Catherine O'Hara Filmography: Game 6 (2005)

"Game 6", directed by Michael Hoffman (whose last film was, oddly enough, "The Last Station"), is a film that takes place in 1986, on the night of a real-life historic baseball game. Nicky Rogan (Michael Keaton) is a playwright who skips opening night for his newest play, to watch this game, but also in fear of the cutthroat review that he is sure that infamous reviewer Stephen Schwimmer (Robert Downey Jr.) is going to give the show. He also has to deal with family issues, involving his daughter Laurel (Ari Graynor) and wife Lillian (Catherine O'Hara).

Overall, "Game 6" is just a mess. Even though it has some interesting moments, it has absolutely no focus. It doesn't know if it's trying to be a character study, an indie comedy, a family drama, or a sports movie. The dialogue is really, really annoying and the film drowns in its self importance. The last thirty minutes are especially terrible. And honestly, New York City traffic is not that bad.

However, the film has two saving graces - Ari Graynor and Catherine O'Hara. As the cocky daughter, Graynor shines, giving her character both attitude and sensitivity that all feels so lived in and natural. She does so much more with her character than she needed to. A really interesting performance.

As for Catherine, she is, as usual, a shining light in this otherwise bleak film, even though she is in literally one scene. This is subtle O'Hara - she's totally subdued, none of her signature crazy in this role, but she pulls it off perfectly. In her short exchange with Keaton, we see everything that Lillian is going through - fear, sadness, hopelessness, anger. O'Hara succeeds in getting us totally under the skin of Lillian, all while injecting subtle touches that are just wonderful.

So anyway, there you have it. I really, strongly disliked "Game 6" but as usual, Catherine saves it. With the help of Ari Graynor! Get it gurls.

The Film: 4/10

Catherine: 8/10

Best in Show: Graynor and O'Hara

A continuation of my mission. What should I watch next?

A Hidden Gem: The Prize Winner of Defiance Ohio

I don't really need to say much about Julianne Moore. We all know how amazing she is, right? Anyway, Ms. Moore has sort of made a career of playing the "wife who has to deal with a lot of crap", as evidenced by her marvelous performances in "Far From Heaven" and "The Hours". But there's one performance of hers that is almost never mentioned, in a film that is almost completely overlooked. That film is "The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio".



The film tells the true story of Evelyn Ryan, a woman who supported her ten children by winning jingle-writing contests in the 1950's. Her husband, played quite well by Woody Harrelson, is an alcoholic who abuses her and keeps secrets, and she has to keep it all together.

However, though the film sounds like a depressing and conventional biopic, it is far from it. It uses sequences of fantasy to lighten the mood and the tone of the film works perfectly, keeping it form falling into the cliche biopic traps that so many films fall into.

Plus, JULIANNE MOORE, people! This is actually the first film I ever saw with her (brief pause for sentiments) and it began my love for her. She's absolutely wonderful (as usual) and is probably the main reason this film succeeds as well as it does.

Woody Harrelson is also quite fantastic as the alcholic husband. He portrays him with sensitivity, making us feel as conflicted as Evelyn does. There's also a lovely supporting turn by Laura Dern, which is always amazing.

It's really too sad that Julianne was all but ignored in the awards season for this movie, but she truly is wonderful, as is the entire film. I kind of don't want to embed the trailer because it makes it look like a cheesey Hallmark movie, but it really isn't. It is instead, a lovely little gem with a heart of gold that tells the true story of a remarkable woman.

So...comment below! Have you seen "Prize Winner"? Do you think it's really just a glorified Hallmark Channel Original? Was Julianne robbed of an Oscar nomination???

Linda Linda Linda (2005)

It was a totally random decision to watch the Japanese movie "Linda Linda Linda". I found out about it after watching "The Host", due to Bae Doona's presence in both films. Anyway, watching this obscure little movie was a decision I don't regret!

"Linda Linda Linda" follows a group of three girls that are putting together a band for their school festival after a couple of their members drop out. The remaining three girls (one cute, one bratty/popular, one kind of awkward) enlist the help of a Korean foreign-exchange student, Son (played by Bae Doona) to sing vocals, even though she barely speaks Japanese...and...there you have it! The title comes from one of the songs that the group covers in the movie, "Linda Linda" by The Blue Hearts (a Japanese pop band that influenced big groups, like the Ramones).

Obviously the premise of the film is extremely limited and...not a lot happens. However, "Linda" is irresistibly charming throughout. It's such a high-school girl movie, with lots of meager drama going on, and crushes!!! and stuff, but like, it's still entertaining and thankfully avoids crossing the teen drama line between "hehehehe" and "vomit".

Also, Bae Doona brings an absolutely fantastic performance to the film. She's a bit shy and confused at first, but then she opens up, showing her love for her newfound friends despite the language barrier. She's also wonderfully funny at times (that karaoke scene is great) and you just can't help but love her. Oh, and the movie has a fantastic concert scene to end it all, and how can you resist that?

Nevertheless, the movie could have definitely used some more editing. There are scenes that just go on for TOO long, it got ridiculous. And really, with such a simple premise, there's only so much you can do - this nearly two hour film could have easily been forty minutes shorter and we wouldn't have missed anything. Oh, and I got annoyed by the director's use of faraway shots when characters were interacting...I don't know why, I just wanted to see their faces more or something.

Anyway, "Linda Linda Linda" is a really cute and fun little rock film that shows the true power of friendship and all that jazz. An enjoyable watch for sure, with a great performance from Bae Doona and awesome music to boot.

7/10