Fantastic Mr. Fox

As any regular reader of my reviews knows I am a Wes Anderson superfan. I've thoroughly enjoyed all five of his previous films, particularly "Rushmore" and "The Royal Tenenbaums," both of which rate quite high on my list of all-time favorite movies. In his newest film he does something he's never done before, but it's still patently Wes Anderson.
"Fantastic Mr. Fox" is Anderson's first venture into animation. Stop-motion animation to be exact. Based on the children's book by Roald Dahl, it tells us the story of one Mr. Fox (voiced by George Clooney), a successful bird thief whose wife (Meryl Streep) asks him to give up his chosen profession when she learns their first child is on the way. Two years later (or "Twelve Fox Years") Mr. Fox is a newspaper columnist with a happy wife and a very typical twelve-year old son, Ash (Jason Schwartzman). But Fox feels unsatisfied with his life. "Honey," he tells Mrs. Fox, "I am seven fox years old. My father died at seven and a half. I don't want to live in a hole anymore, and I'm going to do something about it."
What he's not telling her is that he's going to pull one last heist. A three part heist really, that involves swiping chickens from the three meanest farmers known to fox-kind, the humans Boggis, Bunce, and Bean. His lawyer, Badger (Bill Murray) from the law firm Badger, Beaver, and Beaver, is decidedly against this idea. In a response very typical of an Anderson character, human or otherwise, Fox dryly responds, "I understand what you're saying, and your comments are valuable, but I'm gonna ignore your advice."
With the loyal Kylie (Wallace Wolodarsky) and overachieving nephew Kristofferson (Eric Chase Anderson) by his side, Fox dons his bandit cap and embarks on the "triple header." Things go relatively smoothly for Fox and his co-horts and along the way we learn that "beagles love blueberries." But when Bean (Michael Gambon) realizes who's been behind the recent thefts he leads Boggis and Bunce on a crusade to kill Fox, his family, and any other wild animal that gets in their way. Fox must get himself and everyone else out of the mess he's created.
"Fantastic Mr. Fox" is Wes Anderson through and through. From the very dry, very subtle comedy to the set and costume design, use of music, and theme of strained familial relationships. Like so many of Anderson's characters, Ash is an outsider, constantly trying to prove himself to Fox, who seems much more impressed with Kristofferson.
One month after "Where the Wild Things Are" are generally fell short as a full length adaptation of a very short story, Anderson shows us how it's done with "Fantastic Mr. Fox." It does my heart good to know that we're in a time where films are being made for children (thanks mostly to Pixar) that don't talk down to them and give them credit for having a brain. It's not perfection and only occasionally laugh out loud, but "Fantastic Mr. Fox" is highly enjoyable and a must for fans not only of Wes Anderson, but fans of genuinely entertaining films. I have the feeling I'll enjoy it even more the second time around. For now I give it 8.5/10. Enjoy this featurette.

"Pirate Radio," "Boondock Saints II," and "The Men Who Stare At Goats"

Pirate Radio - In 1966 rock music could not be heard on "legitimate" British radio. But in the golden age of rock'n'roll (particularly out of Britain) a few passionate music listeners took to the seas and broadcast the Kinks, the Who, and the Rolling Stones from ships. "Pirate Radio" (or "The Boat That Rocked" as it was titled in Britain) is the story of one such boat.
We are introduced to the crew through the eyes of young Carl (Tom Sturridge). For some reason his mother thought sending him to a ship peopled with fun loving DJs with virtually no morals or responsibility will put Carl on the straight and narrow path he's been veering from. That was her first mistake.
The head of this crew is an American known as The Count (Philip Seymour Hoffman). His crew includes DJs Dave (Nick Frost, "Hot Fuzz"), Bob (Ralph Brown, "Withnail and I"), Angus (Rhys Darby, "Flight of the Conchords"), and Simon (Chris O'Dowd, "The IT Crowd"), amongst others. Carl's godfather Quentin (Bill Nighy, "Love Actually") seems to be the closest thing the ship has to a voice of reason and Carl believes that Quentin may in fact be his father. Carl and the crew have an awful lot of fun rocking "all day and all of the night" but the good times are in danger due to the bitter rock hating government man, Alistair Dormandy (Kenneth Branagh).
Sadly the fun these characters are having rarely spreads amongst the audience. Writer-director Richard Curtis, who so wonderfully balanced several characters and storylines with "Love Actually" (one of my go-to Christmas movies), just never gets into a real rhythm with "Pirate Radio." The performances, save an overly villainous Kenneth Branagh, are uniformly good. Hoffman makes the Count a more fascinating character than the script seems to allow. The real standout here is O'Dowd. He's done hilarious work as the cantankerous, unlikeable Roy on "The IT Crowd" so it's great to see he can be just as funny playing the nice guy. Also, late in the film there is an appearance by Emma Thompson as Carl's mother and as a rule, everything's better with Emma Thompson.
Still, "Pirate Radio" just doesn't capture the spirit of the legendary music of the mid-sixties or of these characters who love it so much. It's a shame because Curtis knows how to be great. He just isn't here. 5/10.

"The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day" - Ten years ago a little movie that didn't even get an American theatrical release made a big splash on DVD. "The Boondock Saints" became a cult smash amongst college kids and twentysomethings, many of whom know the dialogue by heart. While I don't have that level of devotion for Troy Duffy's 1999 debut, I definitely think it's a whole lot of fun.
The first film told the story of the MacManus brothers, Connor (Sean Patrick Flanery) and Murphy (Norman Reedus), Boston guys and Irishmen to the core. In the face of all the crime that runs rampant on the streets, they believe themselves to be called by God to find every mobster and drug dealer they can find, and send them to face the judgement of the Lord. They win over many citizens and even end up being aided by the cop who started hot on their trail, Paul Smecker (a hilarious Willem Dafoe).
The follow-up sees the MacManus brothers hiding out in Ireland, living in a modest house with fellow "Saint" Il Duce (Billy Connolly), when the local priest alerts them to the fact that a good Boston priest has just been murdered by a man who wanted to make it look like the Saints had returned. Connor and Murphy know they're being called out but this hardly deters them.
"The Boondock Saints II" is an entertaining enough film but it suffers from too often being a watered down retread of the original. It doesn't help that Dafoe has been replaced by Julie Benz who seems to have prepared for her role by watching an entire season of Kyra Sedgwick on "The Closer." Much of the early part of the film entails developing her character while pitting her against the very same detectives Smecker ran intellectual circles around in the first film. It just reminds us how much better the first movie was.
Duffy almost seems disinterested in Connor and Murphy which is a shame because aside from neglecting the movie's central characters, he never builds on what he created ten years ago. The mindset of Connor and Murphy that fuelled their mission at the start seems to have been forgotten. That aspect feels all but gone this time. Flanery and Reedus haven't missed a beat though and do the most with what they are given. Their chemistry as the MacManus brothers comes across as strongly as ever. There is also a brief appearance by the late Rocco (David Della Rocco) when the boys need him the most.
Duffy also gives us too little Billy Connolly, but there is a terrific backstory detailing just how a quiet young man became Il Duce. It's the film's best touch.
"The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day" is a watchable if unremarkable follow-up to a very entertaining movie that became a cult hit against the odds. Recommended for fans of the original, but it's nothing special. 6.5/10.

The Men Who Stare At Goats - "More of this is true than you would believe," a title card tells us at the beginning of Grant Heslov's film. Which parts are true and which are not never seem quite clear, but when a film is as light on its feet and entertaining as this one, what difference does it make really?
Bob Wilton (Ewan McGregor, trotting out his American accent) is a Michigan reporter whose wife has left him for another man on the eve of America's 2003 invasion of Iraq. In an ill-advised attempt to show her what he's made of, Bob decides he wants to put himself in harm's way as a war reporter. He doesn't end up embedded but he does find the story of a lifetime.
Soon after Bob's arrival in the Middle East he meets a man he's heard about, Lyn Cassady (George Clooney). What he's heard about Lyn is that he was once a part of a very secret, very elite unit in the United States Army. A unit of men who call themselves remote viewers. "We're Jedi," Lyn explains without a hint of irony. "We don't use guns, we fight with our minds." When they end up kidnapped inside the Iraqi border Bob sees for himself just what Lyn is talking about. These aren't superpowers Lyn's using, they're simply the techniques taught to him by Colonel Bill Django (Jeff Bridges at his hippie-dippy finest) over the course of the 1980s. Along with a touch of psychic powers and the unexplained.
Bob's rational side remains convinced Lyn's crazy but he cannot tear himself away. Who could blame him? Lyn's belief and conviction in his own abilities are so strong that we cannot help but admire him even if he is a bit bonkers.
Bob and Lyn's Middle Eastern journey is intercut with the story of how the remote viewers came to be and just what led to their downfall. Django and Lyn's rival, Larry Hooper (Kevin Spacey) has a rather large hand in both.
"The Men Who Stare At Goats" is light as a feather. Peter Straughan's script and Heslov's direction keep things bouncing along and the fun the cast is having is infectious. Clooney gives possibly his best performance since "O Brother, Where Art Thou." He infuses Cassady with a mixture of loopiness and integrity and makes it look easy. Meanwhile, Bridges and Spacey seem to be having the time of their lives. McGregor grounds the film as the straight man for all of this wackiness to swirl around. His understated work will likely go unsung but it's essential to making this film work.
It's not a classic but it sure is fun. 7.5/10.

Reviews: "A Serious Man," "Where the Wild Things Are," and "Black Dynamite"

So I've seen a few movies the past few weeks and just haven't gotten around to writing reviews. Well here they are.

A Serious Man - A new Coen Brothers movie is an event for some people. I am some people. "A Serious Man" is their 14th feature film but it seems that for the first time they've made something that is at least slightly autobiographical. Set in the world the brothers grew up in, suburban Minnesota in 1967, it tells the story of Larry Gopnik (Michael Stuhlbarg), a college professor whose stable professional and family life suddenly comes apart at the seams. His wife Judith (Sari Lennick) wants a divorce so that she can marry the sleazy and condescending Sy Ableman (Fred Melamed), the tenure he's been promised has been threatened, his brother Arthur (Richard Kind) is a gambling addict living in his home, and his teenage children are teenage children.
Larry has tried his best to lead a good and honorable life but when it all comes cosmically crashing down he turns to help from the Rabbi. Actually from several Rabbis, none of whom seem to provide Larry with an answer to his many questions or a solution to his myriad of problems.
As a dyed in the wool fan of the Coen Brothers I have to say that "A Serious Man" was actually strange even for them. It doesn't have quite the sharp focus of their best work (which I deem everything they've made with the exceptions of "Intolerable Cruelty," "The Ladykillers," and "Burn After Reading"), but it is full of intriguing ideas, strong performances, and some powerhouse scenes. Larry's telephone conversation with a representative from Columbia House is a quietly powerful moment. "But I didn't do anything," Larry says again and again. Like the record that showed up in his mail he didn't ask for any of this and yet it just arrives at his door.
It doesn't stand up to "Fargo," "O Brother," or "No Country," but "A Serious Man" is still a Coen Brothers movie and one that is definitely worth your time. 8/10.

Where the Wild Things Are - Usually when a beloved book is adapted into a film the most common complaint is, "They cut out too much!" It's an unusual thing when filmmakers are put into the position of having to add on to an existing work. This was the unique position director Spike Jonze ("Being John Malkovich") found himself in. You would think this would allow Jonze and co-writer Dave Eggers free reign to create something new, imaginative, and full of depth. What they deliver however is a film that looks great but has a script so thin it's anorexic.
Quite simply the story is young Max (Max Records) gets mad at his teenage sister, feels ignored by his mom, and runs away to a magical world. While there Max becomes the king of a society of pretty unlikeable monsters and eventually he decides he wants to go home. That's about the amount of depth provided by the film's script.
There are elements I liked quite a bit about "Where the Wild Things Are." It's a great looking film. Jonze's decision to use suits instead of subpar CGI for Max's new friends was the right call and the performance of Records is terrific. He's not a typical movie kid. He's not wise beyond his years, he's not precocious, and he's not there to be cute. He plays Max as an obnoxious, annoying brat. He's a real kid. The film also features a great soundtrack from Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs.
All in all, "Where the Wild Things Are" is an interesting failure, whose problems fall entirely on its weak script. There just isn't any meat on it. 5/10.

Black Dynamite - I have saved easily the best for last. "Black Dynamite" is about as funny as you could ask a movie to be. Michael Jai White stars as the baddest brother on the planet, Black Dynamite. He's out to avenge the death of his brother by declaring war on anyone who sells drugs to the community. "But Black Dyanmite," one character protests, "I sell drugs to the community."
"Black Dynamite" is a successful film in two ways. It parodies the blaxploitation films of the seventies with a broad sense of humor while managing to subtely capture what those movies were. The grain, the bright colors, the cheap sets, the boom mics, the actors reading their lines off of cue cards. It's all there!
White co-wrote the screenplay with Byron Minns and director Scott Sanders which is razor sharp and consistently laugh out loud funny. The moment Black Dynamite and his cohorts unravel an insidious plot inside of a restaurant is easily the funniest thing you'll see in a movie all year. Maybe for a few years. And I defy anyone to come up with a more bizarely funny line than, "Donuts don't wear alligator shoes."
If it's playing anywhere near you "Black Dynamite" is a must see. In Seattle it's in its final week at the Varsity. 9/10.

"The Invention of Lying" and "Zombieland"

It's been about a month since I've reviewed anything (of course I haven't seen much in that time either), but we are now getting into that time of year when week after week will start producing noteworthy films. In the coming weeks and months films from Spike Jonze ("Where the Wild Things Are"), Wes Anderson ("The Fantastic Mr. Fox"), and Terry Gilliam ("The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus") will hit theaters. And we're a mere two days away from the newest Coen Brothers film, "A Serious Man." It's movie time, everybody! Here's a look at the first big offerings of October.

The Invention of Lying - There are high concepts and then there are really high concepts. "The Invention of Lying" presupposes a world in which no one has ever lied. Not out of a sense of right and wrong but simply because they mentally cannot.
In some ways this world is not so dissimilar from our own. The better looking, more confident, and more successful you are, the better your life is. It's just that honesty is so much more brutal for a "fat man with a pug nose," like Mark Bellison (Ricky Gervais).
Mark is an Englishman living and working as a screenwriter in America. Films are a bit different in this world. Since no one can lie, no one can create fiction of any kind, so the latest blockbusters feature distinguished gentlemen in smoking jackets reading historical accounts. Mark, who's been stuck with the 14th century, is fired and about to be evicted from his apartment when suddenly something snaps in his brain. Something that has never happened before in all of human history. He lies. Due to his discovery he's able to withdraw enough from the bank to keep his apartment. As he explains to his best friend Greg (Louis C.K.), "I said something that wasn't." There's no word for it yet, in fact the word truth doesn't exist because it doesn't need to. It's only a matter of time before he starts figuring out what else he can do. No matter how outlandish the tale, no one disbelieves him because no one has reason to. Mark uses his gift to get his job back by writing the world's first fictional screenplay and in hopes of winning over Anna (Jennifer Garner).
The controversial element of the film comes in when Mark tries to comfort his dying mother (Fionnula Flanagan). Fearing "nothingness," Mark tells her that when she dies there won't be nothingness, but instead describes a place that sounds a lot like heaven. Mark's attempt to ease his mother's pain ends up making him a worldwide celebrity overnight as people believe that Mark knows something about "what happens after you die." In desperation, Mark tells the world that there's "a man in the sky" who determines our fates and if people are good they'll go to be with him and live in a mansion after they die.
From this point forth "The Invention of Lying" is blatantly atheistic. Both Gervais and his co-writer and co-director Matthew Robinson share this belief but there is absolutely nothing in this film designed to influence anyone's way of thinking. While I decidedly do not share their point of view I certainly respect their right to create a film saying anything they want and no believer in anything should feel threatened by it. After all, "Star Wars" takes place in a world where the Force has replaced God and that's hardly controversial.
For the past few years I've considered the two-headed comedy beast of Gervais and Stephen Merchant (who makes a brief appearance) to be the funniest entity on the planet. The original version of "The Office" and their follow-up "Extras," are comic masterpieces. This makes me believe that the upcoming "Cemetery Junction" (which re-teams Gervais and Merchant as writer-directors) should be a better film than "The Invention of Lying," though there is much to like here. The early part of the film is particularly good, in which we see billboards that read, "Pepsi: When They Don't Have Coke," The romantic comedy element is sweet and it's well played by Gervais and Garner, playing a woman with a kind heart but simply isn't able to soften what she believes to be the truth about Mark. In the end, "The Invention of Lying" is a good movie but never quite hits the stride of Gervais's television work. 7.5/10.

Zombieland - Maybe I'm just becoming curmudgeonly in my old age but I've been wanting to declare a moratorium on zombie movies for the past couple of years. Not because I don't like zombie movies but just because there have just been far too many of them in the past five years. Ever since the one-two punch of the remake of "Dawn of the Dead" (the original being THE gold standard for zombie movies) and the instant comedy classic "Shaun of the Dead" in 2004, we have been deluged with zombie films from all over the world. They've become inescapable and every time you look there are more and more of them. You just can't keep them down! Come to think of it...zombie movies...and zombies...well, you know.
So when I saw that "Zombieland" was coming along I thought it looked entertaining enough but didn't expect to see anything terribly new from it. This is a good mindset to have when going into "Zombieland" because Ruben Fleischer's film doesn't show us a whole lot we haven't seen before (namely in "Shaun" and the little seen but hilarious "Fido"), but it sure is fun.
Our hero is Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg, "Adventureland"), a nerdy college student who has managed to survive not out of toughness but by being a smart guy who learns how to use a shotgun and by obeying his own set of rules. Rules such as "double-tap" (always fire one more bullet into the head), "beware of bathrooms," and perhaps most importantly, "Don't be a hero." He is called Columbus because that's where he hails from. There are no names in the United States of Zombieland. People have already lost so many loved ones they don't want to get to close to anyone new. This is especially true for Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson), a cantankerous tough guy who reluctantly hooks up with Columbus in hopes of staying alive long enough to reach a place on the east coast which is supposedly zombie-free. What Tallahassee wants more than anything though is a Hostess Twinkie. He'll even risk life and limb for it, something Columbus isn't too comfortable with, but he's not really comfortable with anything. Their trust issues are only exacerbated when they meet a couple of con artist sisters, Wichita (Emma Stone, "Superbad") and Little Rock (Abigail Breslin). But it won't be long before these four have to find a way to make it work by sticking together.
For the majority of its running time "Zombieland" is an entertaining and light on its feet gory comedy. But for about 10 or 15 minutes at around the halfway point it achieves the kind of comic brilliance that few films do. It features a cameo appearance by well, pretty much the coolest man alive. I won't ruin it for you but you'll know it when you see it.
So in spite of their being far too many zombie films in the world today, "Zombieland" sets itself apart, not by being overly original, but just by being a heck of a lot of fun. Sometimes that's all I ask. 8/10.

World's Greatest Dad

I've been struggling figuring out how to review this the past few days. It's impossible to properly review this without giving away a major plot point that occurs about 45 minutes into the film. So I'll just throw out the massive spoiler alert just before I get to that and you can decide from there whether or not you want to read on. (If you're Justin you've already seen it so it doesn't matter.)

"World's Greatest Dad" is a deeply cynical and incredibly bilious comedy, but it's cynical about things we ought to be cynical about. Writer-director Bobcat Goldthwait's film is the story of Lance Clayton (Robin Williams) and his rotten to the core teenage son, Kyle (Daryl Sabara, setting fire to his "Spy Kids" image). Lance is an unpublished and deeply frustrated author. He teaches an unpopular poetry course at the Seattle high school where Kyle alienates and infuriates the very same students. Every word from Kyle's mouth is vile and hateful. He hates absolutely everything, even music. "The only thing queerer than music," he tells Lance, "are the people who like it."
The only positive thing in Lance's life is his budding relationship with fellow teacher, Claire (Alexie Gilmore). He's uneasy with her friendship with athletic teacher, Mike (Henry Simmons), but he does his best to deal with it. When Lance finally opens up to Kyle that he's been seeing Claire, Kyle's response is unsurprisingly crass. "She's a TILF!" Against his better judgment, Lance suggests they all go out to dinner. Kyle's horrified, declaring, "Being seen in public with one teacher is bad enough. Two is AIDS!" Dinner goes a bit better than Lance expected but Kyle is still Kyle. (On a side note it's just wonderful to see that this was actually shot in Seattle. The dinner scene was shot at the Rusty Pelican, a place I've eaten at a number of times. Not to mention Lance can be seen exiting the Guild 45th in an earlier scene. I can't even begin to count the number of movies I've seen there. For once it's not Vancouver pretending to be Seattle. It's the real deal.)

***SPOILER ALERT: Proceed only if you want to know the major plot point.***

After Lance says goodnight to Claire he finds Kyle in his room dead. Instead of admitting to his son's embarrassing accident, Lance makes it look like a suicide and creates a note. This note ends up being the first thing Lance has ever written that has made an impact. Students, fellow teachers, and the principal, all of whom rightly loathed Kyle not only show Lance an outpouring of love, they convince themselves and each other that they thought the world of this awful young man. T-shirts, banners, and tributes of all kind come from virtually the entire student body. Lance's attempt to spare his son posthumous embarrassment has created something remarkably huge. It spins further out of control when Lance creates a journal he tells the world was written by Kyle. This a lie on top of a lie but it seems to actually be a positive thing for kids going through their teenage years. It also becomes Lance's first published work.
What really elevates "World's Greatest Dad" to the heights it achieves, are the very intriguing moral dilemmas that Goldthwait poses. In spite of the lie Lance perpetuates, it does do a surprising amount of good. Will the lie prevent future teen suicides? Does that in some way justify the fiction?
What I found most interesting though, and why I really cannot recommend "World's Greatest Dad" highly enough, is how Goldthwait observes the reaction to Kyle's death. We see it all the time. Someone dies and people who never liked or even cared about that person act as though they have lost someone near and dear to them. Goldthwait points the finger at people who do this in a big way and he should. In the false frenzy of love for Kyle, his only real friend Andrew (Evan Martin), is lost in the shuffle. Andrew is a pretty good kid who knew all of the awful things that Kyle was yet liked him anyway. He's also the one character in the film who doesn't make Kyle's death about himself.
"World's Greatest Dad" is cynical in the smartest and most honest possible way. It's also very very funny. Williams gives one of his best performances. Funny but subdued and real. Sabara in his short screen time creates a character that will go down as a cult movie icon. This is far and away one of the best movies of the year. Goldthwait never loses a handle on the ever important sense of tone, which in this case is like executed like a flawless high wire act.
"World's Greatest Dad" is currently in limited release. In the Seattle area it is playing at the Harvard Exit. (Why not the Guild?) 10/10.

"The Hurt Locker," "Inglourious Basterds," and "District 9"

So I've seen a few movies in the past week and between having a job and working on a future classic sitcom with Brandon I've gotten a little bit behind. So here is a look at the three movies I've seen in theaters over the past week.

The Hurt Locker - It's not often that a film makes me feel on edge, where I truly feel a sense of danger or even fear throughout virtually the entire movie. From its opening moments, Kathryn Bigelow's "The Hurt Locker" is that sort of film.
Set in the early days of the Iraq War, a bomb tech (Guy Pearce) is coolly going to work to defuse some particularly nasty explosives, fully aware that he is always one wrong move or one sniper shot away from death. This opening scene is strangely peaceful with men in uniform joking with each other, talking about burgers. It's so peaceful in fact that with each passing moment we find ourselves tensing up, slowly realizing there's no possible way this can end well. By the time we meet the film's central character, Staff Sergeant William James (Jeremy Renner, "The Assassination of Jesse James"), there is a pervasive feeling that at any given moment something can, and will, go wrong.
James is another bomb tech, one who by his count, has defused 873 bombs. When asked by a superior officer (David Morse) the best way to defuse a bomb, James simply says, "The way you don't die, sir." Covering James' back as he steps into danger are Sergeant Sanborn (Anthony Mackie) and Specialist Eldridge (Brian Geraghty, "Jarhead"), neither of whom care for James' "wild man" streak. Eldridge especially is convinced that James is going to get him killed and when we see how James operates, it's hard to blame him.
Written by first time screenwriter Mark Boal, "The Hurt Locker" is not a film terribly interested in examining the politics of war, but really about the varying mindsets of the warriors involved. As James, Renner gives a terrific understated performance, which manages to play well with the intense fear created by Boal and Bigelow ("Point Break"). It takes someone with the character's cool mindset to be willing to do what James does. And not only is James willing, it is the only time he feels in his element. He may not be relatable, but we realize that there are people just like him that put themselves on the line every day and the world is a better place for it.
"The Hurt Locker" is an intense movie going experience and worth catching while it's still in theaters. 9/10.

