Bob and Justin's Mad Movie Blog

The Bob Award Nominations

2012-02-02T18:24:00.000-08:00

It's that time again. Time for me to overthink the past year in movies and try to rectify what Oscar got wrong. Because clearly I know better. Here are the nominations for this year's Bob Awards. The winners will be announced within the next couple of weeks.

Art Direction:
The Artist
Captain America: The First Avenger
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Hugo
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Cinematography:
The Artist
Drive
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
The Tree of Life

Costume Design:
The Artist
Hugo
The Iron Lady
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
X-Men: First Class

Film Editing:
The Artist
Drive
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Moneyball
Super 8

Makeup:
The Artist
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2
X-Men: First Class

Original Score:
The Adventures of Tintin – John Williams
The Artist – Ludovic Bource
Drive – Cliff Martinez
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2 – Alexandre Desplat
Super 8 – Michael Giacchino
War Horse – John Williams

Original Song:
Captain America: The First Avenger – “Star-Spangled Man”
The Muppets – “Life’s a Happy Song”
The Muppets – “Man or Muppet”
Winnie the Pooh – “So Long”

Sound:
Drive
Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol
Super 8
The Tree of Life
War Horse

Visual Effects:
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2
Melancholia
Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol
Super 8
The Tree of Life

Animated Film:
Arthur Christmas
Winnie the Pooh

Supporting Actor:
Albert Brooks – Drive
Colin Farrell – Horrible Bosses
Jonah Hill – Moneyball
Patton Oswalt – Young Adult
Christopher Plummer – Beginners
Alan Rickman – Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2

Supporting Actress:
Jessica Chastain – The Tree of Life
Elle Fanning – Super 8
Melanie Laurent – Beginners
Melissa McCarthy – Bridesmaids
Octavia Spencer – The Help
Shailene Woodley – The Descendants

Actor:
George Clooney – The Descendants
Jean Dujardin – The Artist
Ryan Gosling – Drive
Gary Oldman – Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Brad Pitt - Moneyball
John C. Reilly – Carnage

Actress:
Berenice Bejo – The Artist
Viola Davis – The Help
Kirsten Dunst – Melancholia
Jodie Foster - Carnage
Rooney Mara – The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Charlize Theron – Young Adult

Monty Python Award for Best Ensemble Cast:
The Artist
Carnage
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2
Horrible Bosses
Super 8
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Adapted Screenplay:
Carnage – Yasmina Reza & Roman Polanski
The Descendants – Alexander Payne and Nat Faxon & Jim Rash
Drive – Hossein Amini
Moneyball – Steven Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin & Stan Chervin
The Muppets – Jason Segel & Nicholas Stoller
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy – Bridget O’Connor & Peter Straughan

Original Screenplay:
The Artist – Michel Hazanavicius
Beginners – Mike Mills
Horrible Bosses – Michael Markowitz and John Francis Daley & Jonathan Goldstein
Midnight in Paris – Woody Allen
Win Win – Tom McCarthy & Joe Tiboni
Young Adult – Diablo Cody

Director:
Michel Hazanavicius – The Artist
Alexander Payne – The Descendants
Nicolas Winding Refn – Drive
Bennett Miller – Moneyball
J.J. Abrams – Super 8
Tomas Alfredson – Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Best Picture:
The Artist
Beginners
Carnage
The Descendants
Drive
Moneyball
The Muppets
Super 8
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Young Adult

"Carnage," "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy" (take 2), and "Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows"

2012-01-30T19:53:00.000-08:00

Carnage - 2011 was not a particularly strong year for comedy so thankfully one of the last great movies to be released in it turned out to be pure comic gold. Black gold really.
The Cowans, Nancy and Alan (Kate Winslet and Christoph Waltz) are visiting the New York City apartment of the Longstreets, Penelope and Michael (Jodie Foster and John C. Reilly). These couples are not however, old friends. A few days earlier their children had gotten into an argument which led to Zachary Cowan hitting Ethan Longstreet in the face with a tree branch, costing Ethan two teeth. The intention is to discuss the situation as civil adults and decide how best to move forward for the sake of their kids. Things do not go as planned.
Directed by Roman Polanski (who co-wrote the screenplay with Yasmina Reza who wrote the original play), "Carnage" spends all of its 79 minutes in the Longstreet home (with a moment or two out in the hallway). It examines the systematic breakdown of civility and how these four seemingly intelligent and evolved adults devolve into behavior more childish than that of their own children. Reza and Polanski examine all of this in the funniest way imaginable.
All four performances are stellar and it's wonderful fun to watch the shifts in mood and alliance. Two characters at each others throats one moment bond the next at the drop of a hat. Reilly and Waltz are particularly funny, Reilly as the character who seems to change the most over the course of the film, while Waltz's Alan seems to have been the most honest from the beginning.
"Carnage" is sharp as a razor and often howlingly funny. It's one of the best films of the year and sadly the most overlooked, critically and commercially. 9/10.

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy - I don't know if I've ever written two separate reviews of a movie before but with this film I felt it necessary.
This British spy film set during the height of the Cold War follows the brilliant ice cold intelligence veteran George Smiley (Gary Oldman) and his search for a mole in MI-6. In my initial review I declared that while I liked the film it was, "incredibly difficult to follow" and "a little too subtle even for me." The movie stuck with me for a couple of weeks though and I was convinced if I saw it again that I'd have an easier time following it and I hoped that by extension I would come to love it.
As it happened I understood for the most part how all of the pieces fit this time around but I came to love the film for reasons other than that. The world the film (directed by Tomas Alfredson of "Let the Right One In") places you in is incredibly absorbing. Being set in 1974 allows us to see a fascinating time in the intelligence community. The old guard who has been at the forefront of the Cold War since it began (including Smiley and John Hurt's Control) is being pushed aside by younger officers who think they know better (played by Toby Jones, Ciarin Hinds, and Colin Firth), causing an internal pettiness that only further muddies the already murky waters.
With a career best performance by Oldman, "Tinker" also has an excellent supporting cast. Firth, Hurt, Tom Hardy, Benedict Cumberbatch, and Mark Strong are all pitch perfect. Alfredson's direction and the screenplay by Peter Straughan and the late Bridget O'Connor make the Cold War spy game come alive and the challenge of following the film ultimately makes it more rewarding. I look forward to watching it a third time and understanding even more.
I can't quite put the stamp of perfection on it but such as it is, "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy" is very high on my list of the best films of 2011. 9/10.

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows - If you saw Guy Ritchie's first "Sherlock Holmes" in 2009 then you know what to expect from this sequel which re-teams Sherlock (Robert Downey, Jr.) and his dear friend, Dr. Watson (Jude Law).
When Watson's honeymoon is rudely interrupted by Holmes's nemesis, Professor Moriarty ("Mad Men's" Jared Harris), Watson reluctantly agrees to join Holmes on one final case. There's more plot than this but why bother trying to explain it? Ritchie's "Holmes" movies are about fun and he delivers it well this time. While not as fresh as its predecessor, it doesn't suffer from the "kitchen sink" syndrome that so many action oriented sequels suffer from. Yes, there are a lot of frenetic action set pieces here but none more than in the first movie. Noomi Rapace (the original "Girl with the Dragon Tattoo") and Stephen Fry as Sherlock's brother Mycroft add to the fun as well.
It's not award winning stuff but it's quite entertaining and that's all I wanted. 7/10.

Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol

2012-01-23T19:54:00.000-08:00

A fourth "Mission: Impossible?" Seriously? The first three movies (directed by Brian De Palma, John Woo, and J.J. Abrams respectively) were all fairly entertaining with some nice sequences but I wouldn't deem any of them as actually being...good. For this newest entry, "Incredibles" and Ratatouille" director Brad Bird was given the reigns for his first live-action film. With a massive budget and arguably Paramount's biggest current franchise on the line, it was a gamble to be sure. So how well did it pay off?
As in the previous films, IMF agent Ethan Hunt has chosen to accept a mission that one might describe as being...exceedingly difficult. His new team consists of Jane (Paula Patton) and former tech geek turned field agent Benji (Simon Pegg). While performing this mission at the Kremlin the building is bombed, Hunt and his fellow team members barely escaping with their lives. Russia sees this as an uprovoked act of war perpetrated by the IMF. With the team on the run they gain another member, an analyst named William Brandt (Jeremy Renner) whose past and motives are called into question.
There's not much point into getting into the details of the plot or just why the U.S. and Russia are on the brink of war in 2011. The script by Andre Nemec and Josh Applebaum doesn't always make sense and with the wrong director the movie could have easily gone off the rails. Bird however, handles the material beautifully. He shoots big action sequences shot with IMAX cameras with such confidence and flair that you'd think he'd been doing it all his filmmaking life.
The sequences, particularly one shot at the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, are an absolute blast to watch whether you're just a regular Joe or a film buff. The execution is impeccable which allows us to accept most of the incredibly far fetched moments along the way. The film's sense of humor is strong as well. Most movies of this nature throw out several ham fisted attempts at comedy but Bird's comic sensibilities are strong and having Simon Pegg in such a large role certainly doesn't hurt.
There's not much else to say about "M:I - GP" other than it's just a whole lot of fun and it's the first movie of the series I would actually officially declare as good.
I have a final comment though about the movie's final scene. Without getting too spoilery I'll just say that it takes place in Seattle. There's no action here to speak of. It features characters sitting at a table and talking, wrapping things up. It was clear from the slightly out of focus buildings in the background that once again Vancouver, B.C. was playing the role of Seattle. So Paramount and Tom Cruise were welcome in Moscow, Dubai, and Mumbai to film incredible action sequences involving dangerous stunts and large explosions but for a scene involving drinking some coffee at a table... Seattle just wasn't having it. I really hope that everyone responsible running the film industry out of Seattle sees this movie and is horribly embarrassed and ashamed of themselves. It's absolutely pathetic. 7.5/10.

Six Quick and Dirty Movie Reviews

2012-01-14T16:17:00.000-08:00

I've gone to six movies in the past few weeks as a part of the annual awards season crunch. There are 52 weeks in a year but the film industry decides that at least 75 percent of the best movies produced in it need to come out within three weeks of one another, leaving those of us who love movies playing an endless game of catch up. So here's a quick look at what I have seen of late.

Hugo - Due to its abysmal trailer I had no intention of seeing this, despite its being directed by Martin Scorsese. But its reception was so overwhelmingly positive that I finally decided to check it out. It is actually very good and like "The Artist," is a loving ode to the pioneers of cinema. Asa Butterfield ("The Boy in the Striped Pajamas") is terrific in the title role as is Chloe Moretz ("Kick-Ass") as his new friend. You have to hand it to Moretz especially. Somewhere along the line a producer must have told her, "Yes, we understand you're American and you'll be playing a French girl but we need you to perfect a British accent so that you'll fit in with the rest of the cast."
Ben Kingsley provides the film's real heart and soul though. As George Melies, possibly the most important innovator of film's infancy, Kingsley shows that when he's got good material to work with he's one of the best there is. I'm glad to see him in something not directed by Uwe Boll.
I cannot for the life of me however, understand the purpose of Sacha Baron Cohen's presence as the train station's security guard. The character seems to exist solely to give Hugo a reason to be scared in the station. The trouble with this is that Hugo is already an orphan living in a train station. A buffoonish and borderline cartoonish security guard isn't exactly scary when you're already faced with that. The amount of screen time devoted to him also causes the movie to drag for several minutes at a time.
Despite Cohen's misguided antics, "Hugo" is a mostly magical film and one that I sincerely hope will get kids excited about watching movies made long before "Star Wars." 8.5/10.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - A few days before finally seeing the original Swedish film for the first time I saw David Fincher's American remake. As much as I loathe Hollywood's need to remake everything, especially movies that are less than five years old, I suspected Fincher was the man who could make this worthwhile. He does.
This film has a much more palpable sense of atmosphere and more effectively creates tension (and I don't think I'm saying that just because I saw it first). That said, for me it really is a toss up between the two films. Daniel Craig is equal to Michael Nyqvist as one of the story's two main protagonists. As the titular character, I'd have to give the edge to Noomi Rapace in the original. Her Lisbeth Salander was cold and almost nihilistic. Rooney Mara's is an explosion of rage. While it is a take on the character that makes perfect sense, I thought Rapace's take was more interesting.
Without getting too detailed I'll simply say that there are elements that I prefer in each movie. Little differences that add up to two very good films that seem to complement one another rather than being competitors. I'm sure there are film buffs who will get into bitter arguments over which movie is better but it's just a waste of time. 8.5/10.

War Horse - Despite getting off to a slow start, Steven Spielberg's tale of a horse's journey through the First World War is ultimately a beautiful and powerful film. Joey was never meant to be a plow horse but he becomes one due to a poor English family's desperation and the love of his young owner Albert (Jeremy Irvine). However, when the war breaks out Albert's father sells Joey to the British Army leading to an incredible and often terrifying four years for the horse who ends up on both sides.
It is a unique film in that it really is the horse's story. The people he touches are of varying ages and walks of life throughout western Europe and they come and go easily but not without making an impression. It features an outstanding international cast (all the Brits are played by Brits, the French by Frenchman, and the Germans by Germans) and God bless Spielberg for shunning CG. There is almost none of it and what little there is was employed solely for the safety of the horses.
Just hang in there for the first twenty minutes or so and you'll be rewarded with a great moviegoing experience. Make a point of seeing it on the big screen. 8.5/10.

The Adventures of Tintin - As for Spielberg's other film in theaters now, I am far less enthusiastic. My problem is not with the motion capture animation. There's no creepy uncanny valley effect here, the problem is, surprisingly, with the storytelling. Considering that Spielberg directed, Peter Jackson produced, and Edgar Wright ("Hot Fuzz") co-wrote it astounds me how they could have created so little tension. There was real potential here and some nice moments but there's never a real reason to care.
The story concerns Tintin (voiced by Jamie Bell) and his efforts to assist Captain Haddock's (Andy Serkis) treasure quest. Their adversary is Ivan Ivanovitch Sakharine (Daniel Craig), who while definitely a bad guy (he has no aversion to murdering) is nothing more than a competitor in a race that has no real consequences. If he gets there first he just gets there first. End of story. Looking just at Spielberg's own canon you take "Raiders of the Lost Ark" as an example. We don't become involved with that film because we just want Indy to get the Ark. He doesn't want to get it, he needs to get it, because the Nazis getting it first...would be bad. (Of course they do end up getting it and it doesn't work out so well for them in the end but I digress.)
Maybe the race is enough for some viewers or for those who grew up loving the comics (I've never read them), but for me "Tintin" is largely a failure due to its complete lack of consequences. "Winnie the Pooh" and to a lesser extent, "Arthur Christmas" aside, 2011 was a deeply disappointing year for animation. 5/10.

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy - This Cold War British spy thriller directed by Tomas Alfredson ("Let the Right One In") is wonderfully stylish and boasts maybe the best assembly of actors put into a single film in 2011. It is also incredibly difficult to follow. I'm perfectly willing to accept that the movie is just smarter than I am but I felt more clarity along the way would have made this film more enjoyable and rewarding. It's a little too subtle even for me.
Gary Oldman stars as George Smiley, a thoughtful, brilliant veteran of British Intelligence who is forced out by younger colleagues (chiefly played by Toby Jones, Ciarin Hinds, and Colin Firth). However, once it is learned there may be a Soviet spy in their midst, Smiley is coaxed back into action by a former superior.
Quiet and unhurried, "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy" is an intellectual thriller rather than a fast paced one. There are excellent performances all around, particularly from Benedict Cumberbatch ("Sherlock," "War Horse"), Tom Hardy ("Inception"), and Mark Strong ("Kick-Ass"). We are also treated to a rather surreal Cold War Christmas party. I just wish that the film hadn't been too clever for its own good. 7.5/10.

The Iron Lady - I had my doubts about this biopic about controversial British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. For one I suspected the film industry's liberal bent would equal outright villification of Thatcher rather than creating an honest and balanced portrait and for another, as great as Meryl Streep is, something about the trailers led me to believe she was laying it all on a little thick here. It turned out that neither was an issue. It's actually a very sympathetic and largely positive portrayal of the first female PM in British history and Streep gives a typically Streepian performance, though I wouldn't hand her an Oscar for it.
The trouble with this film written by Abi Morgan ("The Hour") and directed by Phyllida Lloyd ("Mamma Mia!") is its indecisiveness. The filmmakers couldn't make up their minds about what "The Iron Lady" should be. 1 hour and 45 minutes, much of it dedicated to the present, where Thatcher is suffering from dementia, is hardly enough to cover her entire life. Yet that is what they attempt to do. This really should have been a mini-series or a film focused purely on a single period of her life. For instance, a 1 hour 45 minute film purely about Thatcher and the Falklands could have been riveting and actually more revealing than what we get here.
In the end "The Iron Lady" feels like an overview. We don't really truly get to see what effect her 11 years in office had on Britain and the world for good or ill and we only really get a cursory examination of the woman herself. It's worth seeing for those interested but it is disappointing. And there just isn't enough of Richard E. Grant. Tip of the cap to Jim Broadbent though, as her husband Dennis. He's fantastic here. 6/10.

Finally, I can't say enough about "The Artist," which has expanded to more theaters as of this week. I urge anyone who really loves movies to put it at the top of their must see list.

The Artist

2011-12-26T19:08:00.001-08:00

When I first saw "OSS 117" at the Seattle International Film Festival in 2006 I discovered an actor with one of the most expressive faces I'd ever seen. Jean Dujardin showed he possessed more comic talent in his eyebrows than most actors do in their entire bodies. At the time of course I had no idea what "OSS" writer-director Michel Hazanavicius had in mind for Dujardin in the future but once I heard what it was I knew it was going to be something special.
"The Artist" is a (mostly) silent, black and white film and it is the perfect showcase for its star. It's Hollywoodland, 1927, and superstar George Valentin (Dujardin) has yet another hit on his hands. It is clear from the reception to "A Russian Affair," that Valentin's star shines as brightly as Keaton's or Chaplin's and what's more, he knows and loves it. He also doesn't mind aggravating his leading lady (Missi Pyle), his producer Al Zimmer (John Goodman), or his wife Doris (Penelope Ann Miller). Still, he has great affection for his valet Clifton (James Cromwell) and his loyal canine co-star (Uggie the Dog).
After the premiere of "A Russian Affair" however, someone else enters the picture; hopeful young dancer and actress Peppy Miller (Berenice Bejo). There is an instant connection and slowly Peppy's star begins to rise. George is only too happy for her until Zimmer decides that silent films (and thus George) are the past. Talkies and Peppy are the future. George considers talking on screen to be beneath him and feels that talkies will be a failed experiment but a combination of being wrong and the stock market crashing effectively end his career. He attempts to pick up the pieces on his own while Peppy becomes a bigger and bigger star, but she continues to love the man who gave her her start.
Hazanavicius has written and directed a film that most filmmakers would be far too afraid to make. He reminds us all though that the loss of silent film as an art form more than 80 years ago was a sad one. His love and respect for it is in the details such as shooting it in the aspect ratio of the day, 1.33:1 (what TVs used to be before HD) and his supreme confidence in his cast. Dujardin is beyond wonderful and proves to be a true artist himself. It's clear that had he been born in another era he could have been as popular and beloved as Valentin in the mid-'20s. Bejo is excellent as well. She clearly pours her heart into the role of Peppy and shows her talent knows no time period bounds.
One of the advantages of making a silent film is that French leads such as Dujardin and Bejo can easily share the screen with Goodman, Miller, and Cromwell who provide fantastic support. I'd be incredibly remiss however if I didn't make special mention of Uggie, who may be the finest movie dog since Asta from the "Thin Man" series. I could watch Uggie and Dujardin play on screen again and again. They obviously have a lot of fun together. The music of Ludovic Bource is superb as well. A perfect fit.
"The Artist" is a movie for true film lovers. It is made with love and a sense of joy that is incredibly rare. I believe as well that Hazanavicius hopes to encourage those who haven't to give silent movies a try. He wants a new generation to discover Buster Keaton, Charlie Chaplin, and so many others. This makes me love his film all the more. I hope that many more will love it too. 10/10 ("The Arist" is currently in limited release. In Seattle it is playing at the Harvard Exit.)

"Melancholia" and "Young Adult"

2011-12-21T21:34:00.001-08:00

Melancholia - I had only seen one Lars von Trier movie before. It was the well made but monumentally depressing Bjork vehicle "Dancer in the Dark." Yes, I just used the words, "Bjork vehicle." And when I say monumentally depressing I don't mean it was sad or it bummed me out a little. I mean for the last hour of the movie I felt as though life was horrible and nothing would ever be good again. That's the effect it had.
My friend Justin meanwhile has also only seen one von Trier film, "Antichrist." His description of that made "The Human Centipede" sound like a feel good romp. So why would I want to see another movie directed by this bizarre Danish man? ...I don't know, "Melancholia" just looked interesting.
The film is the story of two sisters fighting their own battles with depression. Oh, and there's a giant planet that may or may not collide with earth. Which would be bad. The younger sister, Justine (Kirsten Dunst), has just married Michael (Alexander Skarsgard) and due in part to limo difficulties they are two hours late to their own reception. In these early moments we see Justine laugh and enjoying her big day. Upon their arrival however, the anger of her older sister Claire (Charlotte Gainsbourg) and the bile of their despicable mother (Charlotte Rampling) fuel the deep sadness that lurks under the surface. The rest of the night is a disaster and an embarrassment to Claire and her husband John (Kiefer Sutherland), who are hosting the event. It doesn't end well either. All of this takes place before it is known by the characters that the planet Melancholia is coming near earth.
"Melancholia" is a moody, atmospheric film that I just liked for some reason. I can't say why and I really couldn't tell you what von Trier is really trying to say. But despite it's subject matter and who made it I didn't find it to be nearly as bleak as "Dancer in the Dark." It's not a fun film but in its way it's entertaining and it features terrific performances all around, particularly from its two female leads.
What else can I say about "Melancholia"? I wouldn't recommend it to most people, not even most people who enjoy independent films, but if you like your movies brimming with atmosphere, this is one you don't want to miss. 8/10.

Young Adult - It's hard to believe that it was four years ago that Diablo Cody burst into the film world with her Oscar winning screenplay for "Juno." For a period in early 2008 she was the toast of Hollywood for writing a movie that while quite good, contained the words, "honest to blog," along with a few other clunkers. Its quirkiness (how I've come to loathe that word) prompted people who never watched independent movies to boast that they knew "indies" inside and out. This of course led to a backlash which for better or worse I was a part of. I don't think "Young Adult" is going to inspire that same kind of reaction but for me, that's a great thing.
Mavis Gary (Charlize Theron) is the ghost writer of a once popular series of young adult novels. She is also a deeply troubled 37 year old woman who can barely take care of herself or her little dog. She also guzzles Diet Coke as though it were the nectar of life.
Living alone in Minneapolis and attempting to write the final book of the "Waverly Prep" series (due to its waning popularity the publisher is cancelling it), Mavis receives an e-mail with a birth announcement. Her old boyfriend, Buddy Slade (Patrick Wilson) and his wife Beth (Elizabeth Reaser) are now proud parents. Mavis reacts to this news the way any rational adult would. She gets into her car and drives to the small town of Mercury, Minnesota to reclaim Buddy and take him away from his wife and child. "Babies are boring!" she declares.
Upon her arrival in Mercury she runs into someone she barely remembers from high school but who most definitely remembers her. Matt Freehauf's (Patton Oswalt) locker was next to her for four years but its only after a few drinks that Mavis remembers him. And as the victim of a hate crime. A group of jocks who had mistakenly believed Matt to be gay pummelled him within an inch of his life forcing him to walk with a cane. When Mavis opens up to Matt about her reason for being back in town he foresees disaster but nothing will deter her.
"Young Adult" could have been a very predictable and cliched dark comedy full of uncomfortable moments that the filmmakers "dared" you to laugh at. Instead it manages to surprise and while there are laughs to be had (and some are uncomfortable) there's a sense of reality here that is deeply sad. Most movies in this vein would have milked Matt's story for "edgy" laughs at his expense. But this movie acknowledges that his story is anything but funny. Matt laughs to keep from crying.
Mavis meanwhile, is not only unlikeable she's borderline horrific. Yet there is a severely broken heart there that the average dark indie comedy either wouldn't show us or would merely touch upon at the last minute to try to fool us into thinking the film had something to say when it actually didn't. Cody's outstanding script and Theron's marvelous performance provide Mavis with a wealth of depth. They allow us to recognize something of Mavis in someone we may know or even, yes, ourselves.
Director Jason Reitman ("Juno," "Up in the Air") always displays a light touch but it always seems to work. He never overwhelms the story or gets in the way of the dialogue or the performances. Cody, for my money anyway, has grown tremendously since "Juno." There are no cringe worthy lines or characters here. In addition to Theron, the rest of the cast is excellent. Wilson does a wonderful job as the very likeable Buddy, who is either ignoring Mavis' signals out of politeness or just isn't picking up on them. But Oswalt is pitch perfect in a role that deserves Oscar consideration. He's proving himself to be more than just a stand up comic turned actor. This is a man of enormous acting talent.
"Young Adult" is easily one of the best films of 2011 and it will almost certainly be passed over by the vast majority of people who fell in love with "Juno" back in 2007. So much the better. 9/10.

"The Descendants" and "Arthur Christmas"

2011-12-15T20:37:00.000-08:00

The Descendants - "Election." "About Schmidt." "Sideways." Alexander Payne doesn't do pleasant. What he does do are character studies of people who are at best deeply flawed and at worst thoroughly unlikeable and he does it very well. With "The Descendants," he returns after a seven year absence. Payne is still Payne but in his time off he seems to have developed a gift for empathy. A little bit of it anyway.
Matt King (George Clooney) considers himself "the back-up parent" to his two daughters, ten year old Scottie (Amara Miller) and seventeen year old Alex (Shailene Woodley). It's something he does when he has time outside of his demanding work as a lawyer and as the only trustee of a large piece of virgin Hawaiian land. With his wife Elizabeth in a coma however, Matt has to step up and has no idea what to do.
Scottie has begun acting out in ways she never has before while incidents of getting drunk on school grounds are typical for Alex. The strain on the family only grows when Alex reveals to Matt that in the months leading up to her coma, Elizabeth had been having an affair.In spite of the setup and subject matter, "The Descendants" manages to be a more "likeable" film than you would imagine. Like Payne's other films there is a comic throughline to make all of the heaviness more palatable. For the most part it works, the comic aspects feeling natural rather than forced. There are moments however that don't click, many of them involving Scottie's behavior. Payne and co-writers Nat Faxon and Jim Rash created a fine screenplay but they don't really deliver a totally believable ten year old. Scenes of her flipping someone off or trying out a new swear word she's learned from Alex don't really come off like the acts of a child actually doing these things (which of course kids do). They come off like an adult's attempt to write a kid. Amara Miller, in her first role, doesn't really play these scenes well either. That said, she handles some of the heavier dramatic moments very well.
Overall the acting is rock solid. Clooney is fantastic in one of the better performances of his career. As with "Up in the Air" it's the perfect marriage of "laid back Clooney" ("Out of Sight") and "serious Clooney" ("The American"). Woodley is very good as well, which is particularly evident in her scenes with Clooney. Their father-daughter relationship is a decidedly complex one but believable. They have their problems, she takes shots at him fair and unfair but ultimately she loves her dad and is rooting for him through the struggles. As her friend Sid, Nick Krause gives a very memorable and funny performance as an annoying, empty-headed, but ultimately likeable kid, who somehow seems to provide some sort of comfort to the King family.
"The Descendants" is a film that deservedly received several Golden Globe nominations this morning and will no doubt be a contender come Oscar time. The sense of place Payne establishes goes a long way towards its success. Its Hawaiian flavor permeates the film but in a way that doesn't distract. The film and its characters are well aware that Hawaii isn't quite like anyplace else but it's not paradise or a place to get away. It's just where they happen to live. It's a detail that makes "The Descendants" unique. This is one very good film. 9/10.

Arthur Christmas - Santa Claus the Nineteenth (voice of Jim Broadbent) is going out for his final Christmas Eve mission. Having been Santa since World War II he's an old pro, and he's employed modern technology in the art of present delivery. Instead of a sleigh he travels in something more closely resembling an alien space craft and rather than sliding down each individual chimney he tasks an army of elves to deliver gifts to an entire city in a matter of minutes. This Swiss watch operation is overseen by his oldest son, and heir to the red suit, Steve (Hugh Laurie).
Steve looks at the big picture but his younger brother Arthur (James McAvoy) sees each individual child. Due to his clumsiness, Steve and the elves try to keep Arthur out of the way, which means the head job in Santa's mail room. He loves Christmas more than anyone else at the North Pole and is determined that the wish of each and every child comes true. He has a deep admiration for his father but it's put to the test when a bike isn't delivered to a little girl in England due to a slight mishap. Santa and Steve are content to shrug a single missed child in the whole world off but Arthur won't have it. With the help of crusty old Grandsanta (Bill Nighy) and a dedicated elf (Ashley Jensen, "Extras"), little Gwen is going to get her bicycle no matter what.
Produced by Aardman ("Wallace and Gromit"), "Arthur Christmas" is, not surprisingly, full of heart. While the film is CG animated, not stop motion, it still feels like an Aardman effort through and through. Directed by Sarah Smith, with a screenplay by Smith and Peter Baynham, it's an enjoyable story that encourages kids to maintain their enthusiasm in any and all circumstances. It also features some terrific voicework, particularly from Nighy. His Grandsanta has been in retirement for 70 years and at the age of 136 (by his own admission) he simply has no use for modern ways. A sleigh, eight tiny reindeer, and some magic dust are all he needs and he would never dream of sending an elf to go in through a window when he himself could "go down the chimbley." Smith and Baynham give Grandsanta all of their funniest lines and Nighy makes the most of them.
What holds "Arthur Christmas" back a bit is that Grandsanta aside it's never really as funny as it ought to be. There are certainly a few assorted gems but there are several moments when the comedy just doesn't hit the way it should. It keeps a good movie from becoming a great one.
Only time will tell if this gets added to the rotation of essential Christmas movies but even if it's not great you will enjoy yourself and it will make you feel just that much more Christmasy. 7/10.

The Muppets

2011-12-01T17:42:00.001-08:00

As children, brothers Gary and Walter were inseparable. Gary included Walter in everything. Baseball, the scouts, but Walter never felt he belonged in the world around him. Until the night the brothers and best friends discovered “The Muppet Show.” For the first time Walter saw people (and animals) who bore a striking resemblance to him. Yes, Walter is a Muppet too.
More than a decade later Gary (Jason Segel) and Walter (performed by Peter Linz) still share a room at their home in Smalltown. Gary is taking his girlfriend of ten years, Mary (Amy Adams), to Los Angeles to celebrate their anniversary. Coming along will be Walter who hopes to see the Muppet studio and meet all of his heroes. What he discovers though is that the studio is rundown and about to be bought by greedy oil baron Tex Richman (Chris Cooper). Walter enlists the help of Gary and Mary to try to convince Kermit and the others to reunite after years apart to put on a show and save the studio. This is all the plot that this movie requires.
Written by Segel with Nicholas Stoller (“Forgetting Sarah Marshall”) and directed by James Bobin (“Flight of the Conchords”), this is a film brimming with innocent fun and unapologetic silliness. It’s clear that all involved fully understand what always made the Muppets work and why. No one got the bright idea to try to make the Muppets edgy or include an avalanche of “Shrek”-style double entendres. This is a world where characters not only break into song, they can get places faster by “traveling by map,” and no mistake is too big that it can’t be fixed by a simple apology and some flowers. As the opening song (“Life’s a Happy Song”) suggests, you won’t be able to wipe the smile off your face. This song and the others written by Bret McKenzie of Flight of the Conchords strike exactly the right tone.
Not only do the script, direction and music get everything right, the performances of Segel and Adams are simply perfect. Has there ever been an actress more suited to the Muppet world than Amy Adams? As for the Muppets themselves, despite the absence of Jim Henson or Frank Oz, the performances are wonderful. Really the only weak point in the entire film is Cooper, an actor I normally love. I understand he’s the villain and has a different mentality than any other character in the film but he never seems quite at home acting with Muppets.
“The Muppets” is every bit as magical as you’d hoped. It’s so delightful that it makes you wish that it were physically possible to hug a movie. It’s that loveable. 9/10.

