy, obviously.

C: And is breaking the fourth wall another technique to get us to care about Kate Reddy?
IDKHSDI: Of course we need to know what she's thinking all of the time. And if SJP's husband can do it in Ferris Bueller's Day Off, then she can too.

C: Ah, but you see, that was actually a good movie.
IDKHSDI: And I'm not?

C: Unless you count having every cliché in the book. Mind you, I now know why you have that stupid title. If any woman makes it through this movie, then she I don't know how she does it.
IDKHSDI: See? My title is great after all.

What I got:

Due to technical difficulties...

...my review of The Woman in the Window for tonight's instalment to the Classic Movie Marathon will have to be postponed. It's a complicated story, really. The version I have of the movie is a different zone to what we have here in NZ, therefore I can't play it on my laptop. So I brought out my trusty old portable DVD player to watch it on, but it turns out that I can't actually hear the movie on that. My only other option is to watch it in the lounge on the TV, but since my Dad isn't the movie type of person, I'll have to wait until tomorrow when he's at work before I can have the TV all to myself. So the schedule is pushed back a day, mainly coz I'm having a little trouble keeping up with these movies...I'm sadly more happy rewatching movies I've already seen fifty times before coz I just can't think straight.

In place of tonight's review, I'll just give you a photo of Jeremy Renner. Because he is my new nerd obsession at the moment. After all, he's in the new Bourne movie, bitches!

And while we're on the subject of Jeremy...here's a cute pic of he and Jon Hamm...

And on the subject of Jon, here's a pic of he and the beautiful Rebecca Hall...

And for no reason at all, just the fact that I watched the marvellous The Ghost Writer again a couple of nights back, here's an interesting premiere photo of stars Ewan McGregor, Olivia Williams, and Pierce Brosnan. I swear, Olivia Williams' performance in this movie was the best (male or female) performance of 2010. I have absolutely no doubt about that.

Ha, technical difficulties have never turned out to be so good looking.

DVD--The Ghost Writer

or: The Ghost who uncovers things.

One word to sum it up: Intriguing.

If I were to say 'Roman Polanski', people not so up with the film world (and his classics such as Rosemary's Baby and Chinatown) would probably only know one thing about him: that infamous rape scandal. In a way, that thing alone makes The Ghost Writer, his latest film, an even stronger one. You see, during the making of this film, he was put under arrest. He finished editing the film from a Swiss prison and continued making all the artistic decisions while he was under house arrest. And even though Polanski wasn't able to set foot in America due to extradition, he made this film look as American as it possibly could have been. With all these problems, Polanski managed to make a pretty flawless looking film, and perhaps one of the best films from last year.

It's based on Robert Harris' novel 'The Ghost', but it's also been called for the several similarities it has with the story of former British Prime Minister Tony Blair. An unremarkable ghost-writer (Ewan McGregor) has landed a contract to shape the memoirs of Adam Lang (Pierce Brosnan), the former UK Prime Minister. After dominating British politics for years, Lang has retired with his wife (Olivia Williams) to the USA. He lives on an island, in luxurious, isolated premises complete with a security detail and a secretarial staff. Soon, Adam Lang gets embroiled in a major scandal that reveals how far he was ready to go in order to nurture UK's "special relationship" with the USA. But before this controversy has started, before even he has closed the deal with the publisher, the ghost-writer gets unmistakable signs that the draft he is tasked to put into shape mysteriously forms highly sensitive material.

I admit, political thrillers aren't really my cup of tea. When I see those words, it's like someone hit the snooze button in my brain. The Ghost Writer, on the flipside, gave my brain a good rattling. While it could be a bore for someone, I found this movie rich and intense, directed by a guy who knows how to make a good thriller. What makes me mad is the fact that this film was completely ignored come Oscar time. For example, Alexandre Desplat did a far better job with the music in this one, but he got all the acclaim for his work in The King's Speech. His music here contributed to an old-style kind of theme that makes this a suspense nearly in the league of Hitchcock. It's the kind of movie that will keep you guessing until the very end. And the tension just builds and builds. Slowly, but surely. The final shot, to me, is an absolute killer.

Leading the film is Ewan McGregor, who has had a spot in my heart since he was Christian in Moulin Rouge!...and what a great leading man he is. He plays a character simply known as 'The Ghost', but he anchors the film with his likability and vulnerability. And he was a far better choice for the role than Nicolas Cage. Pierce Brosnan made amends for his singing abilities in Mamma Mia! by playing the PM figure Adam Lang just the way a good actor should. Kim Cattrall takes a break from Sex and the City to do what she was born to do: be a good actress. It was strange seeing her in a dramatic role, but she did it well. Even if her American/Irish/Scottish/British accent was a little off the mark. The standout of the movie? Olivia Williams, by miles. Gosh, I loved her in this movie. She was so quietly horrible, and she just stole the show with her characterization and skill. She's the second biggest reason to watch this film after the all-round awesomeness that makes this film a definitive must-see.

THE VERDICT: The Ghost Writer is an excellently made thriller which is both intriguing and intense, with some great performances from it's cast and brilliant direction from Roman Polanski.

What I hoped for:

What I got: