cult film freak: alexander payne

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Written by James M. Tate / 11/10/2023 / No comments / 2023 , alexander payne , comedy , counter-culture , drama , new , paul giamatti , teen , time period

ALEXANDER PAYNE & PAUL GIAMATTI REUNITE FOR 'THE HOLDOVERS'

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGek7Sz7Y0VIBHFoc-XjUJnSO-WL1PIYTjquUqUyW4SVXn3iICoPBCshEJHW2ZtsPhxMuZr62FhmrUa02Eq20K6ubCWf4RlW0CMPWoUQk_AsqM7tQRRDuNDySQEDxnt2CbC0CTpcQgDp4fsUwSCv6EedpRBd7XGtCfQAcnQLwOdwOMoCDHvSKnstMZqXQD/s1703/Screen%20Shot%202024-05-03%20at%2012.20.05%20AM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="978" data-original-width="1703" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGek7Sz7Y0VIBHFoc-XjUJnSO-WL1PIYTjquUqUyW4SVXn3iICoPBCshEJHW2ZtsPhxMuZr62FhmrUa02Eq20K6ubCWf4RlW0CMPWoUQk_AsqM7tQRRDuNDySQEDxnt2CbC0CTpcQgDp4fsUwSCv6EedpRBd7XGtCfQAcnQLwOdwOMoCDHvSKnstMZqXQD/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202024-05-03%20at%2012.20.05%20AM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: THE HOLDOVERS Year: 2023 Rating: ** </u><br></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Director Alexander Payne is passive/aggressive when it comes to his previous SIDEWAYS star Paul Giamatti's character Paul Hunham, a stuffy, curmudgeon-like professor at an all-boys boarding school, who in one scene angrily lectures his students while glibly handing-out failing grades, and the next idealistically defends the institution's grieving African-American cook from one of a small-handful of HOLDOVER teens, unable to go home for Christmas and having to spend a melancholy "detention" (like THE BREAKFAST CLUB meets DEAD POET'S SOCIETY meets 1972's CHILD'S PLAY) stuck in an otherwise empty campus...</p><p>Ironically, that particular scolded brat winds up getting a last-minute Christmas vacation reprieve... a shame since he had the kind of antagonistic attitude that would inevitably transition by the end...<br></p><p><span></span></p>

2023, alexander payne, comedy, counter-culture, drama, new, paul giamatti, teen, time period

ALEXANDER PAYNE & PAUL GIAMATTI REUNITE FOR 'THE HOLDOVERS'

Title: THE HOLDOVERS Year: 2023 Rating: ** Director Alexander Payne is passive/aggressive when it comes to his previous SIDEWAYS star Paul G...

'DOWNSIZING' IRONICALLY ENLARGES AN OBVIOUS AGENDA

2017, alexander payne, matt damon, new

'DOWNSIZING' IRONICALLY ENLARGES AN OBVIOUS AGENDA

Year Released: 2017 Since The Environment is so important — and supposedly right at the tipping point for the world's demise... why...

BRUCE DERN & WILL FORTE IN ALEXANDER PAYNE'S 'NEBRASKA'

