favorite movie #77 - halloween edition: the bone collector

Favorite movies that have had an impact on me - #77 - The Bone Collector (1999) - This movie is billed more as a crime thriller, but for me The Bone Collector is pure horror. It's got lots wrong with it — an ultimately unsatisfying bad guy and some gratuitous deaths that weren't even in the original book by Jeffrey Deaver — but what sells this film for me and why I have watched it a few times is:

1. The undeniably hot hot hot chemistry between Denzel Washington and Angelina Jolie 
2. The Ye Olde New York City crimes and locations based on turn of the century detective novels and magazines (the movie is more of a book-related puzzle to be solved than an action movie) 
3. The great supporting cast, including Queen Latifah, Luis Guzmán, Bobby Cannavale, Ed O'Neill, etc. 

Angelina and Denzel are so great together — they really need to consider teaming up again.

Hey, I guess it's technically a holiday film, too.

maleficent, angelina, magnificent

I was looking forward to Maleficent, as I know that Angelina shines when she connects with her dark side, and was sure her twist on Disney's best villain would be fun to watch. Not only does Maleficent work as a fun fairy tale for the kids, and an excellent showcase for Jolie's killer cheekbones, but it offers a feminist twist on the tale that fairy tale revisionists will love as well.

Some spoilers ...

Maleficent, in all her winged glory

The story begins with a young faerie Maleficent, who lives in an enchanted forest called The Moors. Life there is a pretty happy one. She soars over a beautiful CGI-landscape and interacts with some cutesy tiny fairies. The only rub is that on the other side of The Moors is a kingdom full of humans led by a king who (for reasons unknown) would like nothing better than to wipe out all faeries and their magic. Everyone keeps to themselves until one day Maleficent meets a young human boy named Stefan, who has sneaked into the land of the faeries and tried to steal a magic stone. Maleficent charms the boy (and some giant tree-like fairies scare him) out of his theft. The two youngsters become friends, and in a montage we see that young love blossoms. But as soon as the audience is treated to its star's appearance Stefan takes off, apparently more enamored of what the human world can offer him than the winged Maleficent.

A sad Maleficent doesn't wait for the guy to call, but focuses on leading her fellow faeries against an attack from the King. His army is easily vanquished, and his hatred of the winged faerie only grows — he promises his kingdom to any man who can bring her down. The ambitious Stefan (Sharlto Copley), who has now managed to become a servant in the castle, sets off for the forest, knife in hand. He can't bring himself to kill his old love, but he can drug her and steal her wings. Jolie is heart-rending to watch when she wakes up, wounded, and realizes the extent of her physical violation. But it is clear that the betrayal of her heart is what stings the most.

Diaval and Maleficent

In its only misstep, for the rest of the film Stefan becomes a cardboard villain — all evil, with no shading. But where the story falters with his character, it soars with Maleficent. Fairy tales have always hinted at darker, more universal themes. Sleeping Beauty has been seen as a metaphor for sexual awakening. The creators of Maleficent (including Robert Stromberg, directing his first feature, and screenwriter Linda Woolverton) play with that theme when Aurora (Elle Fanning) reaches a certain age and falls into her eventual, cursed sleep, but they have also chosen to take a far more interesting road with Maleficent. She is neither purely evil nor good, and she changes and grows during the course of the story. After her symbolic rape she seems to have turned her back on men and love, but she takes as a companion (or familiar) a raven that she shape-shifts into a variety of forms — wolf, dragon, but mostly a young and handsome fellow named Diaval (Sam Riley). She curses Stefan's first-born, but she also becomes interested in her. Stefan sends the child away to the woods, ostensibly for her own safety, but it is Maleficent who watches her grow up and protects her, and in the process redefines the concept of fairy godmother.

CGI in many current films just leaves me cold, with the emphasis on breaking buildings and shattered glass, etc. But this story, with its faeries' love of nature uses CGI to not destroy but transform the natural world — Maleficent fights alongside giant boars and creatures made of trees, creates a wall of thorns — which not only suits the story, but makes for a more visually compelling film. But what really makes Maleficent is Jolie. The camera loves her, and she has never looked more beautiful, prosthetic chiseled cheekbones, golden eye contacts, horns and all. She owns the film, and as sweet and engaging as Fanning's Aurora may be, the audience is with Maleficent all the way.