Inglourious Basterds - A new film from Quentin Tarantino is always an event. It's an even bigger event when he's doing something he has never done before: a war movie.
If you saw the trailer then you saw what looked to be what would happen if "The Dirty Dozen" and "Kill Bill: Volume 1" had a baby. But instead of the extremely violent action spectacular we were expecting, we get arguably Tarantino's talkiest film to date.
Opening with the words, "Once upon a time...in Nazi-occupied France," "Inglourious Basterds" is a movie that wants to settle in and take its time before giving us the quickest glimpses of war. This also describes German Colonel Hans Landa (Christoph Waltz), known as "the Jew Hunter," whose politeness and joviality makes him all the more frightening. When we first meet Landa he is engaging in conversation with a French farmer (and suspected harborer of a Jewish family), complementing him on his delicious milk. This opening scene seems to go on for an eternity. Like a number of scenes in "Inglourious Basterds" I went from being completely drawn in, to feeling (dare I say it?) a bit bored, to getting completely drawn in again. This may have been what Tarantino was hoping to accomplish, but more likely he's just a little too much in love with his own dialogue. It's hard to blame him though when so much of it is so wonderful. It doesn't take long to know exactly how this scene will end, though Landa gleefully allows one member of the family to escape, the teenage Shosanna (Melanie Laurent).
The film picks up three years later, mere days prior to D-Day. But the "Basterds" aren't going to land on the beaches of Normandy. They have "one job only. Killin' Nazis." The leader of this otherwise all-Jewish unit is Lt. Aldo Raine (a hilariously southern fried Brad Pitt), a dyed in the wool hater of all things Nazi. The purpose of the "Basterds" is to not only kill Nazis, but to kill them in the most brutal ways possible, and to always leave one to tell the tale so their legend will grow amongst the Germans. The swastikas Aldo carves into the survivors' foreheads serve to confirm the worst fears of the Germans. All of the "Basterds" are known to not only the German soldiers, but to the high ranking members of the Third Reich. Amongst them are the merciless Sgt. Hugo Stiglitz (Til Schweiger) and Donny "the Bear Jew" Donowitz (Eli Roth), who incorporates his love of baseball into his work.
Meanwhile Shosanna has successfully changed her identity in Paris, where she owns and operates a cinema. Both she and her movie house capture the eye of German war hero Fredrick Zoller (Daniel Bruhl, "Joyeux Noel"). Zoller is starring in the latest Nazi propaganda film from the mind of Joseph Goebbels (Sylvester Groth) himself, "Nation's Pride." Zoller plays himself (a sort of counter-point to Audie Murphy) in the story of how he single-handedly killed over 200 enemy soldiers in three days with nothing but his sniper rifle. It is decided that the premiere will be held at Shosanna's theater, with Goebbels, Goering, and even the Fuhrer (Martin Wuttke) in attendance. With revenge on her mind, Shosanna hatches a plan to kill them all.
Shosanna's plan is independent from Operation Kino, the joint effort of the U.S. and British armies to achieve the same end. It is a plan tailor made for the "Basterds" and for British Leftenant Archie Hicox (Michael Fassbender), as explained by British General Ed Fenech (Mike Myers in a brilliant cameo). Helping to coordinate this is German film star and allied sympathizer, Bridget von Hammersmark (Diane Kruger).
If this sounds like a lot of plot, that's because it is. What Tarantino delivers is a lot of plot, a few moments of extreme brutal violence, but surprisingly little character development, particularly of the "Basterds" themselves. This one disappointing factor aside, "Inglourious Basterds" is a very good film with some truly great moments that proudly wears its disinterest in historical fact on its sleeve. It also features one of the finest performances of the year. As Colonel Landa, Christoph Waltz chews scenery in the best possible way. He absolutely steals the movie, grinning all the way.
It's not Tarantino's finest, but "Inglourious Basterds" is an undeniably unique take on the Second World War that no one else could have concocted. Absolutely worth seeing. 8/10.

Distict 9 - Also falling into the category of "Not the Film You Were Expecting," is Neill Blomkamp's science fiction thriller, "District 9." More than just "Transformers" with a brain and South African accents, Blomkamp's film has real ideas and something to say. At its heart though, it's a character study of possibly the most unlikely action hero you'll ever see.
"District 9" presupposes a world in which an alien spacecraft arrived over Johannesburg in 1982. They did not come to attack. In fact nearly thirty years later it is still unclear just why they came or where exactly they came from. Unable to return home, the starving aliens are placed in District 9, a slum in which they survive day to day as outcasts, distrusted and hated by the people of South Africa. Over the years, several incidents created a mutual distrust and hatred that have led to the creation of District 10, which is in essence an internment camp for the aliens to keep them from having any interaction with humans. Leading this effort is a man who believes fully in what he's doing, even if he never took the time to understand why, Wikus Van De Merwe (Sharlto Copley).
Wikus' job is to get the aliens to sign their eviction notices so that they may be "legally" forced into District 10. It is while conducting this operation that Wikus meets an alien by the name of Christopher Johnson and his son. This is also where Wikus is exposed to a chemical that will decidedly change his life and ultimately the course of the future.
"District 9" does a few things exceptionally well. Aside from delivering a well told story featuring some terrific action sequences, Blomkamp's film is memorable for the sense of extreme discomfort created during the scenes in which Wikus is experimented upon. It is often an incredibly difficult film to watch, but this also serves to make it incredibly effective. What also sets this movie apart is that Wikus goes from being a weak-willed beaurucrat to a full blown action hero. The transformation makes sense too because he doesn't just suddenly turn into a badass. He becomes a man of action out of desperation, fear, and necessity, and he takes his physical and emotional lumps along the way.
This is yet another unique film in a summer that has pleasantly been full of them. "District 9" is smart science fiction that has already deservedly become a hit. 8/10.