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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Alexander Payne's directs Bruce Dern and Will Forte in NEBRASKA Year: 2013</u></td></tr>
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Will Forte has an interesting face, his mouth naturally curved to a frown. His character David Grant has very little to celebrate: His girlfriend dumped him and his father Woody, played by veteran actor Bruce Dern, is bent on taking a trip from Montana to NEBRASKA after receiving a Mega Sweepstakes Marketing Prize in the mail...<br />
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David knows it’s a gimmick to sell magazines, but Woody, a lifelong drinker with rudimentary signs of dementia, keeps physically threatening to walk the impossible distance… Not an easy task of course, especially given his frail physical and mental status making even a hundred yards difficult… Thankfully, David decides to give poor dad a ride...<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Rance Howard and Will Forte flank Bruce Dern and a lotta old men from NEBRASKA</u></td></tr>
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Like director Alexander Payne’s SIDEWAYS and ABOUT SCHMIDT, this deadpan odyssey is a “road movie” epitomizing that niche; although most of the time’s spent sidetracked at Woody’s NEBRASKA hometown of Hawthorne...<br />
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This is where most of the story takes place; and his brother (Rance Howard) — and then later on, several brothers — aren’t much different in tone: passive and mundane “men of few words.” But Woody has a destination and the entire town thinks he’s a millionaire already...<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Will Forte with Bruce Dern and Stacy Keach in Alexander Payne's NEBRASKA Rating: ****</u></td></tr>
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Enter initially subtle antagonist Stacy Keach who, like Dern himself, is known for and reveled in edgy, borderline insane guy roles during the 1970’s and 1980s… His laidback yet investigative Ed Pegram also likes to drink and hang around the local tavern, and now there’s an agenda — he wants a payoff and Woody’s family wants some too; particularly two fat oddball nephews straight out of the Coen Brothers' quirky universe.<br />
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David becomes a shadow on the wall during in-house family scenes, and his barroom conversations with Keach are reminiscent of George Clooney and polite-for-a-financial-purpose Beau Bridges as his cousin in Payne's previous film, THE DESCENDANTS: a polite, friendly tone obscuring an underlying rancor.'<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Bruce Dern, June Squibb, Will Forte and an unseen Bob Odenkirk visit Woody's childhood home</u></td></tr>
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In a story replete with intentionally sparse characters, June Squibb is the obvious audience-favorite (perhaps <i>too</i> obvious, forced) as Woody’s sarcastic, foul-mouthed, hen-pecking wife Kate, stealing scenes mostly because she has the funniest lines, and is a breath of fresh air from the monotone surrounding her presence...<br />
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She seems more realistic than your typical actress/actor playing down to cliché (but not condescending) small town mentality the director previously covered in ABOUT SCHMIDT (where June was Jack Nicholson's wife)...<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Gorgeous yet sparse scenery from the movie and the location of NEBRASKA</u></td></tr>
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In fact, NEBRASKA often feels like an extremely subtle art film satire, while the plush yet primitive B&W cinematography turns the titular state into a rustic hybrid of paradise and purgatory… Some of the best scenes are the scenery, taking place <i>outside</i> Woody's passenger seat window...<br />
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In Will Forte's case, he initially doesn't seem up to the job (his successful brother's played by Bob Odenkirk and might've fared better)... A comedy actor, his deadpan often seems somewhat reached for instead of naturally holding back...<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u> Bruce Dern and Will Forte at the dead dive of two NEBRASKA bars</u></td></tr>
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But (after a recommended second, third or fourth viewings) once you realize his fourth fiddle status to the location, and the overall journey, and especially to his father... it becomes more clear...<br />
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Forte's an awkward yet ultimately wise choice opposite Dern, existing <i>beneath</i> the father's jangily rhythm instead of playing loggerhead to his unnerving, unapologetic neurosis. His David Grant seems to have given up long ago; and despite being the driver on this trip, he’s merely along for the ride.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHvyjw0-diU-UWOgNwHnLqWhHw6lUvGbiIhydRZ693T-lb7nMIWNUVn3ZPoDvFqham_cLsF6HJn-cfnZqOn89MAaqX69cmfpekrnhc7K8-7YItizvuSQ5ahu6XGoEFqHGLuSOxhVHxMw1x/s1600/47305792_611153559313824_5308624305645420544_o.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="589" data-original-width="1600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHvyjw0-diU-UWOgNwHnLqWhHw6lUvGbiIhydRZ693T-lb7nMIWNUVn3ZPoDvFqham_cLsF6HJn-cfnZqOn89MAaqX69cmfpekrnhc7K8-7YItizvuSQ5ahu6XGoEFqHGLuSOxhVHxMw1x/s1600/47305792_611153559313824_5308624305645420544_o.jpeg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bruce Dern and Will Forte in NEBRASKA</td></tr>
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Meanwhile, the “man of the hour,” Bruce Dern (nominated for an Oscar) seems almost too authentic. The sporadic dialogue and a few blunt moments of passion aside, his expressions are what really matter…<br />
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Old Woody's a man who's kept everything inside while traces of a buried life seep out from his gently confused, timeworn face, painfully etched with age and mileage but not without a faint glimmer of hope, no matter how unavailing and desperately futile: therein lies the mystery and adventure of Alexander Payne's NEBRASKA.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Missy Dotty in NEBRASKA who had played Cammi the Waitress in Payne's SIDEWAYS</u></td></tr>
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<i><span style="background-color: white;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><u>MISSY DOTTY</u>: Working with Alexander is a dream for any actor... because he's an actor's director...</span></span></i><br />
<i><span style="background-color: white;"><span class="Apple-style-span">And what I mean by that is he lets you do your work and gently guides you so that he can let the camera discover the character as it comes to life... </span><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span">Much like an audience member watching the characters come to life on screen.</span> </span> </span></i>
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<i><span style="background-color: white;"><span class="Apple-style-span">Working on SIDEWAYS was so much fun... the whole crew, production team, cast... we all felt like family. And it's highly known that Alexander is loyal to anyone who works with him, so walking onto the set of NEBRASKA, it was like coming home... Comfortable and welcoming.</span></span></i><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Missy Dotty as Cammi in Sideways turned black and white so to fit the non-color scheme of Nebraska</u></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>And Alexander Payne himself (resembling Richard Gere's kangaroo) directing Bruce Dern for Nebraska</u></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkB6PpwPuFyTuZY3suDMlATBZL-z4Dpqym6r0Y0pD9bsJ-Z7KWW55E-ZxKVKKpBdfyaBJVWSzbHhqbT9oNs5L4r1LuMcmS5YjCaFrDQ6vRUxKtySEgFM-dJXIRymvhh_RfBrw1-MgCcvnv/s1600/DERN.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="707" data-original-width="1600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkB6PpwPuFyTuZY3suDMlATBZL-z4Dpqym6r0Y0pD9bsJ-Z7KWW55E-ZxKVKKpBdfyaBJVWSzbHhqbT9oNs5L4r1LuMcmS5YjCaFrDQ6vRUxKtySEgFM-dJXIRymvhh_RfBrw1-MgCcvnv/s1600/DERN.jpeg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Bruce Dern and Will Forte as father and son in Alexander Payne's NEBRASKA</u></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtmoXPxqMzCOqNfARGrk5p13W7XYNaHN5jLE9r93zFlKjv0VlgyXPVY93fUAbLccbLvFMPyaRqGntBi1kFsNhaKijaoF4wpElv8s5uGaHbGwozkArHGu2ul8KjP4yRLGltpOQvHiAAPyrC/s1600/Picture%25252B7.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="449" data-original-width="1076" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtmoXPxqMzCOqNfARGrk5p13W7XYNaHN5jLE9r93zFlKjv0VlgyXPVY93fUAbLccbLvFMPyaRqGntBi1kFsNhaKijaoF4wpElv8s5uGaHbGwozkArHGu2ul8KjP4yRLGltpOQvHiAAPyrC/s1600/Picture%25252B7.jpeg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Bruce Dern plays father to Will Forte as son in Alexander Payne's NEBRASKA Year: 2013</u></td></tr>
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2013, alexander payne, bruce dern, drama, june squibb, rance howard, road movie, stacy keach, will forte