The Rum Diary

2011-10-31T18:11:00.000-07:00

If you know me at all then you’re probably aware that Bruce Robinson’s 1987 cult British comedy “Withnail and I” is my favorite film of all-time. Featuring brilliant performances and some of the funniest and best dialogue ever written it demonstrates that plot is not essential to making a great film. Unfortunately for Robinson making it proved emotionally and financially taxing and when he made his first Hollywood film 5 years later (“Jennifer 8”) the experience was so unbearable for him that he left filmmaking completely. Now, 19 years later he’s back with material that sounds perfectly suited for him, an adaptation of a Hunter S. Thompson novel.
It’s 1960 and Thompson’s alter ego, Paul Kemp (Johnny Depp) is an aspiring novelist going to Puerto Rico to make his first foray into journalism. There’s civil unrest just outside the doors of the San Juan Star but the paper’s top man, Lotterman (Richard Jenkins) wants to keep the focus on what makes tourists feel good about the island. The paper’s advertising revenue and thus its very existence depends on it. “There’s an ocean of money out there,” says Hal Sanderson (Aaron Eckhart), one of the Star’s main benefactors. Sanderson hopes that he can convince Kemp to write a series of articles that will portray his business interests in a positive light and help pave the way for further hotel expansion. Kemp learns quickly how devastating this would be to the local population and finds himself in the middle of a sticky ethical situation. Matters are complicated further when he meets Sanderson’s young girlfriend Chenault (Amber Heard).
In 1998 Depp played Thompson (this time called Raoul Duke) in “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas .” Like “Withnail,” “Fear and Loathing” was content to meander along with its characters with little plot but a great story being told subtly beneath the surface. “The Rum Diary” however seems to want to meander one minute and push its plot ahead the next. It’s one thing for the film’s central character to feel confused and muddled, especially at this point in his life. It’s a problem though when the film itself is.

The movie works best when its focus is on Kemp’s life in squalor. Fellow journalist Bob Sala (Michael Rispoli, who gives the film’s best performance) welcomes Kemp into his horrific apartment, which is practically spotless when compared to the flat in “Withnail.” Sharing it with them is the drug addled columnist Moberg (Giovanni Ribisi), a warning that we know that Kemp/Thompson will not heed. At this point Kemp is merely a budding alcoholic, nowhere near the level of drug abuser that he would become. The scenes of domestic insanity are the closest “The Rum Diary” ever comes to really hitting its stride. Even these scenes however just seem to come up a bit short. It’s as though Robinson needed to write one or even two more drafts of the screenplay to really make the movie come alive.
“The Rum Diary” not only portrays its protagonist in a state of becoming as a drinker/druggy, it also shows him still looking for his voice as a writer. This could have been an incredibly fascinating examination of how Thompson became Thompson but like virtually every other element of this movie it goes largely unexplored. This element also highlights two of the film’s most glaring faults. Thompson and Robinson each have distinct and powerful voices but neither of them comes across here. It doesn’t feel as though they’re fighting with each other to create white noise, it’s as though they’re both lost. The second problem is Depp. It’s not that it’s a bad performance. It’s that the character should have been played by an actor half his age. When Depp portrayed Thompson 13 years ago it was for a film set in 1971. Now he’s playing the character when he was 11 years younger. It’s difficult to believe a man in his mid to late 40s (even Depp who looks young for his age) playing an aspiring writer who’s just starting out in the world. But being that Depp (a well known friend of Thompson) was the driving force in getting the film made and that he hand picked Robinson to helm it, who was going to tell him he wasn’t right for the part anymore? He was exceptional in “Fear and Loathing.” Genuinely Oscar worthy. And in his mid-thirties he was the right age to be “Fear and Loathing” Thompson. But that was 1998.
Robinson meanwhile shows his handle on the early sixties is nowhere near as strong on his handle of the end of it. Obviously I wasn’t there but I always got the sense that “Withnail” captured the reality of the late sixties better than any other film I’ve seen because it uses the period as a backdrop for a deeply personal story. By not being about 1969 it is absolutely about 1969.
For fans of everyone involved "The Rum Diary" is sadly a disappointment. 5/10.

Moneyball

2011-09-25T20:43:00.001-07:00

In 2001 the Oakland A's won 102 games on their way to a second consecutive trip to the playoffs. Their season ended however when they lost the American League Division Series to the New York Yankees, a team with more than three and a half times the payroll. Despite the disappointing finish, the fantastic season would lead one to believe that there would be hope for Oakland's future. But with the loss of three key free agents whom the team can no longer afford, A's General Manager Billy Beane (Brad Pitt) is faced with the seemingly impossible task of finding suitable replacements who can not only get back to the playoffs but overtake the likes of the Yankees to win a World Series.
In preparation for the 2002 season Beane attempts to solve a problem that seems to have no existing solution. With no new ideas coming from his scouts or front office Beane buys a Yale economics major named Peter Brand (Jonah Hill) off of the Cleveland Indians. Brand doesn't bring a wealth of baseball experience with him. What he does bring however is the understanding of a formula originated in the late '70s by a pork'n'beans man named Bill James. One that organizations have been ignoring for 25 years. "Baseball thinking is medieval," Brand insists. Instead of buying players Brand believes, "You should be buying wins. And in order to buy wins you need to buy runs." Taking James' formula and running with it Beane and Brand set about putting together an unconventional championship team, the only kind a $38 million payroll could possibly buy.
Directed by Bennett Miller ("Capote") and with a screenplay by Aaron Sorkin ("The Social Network") and Steven Zaillian ("Schindler's List"), "Moneyball" boasts an impressive pedigree and the three of them have given us an equally impressive film. It's a film that will appeal to non-baseball fans because it's just a great story that's very well told. It takes us inside what goes on behind the scenes of the world of baseball without being too "inside baseball." We see Beane as a man of passion who has an ambition beyond just winning and who loves his daughter more than anything in the world. Appropriately for being a lifelong baseball man, Beane is also superstitious, to the point that he won't allow himself to attend games or even watch them on TV for more than a minute or two. Pitt has always had an ease on screen, rarely chewing the scenery. This may be his most naturalistic performance in a career full of them. He infuses Beane's relentless passion with a sense of adventure and wry humor that one would need to try to change the way baseball works.
"Moneyball" features a fine supporting cast as well. Philip Seymour Hoffman gives a solid performance as A's manager Art Howe, a man who doesn't understand the new philosophy and fights against it daily when filling out the lineup card. Chris Pratt ("Parks and Recreation") is funny and likeable as Oakland's unlikely new first baseman, Scott Hatteberg, a guy who's never been anything but a catcher. The real standout though is a seriously toned down Jonah Hill. Funny in an entirely different way than he's ever been before, Hill gives the most complete and impressive performance of his career. The demeanor he brings to Brand belies the importance of his role as the true architect of the team.
For lifelong baseball fans such as myself "Moneyball" is a brilliant film within a brilliant film. It's a movie that acknowledges that yes, nerds like baseball too, which is after all the only way that Bill James' sabermetrics approach could come about. There's a sense of excitement in the moments of Beane's and Brand's meetings with players to get them onboard with the mindset. With a philosophy that includes, "no more stealing bases or bunting," legendary Orioles manager Earl Weaver would be proud.
It is also more realistic in terms of its baseball scenes than the vast majority of baseball movies. Granted there are only a small handful of scenes involving on-field action but you never find yourself shaking your head at an actor's terrible swing or pitching motion. It just looks and feels the way it should. Miller also does an excellent job of creating tension within these scenes even if you know the outcome.
Like any film that tells of true events it plays around with historical fact. For instance, the real Peter Brand (Paul DePodesta) actually joined the A's organization in 1999 and the principles he'd brought with him had been implemented throughout his time there. That hardly matters though. What matters is that this isn't just tagged with the qualifier of being a great baseball film. It's a great film, full stop. For the second week in a row I am deeming a movie "unmissable" ("Drive" being the other). Besides, as Beane puts it near film's end, "How can you not be romantic about baseball?" With a movie this good you have to be. 9.5/10.

Drive

2011-09-20T18:34:00.001-07:00

It's not often that a film, even a very good one, truly defies expectations. I hadn't actually seen a trailer for "Drive" but when you say it's about a professional stunt driver who moonlights as a getaway man for hire you expect lots of fast cuts, explosions, lazy quips, outrageous car chases, and a general lack of mental or emotional engagement. Now this sort of thing can be fun every now and again but that isn't "Drive." This aims to be something more. Something that surprises and engages you in ways you hadn't expected. Does it succeed? Most definitely.
The stunt driver in question (Ryan Gosling) is a soft spoken young man blessed with lightning fast reflexes, intelligence, and an ability to keep cool under pressure that seems to suggest there's no trace of daredevil in him, despite his occupation. The closest thing he has to a friend is his boss Shannon (Bryan Cranston) and until a chance encounter at the grocery store he barely knows the young woman living across the hall in his apartment. The young woman in question is Irene (Carey Mulligan), a loving mother to Benicio (newcomer Kaden Leos). The young man becomes quickly attached to Irene and Benicio but a complication stands in the way.
Meanwhile, Shannon and his old friend Bernie (Albert Brooks) plan to start a racing team and they have only one man in mind to be the driver. The young man is willing but racetrack glory is insignificant to him. Only one thing in his life truly matters.
Based on a novel by James Sallis, "Drive" was written by Hossein Amini and directed by Nicolas Wending Refn. Perhaps it's because it was a book first, or maybe it's the combination of an Iranian screenwriter and a Danish director, but "Drive" is anything but a conventional Hollywood thriller. There's a streamlined precision to this movie that is perfectly in tune with its unnamed protagonist. We learn only what is absolutely necessary to know about each character. We never hear about the driver's childhood or just why he so rarely speaks or shows so little emotion. If he has daddy issues he's keeping them to himself. Those things don't matter. What's important to him is the job he has to do in that moment and now, how he can make the lives of Irene and Benicio better. That is his focus and that is what makes him so good at what he does.
Gosling's performance is superb. This isn't Steve McQueen-style detachment. There's a lot going on under the surface with this character, both emotionally and mentally. A lesser actor could have derailed this movie but Gosling keeps showing he's one of the best young performers of our time. Like the movie itself Gosling keeps us guessing. If he wants the position he could be the next thinking man's action star, a la Matt Damon.
The supporting cast (which also features Ron Perlman and "Mad Men's" Christina Hendricks) is terrific as well, particularly Brooks. Primarily known as the writer-director-actor of brilliantly sharp comedies such as "Real Life" and "Lost in America" (or the voice of Marlin in "Finding Nemo") he's the oddly perfect choice for his role. To say anything more than that would be to give too much away.
Amini and Refn's film is not one that can be easily categorized nor is it conventional in any sense. This is a movie that wants to set up expectations and make us think that we know what a character will do or say from moment to moment. It then likes to show us how wrong we were. "Drive" also doesn't really feel like a movie specifically from our own or any other era. In terms of character and storytelling it feels reminiscent of the '70s, while visually (and musically) it feels like the '80s.
Throughout its 100 minute running time "Drive" is an endlessly exciting film. Not because it's "an adrenaline-fuelled thrill ride"- honestly, how many times have we seen those words in a review?- but because it's not. It's the anticipation of danger and the uncertainty of what we will see next. Even the questionable choices the filmmakers make (and there are a few) aren't necessarily wrong and even if they are wrong they're just as fascinating as anything else in the film. They make us think and stir an emotional reaction. Actually the only scene in "Drive" that I didn't feel this way about is the rather conventional car chase that takes place about halfway through the film. In and of itself it's well done, but within the context of the overall movie it somehow seems out of place.
For some, "Drive" will be too weird. For others it won't be the action-packed car movie they were hoping for. And as much as I love it I can understand those arguments against it. This is a film for people who are excited by imaginative filmmaking, impeccable storytelling, and fascinating characters. If that's you then "Drive" is unmissable. 9.5/10.

Captain America: The First Avenger

2011-08-15T17:54:00.001-07:00

I've gone to four movies in the past week and a half and reviews of "Crazy, Stupid, Love," "30 Minutes or Less," and "The Help" will be coming soon.
"Captain America: The First Avenger" - The year is 1942. Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) is patriotic, brave, and willing to stand up for what he believes in. However no matter how tall me may stand up the rest of the world still towers over him. He's been labeled 4F every time he's attempted to enlist in the military, much to his chagrin. Still, he's determined to do his part in Europe. "Don't win the war before I get there," he tells his best friend, Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan, "Gossip Girl").
After yet another rejection by the army, Steve is approached by Dr. Abraham Erskine (Stanley Tucci), who sees potential in him that no one else can see. Erskine has been working on an experiment to create a "super-soldier," with the cooperation of U.S. Army Colonel Chester Phillips (Tommy Lee Jones) and British officer Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell, "The Duchess"). Phillips and Peggy take some convincing but when Steve is finally chosen to undergo Dr. Erskine's procedure it seems the young patriot will finally get his chance to stand up for his country. Instantly though he becomes the target of nazi officer Johann Schmidt (Hugo Weaving, "The Matrix"), who is all too familiar with Dr. Erskine's experiments.
Directed by Joe Johnston, "Captain America" gets off to a fantastic start. The characters and universe are well established and the 1940s setting is perfect not only for this film, but really for comic book films in general, for obvious reasons. It's not surprising that Johnston very ably brings vibrance and fun to the period detail, given he'd also helmed "The Rocketeer."
After the first act the film goes from being terrific to pretty good. Johnston keeps things moving along at a good clip and Evans is very likeable and relateable as a man who is trying to put his newfound power to use while not letting it change him in negative ways as well. So much of it is typical of the "origin story" but it's entertaining and the work of Johnston, Evans, and writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely keeps us involved.
"Captain America" suffers from problems that most likely stem from studio meddling. I saw the film in 2D but it was obvious which moments were created specifically for the 3D conversion in post-production. All of the worst offenders are here. People falling in slow motion while something explodes behind them, objects being thrown at the screen, etc. There's no reason in the world this movie needs to be seen in 3D. The other problem is actually even more infuriating. The need to "set up" next summer's "The Avengers" at the expense of this film is quite clear and maddening. I'd be surprised if "Thor" (which I have not yet seen) didn't have the same issue.
Overall, "Captain America" is worthwhile and quite a bit of fun. Still, I wish that Markus, McFeely, and Johnston had been able to give us the movie they'd really wanted to present us with, without the tacked on 3D nonsense or "Avengers" table setting. This could have been better than "Spider-Man." 7.5/10.

"Winnie the Pooh," "Cowboys & Aliens," and "Horrible Bosses"

2011-07-31T17:58:00.000-07:00

I've gone to three movies in the past week that couldn't really be more different. We've got some ground to cover so let's get started.

"Winnie the Pooh" - For the past decade or so there has been a concerted effort by animated filmmakers to appeal more and more to adults. Whether it's the themes, characters, or sense of humor, animated movies seem to be made to work on multiple levels for vastly different audiences. What makes Disney's "Winnie the Pooh" unique is just how kiddie it really is. There's nothing in it that a five year old won't understand. And really that's exactly how it should be. This doesn't mean however that adults will not enjoy it. If at any time in your life you have loved A.A. Milne's tales of, "a bear of very little brain," then this movie will put a smile on your face.
The plot is simple really. Eeyore's tale is missing and the rest of Christopher Robin's little friends seek a suitable replacement for it. However when Owl (voiced by Craig Ferguson), the most educated creature in the Hundred Acre Woods, comes to believe that Christopher Robin has been kidnapped by a dangerous "bakson," the gang must pull together to get him back.
Light as can be and like Milne's original stories, "Winnie the Pooh" is clever without going over a child's head. It's fun and at barely more than an hour in length, it keeps five year old attention spans (and bladders) in mind. Something else that sets "Pooh" apart is that Ferguson aside, there are no big names voicing major characters. We're not suddently hearing the voice of John Goodman coming out of Pooh's mouth. Instead, it's just a very talented collection of voice actors. Jim Cummings has voiced Pooh for decades now and it's still amazing how eerily similar he sounds to the original Pooh, Sterling Holloway.
This is a terrific little movie that is unfortunately being overlooked. 7.5/10.