Aurora and Maleficent

While watching Jolie wreak revenge on Stefan by cursing his baby and then growing to love and care for the girl I couldn't help but be reminded of the wonderful revisionist fairy tales by Angela Carter. And to think that such a twist has come from the Disney studio, complete with a humorous twist on Aurora's beloved, Prince Philip. There may be hope for the cult of princess yet, as long as we are willing to keep subverting it.

angelina's good works

"Above all, she was very clear that nothing would mean anything if I didn't live a life of use to others. And I didn't know what that meant for a long time. [...] It was only when I began to travel and look and live beyond my home that I understand my responsibility to others."

That quote is from Angelina Jolie, quoting her mother, Marcheline Bertrand, in a brief but moving speech she gave last Saturday night when she accepted the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award at the 2013 Governors Awards. Jolie was full of grace and thanks as she paid tribute to her late mother.

Jolie has been involved in many humanitarian projects for many years, but it was especially touching to see her son Maddox in the audience in a tux, able to be as proud of his mom as she knew her mom would have been of her efforts.


I'm a long time Angelina fan, but was very impressed by her comparison of her life and that of a woman capable of "making a better speech" who spends her life in a refugee camp. To get a sense of how she tries to deal with the disconnect between her privileged Hollywood lifestyle and upbringing and how she is trying hard to give back, I recommend checking out her journals, of some of her travels to refugee camps in the Sudan, Jordan, Kosovo and many other places, in her role as a Goodwill ambassador for the UN.

Keep up the good work, Angelina.

brad pitt, comedian

Like many actors, Brad Pitt wants to mix it up in the roles he selects. Blessed and cursed with All-American good looks, Pitt has both utilized (Thelma & Louise, Troy) as well as tried to mess with (Snatch.) or underplay (Twelve Monkeys) his handsome visage and physique in roles through the years.

Pitt is undeniably a movie star, and can get films made, whether by his star power or involvement as a producer. He has been quite active as a producer for many years, on critically and financially successful films (some in which he has also appeared): World War Z, Killing Them Softly, Moneyball, The Tree of Life, Eat Pray Love, Kick-Ass, The Time Traveler's Wife, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, A Mighty Heart, Running with Scissors, The Departed. Moneyball would never have been made if not for Pitt's dedication and involvement in all phases of production.

As serious as Pitt must be about both the business and the art of making movies, and as good as he has been in some of his more serious roles — Moneyball, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, Kalifornia — I think he is most enjoyable to watch on screen when he utilizes his sense of humor.

As good as some of his more dramatics parts may have been, I'd much prefer to watch him as the unintelligible fighter Mickey O'Neil in Snatch., Guy Ritchie's goofy crime caper.

Mickey (Pitt): Ah, save your breath for cooling your porridge. Now, look ... She wants the Hector-2 roof lights, uh ... the stylish ash-framed furniture and the scatter cushions with the matching shag pile covering. Right. And she's terrible partial to the periwinkle blue, boys. Have I made myself clear, boys?

Turkish (Jason Statham): Yeah, that's perfectly clear, Mickey. Yeah ... just give me one minute to confer with my colleague. ... Did you understand a single word of what he just said?

He's also a blast as hen-pecked assassin John Smith in Doug Liman's Mr. And Mrs. Smith, trading quips and punches with costar Angelina Jolie.

John Smith: Your aim's as bad as your cooking sweetheart ... and that's saying something!

The Mexican, directed by Gore Verbinski, is a far-from-great movie, but Pitt is fun and funny with costars Julia Roberts and James Gandolfini.

Jerry (Pitt): Look, I'm not going to kill you. But I am going to have to shoot you.
Car Thief: But why, sir? Why? 

Jerry: Why? Why? Because you stole from me and you know about the pistol and you're just gonna steal again and I can't have you coming back in the situation like a fly in the ointment. 

Car Thief: No, I won't be a fly! You'll never see me again. 

Jerry: Look, you're getting shot and that's it. It will take you time to get to the next town especially if you're limping. 

Car Thief: Wait! Wait! What? Limping? Can't you just tie me up some more? I mean, fuck, you shoot me? Tie me! 

Jerry: Yeah. I don't have a rope. 

Car Thief: So you shoot me? 

Jerry: It's the American way.

David Fincher's Fight Club is serious, violent, but also wickedly funny. Pitt, as Tyler Durden, gets some of the best action and lines.

Tyler Durden (Pitt): Would you like to say a few words to mark the occasion? 

Narrator (Edward Norton): mumbles ... 

