Julie & Julia (Nora Ephron, 2009)

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domino harvey
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Julie & Julia (Nora Ephron, 2009)

#1 Post by domino harvey » Wed Apr 29, 2009 9:41 pm

Julie & Julia -- Meryl Streep as Julia Child and Amy Adams as a blogger? Sign me up

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Antoine Doinel
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Re: Trailers for Upcoming Films

#2 Post by Antoine Doinel » Thu Apr 30, 2009 8:00 am

Wow, they managed to find a way to make Amy Adams completely unattractive.

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carax09
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Re: Trailers for Upcoming Films

#3 Post by carax09 » Sat May 02, 2009 3:03 pm

Cosmic Bus wrote:
Antoine Doniel wrote:Wow, they managed to find a way to make Amy Adams completely unattractive.
To be fair, she does look vaguely like the real Julie Powell. The book was an absolute joy to read, but, expectedly, I almost feel bad about seeing it smooshed into a such a bland-looking movie.
You're only saying that Antoine, because you're from Montreal. Everyone knows that you can't swing a dead cat in that city without giving about eight beautiful women a concussion.

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Re: Trailers for Upcoming Films

#4 Post by kaujot » Sat May 02, 2009 5:05 pm

Maybe this is a bit snobbish on my part, but I find it really sad that it's a blog that's been adapted.

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domino harvey
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Re: Trailers for Upcoming Films

#5 Post by domino harvey » Sat May 02, 2009 5:13 pm

Well, technically, it isn't:

Image

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Re: Trailers for Upcoming Films

#6 Post by kaujot » Sat May 02, 2009 5:22 pm

Ah, well, that's what I get for trusting the trailer. I suppose it's slightly more palatable if she ended up writing a book about it.

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mfunk9786
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Re: Julie & Julia (Nora Ephron, 2009)

#7 Post by mfunk9786 » Thu Dec 10, 2009 11:28 pm

The combination of a bit of cinematic intoxication and this wonderful Quick Reply feature has moved me to mention just how much I liked this film. There is an end of the second act fight that falls flat, and the last half hour or so feels rather rushed (I actually would have preferred a longer cut), but all in all I was pretty impressed. I was particularly taken by the Julie Powell plotline, especially after we find out (without much further explanation) that Julia panned Julie's blog - okay, she was 90 years old and had become very old fashioned, but it was tough to then see the Streep character and feel the same warmth towards her. It's obviously not a perfect film, but I couldn't help but find the whole endeavor to be worth the effort. Although (and it seems like this post has been nothing but nitpicking) I began thinking that combining both stories would give plenty of heft to two stories that wouldn't have stood on the own, but I finished thinking that I would have preferred to see them each as seperate films. There was enough there to work with in each story that both felt quite unfinished by the end.

Adams was worthy of an Oscar nomination thanks to a performance that does a lot with a little, and Meryl Streep (while feeling at times like, to paraphrase Jerry Seinfeld, "phony baloney Streep") was obviously transformed into Julia Child like no other actress could be. Perhaps it just took too much effort on my part to believe that anyone carried themselves with so much electrified vim in their day to day life, but there's obviously a lot to savor in her performance.

Okay, there will be more cooking metaphors if I keep rambling, so I'll stop. But rent this film! Don't write it off as just another Ephron mess or a bland biopic. It's much more than all that.

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domino harvey
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Re: Julie & Julia (Nora Ephron, 2009)

#8 Post by domino harvey » Fri Dec 11, 2009 7:28 pm

This is, as I stated elsewheres on the board, one of the best films of the year, and it's a relief to see someone else respond positively.

I too agree that the Adams section is far more interesting, in that it is doing several things concurrently, while the Streep section is an amusing but cut-and-dry biographical sketch. This is a film that has a lot to say about the nature of idol worship, and it is a refreshingly positive spin. Adams' Powell escapes her humdrum life by not just blogging her way through Child's recipes but by emulating her (quite literally in one scene). The sections on Child only work when we realize Adams is concurrently reading about her life. The scene where Adams introduces Streep's audience-pleasing utterance of "cock" binds the two stories concretely in the film, but the plotlines often compliment and enhance each other. The idea of Julia Child is far more important than Child herself, and that tremendous moment at the end of the film where Adams' Powell decides she prefers the imagined version of Child to the reality takes the film to the level of commentary it warrants.

As for the fight, I think it's a key section of the film. There is so little at stake and no chance of reconciliation being elided that the film reveals itself as cheerful wish fulfillment for the audience as well. These are two charming, funny but not witty, nonthreatening characters whose inherent niceness is infectious. This is a fantasy, a romantic whim passed from source to source, and its no wonder this film played to big business-- in fact, it played for over three and a half months in the local first run theatre here. This is a film that doesn't invite audiences to align themselves with Julia Child, but with Julie Powell. However, the reason so many viewers mistakenly felt gravitated to the Child portion is that the film is almost too effective: the audience aligns itself so well in the fulfillment fantasy of the Powell storyline that viewers begin exhibiting the same traits of hero worship rather than identification. Amy Adams plays a thankless role so well that she nearly seems invisible, as she's playing us: the movie lover, the celeb hound, the novel reader, the art appreciator-- the hopeless aspirer.

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Michael
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Re: Julie & Julia (Nora Ephron, 2009)

#9 Post by Michael » Sat Dec 12, 2009 11:07 am

Great post, domino. I like how you defend the Julie Powell sections even though I still think they are very weak. There was nothing special about them - a woman finding her way out of her doldrums by discovering a new hobby. That's pretty much it. Julie is self-absorbed and whiny and I find her very aggravating. She breaks down after failing numerous attempts to making meat gelatin molds and chickens out from killing lobsters humanely. So what? It took me years to perfect my biscotti and god knows how much biscotti dough I've tossed or over-baked biscotti that chipped a few of my teeth. On the other hand, the Julia Child sections made the movie for me. Luxurious capture of old Paris and plenty of cooking galore. Julia made it through male-dominated institutions and meticulously wrote thousands of pages with French women to bring their art to America. I enjoyed Julia's interactions with French chefs, both men and women and her relationship with Paul - all very inspirinng and made Julie Powell's impatience and narcissism all too irritable and pitiful. Julie is not passionate about cooking, it's just a way for her to escape from her 9 to 5 job to do something new -starting blogging that is, not cooking. Nothing wrong with that but I think it has been taken a bit too far. Julie is one lucky blogger. I'm terribly bored with my job so maybe I should take up blogging about my new herb potting adventure! And maybe a movie around the corner.

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Re: Julie & Julia (Nora Ephron, 2009)

#10 Post by jojo » Tue Dec 15, 2009 6:42 pm

I think Amy Adams was put in a position to fail in this film. 90% of the critics love Meryl; putting any other star beside her is just asking for a whipping and that's exactly what she got, even if it's not even her fault if her scenes suck (in some people's opinion) or are less flashy than Steep's.

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Re: Julie & Julia (Nora Ephron, 2009)

#11 Post by Markson » Mon Oct 18, 2010 3:19 pm

I hate to resurrect this thread, but I watched this last night with the girlfriend and was surprised to find it just a few notches above awful. It was dramatically inert, lifelessly written and directed, and had little (forced) connective tissue between the parallel storylines. "Julie" was self-absorbed and delusional (which would be fine if I got the sense that Ephron identified or explored this angle in a complex, mature way) and completely unlikable (and I'm not a viewer who usually reduces films to "liking" or "disliking" characters). Streep was unsurprisingly good, but I'm a hard sell on stars-playing-other-famous-people performances. While she (and Tucci) succeeded at elevating much the cliched muck of The Devil Wears Prada, I was disappointed that even her spirited performance couldn't do much to engender life in an almost arcless film of perfunctory bullet-points. I want to compare it to watching John Coltrane jam with Nickelback, but that sounds less boring than Julie & Julia.

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Re: Julie & Julia (Nora Ephron, 2009)

#12 Post by tavernier » Mon Oct 18, 2010 4:20 pm

Markson wrote:I want to compare it to watching John Coltrane jam with Nickelback.
The money quote!

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Re: Julie & Julia (Nora Ephron, 2009)

#13 Post by Zot! » Mon Oct 18, 2010 5:13 pm

Even if Streep was playing both roles this would be abysmal. Why must we validate something so irredeemably awful.

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Re: Julie & Julia (Nora Ephron, 2009)

#14 Post by mfunk9786 » Mon Oct 18, 2010 6:27 pm

Have you, uh, seen the film?

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Re: Julie & Julia (Nora Ephron, 2009)

#15 Post by Zot! » Tue Oct 19, 2010 11:11 am

Indeed I have, which is why I so passionately dislike it. It's a grotesque cookie-cutter chick-flick, which I would argue has zero merit. What I notice though, and annoys me, is that people seem to take pride in trying to redeem this type of Hollywood tripe as some form of hidden masterpiece. I'm certainly not an elitist, and I like plenty of junk, but I don't shout it from the rooftops or try to convince myself that it's anything but a guilty pleasure.

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Re: Julie & Julia (Nora Ephron, 2009)

#16 Post by matrixschmatrix » Tue Oct 19, 2010 11:17 am

How can something be grotesque and cookie cutter?

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Re: Julie & Julia (Nora Ephron, 2009)

#17 Post by Zot! » Tue Oct 19, 2010 11:25 am

See tract housing.

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domino harvey
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Re: Julie & Julia (Nora Ephron, 2009)

#18 Post by domino harvey » Tue Oct 19, 2010 11:30 am

Zot! wrote:Indeed I have, which is why I so passionately dislike it. It's a grotesque cookie-cutter chick-flick, which I would argue has zero merit. What I notice though, and annoys me, is that people seem to take pride in trying to redeem this type of Hollywood tripe as some form of hidden masterpiece. I'm certainly not an elitist, and I like plenty of junk, but I don't shout it from the rooftops or try to convince myself that it's anything but a guilty pleasure.
This is a great film. I didn't need to talk myself into liking it or any other movie I defend. You disagree, fine, but give me a fucking break on telling me I'm trying too hard. I laid out specific reasons as to why I enjoyed the film, while you have only provided generalities as to its faults-- At least I tried.

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Re: Julie & Julia (Nora Ephron, 2009)

#19 Post by mfunk9786 » Tue Oct 19, 2010 11:50 am

Yeah, I can't say I've ever talked myself into my opinion(s) either, you seem very concerned about what other people think about what you like or dislike. One of the joys of being a, you know, adult - is not needing to be constantly worried about the opinions of your peers. If you don't find merit in this film, that's fine - but that will never ever mean that the film therefore has no merit.

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Re: Julie & Julia (Nora Ephron, 2009)

#20 Post by Zot! » Tue Oct 19, 2010 12:23 pm

Ok, I'm not trying to be insulting, I was just suprised that somebody could enjoy this movie in that way. Perhaps I am letting my own complete distaste for it color my perception. I apologize if I'm veering too far off topic, but it just feels like people try too hard to disect otherwise banal movies into something more meaningful. It was certainly clever when Andy Warhol coopted commercial design into his artwork, and his intentions were pretty clearly spelled out. However, since pop-art has become the norm, the critic's response seems to have taken on greater importance than anything the artist may or may not have produced. I feel that this also applies to films.

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Re: Julie & Julia (Nora Ephron, 2009)

#21 Post by aox » Tue Oct 19, 2010 12:50 pm

I understand where the poster is coming from though. For 10 years, I convinced myself that I liked Terrance Malick's films.

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Brian C
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Re: Julie & Julia (Nora Ephron, 2009)

#22 Post by Brian C » Tue Oct 19, 2010 1:04 pm

Zot! wrote:Ok, I'm not trying to be insulting, ... but it just feels like people try too hard to disect otherwise banal movies into something more meaningful.
You do understand, though, that this is what people find insulting? That you're presuming that their response is insincere, and basically intimating that they're just poseurs trying to sound smart?

Because, you know, it's weird to say that you aren't trying to be insulting, and then following that up with an explanation that is pretty insulting.

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Re: Julie & Julia (Nora Ephron, 2009)

#23 Post by Mr Sausage » Tue Oct 19, 2010 1:15 pm

Zot! wrote:but it just feels like people try too hard to disect otherwise banal movies into something more meaningful.
Have you ever tried to engage these people in conversation over why they've dissected the movies they have and what it means to them? It seems you have very clear ideas of what people should or should not value. Have you taken the time to see equally clearly why other people might value things that you do not? How much value do you yourself put into the judgments you make? Is it important for you to maintain judgments that you have expressed?

You ought to ponder these questions; meanwhile, this thread can go back on topic.

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Re: Julie & Julia (Nora Ephron, 2009)

#24 Post by Zot! » Tue Oct 19, 2010 2:24 pm

Brian C wrote: Because, you know, it's weird to say that you aren't trying to be insulting, and then following that up with an explanation that is pretty insulting.
No, I don't think they are insincere to like it. Both mfunk and domino write intelligently about the film, I was just suggesting that they like the movie because of their Id, rather than something profound about the film itself, and then attempt to justify it through analysis that a film like this doesn't warrant. Their response was that I am wrong and the film has more levels than I can comprehend, and their feelings and analysis stand. I was hoping to be "thought provoking" not insulting. I apologize if I have failed.
Mr Sausage wrote:You ought to ponder these questions; meanwhile, this thread can go back on topic.
While my rhetoric was kind of silly and overcooked, you'll notice that previous comments about this film were strongly divided. A discussion about the intrinsic quality of Julie and Julia or more generally films that might be percieved as low-brow seemed appropriate.

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Re: Julie & Julia (Nora Ephron, 2009)

#25 Post by Mr Sausage » Tue Oct 19, 2010 2:30 pm

Zot! wrote:A discussion about the intrinsic quality of Julie and Julia or more generally films that might be percieved as low-brow seemed appropriate.
A discussion about the qualities and the mental habits of the posters in this thread is not appropriate, however, so I would appreciate it if this was the last we heard of it.

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