"Cowboys & Aliens" - Since the first trailer for this was released last autumn this was very near the top of my most anticipated movies list. Daniel Craig in the old west, Harrison Ford actually looking like he was enjoying himself for the first time in a long time, and Jon Favreau ("Iron Man") directing a sci-fi western. Yes, please! I was very excited. So did it live up to my hopes?
Jake Lonergan (Craig) doesn't know he's Jake Lonergan, or what that name means when he wakes up in the desert with a strange shackle upon his wrist and an unexplained wound on his stomach. Much like Jason Bourne, Jake may not know who he is, but he knows how to kill people threatening his life without hesitation. After learning this, Jake finds himself in Absolution, a town owned by cattle man Colonel Woodrow Dolarhyde (Ford). Dolarhyde's obnoxious son Percy (Paul Dano) doesn't let anyone in town forget just who is in charge in Absolution.
Not being one to be intimidated by anyone, Jake stands up to the young hooligan, which leads to a series of events that land the both of them in jail. With the pair about to be taken elsewhere to be tried, the mysterious Ella (Olivia Wilde) hopes to enlist Jake's help with something, well, mysterious.
Before the coach can leave Absolution, something no one has ever before seen flies into town leaving a trail of destruction and kidnapping several townsfolk, including Percy, the sheriff (Keith Carradine), and the wife (Ana de la Reguera) of the town doctor (Sam Rockwell). The only weapon that the people of Absolution have to fight it is what Jake is wearing on his wrist, much to his surprise. Jake, Dolarhyde, Ella, Doc, and the rest of the remaining townspeople band together to track down the alien menace and get their loved ones back.
"Cowboys & Aliens" is a movie I really wanted to love and for a little while I did. It gets off to an excellent start and there was a lot of potential here. Favreau, the actors, and the screenplay by committee get the tone just right. This isn't a big budget extravaganza masquerading as B-movie schlock, it's a big budget extravaganza that knows that's just what it is, and it's played with a straight face, as it should be. The trouble is, that screenplay by committee, makes for a muddled story and wastes some terrific opportunities. So much more could have been done with the relationship between Dolarhyde and Percy. As it is, you really don't care whether or not the two are reunited. The emotional core of the film ends up being the subplot involving Doc's search for his wife. Rockwell proves once again that he is simply one of the finest actors alive today and his character is clearly the one the audience will care about the most.
In terms of the other performances Craig is terrific and is the main reason that tonally at least, "Cowboys & Aliens" works. Wilde does a fine job with a character who isn't developed as much as she ought to be given how important she is to the story. There's also a nice performance by Clancy Brown as Absolution's preacher. Other than Doc, he's the character you'll like the most.
The question of Harrison Ford though. Well he's engaged with the material, which he hasn't seemed to be very often the past several years, but something just feels off. I'm not sure what it is and it's not as though it's a bad performance, but like I said, something just feels off.
Ultimately the biggest problem "Cowboys & Aliens" has is that it just isn't fun enough. It somehow just doesn't manage to be the good time that you wish that it would be. The muddled story and lack of character development are the biggest culprits but I think there's another factor. One I can't quite put my finger on. You could do a lot worse than "Cowboys & Aliens," but it's writers could have done much better. 6.5/10.

"Horrible Bosses" - According to the Flaming Lips, "You hate your boss at your job...but in your dreams you can blow his head off." For three friends, Nick (Jason Bateman), Dale (Charlie Day, "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia"), and Kurt (Jason Sudeikis, "SNL"), these are words that truly resonate.
Kurt loved his previous boss, but now that his cokehead son Bobby (Colin Farrell) is in charge and demanding that Kurt, "fire all the fat people," things have decidedly changed. Dale is a dental assistant who is happily engaged to Stacy (Lindsay Sloane, "The TV Set"), but unhappily working for maneater Julia (Jennifer Aniston), whose advances are most unwelcome. Nick meanwhile has been passed over for a promotion several years in the making by the truly despicable Dave Harken (Kevin Spacey).
One night as the three best friends try to drink away their sorrows they discuss "hypothetically" killing their bosses, something Dale is uncomfortable even joking about, that is until the next morning when Julia takes things way too far. From here the three decide that their lives would all be better without their bosses in them and they're going to make that dream a reality.
Written by Michael Markowitz, Jonathan Goldstein, and John Francis Daley (who you know as an actor from "Freaks and Geeks" and "Bones"), "Horrible Bosses" is a dark comedy that emphasizes the comedy. Despite a number of trailers and commercials that show several of the film's jokes, almost all of the best ones are saved for the movie. Thanks to its script, Seth Gordon's direction, and the uniformly terrific cast, it's just ceaselessly funny.
Bateman, Day, and Sudeikis play off of each other so well you'd think the three really had been best friends for years. There's a chemistry in their scenes together that just couldn't have worked any better. What the writers and actors also do here is keep these characters likeable in spite of what they plan to carry out. If that had faltered this movie wouldn't have been able to sustain its premise.
As the horrible bosses in question, all three performers get a chance to shine. Aniston delivers a performance far better than is typical for her. Generally her blandness sucks the life out of everything around her but she's very funny here. Farrell meanwhile is obviously having a ball playing Bobby and he's every bit as much fun to watch. Spacey's character and performance are notable because of how not funny they are. Not in a flat, painfully unfunny way, but due to how genuinely risible Harken is. From the get go he is clearly the most despicable boss of the three to the point where you can't even laugh at the bile that spews from his mouth. This is a choice however that ultimately works.
There are also some wonderful cameos throughout the film that don't call unnecessary attention to themselves and Jamie Foxx is a riot as the man the gang hopes will carry out the jobs for them. I'll say nothing else about this character as everything about him is a hilarious surprise.
"Horrible Bosses" is well written, well acted, and directed with a soft touch by a man who was best known before this for making the documentary "The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters." You think it's going to run out of steam before the end but it doesn't. This is a very funny film. Don't miss it. 8.5/10.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2

2011-07-17T11:50:00.000-07:00

I didn't care about "Harry Potter." Not the books, not the movies, and I certainly didn't care for being told I looked like an 11 year old at age 19. I had dark hair and glasses. Harry Potter had dark hair and glasses. Clearly we were the same person. (Thank you unimaginative middle aged Marysvillains.) While I worked at Regal Cinemas each time another new entry was released I spent the opening weekend working without my glasses. My vision was terrible without them and my head would ache more and more throughout the day. My hatred for all things "Potter" grew. But then something happened. And by something I mean I was introduced to the first two films. And by introduced I mean Justin shoved the DVDs into my hands and said, "Watch these." So I did. And slightly to my chagrin...I actually enjoyed them. Not long after I saw the third and not only did I enjoy it, I was impressed. I was getting into this.
Each film from "Goblet of Fire" on I eagerly anticipated and a year ago I at long last read all seven novels, devouring them at a speed I normally reserve for my meals at Taco Bell. There was a sense of satisfaction as I read the final page of "Deathly Hallows," but sadness as well. There was no more "Potter" to read. And with the film "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2" there will be no more to see either. From the opening shot this movie tells us quietly, yet in no uncertain terms, "Yes everyone, this is it."
Having helmed each film since "Order of the Phoenix," David Yates brings a supreme sense of confidence to this final entry. He knows these characters and this world and is therefore unafraid to make this the movie it needs to be, which is one that is far different from any of the previous films, even "DH, Part 1." This is the final step for Harry, Ron, Hermione, Neville, and the rest of the students of Hogwarts into adulthood, not by graduating but by going to war.
For those who haven't read the book or need a refresher, this film opens with Harry, Ron, and Hermione needing to break into the wizard bank, Gringotts, to find another Horcrux containing a piece of Voldemort's soul. Once they obtain it Voldemort knows where they are and what they are doing. Returning to Hogwarts to defeat the Dark Lord and his forces can be put off no longer. The time has come.
At 2 hours and 10 minutes this is the shortest "Potter" movie and I can't help but wonder why certain things were not given more room to develop and breathe. The only thing I can say against this film is that at a few turns it assumes that the entire audience has read the book and can fill in some rather important blanks. While none of the omissions are enough to make the movie become nonsensical they will clearly be jarring to those who know "Potter" through the movies only. There are two scenes in particular that I really wish had been allowed to unveil more slowly though I of course will not spoil them here.
These imperfections aside, Yates and writer Steve Kloves do right by the franchise, as has been done all along. This is a deeply satisfying conclusion as a film and as an adaptation of the final book. Not only do the writer and director give Harry and company a fitting send off, the cast does as well. After all of these films I still marvel at the brilliance of Alan Rickman, Maggie Smith, and Ralph Fiennes in roles that fit them like gloves. They have been superb from day one but they all seem to bring something a little more extra special to this one. I particularly love the way that Fiennes has brought more personality out of Voldemort than we got from the novels. The man that was Tom Riddle is still there.
Just like the characters they have played we have seen Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson grow up before our eyes. We've seen them grow and develop as actors and I'm eager to see where they go from here. Criticisms are often levelled upon them as actors (save Grint whom everyone rightly seems to love) but they have been the three most important pieces of a decade long film series that will be adored for generations to come. It can't have been easy but all three clearly poured their young hearts and souls into it the whole way along. It doesn't matter that Emma Watson won't become the next Meryl Streep. She needed to be Hermione Granger and she was. As for Radcliffe I expect his future will be bright. This is a talented guy and people are going to realize it.
It's difficult to write more without giving away details I'd rather allow you to discover and enjoy for yourselves. I'll just say this. Whether you have been with Harry since the beginning in the summer of 1997 or his beginning as a film character in the fall of 2001 (or some time in 2004 when you begrudgingly borrowed a couple of DVDs from your friend) you will feel the appropriate mixture of satisfaction and sadness as his world fades to black for the very last time. I'd say hardcore and casual fans alike have thoroughly enjoyed the ride.
Oh, by the way. I wore my glasses as I walked through the lobby Friday night and had my ticket torn. No one said a word. The beard probably helps. 9/10.

Cars 2

2011-07-05T19:53:00.000-07:00

For the past decade and a half the word Pixar has been associated with a spotless track record. Not spotless in the sense that its 11 films were all masterpieces but all of them were in that range between excellent and very good with a few flaws. The closest thing to an exception to this was 2006's "Cars," which while overlong and nowhere near the realm of "The Incredibles" or "Monsters, Inc.," was still a pretty good movie that had plenty of heart.
However, I wasn't alone in my concern when I first saw the trailer for "Cars 2." Not only is it the sequel to the studio's weakest offering to date, its spy storyline didn't seem to fit with the spirit of the original. The question on so many minds was, "Has Pixar made its first bad movie?" The answer is no. Not quite. They have however made their first mediocre one. Their first film that I can unequivocally say is not good.
This isn't to say that it doesn't have some good elements because it does. In truth there was potential here for it to be far superior to its predecesor but the movie's attention is on the wrong plot. Ultimately we have a film for which expectations were low and yet somehow managed to be disappointing. So now to try to understand where things went wrong.
Picking up a few years after the events of the first movie, racing star Lightning McQueen (Owen Wilson) is coming off a string of championships in races around the world but still living in Radiator Springs, home of his girlfriend Sally (Bonnie Hunt) and best friend Mater (Larry the Cable Guy). Exhausted from racing and globe trotting Lightning just wants to give himself and his crew some time off but when Italian race car Franceso Bernoulli (John Turturro) throws down a gauntlet on live television Mater accepts the challenge on Lightning's behalf.
A series of races in Japan, France, and England will be held to determine who is the fastest race car in the world. Wanting to give Mater a chance to see the world Lightning brings him along as part of his team. Not only does Mater embarrass Lightning within moments of their arrival he ends up (for reasons far too complicated to explain here) accidentally becoming an international spy, working with British Intelligence cars Finn McMissile (Michael Caine) and Holly Shiftwell (Emily Mortimer).
As suspected, this spy story doesn't fit the amiable world of "Cars" and thus the film's violence is actually quite shocking. I'm not one who has a problem with movie violence as a rule but it doesn't belong here. Characters are killed on screen quite disturbingly and at one point an order to, "Kill Lightning McQueen" is issued. Even just using Pixar's own canon as an example of how to do this sort of thing the right way look at "The Incredibles." Yes there were characters who we died but we never met them, save for the ones who made the mistake of wearing capes. That wasn't disturbing. It was just funny. Not only is it not funny here it's unnecessary and just downright baffling.
The other baffling decision made by director John Lasseter is to make Mater this movie's star. He's the best friend who works best in small doses, not top banana. But he is indisputably the lead character in "Cars 2." Most of the movie you end up wishing the focus would go back to the subplot involving Lightning's series of races. These are the moments in which the film has some pep and humor and if this story had been allowed to develop and given room to breathe this movie would have actually been a heck of a lot of fun. There is also worthwhile message for kids about friendship that doesn't come off heavy handed or condescending.
What is heavy handed and condescending is the film's political message involving a mysterious villain who controls "big oil." Again, one only needs look at another Pixar film, "Wall-E," to see an environmental message that doesn't beat you over the head with a baseball bat. As presented here, children will not grasp it, and there isn't a trace of subtlety to appeal to adults. What's actually truly offensive about it is how deritative the idea of the big evil corporation is. If you're going to tell a story about an evil corporation or government then have something new to say. Lasseter doesn't.
All in all, "Cars 2" has just enough moments of humor and heart to prevent it from being a truly bad movie. But it falls far short of being a good one. Don't cry doom and gloom that this is the end of Pixar's run. One subpar film out of twelve is nothing to be ashamed of. Besides, the best learn from their failures. I suspect that will be the case here. 5/10.

Super 8

2011-06-12T20:24:00.000-07:00

For me the ages of 12 to 13 were, to be quite honest, horrible. Kids aren't really any more mature or blessed with any more tact than they had before but the insults are crueler. Bad days seem worse. Suddenly it matters what girls think of you. Basically... it stinks. Why then would anyone feel nostalgic about it, let alone nostalgic enough to make a movie about it? That's the question that lingered for me going in to "Super 8," a movie I was otherwise very much looking forward to. Having watched it I can now understand why.
A few months before the end of the school year, middle schooler Joe Lamb (newcomer Joel Courtney) lost his mother in a tragic accident. As the summer of 1979 begins Joe and his father, Deputy Jackson Lamb (Kyle Chandler, "Friday Night Lights") are understandably struggling. Jackson believes that getting out of their little town of Lillian, Ohio for a while might be just what they both need. But Joe is determined to help his best friend Charles (Riley Griffiths, another newcomer) finish his zombie movie. The rest of their friends, Preston (Zach Mills, "Mr. Magorium"), pyromaniac Cary (Ryan Lee), and slow witted Martin (Gabriel Basso, "The Big C") round out the cast and crew. That is until Charles decides to add an emotional element to his script in the form of a girl, Alice Dainard (Elle Fanning).
As they film the movie's key scene on the town's railroad platform, a passing locomotive (which Charles feels will make for terrific "production value") collides with a pickup truck, causing a mammoth disaster that sends the kids running for their lives. A warning from a survivor of the crash convinces them to scatter just as the United States Air Force arrives on the scene. Joe and his friends know that something disturbing is afoot and soon the town of Lillian comes to realize it too.
Written and directed by J.J. Abrams, "Super 8" is a loving ode to its own producer Steven Spielberg, without coming off as fanboy worship (mostly). It works so well because the nostalgia feels genuine. It managed to do what I didn't believe possible. It made the thought of being twelve years old not sound so terrible. The film got me thinking about my own childhood, my own geekdom, and it sort of made me wish that I'd met my best friend a few years earlier. I think our twelve year old selves would have had a blast together. Abrams keeps the focus on the emotion and the characters, getting the most from his young performers, two of whom were completely inexperienced. Honestly, you'd never know that Joel Courtney had never acted on screen before and he's the film's lead. Fanning meanwhile displays a true talent that is astounding, considering she's merely thirteen years old.
The visual effects were far better than most in our CGI age. For the most part they don't particularly look like visual effects which is exactly as it should be. It fits well with the overall style of the picture. Abrams' movie is about the love of filmmaking and about trying to make things seem as real as possible. It's a movie that will bring out your inner twelve year old. You'll laugh, be entertained, be moved, and ultimately be amazed by the sense of magic that "Super 8" posseses.
Yes, it does have some flaws. A few moments take their Spielbergian inspiration a bit too far and the ending seems to take a bit too long. But even the flaws somehow seem to belong there. This is after all the story of kids making a Super 8 horror film. And as the film faded to black I found myself doing something I almost never do. I was wishing that it wasn't done yet. In truth it wasn't. Don't leave when the credits start.
"Super 8" is a flawed but wonderful film that does everything you want from a summer blockbuster that you rarely actually get. 9/10.

