Christina Ricci Neked in Monster?

[cowboykurtis]

Umm, I might be remembering wrong, but wasn't Christina Ricci topless in American Beauty?

christina ricci wasnt in the first one -- but shes planning to show her holiest of holes in AMERICAN BEAUTY 2: Return of the cul-de-sac

[chainsmoking insomniac]

Ummmm, dazza, she wasn't in American Beauty.  That was the other goddess, Thora Birch.

[MacGuffin]

Trailer here.


Newmarket Films has launched the official site for writer/director Patty Jenkins' Monster, opening in limited release on December 26 and starring Charlize Theron, Christina Ricci and Bruce Dern.

The transformed Theron stars in the shocking and moving true-life story of Aileen Wuornos, a prostitute executed last year in Florida after being convicted of murdering six men. While Wuornos confessed to the six murders, including a policeman, she claimed to have killed only in self-defense, resisting violent assaults while working as a prostitute.

[Pedro]

juding by the poster, i can't way i want to see that scene too much now.

[Weak2ndAct]

***POTENTIAL SPOILERS (MAYBE)***

Alright.  Just got back from a screening of the movie.  Simply: I'm mixed about it.  I'm really still trying to organize a cohesive review, but here are some initial thoughts:
- The movie has zero style.  The first 5 minutes seem thought out.  Then after that, it's just coverage and blandness.
- The two major 'romance' scenes are scored to Journey and whoever does that 'Crimson and Clover' song (don't remember who does that), which while I like those tunes, it seemed to pull me out and of it and tell me this is big romance.
- Aileen's killings are overtly justified.  So much so, that the johns basically have to announce their sins before they are killed, so you don't feel as bad about it.
- Ricci has nothing to do except sit in a hotel room.
- Theron is good... but I can't help but feel like this all some big award stunt.  This was even more obvious when she did a Q&A before the movie (which seemed kind of asinine to me-- how about after we see it?), and said that she wasn't going to any work until this came into theatres, since this is 'her baby.'  Or maybe to make us forget the other crappy movies she does every year?
- As for all the 'weight' she put on, Theron just looks like *gasp* a real woman instead of a bean pole.

I dunno, maybe I'm jaded or whatever.  But I felt no punch by the movie, never got sucked in.  It wasn't bad, but it wasn't great.  I certainly hoped for more.  It's kind of 'Boys Don't Cry'-ish... minus the sympathy.  

And there's no Ricci nudity.

[MacGuffin]

I dunno, maybe I'm jaded or whatever.  But I felt no punch by the movie, never got sucked in.  It wasn't bad, but it wasn't great.  I certainly hoped for more.  It's kind of 'Boys Don't Cry'-ish... minus the sympathy.

Ebert and Roeper RAVED about it. Ebert called Theron's performance one of the best in cinema history, and said they should just give this film the Oscar. He said he was so mezmerized, he forgot to take notes at the screening.

[Weak2ndAct]

So I was wandering through the video store and stumbled upon Nick Broomfield's doc, "Aileen: The Selling of a Serial Killer."  So, if you like Monster, or at least interested in the story (hell, if you just wanna see a good flick) I highly recommend tracking this one down.  It's a haggard story of how people sought to profit off of Wuornos' killings, and I personally found it more enthralling than 'Monster.'  I just read that a follow-up documentary is coming out soon, gonna have to see that.

But what really cracked me up about the movie was how unbelievably ugly Wournos' lover was.  I'm not laughing at the fact she was ugly, just at the fact that they spent so much time and money to make Theron 'look' the part, but just let Ricci show up as is and be cute (which was a problem I had when I saw it-- those two did not look right together).  Did director Jenkins just not care, or is this just further solidifying the case for Theron's Oscar (in the sense that it's obviously a one-woman show)?

[Ghostboy]

Ebert called Theron's performance one of the best in cinema history, and said they should just give this film the Oscar.

But if she takes her top off, and ESPECIALLY if she has a lesbian sex scene, then a recommendation from Ebert is sorta a given.

[Ravi]

Ebert called Theron's performance one of the best in cinema history, and said they should just give this film the Oscar.

But if she takes her top off, and ESPECIALLY if she has a lesbian sex scene, then a recommendation from Ebert is sorta a given.

Bound, Mulholland Dr., Femme Fatale, and now Monster.  All 4-star reviews.

[SHAFTR]

well for women, nudity gives you oscars
and for men, retarded gives you oscars

[RegularKarate]

well for women, nudity gives you oscars
and for men, retarded gives you oscars

Look forward to Sean Penn and Halle Berry in "Retard's Ball", the heart-felt story of one woman's journey to Alabama, her battle with racism, and her inevitable seduction of an innocent, yet wise man-child.

[Ravi]

well for women, nudity gives you oscars
and for men, retarded gives you oscars

Look forward to Sean Penn and Halle Berry in "Retard's Ball", the heart-felt story of one woman's journey to Alabama, her battle with racism, and her inevitable seduction of an innocent, yet wise man-child.

No, it's "Retarded Slave's Ball" with Eddie Murphy and Halle Berry.

[Weak2ndAct]

This probably makes me come off as some bigot, but I can't help but notice that Ebert is quite kind to films, that let's say, star people w/ the same ethnicity as his wife.

[Pubrick]

This probably makes me come off as some bigot, but I can't help but notice that Ebert is quite kind to films, that let's say, star people w/ the same ethnicity as his wife.

ebert has a blackalicious wife?

i was not aware of that. this explains a lot.

[Weird. Oh]

http://www.criticdoctor.com/features/ebertfest2002/finalthoughts.html

Apparently, his wife is black. And to think, I always though Ebert had a thing for Siskel