BRUCE DERN & WILL FORTE IN ALEXANDER PAYNE'S 'NEBRASKA'

Alexander Payne's directs Bruce Dern and Will Forte in NEBRASKA Year: 2013 Will Forte has an interesting face, his mouth naturally c...

Written by James M. Tate / 11/25/2011 / No comments / alexander payne , beach , dark comedy , drama , george clooney , hawaii , laird hamilton , oscar nominated 2011 , robert forster , shailene woodley , tens

GEORGE CLOONEY IN ALEXANDER PAYNE'S 'THE DESCENDANTS'

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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Shailene Woodley and Amara Miller in The Descendants Year: 2011</u></td></tr>
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The first five minutes, through narration, sets up the main character Matt King as a person anyone can relate with. Of course he’s not: being the heir of an abundance of land in Hawaii dating back to the early settlers. But he’s a simple, honest man with a lot going on: including an upcoming sale that would make good for himself and his unlucky cousins...<br />
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But this is just the core of a film that's not so complicated as King’s wife, in a coma after a boating accident, has left him with the sole responsibility of two daughters, both hard pressed to shun their busy and neglectful dad. George Clooney's acting, wearing the put-upon haggardness of a man who, despite having everything, feels his life has little value, is great – not only when he tears up or shows emotion, but when he holds back... And with gray hair he's playing slightly older, and isn't about good looks...<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>George Clooney in The Descendants Rating: ****</u></td></tr>
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Speaking of... Shailene Woodley as the rebellious oldest daughter Alexandra keeps him on his toes: especially after dropping the bombshell that her mom/his wife had cheated before the accident. So Matt, the kids, and Alexandra’s slacker boyfriend go in search of a mysterious real estate agent i.e. the guy who cheated with mom. And here’s where the plot thickens and the audience has something to anticipate other than an inevitable death or the closing of a land deal...<br />
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Using addictive elements of melodramas and soap operas while keeping an underlying dry wit throughout, it's a story that aims for sheer realism with terrific results, and best yet, gorgeous shots of Hawaii that, like the California Wine Country in director Alexander Payne's SIDEWAYS and middle America in ABOUT SCHMIDT, is a character in itself. And veteran actors Robert Forster, as King’s curmudgeon step-dad, and Beau Bridges as a seemingly friendly cousin, add to ensemble cast that’s so down to earth, you’ll forget they're in a movie.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Shailene Woodley, George Clooney, Barbara L. Southern and Robert Forster in The Descendants</u></td></tr>
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