In the Loop

While researching for his political satire "In the Loop," writer-director Armando Iannucci printed a picture of himself off of Google, created a makeshift press pass, and gained access to the U.S. State Department by showing the ID to a security guard and stating, "BBC. I'm here for the 12:30." Iannucci roamed freely to take pictures for his production designer. This suggests that what we see in "In the Loop" may not veer too far from reality.
From its opening frames, this is a film on the go, just like its characters. Simon Foster (Tom Hollander) is a man who should not be going anywhere. Certainly not in front of the press, but go he does. As a very important figure in the British government Simon declares the United States entering a war with an unnamed Middle Eastern country to be "unforeseeable." Simon's well-publicized blunder awakens the considerable wrath of the Prime Minister's director of communications, Malcolm Tucker (Peter Capaldi). Malcolm is a profane force of nature, who makes it his mission in life to keep Simon's mouth shut. Within moments he's on the phone with the press declaring, "He did not say that war was unforeseeable. You may have heard him say it, but he did not, and that is a fact."
Simon's inability to keep his mouth shut does not make life easy for his young handler, Toby (Chris Addison), who cannot prevent Simon from telling the press that sometimes in order to have peace you must be willing to, "climb the mountain of conflict." A mortified Malcolm tells Simon, "You sounded like a Nazi Julie Andrews."
In an attempt to undo the damage and to show that war is neither "inevitable nor...evitable," Simon and Toby go to Washington, but of course no good can come of this.
"In the Loop" is a film that packs an enormous amount of content, well developed characters, and sharp political satire into 105 minutes. There is a lot going on and Iannucci seems to care more that we are able to keep up with the film's energy and pace than to understand all the ins and outs of the plot. That's what second viewings are for. Scripted with three other writers, Iannucci's characters and dialogue are absolutely fantastic. David Rasche (cult TV classic "Sledge Hammer") is outstanding as the disturbingly unqualified head of seemingly every committee in Washington and James Gandolfini shines as the most intelligent and rational character in the entire film. The fact that this character is a U.S. Army general is a nice surprise and a far cry from 90 percent of films featuring American generals.
Hollander, Addison, and Paul Higgins (as "the crossest man in Scotland") are all memorable and provide their characters great depth.
When you watch "In the Loop" however, it is clear that this film belongs to one man. As Malcom Tucker, Peter Capaldi is nothing short of comic dynamite. He's like Mozart or Picasso, but with swear words. It's not profanity for the sake of it. Malcolm Tucker is a living, fire-breathing f-bomb and you'd best stay out of his way. This is an incredible performance. He played it previously in the television series, "The Thick of It," which I want to devour as soon as possible.
"In the Loop" is a very smart and very funny movie that will probably only get better with future viewings. If you enjoy a good satire (and if you don't, what's your deal?) then this is an absolute must. The film is currently in limited release. In Seattle it is playing at the Harvard Exit. 9/10.

Here is a little taste for you. Be warned. This clip is rated Malcolm Tucker.

Funny People

Though his name is now a brand and he's had a hand in producing seemingly every comedy hit of the last five years, Judd Apatow has only directed two films prior to now. 2005's "The 40-Year Old Virgin," an entertaining though overlong showcase for Steve Carell, and 2007's "Knocked Up," which is rightfully considered one of the funniest movies of this decade. Apatow's third is "Funny People," clearly the most personal offering yet. But this is not the kind of raucous comedy with heart that we've come to expect, this is a film about comedians coming to grips with mortality.
George Simmons (Adam Sandler) was an excited young stand-up comedian twenty years ago. The sort of guy who enjoyed making prank phone calls to make his friends laugh or got excited the second time he was ever recognized for being on MTV. Now he's a hugely successful comic star, each of his movies a license to print money, but he's unhappy, alone, and he's just been told he has a rare form of Leukemia that has a very small survival right. Rather than telling "Entertainment Tonight," George decides to keep the news to himself and channel his energies into his first love, returning to the stand-up stage. In an attempt to have a connection to another human being George hires young comic Ira Wright (Seth Rogen) to write him jokes and to be his personal assistant.
Ira grew up worshiping George, as did his roommates Leo (Jonah Hill) and Mark (Jason Schwartzman). Of the three, Ira is having the least amount of success. Leo's stand-up career is really clicking with audiences and Mark is the star of the NBC sitcom, "Yo Teach." Being at George's side could be a huge boost for Ira's budding career or it could scare him away from becoming like the bitter George. Meanwhile, George sees his only chance at happiness being a reconciliation with the one that got away, Laura (Leslie Mann).
At just a shade under two and a half hours, "Funny People" never seems to click or really find a rhythm. There a some moments of true hilarity (namely any time Schwartzman is on screen) but Apatow, who balanced comedy and drama so well on "Freaks and Geeks," doesn't have much success with either the comedic or emotional aspects of the film and the integration of them mostly feels flat. This isn't to say that anything about "Funny People" is bad but it never comes near greatness.
The performances are generally good and it's nice to see Sandler and Rogen stepping out of their comfort zones. Sandler's shown he can do that with great success in the past ("Punch-Drunk Love") and he's fine here but this is nowhere close to that. Rogen meanwhile does a nice job as the most levelheaded character in the film, something he hasn't really played before. There are a few moments when his acting chops leave something to be desired, but overall a pretty good performance from Rogen. Mann and Eric Bana (as Laura's Australian husband) are terrific and seeing Bana do comedy (something he's known for in Australia) is one of the film's highlights.
In the end, "Funny People" is too long and meandering and spends too much time on the sub plots of minor characters, much the same mistake Apatow made with "Virgin." That worked in "Knocked Up" because those sub plots so effectively integrated into the main storyline, but they don't really come together here.
"Funny People" had a world of potential but its unnecessary length, wandering ways, and inability to find a groove hold it back. Certainly not a total failure but not really a success either. 6/10.