Tyler Durden: I'm sorry ... 

Narrator: I still can't think of anything. 

Tyler Durden: Ah ... flashback humor.

Forget all the Ocean's movies, they're fun, but there's too much plot and other A-list cast for Pitt to really shine. Whether he is poking fun at himself or those around him in the movies he makes, Pitt, when he relaxes and lets loose, can be a hoot.

brava angelina

Angelina Jolie recently announced her decision to undergo a double mastectomy earlier this year as an anti-breast cancer preventive measure. After having lost her mother, Marcheline Bertrande, at age 56, to ovarian cancer in 2007, Jolie discovered that she possessed a mutated gene, one of the early markers for breast and ovarian cancer, as she lays out in honest, engaging, and touching detail in her recent New York Times op ed piece, "My Medical Choice." Some may consider such a step radical, but Jolie is undeniably making a brave, and very personal choice about her health.

The initial screening for the mutated gene, depending on your insurance, can be costly, not to mention the subsequent, if opted for, surgeries. One of Jolie's intentions, besides living her life in a frank and open manner, is to try to advocate for making such tests more widely available and affordable. It makes dollars and sense. In the big picture such testing and even the surgeries would end up being cheaper than cancer treatment. Not to mention the easing of minds that could be achieved.

Angelina Jolie

Jolie with her mother, Marcheline Bertrand

Clan Jolie-Pitt

My own gynecologist, a breast cancer survivor, is a strong advocate for such measures. When a slight shadow on one of my routine mammograms profiled me for six-month instead of yearly mammos, she suggested a new test, for genetic markers, to see if she could lower my probability profile. It cost far less than the $3000 mentioned in Jolie's op ed, which may be the "price" of the test, pre adjustments and insurance, etc. My doc was able to order it in such a way that made it very low cost to me. It wasn't a blood test, but a saliva swab. The doc says this is the future of medicine, checking genetic predictors and creating custom treatments. Bottom line, I didn't have a high probability marker genetically (whew), so will be able to go back to yearly or, as the protocols change, maybe even bi-yearly mammos in future. Again — long-term less testing, less spending. And less worry.

What many are focusing on with Jolie's revelation is her status as an international beauty and what the surgeries might mean for her career. But Jolie has been far much more than a sex symbol for many years now, with her charity work (Special Envoy and former Goodwill Ambassador for the UNHCR - United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees), Academy Award-winning actress (Girl, Interrupted), and director (In the Land of Blood and Honey). But what comes across most clearly to me most about Jolie, always, is her devotion to her family. She would risk anything to be with them, and to not put them through what she went through, losing her mother to cancer. Brava, Angelina, for what must have been a very difficult decision, but for you and your family was the right one. And courage for any future health-related decisions you might choose or need to make. Good health to you and your family.

dear angelina and johnny

So sorry it has taken me so long to write, but as a busy single mom I don't always get the opportunity to see movies first-run. I was finally able to catch your film, The Tourist, on-demand the other night and just wanted to let you know how much I enjoyed it. It was a fun, even silly at times thriller, much in the vein of the old Audrey Hepburn/Cary Grant movie Charade, or another Cary Grant film, Alfred Hitchcock's To Catch A Thief. I'm not sure why critics when it first came out were so hard on the film. Is it possible that they weren't able to catch the old movie references?

I was pleasantly surprised to discover that it was a top production, not just in the settings and costumes and beautiful cinematography by John Seale, but with supporting roles that were filled by some of my favorite actors — Rufus Sewell, Paul Bettany, Timothy Dalton. The city of Venice, one of the most magical places any tourist could ever visit, was just as lovely to look at as the movie's top stars, if you don't mind my saying so.

In another fun twist, for fans of Angelina's action movie persona, her character of Elise was intelligent and daring, but not her usual optimum physical specimen. In other words, Angelina does not kick major ass, but has to resort to cunning and Venetian canal putt-putt motorboats to effect the rescue of the seemingly out-of-his-league tourist played by Johnny. She still appears to have one up on the hero, but it's not because she is an action hero this time out.

There were many fun little details, such as Johnny's clueless tourist speaking Spanish to everyone in Italy. It was cringeworthy in a good way. The costumes worn by Angelina, mostly designed by Colleen Atwood, were extraordinary. It was nice to see her as a bit of a clothes horse in a movie for a change. Johnny looked dapper too, a bit like Bogie in Casablanca in one scene, when he walked in wearing a white dinner jacket.