X-Men: First Class

2011-06-07T19:59:00.000-07:00

It's hard to believe that it's been 11 years since Bryan Singer's "X-Men" hit theaters and quite honestly surprised me. It was a far better movie than I had expected. It wasn't because I was a die hard comic book snob, nor was it due to me believing that superhero movies were beneath me. It was simply because I hadn't expected much from it. In 2003, Singer's own follow up "X2" was actually in many respects a step up from the original despite shamelessly lifting the entire ending of "The Wrath of Khan." Then during pre-production of the third entry Singer jumped ship to direct "Superman Returns," thus leaving Brett Ratner to finish the job. The less said about the result the better.
After the lackluster third entry Fox decided to rejuvenate the franchise by giving us the origin story of Wolverine in the aptly named, "X-Men Origins: Wolverine," which admittedly I never saw. So as someone who had never read an "X-Men" comic and had enjoyed but not fallen in love with two out of four movies in the film series, I awaited "X-Men: First Class" with the sort of fervor that can best be described as, "Yeah... I've got nothing else going on and it starts in an hour. Why not?"
It's 1962 and Erik Lehnsherr (Michael Fassbender, "Inglourious Basterds") is a young man, but despite his youth he has more than his share of horrific memories. His ability to move metallic objects with his mind could not save his parents or anyone but himself from being killed in the Holocaust. Erik has revenge on the brain and his number one target is his chief tormentor from the death camp, Sebastian Shaw (a surprisingly evil Kevin Bacon). Shaw, now a highly successful playboy with connections to seats of power, is seeking to turn Cold War tensions to his advantage.
Meanwhile, a young and dashing professor by the name of Charles Xavier (James McAvoy) is putting his ability to read minds to good use by drunkenly hitting on coeds. Like his adopted sister Raven (Jennifer Lawrence, "Winter's Bone"), Charles is a mutant, but he displays no shocking physical characteristics. Raven, naturally being blue, has a decidedly more difficult time with her own mutation.
With U.S.-Soviet problems escalating the United States government is seeking any advantage it can get. Young field agent Moira MacTaggert (Rose Byrne, "Bridesmaids") has taken an interest in Xavier's theories and with the hesitant backing of the CIA, Charles sets about finding other mutants and training them to fight. It is also his hope that they will find acceptance in human society. When he comes upon Erik a friendship is forged that unbeknownst to them will change the world forever.
Anyone who knows these characters and the story of what is to come also knows about where things will stand at the end of this film. Knowing that they do not have surprise on their side, the four screen writers and director Matthew Vaughn ("Kick-Ass") still manage to give us a mostly satisfying look at how it all began. At 2 hours and 12 minutes it's a bit longer than it needs to be and occassionally character motivations are muddled but for the most part it's good fun with an interesting enough story and some good performances.
McAvoy wisely doesn't attempt to be the young Patrick Stewart. He's a great actor and has the confidence to play Charles Xavier his way, delivering a fine performance. Lawrence is absolutely terrific, the character of Raven/Mystique given far greater depth than it had even been allowed before. It's just a shame that this character also suffers from the muddled motivation issue, though that can hardly be blamed on Lawrence. There's nice work here too from Byrne, Bacon, and Nicholas Hoult ("About a Boy," "Wah-Wah") but the runaway star of the show is Fassbender. Like McAvoy, he makes his character his own. You won't see traces of Ian McKellen there but when you're as good as Fassbender you can just be yourself. Erik is a character walking the tight rope between right and wrong and every decision he makes, even if it's the wrong one, is understandable. He's the most well-written and performed character in the film and the main reason I look forward to this prequel's inevitable sequel.
There should certainly be better movies this summer but there will most definitely be worse ones. "X-Men: First Class" is a perfectly good way to spend a summer evening. 7.5/10.

Hanna

2011-04-26T18:33:00.000-07:00

Fairy tale is a term generally associated with princesses for whom endings are always happy. But anyone who's actually read one knows that they are often dark, disturbing, and meant to impart lessons to children in a terrifying way. Hanna (Saorsie Ronan, "Atonement") is a teenage girl with a love of such stories but also an understanding of what they're all about. However, she knows nothing of the world outside of the cabin she lives in with her father Erik (Eric Bana), deep within the woods of Finland.
Erik has brought his daughter up to learn not only to be strong but to kill. He insists that she will need to if she is to go out into the world she so desperately desires to explore. C.I.A. agent Marissa Wiegler (Cate Blanchett) is waiting for Hanna or Erik to pop back up and she will stop at nothing to find them.
The screenplay by David Farr and Seth Lochhead very slowly and cleverly reveals information to us about the characters, their pasts, and their motivations and I'd hate to ruin that for you here. I will say that Hanna is a unique and fascinating character. It's not easy to present a teenage girl who can kill without hesitation as an innocent but it's pulled off nicely here, thanks to the script and Ronan's performance. This depth is what makes "Hanna" so interesting. After all this movie is not meant to be believable. It's an all out action movie with a pulsing score (nice work from the Chemical Brothers) but no one is going to call "Hanna" a movie you "just turn your brain off for." There's real emotion and from moment to moment we know that something very big is at stake.
Directed by Joe Wright ("Pride and Prejudice," "Atonement"), "Hanna" is an entertaining movie with a terrific lead performance from Ronan and a sinister one from Blanchett. The road it takes is often surprising and it's well worth checking out. 7.5/10.

The Conspirator

2011-04-25T20:19:00.001-07:00

This month marks the 150th anniversary of the beginning of the Civil War. It's a war that I have been fascinated with since I was a boy and actually visited several battlefields as well as the location of what you really could call the final shot of the Civil War: Ford's Theater.
Every American knows (or at least I hope to God they do) that Abraham Lincoln was assassinated by actor and Confederate zealot John Wilkes Booth. What is not as well known however is the story of the conspiracy hatched by Booth and several cohorts to not just kill the president, but to murder a number of other important government officials and essentially bring the Union to its knees just days after Appomattox.
The new film from director Robert Redford opens with the assassination and deals with the conspiracy but mainly focuses on the defense of Mary Surratt (Princess Butterc... er, Robin Wright). Surratt was a southern sympathizer yet lived in Washington, D.C., where she ran a boarding house. It was in this house that Booth (Toby Kebbell, "Control"), Lewis Payne (Norman Reedus, "The Walking Dead"), Surratt's own son John (Johnny Simmons), and others conspired to kidnap Lincoln during the final days of the war. Eventually the plan to kidnap became a plan to kill and while Lincoln was of course assassinated, the overarching plot was not a success.With Booth dead and John Surratt missing, the American people crave a person to direct their anger towards and swift justice. Secretary of War Edwin Stanton (Kevin Kline) is determined to give it to them by trying Mary Surratt not by a jury of her peers but by military tribunal. Reluctantly, Union officer and inexperienced defense attorney Frederick Aiken (James McAvoy) takes Surratt's case.
"The Conspirator" is an interesting film because the story it's telling is fascinating but the movie itself somehow isn't. Mind you there's nothing wrong with it. The acting is fine, the script is perfectly acceptable, and there's a great story there that has somehow fallen by the cinematic wayside until now. But there's nothing remarkable about it either. None of the performances truly stand out and the script doesn't crackle with the proper electricity. But I guess the reason it didn't really captivate me in the end was that it only seems to tap the surface of a story that clearly has so much more to it. It would have made an incredible mini-series, giving the story room to breathe. We could have learned more about Surrat, Payne, and possible conspirator Stanton. But as a 2 hour film that sticks mainly to the courtroom it ends up dealing mainly with Aiken's uphill climb against a judge and jury who've already made up their minds and really examines little else.
This needed more punch and more time. This belonged on HBO as a three or even four night event. There's a fantastic story here and that's why the film falls short. 6/10

Source Code

2011-04-19T19:51:00.000-07:00

With 2009's "Moon," first time director Duncan Jones established himself as a talented filmmaker who just happens to be the son of David Bowie. Now he's back with a film that is decidedly more mainstream but no less interesting.
Awaking on a train in the Chicago area, Colter Stevens (Jake Gyllenhaal) has no idea how he got there, where he is going, or who the woman (Michelle Monaghan, "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang") sitting across from him is. It's obvious she knows him though, but how exactly? And just who is that looking back at him in the mirror? Eight minutes of confusion ends with a literal bang when the train Colter is riding explodes. He should have been killed but the next thing he knows the U.S. Army captain finds himself inside a simulator capsule being asked by a woman named Goodwin (Vera Farmiga, "Up in the Air") what he'd learned about the bomb. Before he can understand what's happening Colter is going back to the beginning and waking up on the train all over again in an attempt to discover who bombed it and what the next target might be.
Like another recent sci-fi thriller, "The Adjustment Bureau," "Source Code" is an example of science fiction that doesn't really feel like science fiction. And much like "Bureau" it's a movie that doesn't waste time. Each time Colter goes back to the train he learns a little bit more not only about the bomb, but about himself, the man whose body he is inhabiting, and the other passengers. The script by Ben Ripley is smart in that we learn things only when Colter learns them. It also has enough emotional content to make us care and enough genuinely funny humor to relieve the tension when necessary.
Gyllenhaal does a fine job as Stevens, a man we grow to like more and more as the film progresses. He makes mistakes and makes some questionable decisions but they're completely understandable and I for one probably would have made those same choices. Monaghan makes the most of a fairly thin character, reminding us how good an actress she really is. There's a star waiting to break out there and I really hope she gets her day in the sun, preferably in a comedic lead. Farmiga makes Goodwin very sympathetic. She wants to help Colter in any way possible but protocol and the boss over her shoulder dictate that she can only do so much. The only disappointing performance belongs to the normally terrific Jeffrey Wright. As Goodwin's superior and a man who cares little for Colter, Wright appears to be out of a B-movie or worse, something made for Syfy. I don't think you can really blame the script for this because I don't think the dialogue he delivers or the actual character have anything particularly wrong with them. Wright just seems to have missed the mark.
It's not going to become a classic, but "Source Code" is a solidly entertaining and intelligent piece of storytelling that I'm willing to bet will be satisfying on a completely different level upon a second viewing. This is a good one. 8/10.

Hobo with a Shotgun

2011-04-18T20:52:00.000-07:00

Hobo with a Shotgun - Sometimes a movie's title is so powerful and unique that it needs little else to sell it. For a certain kind of movie fan (and I am a certain kind of movie fan) "Hobo with a Shotgun" is really all I needed to know to get me excited for well, "Hobo with a Shotgun." The ludicrously over the top trailer and the fact that Roy Batty himself, Rutger Hauer, would be playing said hobo, only sweetened the deal. As I settled in last Friday afternoon, still sick and downing Robitussin like it was water I excitedly selected it from my On Demand menu. I don't know when this gun-toting tramp is going to show up at a theater near me so I intived him into my home. Was he a welcome guest?
Directed and co-written by Jason Eisener, "Hobo with a Shotgun" features a beheading by way of man hole cover less than ten minutes in. The victim is the younger brother of "The Drake" (Brian Downey), the man who owns Hope City by instilling fear into the hearts of every citizen and keeping the police force firmly in his pocket. The act is carried out by Drake's sons, Slick (Gregory Smith) and Ivan (Nick Bateman). It's vile and gratuitous and it's meant to be, though it's hardly the most shocking or graphic moment in the film's 86 minutes. Once Hobo (that's even how his name appears in the end credits) starts to take crime and the Drake head on it becomes one of the most gleefully disgusting movies anyone could possibly conceive of. It even crosses some lines that I've never seen another movie cross before.
It's clear early on that Eisener's trying to create a stew, a hobo stew if you like, of "The Warriors," "Repo Man," "Six-String Samurai," "Black Dynamite," and the early no budget films of Peter Jackson. And if this movie had actually worked the results would have been fantastic. The problem is though that "Hobo with a Shotgun" always feels too impressed with itself. It comes across like some guy who gets a tattoo and shows it off to everyone while proclaiming how much of a badass he is. The thing is if he has to make a point of telling everyone he's a badass...then he isn't.
That said, it's not a total waste either. There are times when "Hobo" is what we actually want it to be, such as the moment where our hero first decides he must take action. And Hobo's desire to turn town prostitute Abby (Molly Dunsworth) away from her current profession and into a life as a teacher is sweet and funny. When Eisener isn't smirking at his own cleverness he's really quite good.
For his part Hauer is absolutely fantastic. If only the script and direction had more wit. Hobo would be mentioned forever in the same breath with the "Evil Dead" trilogy's Ash and he actually could have been much more interesting. There is an interesting character there and Hauer did as much as he possibly could to bring him out but Eisener couldn't get out of his own way and like everything else in this movie, chacter development got buried under a river of blood.
It's not that I have a problem with playing gore for laughs. I don't and no one wanted to love "Hobo with a Shotgun" more than I did. But gore and a foul-mouthed quip in and of themselves aren't automatically funny. In the end it's the idea of "Hobo with a Shotgun" that's so funny and if I were ten years younger that might have been enough. But it's the execution that isn't up to par. So really I guess I had two guests into my home. Hauer can stay, but Eisener? I'm throwing the bum out until he learns a little humility. 5/10.

Paul

2011-03-23T17:25:00.000-07:00

As any regular reader of my reviews knows I am a massive fan of Simon Pegg and Nick Frost. “Spaced” is one of the most wonderful and surreal TV shows ever conceived and “Shaun of the Dead” is a modern classic. Their crowning achievement however is the 2007 action-comedy spectacular (and Bob Award winner for Best Picture) “Hot Fuzz.” It was an endlessly funny satire of genre conventions that worked as the very thing it was satirizing. Meanwhile Pegg and Frost further established themselves as one of the great comedy duos not just now but ever. This is why it pains me so much to say that their newest film, “Paul,” just doesn’t quite connect.
This isn’t to say that it’s a bad film because it’s not and there are several very good things about it. But those elements don’t come together to make an overall good movie. Before examining what went right and what went wrong let’s take a quick overview of the story.
Clive (Frost) and Graeme (Pegg) have been best friends since childhood and besides sharing a life-long love of science fiction they have always wanted to travel to America to take a road trip together. Using Comic-Con in San Diego as their starting point the two Brits are at last fulfilling their fantasy of visiting all of the southwestern UFO landmarks in an RV. Imagining how he might react upon meeting an extraterrestrial, Clive suggests he’d be cool as a cucumber. Little does he know that theory is going to be put to the test in a matter of moments. Paul (voiced by Seth Rogen) is a little green man on the run with G-man Zoil (Jason Bateman) hot on his tail when he happens to cross paths with these two guys who want to believe. As it turns out though Clive’s reaction isn’t exactly what he’d expected.
Written by Pegg and Frost and directed by Greg Mottola (“Superbad” and “Adventureland,” two films I’m also an enormous fan of), “Paul” starts off surprisingly slow and while it picks up it falls short in ways I wouldn’t have expected given the talent involved. For one it’s never quite funny enough. Moments that you just know are going to be brilliantly funny manage to illicit little more than a smile, if they even get that. Many interesting ideas about the characters are introduced but not quite as well explored as they ought to be. This is probably more to do with the film’s edit than the script which probably developed these elements fully.
As expected “Paul” is chock full of movie, TV, and comic book references, but unlike in “Spaced,” “Shaun,” or “Fuzz,” they feel shoehorned in rather than being a part of the movie’s fabric. In those the references were jokes within jokes and if you didn’t catch them it didn’t really matter. They were movie geek icing. Something to give you a laugh with your laugh. I’m not sure but if I had to guess I’d say the problem is that this time Pegg and Frost are missing Edgar Wright’s touch. Maybe Mottola just doesn’t quite have the knack for making references dance into the film the way Wright has.
Another problem is Kristen Wiig’s character, a repressed woman who the boys meet and are sort of forced to kidnap along the way. She begins to let go of her inhibitions, mainly by swearing a lot. The problem isn’t the swearing or even the idea that she’s coming up with some rather odd combinations. It’s actually quite funny. At first. But it goes through the whole film and becomes a tired gag rather quickly. I don’t normally say this but I really did feel like much of the profanity in “Paul” was just there for the sake of it. It’s another thing that I found quite surprising given that Pegg, Frost, and Mottola have a history of making swearing feel natural and logical in their previous efforts.
As for what I liked, it was nice to see Frost playing an intelligent guy for once and he does it every bit as well as he played the doofus in “Shaun” and “Fuzz.” His interplay with Pegg is as strong as ever and Pegg handles the awkward romance between his character and Wiig’s nicely. Paul is also a terrific character, wonderfully brought to life through Rogen’s voice work and the visual effects team. Paul still looked like a special effect but I completely bought into him and never felt as though I was watching anyone talking to a tennis ball on a stick.
Mottola is not really known for directing action sequences (unless you count the “fastest kid alive” scene from “Superbad”) and he handles those moments well while also giving us some pretty impressive explosions. It makes me wonder though if all of his attention to that caused him to lose his grip on the comedy or the characters, things he handled impeccably in “Superbad” and “Adventureland.”
It really is a terrible shame that “Paul” doesn’t quite gel because there was so much potential here. And while some of it does work too much of it almost does. In fact if you asked me to describe “Paul” in one word that would be it. Almost.
I look forward to what Pegg, Frost, Mottola, and the rest offer us next. I have a feeling that they won’t miss again. 6.5/10

