Paul Giamatti

American Splendor
$9.98
Creating something real, unreal, familiar yet completely original; directors Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini pulled out all the stops with `American Splendor', one of the most innovative and unforgettable biopics I've ever seen. Ingeniously mixing real life with reel life, `American Splendor' may turn off a few viewers, but for those of you willing to give it some time it will truly open your eyes to the endless possibilities of cinema. With brilliant casting, stunning script work and truly remarkable craftsmanship, `American Splendor' will definitely be an unforgettable cinematic experience.

Who ever thought that comic books could be so influential?

The life of comic book hero Harvey Pekar is told with vivacious tenacity in this multilayered biopic that exposes his human personality as well as his alter ego. With a knack for fleshing out the truth in life, Pekar created something that no one else had even attempted, and in the process he created a following I don't think he even understood. Starting with the conception of his comic and moving forward through his strange marriage and odd social skills, not to mention some inevitable health issues; `American Splendor' never loses its grasp on what makes this film so fresh and whimsical.

Thanks to some inspired casting, this film nails just about every punch.

Let's talk about Paul Giamatti for a minute. I remember in 2004 when `Sideways' was released and everyone started screaming Oscar and talking about how Giamatti's performance was just too good. I remember seeing the film and falling out of my chair (figuratively) because for the first time the hype was correct. He was `that' good. Then the inevitable snub came and it wasn't until the following year when he hammed it up for Ron Howard that he received an Oscar nomination (please note that, while I say `hammed' it up, I am not really insulting his performance, which I enjoyed, but merely stating that sometimes you have to create a caricature for Oscar to pay you any attention). Around that time I started hearing about this film. Personally I hadn't heard anything about it until then, and honestly I didn't see the film until last weekend, but the seed was planted.

This performance, believe it or not, is even BETTER than the one he delivered in `Sideways'.

Capturing this man in all variations of his persona (and brilliantly meshing with the `real' Pekar who appears in the film as well as the animated versions), Giamatti is a full-figured representation of a truly inspired characterization. He understands the lows, the highs and everything in between, completely realizing his characters potential. He's so good that I barely noticed the rest of the cast, even when they were working magic as well (especially Hope Davis, who is criminally underrated in the world of cinema).

As a whole I strongly recommend this film to any fan of the biopic, the human drama, the dramedy, Giamatti or comic books...UGH, I recommend it to everyone since this is really what cinema is all about.

Cinderella Man
$18.98
This is my first movie score by Thomas Newman and I'm looking forward to picking up some of his other ones. Frankly, while the period pieces work in the film, I don't include them on my playlist on my iPod because they just seem unnecessary by themselves. The score itself is stunning and I particularly love the moving cellos and basses of track 5. Just beautiful stuff.

Duets
$14.99
I watched "Duets" from Encore on demand. This is a quirky film about people who compete for cash on the Karaoke circuit. There are three main K teams in this movie. Gwyneth Paltrow and Huey Lewis a father/daughter team, Paul Giamatti and Andre Braugher; a burned out salesman and escaped convict, Maria Bello and Scott Spellman; a part time hooker and cab driver, all converge at a Karaoke contest in Omaha, Nebraska.

Many reviewers are correct about having to suspend disbelief. In the opening scene Huey Lewis out Cockers Joe Cocker and hustles $690 to boot. We're are asked to accept Gwyneth Paltrow as Huey Lewis' daughter. Paul Giammatti belts out an acceptable "Hello It's Me" in his first Karaoke outing. So why did I like this? The unexpected happens.

We have the scene of a dangerous hitchhiker in the middle of nowhere seeming more sane than the driver. A salesman, played by Giamatti, comes home his wife, she rebuffs him and Giamatti mentions that he has to go out and buy a pack of cigarettes. Scott Spellman, playing a cab driver, is picking up his childhood teacher from the police station. The teacher then berates him as an underachiever. She's dressed in her bathrobe and has been charged with shoplifting BTW. When she is dropped off he mentions that he isn't an underachiever, that he's working on harmony.

I like Paul Giamatti in any movie. He has played such a diversity of roles from President John AdamsJohn Adams (HBO Miniseries) to an English teacher/wine aficionado in SidewaysSideways (Widescreen Edition). Huey Lewis also showed that he can act as well as sing. Gwyneth Paltrow is less believable as an ingenue and daughter of Huey Lewis. There just doesn't seem to be that big of an age gap to be father/daughter. Angie Dickinson also does a great star turn as Gwyneth Paltrow's grandmother. Maria Bello did a good turn as the Emerson quoting hooker.

I know this is a movie. However, couldn't they have at least one of the characters just think they could sing like Otis Redding but, in actuality sound like the everyday Karaoke singers with which we've had experience?

There are so many odd moments I thought of such Altman type films as Gosford ParkGosford Park, and Cookie's FortuneCookie's Fortune. Duets inserted the theater of the absurd into everyday life.

Sideways (Widescreen Edition)
$14.98
It takes about a whole hour for the movie to even begin. Very painful to watch with 1 dimensional characters.