(500) Days of Summer

From it's very start, "(500) Days of Summer" wants to be honest with us. Those of us expecting a traditional romantic comedy are in for something else. "This is not a love story," a nameless narrator tells us. "This is a story about love." I for one, could not have loved the resulting film more.
Tom (Joseph Gordon-Levitt, "Brick") is a man in his late twenties who firmly believes in love though he's never experienced it for himself. His notions of it we are told, came from a childhood of, "listening to sad British pop bands from the eighties and a total misreading of the movie 'The Graduate.'" Tom first meets Summer (Zooey Deschanel) on the elevator at work while listening to one of said "British pop bands." "I love the Smiths," Summer remarks to him. And just like that Tom's infatuation with the new girl in the office has begun.
Tom does not have an easy time getting to know Summer, a woman who does not believe in love and finds it cute and somewhat pathetic that Tom does. "It's love, it's not Santa Claus," he insists. Even as things slowly develop between the two Summer tells him, "I'm not really looking for anything serious right now," and though Tom hears her words they are no match for his feelings.
"(500) Days" is told in a non-linear order and for once that does not feel like a gimmick. As the film unfolds it's very clear that it was told this way for a reason. It reflects on the ups and downs of their time together and apart in the way our own minds work. We remember things in pieces, sorted in a disparate way. Some moment early on in getting to know someone can end up illuminating a moment or event much later on in ways we could have never imagined, which is why we may not really give that early moment any thought for a very long time. This also manages to help the film maintain a consistency of tone. Even as we're going from a heartbreaking moment on day 290 back to the joys of day 28 the movie maintains a steady feel. This is a very funny film, even in many of its moments of sadness, and it is always real. Even an impromptu dance sequence that includes a moment so hilarious I dare not spoil it for you is completely genuine. "(500) Days of Summer" doesn't have a false moment in it because it's honest not just about how life is but how life feels.
Written by relative newcomers Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber and directed by first time feature director Marc Webb, "(500) Days of Summer" is simply outstanding storytelling. It manages to be an original and refreshing independent film without ever falling into the trap of being "quirky" or full of dialogue that sounds like a poor imitation of Wes Anderson or Charlie Kaufmann. The performances of Gordon-Levitt and Deschanel are completely spot on. These are two very talented actors who have had some opportunities to shine in the past but here they excel in ways that never cease to impress. Gordon-Levitt's Tom is endlessly relatable while Deschanel's Summer is always difficult to read and impossible to predict. So much is communicated with glances and facial expressions and their finest moments each come in a scene in which we see Tom's expectations of an evening shown against the reality. It's a scene that rings painfully true and seeing the way each plays the scenes shown in split-screen (also not gimmicky in this film) is a testament to their enormous talents, as well as the script by Neustadter and Weber.
In a year that has already seen some wonderful films ("Up," "Away We Go," "The Brothers Bloom," "Adventureland"), "(500) Days of Summer" is easily my favorite movie of 2009. It is a pretty much perfect movie that does not ask that you be a fan of the romantic comedy genre, but if you are get ready for something special.
"(500) Days of Summer" is currently in limited release. In the Seattle area it's playing at the Guild 45th, Pacific Place, and at Bellevue's Lincoln Square. As always, I recommend the Guild. 10/10.

Now here's a little taste.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Since it's already shattering box-office records that may actually last until next summer, chances are pretty good you have already seen "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince," the sixth film to chronicle the adventures of a boy wizard who I maintain looks nothing like me.
This time around, Harry's objective is to extract a memory from Professor Horace Slughorn (Jim Broadbent), an old friend of Dumbledore's (Michael Gambon). The memory regards a key moment in the life of Voldemort when he was a young student at Hogwart's, still going by the name Tom Riddle. Slughorn is a jovial and likable fellow, but getting the truth about this memory will not be an easy task for Harry. But when has anything ever been easy for Mr. Potter?
In other goings on, Harry's two best friends are still Ron (Rupert Grint) and Hermione (Emma Watson), who finally are very slowly getting to the point where they're realizing they have feelings for each other. Well at least Hermione's realized it. Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) meanwhile, still has a crush on Ron's sister, Ginny (Bonnie Wright). These storylines, along with some moments of comedy and quidditch keep things light in between flashbacks of Voldemort's childhood and the sneaky dealings of Draco Malfoy (Tom Felton).
As someone who has not read any of the novels, "Half-Blood Prince" is most likely my favorite film of the series (it's between this one and "Goblet of Fire"). David Yates (who directed "Order of the Phoenix") continues to add depth to the already atmospheric universe of the "Potter" series. He gets terrific performances from his actors, all of whom are old hands by now. As always, Alan Rickman's Snape is a standout. Playing a character that keeps the audience guessing across six films is no easy task and he's been pulling it off beautifully.
It's hard to try to sell someone on seeing the sixth film in a series. Either you've seen the first five and are definitely in for this one or you just have no interest in "Harry Potter." I will say if you are a fan of these films you will not be disappointed. If you're a fan of the novels you will probably have some complaints, but overall you're going to like it. 8.5/10.