Chéri

Matt’s Top Performers, Director, Quotes, and Kills of 2009

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: December 30th, 2009 at 6:38 pm

The joy of list-making continues today as I’m running down who I thought gave the best performances of the year plus what I thought were the best quotes and kills of 2009.  Please keep in mind that regarding the performances, I haven’t seen a few key films that could have very well changed the winners and runners-up: Crazy Heart (Best Actor), The Last Station and Bright Star (Best Actress), and a few others.  If you think there was someone who clearly should’ve won or been nominated, shout out in the comments section and I’ll let you know whether I saw the film or not.

With this disclaimer out of the way, I present to you my picks for the best performers, directors, quotes, and kills of 2009.  Hit the jump to check them all out.

CHÉRI DVD Review

by Harrison Pierce    Posted: October 26th, 2009 at 8:03 am

Miramax Film’s “Chéri” marks the reunion of director Stephen Frears, screenwriter Christopher Hampton, and actress Michelle Pfeiffer, who previously worked together on 1988′s deliciously evil costume drama “Dangerous Liaisons.” Here, Pfeiffer trades in the virginal innocence of her “Liaisons” character for the hardened beauty and shrewd business acumen of the less than virginal Lea de Lonvsal. Set during the prosperous Belle Époque era in pre World War I France, “Chéri” tells the charming and ultimately heartbreaking story of how Lea, an aging courtesan, finds herself falling unexpectedly in love with a man young enough to be her…well, son. That synopsis might make it tempting to label “Chéri” “cougar” cinema, but let’s allow that somewhat degrading term to rest on billboards advertising the latest pedestrian sitcom, rather than a film this pedigreed. More after the jump:

CHÉRI Review

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: June 27th, 2009 at 8:37 pm

“Chéri” is not the film that I typically go for.  It’s a period drama set in Paris in the 1920s and focuses on the lives of former courtesans and the relationship one has with the son of another.  And yet “Chéri” had me hooked throughout with the combination of Stephen Frears’ skillful direction and Michelle Pfeiffer turning in one of the best performances of her career.

Copyright ©2005 - 2012. All Rights Reserved. California web design