The Adjustment Bureau

2011-03-14T22:10:00.000-07:00

It's already mid-March but I just finally got to my first 2011 release. True, I have been a bit busy what with moving house and all, but I think the main reason it took this long is because so little that's come out lately has appealed to me even a little bit. So I apologize in advance if I'm a little rusty but here we go.
The stories of Philip K. Dick have been adapted into films such as "Blade Runner," "Total Recall," and "Minority Report." Films that scream science fiction in every frame. What makes "The Adjustment Bureau" unique is how the world its characters inhabit is recognizable as our own. At least that how it seems on the surface. Certainly nothing seems amiss to New York congressman David Norris (Maaaatt Daaaamon). Very likeable but with a tendency to get himself into trouble, Norris is soundly beaten in his run for senate. Feeling down, out, and unsure of his future, David unexpectedly meets Elise (Emily Blunt), a ballet dancer from Britain. The two instantly connect and David's future becomes brighter just as quickly. Despite not getting a number or even a last name, David is determined to meet Elise again but a whole group of men are just as determined to keep that from happening.
Written and directed by George Nolfi, "The Adjustment Bureau" is terrifically entertaining and just manages to work at virtually every turn. Nolfi witholds information from us just long enough to keep us fully engaged and reveals enough to us at the right moment to keep us from ever feeling confused. This is true not only in terms of plot but in terms of the characters. David and Elise are both as developed as they need to be. We understand who they are, what their motivations are, and why they are drawn to one another. We're not given unnecessary backstory that slows the movie's momentum. Nolfi takes the same approach with the members of the mysterious bureau. Anthony Mackie ("The Hurt Locker"), John Slattery (Roger Sterling!), and Terence Stamp all give great performances as characters whose motivations make sense and just like David and Elise, are as developed as is necessary to the story. Nolfi continually allows us to ask questions and though we don't get answers to every one we may have, the film is fully satisfying because he answers the ones that truly matter.
As far as the lead performances go, Damon doesn't simply re-hash Jason Bourne although at times it seems he's doing just as much running. Seriously, he's become like late '80s Mel Gibson. Directors just like to shoot the man running. This is not a man with brute strength or government training. He is simply a man who will stop at nothing to be with the woman he loves. Blunt meanwhile is her usual outstanding self. Elise is a character who could have either ended up being a drab blank slate or a "manic pixie dream girl," who only seems to exist to give the main character motivation. While Elise does provide that motivation in a huge way, she still has her own life, dreams, and personality.
It may not achieve the classic status of "Blade Runner," but "The Adjustment Bureau" is very smart and constantly fun to watch. You can't ask for more than that in the middle of March. 8.5/10.

The Bob Awards

2011-02-21T07:46:00.000-08:00

Now you shall find out who will be mailed Red Robin gift certificates. You lucky, lucky people.

Art Direction and Visual Effects: Inception - I've never tied two categories together like this before but it seems appropriate here. Both teams made this story set in "the architecture of the mind" come to breathtaking, mind-blowing life. Also, extra points always go to visual effects that don't look like an XBox game.

Cinematography: TRON: Legacy - With so many movies using 3D as a gimmick, created as an afterthought in post-production, Claudio Miranda demonstrates the proper use of the format to bring us into the world of the Grid.

Costume Design: TRON: Legacy - Michael Wilkinson's imaginative work went a long way toward establishing not only the look but the spirit of this sequel to a movie that came out the year I was born.

Film Editing: Blue Valentine - Non-linear storytelling has rarely felt this seamless. Jim Helton and Ron Patane have a light touch that allows the shifts in timeline to feel surprising without being jarring. Had the editing called greater attention to itself this story of a disintegrating marriage would not have been as powerful.

Makeup: True Grit - Evocative yet understated, the makeup work immerses us into the world of rugged individualists surviving day to day in the old west and a Coen Brothers movie, neither of which is an easy task.

Original Score: The Social Network - Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross give us a score that is not only perfectly in tune with the film's emotional highs and lows, it does what the very best scores do. It helps establish those highs and lows. All the while they gave us something unlike any other movie score we've ever heard before.

Original Song: Tangled, "I See the Light" - Like every other song written by Alan Menken and Glenn Slater for this new Disney classic, it feels natural and a part of the world we're in, not a jarring detour from the story. Even amongst the rest it stands out because of its emotional power at the exact moment in the film where it needs to be.

Sound: Scott Pilgrim vs. the World - We all knew that sound could enhance an action sequence or build atmosphere but it's rarely used to enhance comedy. I'm hard pressed to think of a movie that used sound so effectively virtually every moment of its run time in the service of making people laugh.

Supporting Actor: Christian Bale - "The Fighter" - The film is the story of a boxer (Mark Wahlberg) stepping out from under the shadow of his larger than life half-brother (Bale). But Bale's powerful performance as Dicky Eklund couldn't possibly be outshined. Footage of the real Eklund reveals that Bale was even better than you'd thought and that's saying something.

Supporting Actress: Marion Cotillard - "Inception" - So the character you're playing is already dead before the film starts. You exist only in the dreams and memories of the protagonist. Oh yeah, your character also must provide a very heady story its heart. This was what Christopher Nolan tasked Cotillard with and she is absolutely superb. If her performance or her character don't work then the spectacle of this film would have had little soul to drive it.

Actor: Colin Firth - "The King's Speech" - He's swept every other lead acting award this year and with good reason. It actually seems that all of the accolades are distracting people from how great a performance it really is. The temptation could have been to play the surface of King George VI's stammer but Firth captures the heart and soul of a man who happens to have a speech impediment and also happens to be King. He also allows us to see the man's faults as well as his surprising sense of humor in the face of adversity.

Actress: Emma Stone - "Easy A" - Unquestionably my favorite performance by anyone in a movie in 2010 has gone largely ignored because the actress in question committed the crime of being funny. In a movie that could have easily just been enjoyable but disposable teen fluff, Stone makes her character perfectly believable and every single acting instinct she has is not only spot on, it's brilliantly funny. It's a shame she couldn't have played a meth addict who microwaves her own baby and cries a lot. She'd have won the Oscar.

Monty Python Award for Ensemble Cast: True Grit - Yes, Jeff Bridges and Matt Damon are fantastic but what really makes this the best ensemble of 2010 are the all too brief appearances of Josh Brolin, a man wearing a bear head, and Barry Pepper channeling Robert Duvall. What makes it one of the best ensembles in recent memory beyond this year is the lead performance (yes LEAD, Oscar) of 14 year old Hailee Steinfeld who unlike Kim Darby in 1969, shows that the title refers not to Rooster Cogburn but to Mattie Ross.

Animated Film: Tangled - Yes, "Tangled." In a year with four wonderful animated films ("How to Train Your Dragon," "Despicable Me," and of course, "Toy Story 3"), this was my favorite. Somehow it manages to have a modern sensibility and Looney Tunes style comedy while still having all of the class and yes, magic, you want from Disney animation. No movie in 2010 was more purely enjoyable.

Adapted Screenplay: "The Social Network" - Aaron Sorkin - Filled with smart, rapid fire dialogue that sounds like it could have actually been spoken (these are very smart people we're dealing with after all), this script explores what happens when business, imagination, and friendship collide. Also, it's the only movie I can think of that gets the audience to sympathize with the money man over the creator. It takes seriously smart writing to make that work.

Original Screenplay: "Blue Valentine" - Derek Cianfrance & Cami Delavigne and Joey Curtis - Talky screenplays, particularly ones about relationships can fall into the trap of sounding pretentious and false. This one never does. Every conversation, every argument sounds real and they're absolutely absorbing.

Director: Christopher Nolan - "Inception" - Few filmmakers are blessed with the ability to create satisfying art that you can also munch popcorn to. As it stands now I'd say that Nolan is the best of that small collection. Who else could have created such a highly intelligent movie that is just so much fun to watch?

Best Picture: Blue Valentine - "What?" you ask. You thought I was going to pick "Inception," didn't you? The truth is I struggled between the two for quite awhile but in the end this remarkably written tale of an imploding marriage was one I just could not shake. Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams are both excellent as the troubled couple in question, showing us their characters at their absolute best and worst. I don't know how the Academy missed the boat on this one but this really was the best movie of 2010.

And now the fun stuff...

Funniest Movie: Scott Pilgrim vs. the World

Funniest Performance: Emma Stone - "Easy A"

"Unforgiven" Award for Most Badass Movie: True Grit

Clint Eastwood Award for Most Badass Performance: (tie) Chloe Moretz - "Kick-Ass," Hailee Steinfeld - "True Grit"

"Withnail and I" Award for Best Friendship: Colin Firth and Geoffrey Rush - "The King's Speech"

"Hoosiers" Award for Inspirational Movie That's Actually Inspirational: (3 way tie) "127 Hours," "The King's Speech," "The Fighter"

Funniest Moment: Evil Ex Number 3 (Brandon Routh) loses his vegan powers - "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World"

Best Dramatic Moment: Accepting their fate - "Toy Story 3" (Be honest. For a second there you actually thought they were all going to burn to death.)

Best Fight: The Hallway Scene - "Inception"

"Sky Captain" Award for the Movie That Lets You Feel Like You're 10 Years Old Again: TRON: Legacy

"XXX" Award for Best Ludicrous Action Movie: The A-Team

Best Remake: True Grit

Best Cameo: Barry Pepper as Robert Duvall as Ned Pepper - "True Grit"

Worst Cameo: Arnie - "The Expendables"

Best Sequel: Toy Story 3

Worst Male Performance: P. Diddy - "Get Him to the Greek"

Worst Female Performance: Jessica Alba - "Machete"

Worst Movie I Actually Subjected Myself To: MacGruber

Performer of the Year: Andrew Garfield - "The Social Network" and "Never Let Me Go"

Most Entertaining Movie: Inception

Best Villain: Lots'o'Huggin Bear (Ned Beatty) - "Toy Story 3"

Most Pleasant Surprise: Despicable Me

Best Quote: "Like every serial killer already knew: eventually fantasizing just doesn't do it for you anymore." - Kick-Ass

Best Action Sequence: Light bikes - "TRON: Legacy"

Best Vocal Performance: Zachary Levi - "Tangled"

Best Ending: 127 Hours (You can't not get tears in your eyes.)

Finally, special recognition for the most important new name in film. Mike Stoklasa didn't make a movie that played at your local theater and even if you've seen his work online you may not know his name. Better known as the voice of murderous old crank Harry Plinkett, Stoklasa has shown that film criticism can not only be insightful but exciting and first class filmmaking. With his bilious, hilarious, yet astoundingly intelligent (and lengthy) reviews of the "Star Wars" prequels Stoklasa's Plinkett turned out to be a more interesting character than everyone in "Episode's I" through "III" combined.
Perhaps what's most impressive about his work is that in spite of spending more than four hours eviscerating George Lucas's prequel trilogy, he never once trots out any of the complaints that people have long made about those movies and he never descends into fanboy whining. Very soon I plan to see Stoklasa's direct to DVD feature "Feeding Frenzy" and Plinkett or no Plinkett I very much look forward to what he has up his sleeve next. Especially if it's that "Cop Dog" review he promised long ago.

The Bob Award Nominations

2011-01-31T20:20:00.000-08:00

Once again it is that time. A few years ago I decided I was tired of just complaining about how the Oscars, Baftas, Golden Globes, etc. always got it wrong. So I did something about it. I continued to complain. But, I also created the Bob Awards.
Is it incredibly nerdy? Yes. Am I overthinking things? Probably. Do they have any bearing on the film industry? No. Will I continue to do this year after year? Absolutely.
I'm a little concerned this year as I'm more in line with the Oscar nominees than usual. Does this mean I'm becoming stodgy and bland or that the Academy got it more right than normal this time? I'm going to just assume that it's the latter.
As always the eventual winners will be receiving mailed Red Robin gift certificates and for the first time ever all nominees shall be recipients of a sample size box of Tide laundry detergent. When it's got to be clean it's got to be Tide! And now here they are in all their glory. The Bob Award nominations:

Art Direction:
Despicable Me
Inception
Micmacs
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World
TRON: Legacy

Cinematography:
Inception
The King's Speech
127 Hours
The Social Network
TRON: Legacy

Costume Design:
Kick-Ass
The King's Speech
Micmacs
Scott Pilgrim
TRON: Legacy

Film Editing:
Blue Valentine
Inception
127 Hours
Scott Pilgrim
The Social Network

Makeup:
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part I
Never Let Me Go
Nowhere Boy
TRON: Legacy
True Grit

Original Score:
Inception - Hans Zimmer
The King's Speech - Alexandre Desplat
127 Hours - AR Rahman
The Social Network - Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross
TRON: Legacy - Daft Punk

Original Song:
127 Hours: "If I Rise" by AR Rahman and Dido
Scott Pilgrim: "We are Sex Bob-Omb" by Beck
Tangled: "I See the Light" by Alan Menken and Glenn Slater
Tangled: "Mother Knows Best" by Alan Menken and Glenn Slater

Sound:
Inception
Micmacs
127 Hours
Scott Pilgrim
TRON: Legacy

Visual Effects:
Inception
Scott Pilgrim
Shutter Island
The Social Network
TRON: Legacy

Supporting Actor:
Christian Bale - The Fighter
Vincent Cassel - Black Swan
Andrew Garfield - The Social Network
John Hawkes - Winter's Bone
Tom Hughes - Cemetery Junction
Geoffrey Rush - The King's Speech

Sup. Actress:
Amy Adams - The Fighter
Marion Cotillard - Inception
Melissa Leo - The Fighter
Chloe Moretz - Kick-Ass
Jacki Weaver - Animal Kingdom

Actor:
Jeff Bridges - True Grit
Robert Duvall - Get Low
Jesse Eisenberg - The Social Network
Colin Firth - The King's Speech
James Franco - 127 Hours
Ryan Gosling - Blue Valentine

Actress:
Jennifer Lawrence - Winter's Bone
Carey Mulligan - Never Let Me Go
Natalie Portman - Black Swan
Hailee Steinfeld - True Grit
Emma Stone - Easy A
Michelle Williams - Blue Valentine

Monty Python Award for Ensemble Cast:
Easy A
Get Low
The King's Speech
Scott Pilgrim
The Social Network
True Grit

Animated Film:
Despicable Me
How to Train Your Dragon
Tangled
Toy Story 3

Adapted Screenplay:
127 Hours - Danny Boyle & Simon Beaufoy
Scott Pilgrim - Michael Bacall & Edgar Wright
The Social Network - Aaron Sorkin
Tangled - Dan Fogelman
True Grit - Joel and Ethan Coen
Winter's Bone - Debra Granik & Anne Rosellini

Original Screenplay:
Blue Valentine - Derek Cianfrance & Cami Delavigne and Joey Curtis
Despicable Me - Ken Daurio, Sergio Pablos, Cinco Paul
Get Low - Chris Provenzano and C. Gaby Mitchell & Scott Seeke
Inception - Christopher Nolan
The King's Speech - David Seidle
Toy Story 3 - Michael Arndt, John Lasseter and Andrew Stanton & Lee Unkrich

Director:
Derek Cianfrance - Blue Valentine
Christopher Nolan - Inception
Tom Hooper - The King's Speech
Danny Boyle - 127 Hours
David Fincher - The Social Network
Joel and Ethan Coen - True Grit

Best Picture:
Blue Valentine
Get Low
Inception
The King's Speech
127 Hours
The Social Network
Tangled
Toy Story 3
True Grit
Winter's Bone

"The Fighter" and "Blue Valentine"

2011-01-17T20:33:00.000-08:00

Movie watching wise it seems I've been on a bit of a role lately. Just about everything I've gone to in the past couple of months has been very good or even great. The wave continued this weekend with a one-two punch of deeply emotional films. I'm very close to being able to finally put together this year's Bob Award Nominations (still have to rent "Winter's Bone" and "Easy A," and "The Illusionist" just needs to come out in Seattle already).