No matter what the critical consensus would have you believe, the movie was financially far from a flop. Maybe it was a quickly-filmed romp, but what's wrong with that? Not all movies have to be megahits like Johnny's Pirates series or Angelina's Salt. The Tourist is a fun little film, and one you should both be proud to have on your resumes. Next time you have a break between blockbusters, you might consider filming together again. Topkapi seems ripe for a remake ...

more salt

It has just been reported that Angelina Jolie will be reprising her role as double-triple agent Evelyn Salt. Jolie has carved herself a niche as one of the top actions stars in cinema, regardless of her sex. It is always empowering to see a female kick some serious butt on screen (at least it is for me), but what is most unique about Jolie is that she easily takes on roles that were originally envisioned for men and the movies don't lose any of their box office appeal, nor does she lose any of her sex appeal portraying a woman to be reckoned with.

Jolie's super-spy in Salt played her allegiances close to the chest until the last quarter of the movie — is she a Russian agent? An American one? An American crossed over to the Russians? The reverse? One who has crossed over and then crossed back again? But through all of the flips and outright uncertainty in some of her character's actions, it didn't really matter. Throughout the film, no matter whose side she is on, the audience is with Jolie. She is unstoppable, escaping from her CIA coworkers, leaping over trucks on the Capital Beltway, shooting her way out of oil tankers, breaking into the Presidential bunker. Salt and Jolie are a lot of fun.

There have been some fabulous movie hero(ines) over the past thirty years. Geena Davis flirted with action/adventure in The Long Kiss Goodnight. Uma Thurman kicked major ass in Kill Bill. Science fiction as a genre has enabled even more actresses to take on kick-ass roles. Sigourney Weaver blew everyone away as Ripley in the Alien trilogy. Linda Hamilton was great in Terminator 2. Carrie-Ann Moss in The Matrix movies and Milla Jovovich in the Resident Evil series have been more recent sci-fi heroines. But Angelina Jolie has consistently, throughout her career, opted to play physical (sometime physically violent) characters, whether heroes or villains. These movies are not just highlights in her career, but make up a significant portion of what she does. Since 1999, of the 21 characters she has played in movies listed on imdb 11 of them were action/adventure oriented:

The voice of Tigress (animated, but still, Tigress kicks major butt) Kung Fu Panda 2 (2011), Kung Fu Panda Holiday Special (2010, TV short), Kung Fu Panda (2008)

Elise Clifton-Ward in The Tourist (2010) - A fatal femme who has to save Johnny Depp's butt.

Evelyn Salt in Salt (2010)

Fox in Wanted (2008) - This movie is absurd and absurdly violent and extreme and extremely fun and the scene where Jolie's Fox "boards" a train is amazing.

Grendel's Mother in Beowulf (2007) - Even an animated Jolie makes a great and dangerous villain.

Jane Smith in Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005) - Jolie and Pitt are well-matched as assassins. It's sexy and violent and loads of fun.

Franky in Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (2004) - She definitely did this one so she could wear the eyepatch.

Illeana in Taking Lives (2004) - Jolie is a cop trying to decide what exactly Ethan Hawke knows about some grisly killings.

Lara Croft in Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life (2003) and Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001) -  It may be based on a video game, but Jolie brings wit and va-va-va-voom to Lara, her first action franchise.

Sara 'Sway' Wayland in Gone in Sixty Seconds (2000) - Total fluff, but Jolie is great as a wild child bent on larcenous adventure.

Amelia Donaghy in The Bone Collector (1999) - One of my favorite guilty pleasure movies, Jolie is great as an eager young cop who becomes the eyes and ears of paralyzed detective Lincoln Rhyme (Denzel Washington). And Jolie and Washington have amazing chemistry.

Jolie actively seeks out the action, and besides the endless tabloid speculation about her weight, she manages to convince. Salt 2 or whatever the geniuses in marketing choose to call it will be her second action franchise, third if we count Panda. Bruce Willis and Tom Cruise can't even say that.

you don't take a photograph— you ask, quietly, to borrow it.—unknown

Steven Klein's photographs sometimes verge on the trying-too-hard department for me (subcategory: sweat), but I can't deny that I love these images of some of my favorites ...

I really like his work when it's a bit more focused on one or two subjects.

Daniel Radcliffe, from Details Magaizine

A Rod, from Details Magazine

Jonathan Rhys Meyers, for Energie

Madonna, W Magazine

Brad and Angelina, W Magazine

a thin line

While I won't challenge the evidence that actresses in Hollywood seem to be incredibly thinner than the rest of us, I am always a little amazed at the periodic outcry and finger-pointing that seems to single out a few particular actresses as "having a problem" or taking it too far."  Basically someone is calling someone else their idea of ugly based on how that person looks, and that is messed up and juvenile and unnecessary. What are we people? Stupid Marie Claire editors? I'd like to think we're better than that.

I'm not sure we can ever get over our size-obsession. It's hardly anything new. And in the age we live in, with the abundance of food (even in a recession) on most people's plates, it is extremely easy to go up on the scale, and as everyone who has ever tried knows, not so easy to go back down. So anyone who stays thin, or gets thinner, has appeared to win the "genetic lottery." And that creates resentment. Being thin in this country is connected to concepts of beauty, definitely, but also to ideas about health. The prevalent idea is that to be thin guarantees good health. Even if we know that's simplistic and not true, it's an idea that seems firmly ingrained in most American minds.

If we were living in ancient Rome or Greece, I would be considered sickly and unattractive. The times dictate that thin is better for some strange reason, which I think is foolish.—Gwyneth Paltrow

So why does the media keep telling us that "too thin" is a recent epidemic in Hollywood? Why are actresses like Angelina Jolie and all the other skinny gals (Keira Knightly, eg.) excoriated regularly? Why do we look to Hollywood as the gauge for a woman's size? Why not to the world of sports? Folks would rather criticize Venus Williams on her fashion sense than hold her as a model of physical health and beauty.

Case in point, Angelina Jolie. When she's not being internet-bashed for her relationship with Brad Pitt, or number of children, critics can always start pointing out her skinny arms. Jolie is skinny, maybe skinnier than a few years back. But there could be reasons for that beyond the only reason anyone thinks anyone should ever lose weight—to look better, i.e. thinner than the next guy. Angelina lost her mother recently. She's a UNHCR goodwill ambassador for children and refugees worldwide. I know that if I was traveling to Darfur, Pakistan, Cambodia and other places where children and adults are literally starving, I would not want to go home and stuff my face. But is she really so startlingly thinner these days?

She is very slender in this picture, taken when she was a young starlet

Angelina Jolie (Photo credit: Wikipedia).

Angelina's lost any baby fat she may have had in the top photo, but I'd say that she has always been a skinny chick. What's really scary is how the publicity machine thinks that even this skinny chick isn't skinny enough and Photoshops her to within an inch of her life to make her even more skinny.

How can women be as thin as we are? We have personal trainers to work us out. We have specially prepared meals.—Sarah Michelle Gellar 

"Thin is in" is hardly a new concept, especially in the film industry. Some of the most famous faces (and bodies) of Old Hollywood aren't painfully thin, but boy are they skinny—all the better to show off those clingy bias-cut gowns, which would show off the tiniest bulge or curve.

Claudette Colbert, in Cleopatra

Universal style icon Audrey Hepburn, screen test from Roman Holiday

Barbara Stanwyck publicity photo

Fabulous actresses come in all shapes and sizes, just like fabulous people. The cult of skinny in show biz is nothing new. Every decade over the past 80 years Hollywood has promoted skinny, beautiful icons to an adoring public:

30s - Marlene Dietrich, Claudette Colbert
40s - Katharine Hepburn, Bette Davis
50s - Audrey Hepburn, Grace Kelly
60s - Julie Christie, Jane Fonda
70s - Diana Ross, Faye Dunaway (70s t.v. actresses are all pretty thin, too)
80s - Michelle Pfeiffer, Daryl Hannah
90s - Nicole Kidman, Julia Roberts
00s - Angelina Jolie, Keira Knightley

I was a scapegoat. The media had to put responsibility on somebody, and I was chosen. They felt free to say that because someone was thin they were anorexic, which is ridiculous.—Kate Moss

I'm not defending Hollywood's or any of our culture's insistence that actresses and women be and stay skinny. We all know how Judy Garland was tortured by pressures to lose weight.

From the time I was thirteen, there was a constant struggle between MGM and me—whether or not to eat, how much to eat, what to eat. I remember this more vividly than anything else about my childhood.—Judy Garland

I'd just like us all to stop commenting and snarking that Angelina should eat a burger. Or that Jessica Simpson should stop eating them. Let's all lighten up—figuratively speaking.