The Fighter - In 1993 Micky Ward (Mark Wahlberg) is a Lowell, Massachussetts boxer who has potential but has been turning into a "stepping stone" for younger fighters. Time is running out and if he's not careful he could go the way of his crack addicted half-brother Dicky Eklund (Christian Bale). Eklund, still living off of knocking down "Sugar" Ray Leonard in a fight he ultimately lost in 1978 is being followed by an HBO film crew documenting his "comeback." Dicky's self-interest and self-destruction have long prevented him from being the kind of trainer that Micky needs and Micky's loyalty to his family is getting him nowhere.
Knowing he has to start winning meaningful fights as soon as possible, Micky desperately needs dedicated trainers and management, an idea echoed by his new girlfriend Charlene (Amy Adams), but vehemently opposed by virtually his entire overbearing family, the lone exception being his supportive father George (Jack McGee). As his domineering mother Alice (Melissa Leo) is his manager making the change won't be easy.
Directed by David O. Russell ("Three Kings," "I Heart Huckabees"), "The Fighter" is yet another late 2010 release that tells the true life story of a man striving to overcome incredible adversity in one form or another ("127 Hours," "The King's Speech"). Like those "The Fighter" is also one of the best movies of the year. The actors make an already great script come to exceptional life.
Wahlberg delivers an uncharacteristically low key performance that is one of his all-time best. We feel Micky's frustration with his family and hope he will be able to break away. Bale is simply amazing as Dicky, a character who remains sympathetic in spite of his many shortcomings. Film of the real Eklund demonstrates just how fully Bale really captures the man. Leo and McGee are both excellent as a mother and father at opposite ends of the parenting spectrum. Alice could have been a very one note character in the hands of a scenery chewing actress but thankfully Leo gets it just right. Finally, there's Amy Adams. If you've seen "Junebug," "Enchanted," "Miss Pettigrew," "Doubt," etc. and then this you realize that there really is nothing that she can't do. She plays a tough and strong woman who openly speaks her mind as well as she plays anything else. She's making a strong case for being the finest actress of her generation.
About the only false note in "The Fighter" regards some of the moments with the larger Ward/Eklund family. The obnoxious Boston "clan" has become the new stereotypical mafia family and there are a couple of moments where the movie suddenly becomes a broad comedy that doesn't flow with the rest of the film. These moments are rare though so it doesn't sink the ship.
Going into this film I knew it was based on a true story but I knew almost nothing about it nor did I know what the outcome of Micky's quest would be. This is probably the best way to view it to really feel the impact of this powerful and well told story. 9/10.

Blue Valentine - With so many great movies in theaters right now it's very easy for one or two to get lost in the shuffle. My hope is though that before it disappears quietly from theaters that people will discover Derek Cianfrance's story of a relationship's beginning and its painful downward spiral. This may not sound like an enjoyable experience and "Blue Valentine" is full of heartbreak but it is a truly incredible film.
Co-written and directed by Cianfrance, "Blue Valentine" is a terrific example of how to properly use non-linear storytelling rather than as a gimmick. We know up front that things are not going well for Dean (Ryan Gosling) and Cindy (Michelle Williams) and that things will get worse before they get better, if they get better at all. Even so there is a real sense of discovery when watching this film. Discovering what brought them together, kept them together, and what is driving them apart.
What Cianfrance and co-writers Cami Delavigne and Joey Curtis have crafted is a series of conversations and arguments that are more engrossing than virtually any action sequence you could imagine. It's stunning how well written they are and equally impressive are the performances of Gosling and Williams. Much like life, each argument begins innocently enough either with a comment that is misunderstood or a miscommunication. One person is angered by the other and the offender simply can't understand why.
The true testament to how well written and acted the film is, is the feeling that we can always understand where each character is coming from at any given moment. Even if we find ourselves in agreement with one character or another (and it changes constantly which one you'll side with), we understand both points of view and why each character possesses the one they do. What makes it heartbreaking though is that we like Cindy and Dean as much as we do. We see and enjoy the lighthearted moments of their relationship and understand just how much love there is between them and how tragic it is to see it falling apart. When one makes a mistake, no matter how great, we still like them, we still want them to be forgiven by the other.
The dialogue is probably the best written in 2010 and not a word of it sounds as though it was concocted by a writer. It sounds natural, real, and unpretentious and the same can be said for Gosling and Williams in their performances. This is the best movie of the year that no one is talking about and it saddens me to think that it's being overlooked. Nothing this great should pass by unnoticed. It's slowly going into wide release so if it comes anywhere near your town get to it as soon as possible. Yes it is a deeply mournful film but there is a sense of humanity and yes, humor that make it unmissable. 10/10.

The King's Speech

2011-01-02T14:37:00.000-08:00

Every December (sometimes not until January for those of us not living in New York or LA) we are inundated with Oscar contenders left and right. Sometimes though a film will go beyond that to the point where it's obvious that it was made specifically to be nominated for awards. Before a frame is shot everyone who's signed on knows it too. "The King's Speech" is such a movie. But the thing is Tom Hooper (the "John Adams" mini-series) has directed a film that actually deserves them. It's not challenging, mind-bending, or innovative by any stretch of the imagination but it's not pretending to be either. Really it's what "A Beautiful Mind" and "Cold Mountain" claimed to be. (Actually I take that back about "Cold Mountain." Nothing is what that claimed to be.)
It's 1934 and Albert, Duke of York (Colin Firth), is uncomfortable in the spotlight. His pronounced stammer makes delivering public addresses traumatizing experiences. Unfortunately as a member of the British royal family he has no choice but to speak publicly from time to time. The only support he receives comes from his wife Elizabeth (Helena Bonham Carter) and his young daughters, Elizabeth and Margaret. His ailing father, King George V (Michael Gambon) feels the stammer is due to weakness, while his selfish older brother Edward (Guy Pearce) has used the stammer to taunt "Bertie" throughout their lives.
After George V's death Edward becomes King so Bertie needn't worry about becoming a stammering figurehead. However, Bertie's problem is in dire need of a solution, particularly as it becomes apparent that Edward may abdicate the throne to marry an American divorcee. Elizabeth hopes Australian speech therapist Lionel Logue (Geoffrey Rush) is the man for the job. The sometimes rocky but very real friendship that develops between Bertie and Lionel as they go through their therapy sessions becomes the focus of the film.
The screenplay by David Seidler is full of witty dialogue that still manages to sound like real people talking. The interactions between Bertie and Lionel flow from funny to moving with the greatest of ease, while Firth and Rush make the most of their roles. Firth doesn't simply play the surface of a well known historical figure with a speech impediment. He makes Bertie a fully formed character, full of anxiety and given to bouts of anger. His frustration as he tries to overcome his stammer and his fears is very real. As England and the world march closer to World War II these things only become amplified.
Rush is outstanding as Lionel, a man who is often hard on Bertie (which he calls his patient in spite of Albert's position) but who ultimately cares very much for him. The interplay between the two actors is impressive not only because they are such excellent performers but also due to how easy they make it look. The rest of the cast provide nice touches but it's the Firth and Rush show and that is just as it should be. Carter may not have a lot to do in the role of Elizabeth but she is exactly what the film needs her to be.
Hooper's direction is notable for how he makes the period detail and filmmaking flourishes seem so simple. There is some very definite directorial style on display but it's remarkably low key. Just like virtually everything else about "The King's Speech" it's just what is necessary.
"The King's Speech" is a very good movie that knows full well it's a very good movie and doesn't feel the need to reinvent moviemaking. It's entertaining, classy, and yes, genuinely uplifting. One of 2010's finest. 9.5/10.

"Black Swan" and "True Grit"

2010-12-26T23:40:00.000-08:00

Black Swan - It's been a full week now since I saw Darren Aronofsky's "Black Swan." I still have not determined whether or not I actually believe it to be a good movie. What I determined immediately and still feel very strongly, is that it is challenging, maddening, and that everyone involved have poured themselves into it fully. You have to admire Aronofsky's guts in making a film such as this. Even more than that though you have to admire his ability to get his cast and crew fully on board with a movie that could have gone so terribly wrong. This very easily could have been an unintentional cult comedy classic and I have the feeling that for some it still will be.
Nina Sayers (Natalie Portman) is a driven ballet dancer in New York City who is undeniably talented but held back by what her director Thomas (Vincent Cassel) says is an inability to "feel it." She is determined to get the role of the Swan Queen in his production of "Swan Lake" and has to convince Thomas that she is able to let go of her inhibitions. Nina must also overcome competition in the form of the decidedly uninhibited Lily (Mila Kunis) and also break away from her controlling mother Erica (Barbara Hershey).
At a certain point it becomes clear that "Black Swan" is an oddity even for an "art" film. As Nina begins to let go so does the movie itself. Every emotion is thrown broadly at the screen particularly in the scenes between Portman and Hershey. Eventually I began to expect Hershey to belt out, "No wire hangers, EVER!" I saw the film at a sparsely populated show in Marysville but I could practically hear the cackling from a large (and insufferable) U District audience as some of the bigger arguments played out. It seemed clear that Aronofsky and writers Mark Heyman, Andres Heinz, and John McLaughlin intended "Black Swan" to be melodramatic but I'm not sure as to why they felt this was the right choice.
In terms of the performances Portman understands exactly what Aronofsky is going for even when we don't. As is the case with the film overall I'm still not sure if the performance really works or not but you certainly can't question her commitment to it. The same can be said for Hershey and Winona Ryder as a once great dancer unable to exit gracefully. Kunis and Cassel are terrific and manage to be subtle in comparison to everything surrounding them.
One thing I'm certain of is that it will take a second viewing for me to really solidify if I think "Black Swan" is a good movie or not. That said, the sort of broad almost comical melodrama that it is just isn't the sort of movie I really want to watch again. Even if I determine that "Black Swan" is a good film in my mind it will probably still be more a movie that I admire than one I really like. What I will say is that if you're interested in seeing it that you absolutely should. Then let me know what you thought of it.

True Grit - In the interest of full disclosure I have only seen snippets of the original 1969 film that won John Wayne his only Oscar. It is however sitting on the DVR so I'll be watching it any day now. As much as I love to rail against the remake insanity that grips Hollywood I have a hard time believing that Henry Hathaway's original will stand up against what the Coen Brothers have given us.
The set up is quite simple. It's the late 1870s and 14 year old Mattie Ross (Hailee Steinfeld) is taking care of the business of having her murdered father buried. More to the point though is the business of avenging his death. The man who killed him, Tom Chaney (Josh Brolin), is on the run and she will stop at nothing for justice. When given three recommendations as to who the best man for the job would be in tracking down Chaney she chooses the man described as the cruelest, Rooster Cogburn (Jeff Bridges).
Through sheer force of will she wins over the reluctant Cogburn to perform the task of finding Chaney and bringing him to justice. Also on the manhunt is Texas Ranger LaBoeuf (Matt Damon), tasked with bringing Chaney in to hang for another murder. The three make an unlikely team and it's no surprise that problems arise between them along the way. Through it all Mattie remains focused on the goal of capturing Tom Chaney and seeing him hanged for her father's killing.
Three years ago "No Country For Old Men" was described by many as a postmodern western. It was also quite possibly the best film the Coen Brothers have made, which is saying something. Now they have made their first "traditional" western. I put traditional in quotes because these are the Coens we're talking about after all. There are a few oddball touches that only the Coens could have concocted but for the most part, as they did with "No Country," they opt for simplicity in the storytelling.
In terms of the dialogue and the performances there is a sense that this is probably closer to the reality of the time period than westerns made back in the 1950s. As "The Assassination of Jesse James" did, "True Grit" acknowledges most of these men were not well educated and they certainly don't enunciate. There are moments as Cogburn when Bridges is unintelligible, something I usually find aggravating but it worked well here. Overall his performance is outstanding. He's a cantankerous yet lovable character on the surface but there's more going on underneath.
Damon is absolutely fascinating as LaBoeuf, a man who initially appears to be nothing but empty bluster. We see the depths of his character as well. As Chaney, Brolin is actually surprisingly amusing and in a way pitiable. There's also a wonderful turn from Barry Pepper as Lucky Ned Pepper (no relation as Lucky Ned is fictional). Robert Duvall played the role in 1969 and in a way he does again. Barry Pepper essentially becomes Duvall as Ned Pepper, even looking quite a bit like him. I wouldn't have thought that could work but it does in a big way.
Acting wise though, "True Grit" belongs to one person and it's Hailee Steinfeld. She's a virtual newcomer but she proves more than able as she shares the screen with some of the most talented actors in the world. Puzzlingly she's been receiving nominations for Best Supporting Actress from critics boards. Mattie Ross is the main character and Steinfeld easily has more screen time than anyone else. In my mind she gives quite possibly the best lead performance, male or female, that anyone has given in 2010. She displays Mattie's toughness and brutal honesty with wit and confidence. The title "True Grit" may have been meant to describe Cogburn but it is an even more accurate description of Mattie.
Fans of the Coen Brothers, westerns, and just great movies alike should be very happy with "True Grit." It's old fashioned in a new fashioned way. 9.5/10.

"Narnia" and "TRON"

2010-12-20T18:03:00.000-08:00

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader - At the end of "Prince Caspian," the second film in the "Narnia" series, lion king Aslan (voice of Liam Neeson) informed the two oldest Pevensie children Peter (William Moseley) and Susan (Anna Popplewell) that they would not be returning to Narnia. According to Aslan they had learned all the lessons they could from that world. As for the two younger Pevensies, Edmund (Skandar Keynes) and Lucy (Georgie Henley) they would return at the appropriate time, whenever that may be. Edmund and Lucy have clearly grown to be much more mature than Peter which seems to suggest that the oldest Pevensie just wasn't wanted there anymore.
A few years later with World War II in full swing, Edmund is still not old enough to enlist in the British army. With Peter and Susan off in America, Edmund and Lucy are staying with their aunt, uncle, and their insufferable young cousin Eustace (Will Poulter, "Son of Rambow"). Annoyed with the constant talk of "imaginary places," Eustace sees himself as far more serious and grown up than his cousins. During an argument with them in a guest bedroom a painting on the wall begins to move and within seconds the room is full of water and all three kids are sucked into Narnia and aboard a vessel named the Dawn Treader.
Edmund and Lucy couldn't be happier to see old friends such as King Caspian (Ben Barnes) and the brave little mouse Reepicheep (voice of Simon Pegg). Eustace meanwhile is less than thrilled to be aboard a ship with talking animals and obviously has some difficulty adjusting to it. More important than Eustace's feelings however is Caspian's mission. He is on a search for the Swords of the Seven Lost Lords of Narnia and is all too happy to have Edmund and Lucy to assist him. Finding them will be of paramount importance to defeating evil in Narnia.
The previous two "Narnia" films directed by Andrew Adamson were highly enjoyable if not earth shattering. "Dawn Treader," directed by Michael Apted, falls into the same category. Despite the change it maintains the feel of the first two movies. With Peter and Susan only making very brief appearances, Edmund and Lucy are developed much more here than before, which was fine by me as they were my two favorites from the beginning anyway. Keynes and Henley deliver solid performances as we see their two characters deal with their greatest fears. Poulter's performance is more difficult to judge. Eustace is an irritating character so whether Poulter did a good job or not he was going to be an annoying presence on screen. I think it works because (without giving any major plot or character points away) by the end I found myself liking Eustace and clearly we are meant to.
The effects work is quite good here as well. It's not easy to make humans interacting with talking animals work but it's pulled off nicely here. The CGI characters still look like CGI characters but they do come to life and we come to care about them as much as anyone else in the film. Pegg gives a fine vocal performance as Reepicheep though I'm not sure why he was cast in place of Eddie Izzard, who voiced the character in "Prince Caspian." They're equally good so it doesn't really matter in the end.
The Christian allegorical elements of the earlier stories are more evident here than before but they are there if you want them and easy enough to ignore if you don't. Either way what the three children learn along the way are good lessons for kids who incidentally, should enjoy this movie quite a bit. So will anyone who enjoyed "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe" and "Prince Caspian." I hope this one does well enough to encourage Fox to make more. 7/10.

P.S.: I challenge any fan of "Ghostbusters" to not start chuckling at a certain rather serious moment in this movie. You'll know it when you see it.

TRON: Legacy - It's been 28 years since Disney released a fairly well-reviewed science fiction movie that was unfairly deemed a box-office failure (it earned almost twice what it cost to make). It seems hard to believe then that a 1982 sci-fi cult classic would end up with a sequel in 2010. Adding to the improbability, the studio trusted a first time director (Joseph Kosinski) with the sequel and its $170 million budget. So it may come as a surprise to some then that the result is an incredibly entertaining film.
In 1989, seven years after the events of "TRON," Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges) is a single father to a young boy named Sam and the highly successful CEO of ENCOM. Flynn's mysterious disappearance leaves ENCOM in the hands of greedy, lazy businessmen who his old partner Alan Bradley (Bruce Boxleitner) has little power to fight. Twenty years later though Alan gets a page from Flynn, leading Alan to convince Sam (Garrett Hedlund) to take a look at Flynn's old arcade for answers. The set up is entertaining enough but when Sam finds himself inside the Grid, "TRON: Legacy" becomes the movie I had hoped for.
Disc matches, light cycle races, Michael Sheen playing the love child of David Bowie and Gozer. It's all here. The story isn't as mindblowing as the look of the film, but the movie never felt like it existed solely to be an effects demonstration. Unlike a certain 3D megahit from this time last year or a certain prequel trilogy, I actually cared about the characters and didn't cringe whenever someone spoke. The screenplay and performances won't win any awards but they absolutely get the job done.
With so many movies being released in 3D now it's nice to see a film where it isn't an afterthought dealt with in a rush during post-production. Intended to be a 3D movie all along, the sequences where it's employed are immersive and exciting to watch. What's more, you want to be on the Grid playing the games (thanks to Wii, you can!). We don't simply have objects thrown at us as is typically the case when a filmmaker doesn't know what to do with the technology. Kosinski knows what he's doing with it and more importantly he knows how to make an entertaining movie. I look forward to more from him.
The only real problem I had with the film was the look of Clu, a program also played by Bridges. Flynn created Clu in his own image during the late '80s and unlike Flynn, he has not aged. There's something disconcerting about the very "Polar Express-y" look of Clu's face against everything else we see. This aside, "TRON: Legacy" is the sort of movie that shows what technology can do but remembers that the audience needs more than that. What we get is a movie that is just an incredible amount of fun. "TRON: Legacy" is a blast. 8/10.

127 Hours

2010-12-13T20:43:00.000-08:00

On Friday April 25, 2003, 27 year old Aron Ralston headed out for a hiking trip into Utah's Blue John Canyon, territory he knew very well. The next afternoon he tried to get into a narrow canyon to take some pictures as a boulder got loose. He and the boulder both fell and before he knew it Ralston's right arm was pinned between the rock and the canyon wall. Having told no one where he was going and without a cell phone, Ralston knew he was in serious trouble. "127 Hours," tells the amazing true story of how he got free.
Ralston's story has been well known to the public at large for several years, making the exuberance of the early part of this film all the more impressive. Even knowing what is to come you can't help but enjoy watching Ralston (James Franco) bound across the rocky landscape and befriending two lost young women (Kate Mara and Amber Tamblyn). Franco displays a devil may care charisma that immediately pulls us in. It doesn't hurt that it's directed and co-written by Danny Boyle, who has long had a knack for making wildly entertaining movies with often dour subject matter ("Trainspotting," "Slumdog Millionaire"). It is only when Ralston says a carefee goodbye to his new friends that a sense of dread begins to creep in. Not for Ralston, but most certainly for the audience. From this point forth "127 Hours" is an intense experience that is sometimes very difficult to watch, but ultimately uplifting and one of the few "inspirational" movies you'll ever see that actually earns that tag.
As he was trapped, the real Ralston took short breaks from trying to free himself by documenting the experience with his video camera, mainly to say goodbye to his parents, knowing he would probably not be getting out alive. His tape has not been released to the general public but it was shown to Franco and Boyle. It's unclear how much of what we see is verbatim from the real tape and how much is the invention of Boyle and co-writer Simon Beaufoy ("Slumdog Millionaire") but none of it feels false. Even Aron's mock TV morning show interview with himself in an attempt to keep himself sane comes off right.
Carrying virtually every moment of "127 Hours" squarely on his shoulders, Franco delivers a performance that will be long remembered and revered and with good reason. He lets us in on Ralston's thought process and emotional state through the entire ordeal striking every note perfectly. The title tells us how long it took Ralston to get out of the canyon and most who see the film will already know just what he had to do to get himself free. Franco's performance and Boyle's direction make the experience entirely engrossing. A great deal of credit goes to the sound department as well. Even if you can't bring yourself to look at the screen in certain moments you completely feel the intensity of Ralston's ultimate solution.
Although Aron Ralston had no one to physically help him for more than five days, "127Hours" is really the story of a lone wolf realizing he needed to get back to the people who loved him. He pulled himself out but it was a group of family and friends who saved him.
"127 Hours" is easily one of the best films of 2010 and Danny Boyle's best work since "Trainspotting." Many movies are described as powerful but this one truly is. Not many films get me near tears but "127 Hours" did. I can't recommend this highly enough. 10/10.

Tangled

2010-12-01T14:29:00.000-08:00

As all of you know I see myself a lot of movies. Whenever I watch something, in the back of my mind there's always the acknowledgment of things that came before or after it, depending on if it's a new or old film. This is especially true of movies that acknowledge what's come before themselves. What made my experience with "Tangled" so interesting is that I went to see it with my friend Amber who is a certified Disney Princessologist. While I've seen most of the earlier Disney princess films I don't know them inside and out the way she does. I realized though that for her and other D.P-ologists, it's what "Hot Fuzz" was for me when I first saw it in the theater. All of those references to action movies, most of which were non-specific or under the radar stuck out to me and provided a joke within a joke. In both "Hot Fuzz" and "Tangled" (and this will probably be the only time the two are compared) the references are sly enough that they don't make the film confusing or any less enjoyable if you don't know what they're in reference to. But if you do know them they make an already great movie all the more special.
Based upon "Rapunzel" by the Brothers Grimm, "Tangled" is the story of a young girl named, well, Rapunzel (voiced by Mandy Moore). She is about to turn 18 and in some respects is a normal teenage girl. Her mind and heart are focused on a single dream and she desperately craves the approval of her mother. The dream and the mother however are not exactly normal. Plus there's the fact that she has the longest head of hair in the world which possesses supernatural properties and she's never left the tower she's lived in all her life.
When Rapunzel was born her birth mother, who happens to be the queen, became very sick. With the aid of a magical flower provided by an old woman named Gothel (Donna Murphy), the queen was healed. When the healing power transferred to Rapunzel the old woman kidnapped the child for her own to keep herself young. In the years since the queen and king have been despairing over the disappearance of their daughter. Every year however on her birthday, floating lights appear in the sky in the hopes that Rapunzel will find her way home.
Rapunzel doesn't know the reason the lights appear every year but the fact that they always come out on her birthday isn't lost on her. Her singular dream in life is to find out what they mean. Mother Gothel however has controlled and manipulated her so completely that Rapunzel fears stepping out into the world. Thankfully for the young girl however a potential guide and protector has arrived. At least that's what she convinces Flynn Rider (Zachary Levi, "Chuck") to become after she's bonked him on the head with a frying pan a few times.
Flynn is a thief who believes himself to be far more dashing than anyone else does. But with the help of Flynn, her faithful chameleon Pascal, and a horse who is Flynn's sworn enemy, Rapunzel goes off to find out the reason for the lights. Along the way they encounter singing vikings and royal guardsmen.
"Tangled" is an astonishingly good film. In a year that has already seen three great animated movies come before it ("Toy Story 3," "Despicable Me," and "How to Train Your Dragon"), this may be the best of the bunch and I don't say that lightly. The comedy has a modern sensibility but it also has a classiness to it that's rare for any modern day movie, animated or otherwise. While it's full of references to previous Disney princess films (as evidenced by the many notes Amber took) they're not done in an obnoxious way. They slip in and out of the movie and it doesn't matter if you catch them all or not (I didn't).
The three main roles are incredibly well developed. Mother Gothel isn't just an evil old stepmother. She isn't a likeable character but she is a strangely sympathetic one. She loves what Rapunzel provides her with and is determined to keep that at all costs, even though it's meant a lifetime of psychological damage to the young girl. Even so, Mother Gothel has a shred of goodness to her. If nothing else she makes a point of making Rapunzel her favorite meal from time to time and provides her with things to make life in the tower more bearable. It is though, only a shred.
Rapunzel is a fantastic character. She does begin as a timid girl who fears essentially everything but that's the product of Gothel's manipulation and that's where she has to begin for this story to work. As she goes on her adventure the movie does an outstanding job of illustrating her constant internal struggle between doing as she's been told her whole life and becoming a strong person. This struggle is played for laughs at first but it ultimately is incredibly well done and what makes the character so fascinating and why we get so invested in her.
Flynn is every bit as well explored as the others. He becomes a better and more honest man due to his association with Rapunzel. Through it all though he remains very funny due to both the animation and the excellent vocal performance by Levi. He's exactly the right balance of wannabe Han Solo smarminess and real hero. Flynn possesses both qualities all along but over the course of "Tangled" the ratio changes for the better.
With a screenplay by Dan Fogelman and directed by Nathan Greno and Byron Howard, "Tangled" is beautifully animated (water looks so real here) and really should appeal to most anyone regardless of age or gender. While the story is perfectly suited to be a Disney princess fairytale there are flashes of Looney Tunes style comedy here that nine year old boys will love. The songs are also terrific. It's not easy to make songs feel organic or not disrupt a movie's flow. They're perfect here. And as far as the inevitable romance between Flynn and Rapunzel is concerned it plays exactly how it should. We understand why these two love each other, it's not just a function of the plot needing them to fall in love. The moment they realize their feelings for each other and open up about them is the precise moment in the film when they should.
So now that I've thought about the movie more and written my review I've realized that what I was going to rate a 9 I'm actually going to rate a 10. Because it's just that outstanding. It's only the second one I've doled out all year (the first being for "Inception"). Yes, Disney Princessologists will get something extra out of "Tangled" that the rest of us won't, but when a movie is this great it really doesn't matter. 10/10.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part I

2010-11-20T19:31:00.000-08:00

Over the past several years I've seen all six "Harry Potter" films exactly one time each. I enjoyed all of them quite a bit, but I didn't really become a hardcore Potter fan until this past summer when I read all seven novels for the first time. I tore through them more quickly than I've ever read anything and I found I loved each one even more than the last. Obviously then, "Deathly Hallows" was my favorite.
For the first time though, I was going to be watching a new "Harry Potter" movie having read the book it was based upon. This makes reviewing a movie more difficult because I like to look at films purely as films. Everyone I know who defended the absolutely awful movie version of "The Da Vinci Code" kept insisting that if I read the book then the movie would make more sense and therefore be better. But that doesn't work because a movie has to be able to stand on its own, separate from any books, graphic novels, video game spin-offs, or webisodes. If it can't then it's not a good movie. Also, I didn't want to spend two and half hours last night repeatedly thinking, "That's not what happened in the book!"
So now that I've written probably the most lengthy review introduction I've ever done, let's take a look at the actual film. Opening with a speech from Minister of Magic Rufus Scrimgeour (Bill Nighy doing his best Churchill) in which he warns of the dangers that lie ahead in the war with Voldemort, "Deathly Hallows - Part I" sets up an eerie atmosphere that is far removed from the previous films, which it absolutely should. After all, Harry, Ron, and Hermione won't be trying to squeeze fighting Voldemort in between Potions and Quidditch practice because they're not going back to Hogwarts for their final year. Instead they are going to search for Horcruxes, which in case you forgot are odd items that each contain a piece of Voldemort's soul. If Voldemort gathers them together than he will make himself whole again. If however, H, R, and H are able to find them first and destroy them then Harry will be able to kill Voldemort.
Before they even begin their journey a couple of comrades are killed and another loses an ear. This is a far cry from flying a car because of missing the Hogwarts Express. When the wedding of Bill Weasley and Fleur Delacour comes under attack, Harry, Ron, and Hermione quickly disapparate into the muggle world where they are forced to go on the run and face far greater danger than ever before. The majority of the movie is spent following the three heroes through cold woods and over mountains while they search for Horcruxes and hope to evade Voldemort's agents.
Directed by David Yates (director since "Order of the Phoenix") and with a screenplay by Steve Kloves (writer of all "Potter" films with the exception of "Order of the Phoenix"), "Deathly Hallows - Part I" is a very good film which allows Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson to do more with their characters than they've had the opportunity to before. They know their characters and it seems that the sense of finality that the actors were feeling was transferred perfectly into their roles.
As with every "Potter" movie to come before it, this one features terrific performances in many very brief appearances. No one is surprised at this point that Alan Rickman and Ralph Fiennes embody Snape and Voldemort better than anyone else could but up and down the cast you find fantastic actors doing great work. I did find it quite jarring though that Rhys Ifans, in the role of Luna Lovegood's kooky father, managed to seem more normal here than he has in any other movie I've seen him.
In all I enjoyed the movie very much and didn't find myself missing very much from the book as I was watching it. Then my friends and I stepped outside the theater and I asked, "Did you guys really miss anything?" And the answer was yes about a couple of things. Then a couple more things. Then I started thinking of stuff. This morning I thought of a few more things. And I thought, "Hey! Wait, that was a big deal to not have that, that, and that!" Not in an angry way, but in a very surprised way.
The thing is really, when you make eight movies based upon seven books with the amount of content, plot, and characters that Rowling's series does not only do things have to go, things that you love have to go. The problems come in when a story element introduced in "Goblet of Fire" that's seemingly trivial ends up really mattering in "Deathly Hallows," but was cut from the movie version of "Goblet of Fire" because at the time it didn't seem important. Suddenly the movie of "Deathly Hallows" has some explaining to do and the explanation may not end up making a lot of sense in the context of the film. Unfortunately things like this do happen and create plot holes and problems of logic when looking at the movies on their own merits. Thankfully though they aren't so gaping as to bring the movie crashing down.
So now that you've read a mostly positive review you can finally make up your mind to see "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part I," because clearly if you've watched the first six movies you were on the fence about seeing the next one. (I realize that sarcasm doesn't always come through in print but if you didn't get that then I don't know what to tell you.) 8.5/10.

Four Lions

2010-11-18T20:38:00.001-08:00

For a long time I have felt that if done properly comedy can be mined from most anything. It can even be found in war ("Dr. Strangelove," "In the Loop") but is there any way that we can laugh at terrorism? Writer-director Chris Morris (he played Denholm on "The IT Crowd") thought he could. The result is a general failure but it's certainly an interesting one.
Omar (Riz Ahmed) is a loving husband and father who enjoys Puffin Party and the company of his friends. He also happens to be an aspiring jihadist who regularly meets with Barry (Nigel Lindsay), Waj (Kayvan Novak), and Faisal (Adeel Akhtar), where they shoot video messages and discuss potential bombing targets. Their videos never go as well as Omar would hope but his spirits are lifted when he and Waj are called to Pakistan for "training." After a mishap with a missile, they're sent back home to London with their tails between their legs. Omar feels that they can still strike a blow for jihad on their own however and the "four lions" start plotting once more.
Any filmmaker setting out to make a satire is seriously challenging him or herself. I can't imagine throwing down a bigger challenge, certainly in 2010, than trying to satirize terrorism. How do you make radical terrorists the center of a comedy? Well as one would expect, with the exception of Omar, they are presented as buffoons who have no idea what they are doing. Really Omar doesn't know what he's doing either but compared to his associates he's a certified genius. The problem with the comedy of "Four Lions" is that the results of the characters' actions are far too real to be funny. Even more than their actions though, it's their thought process that is the most terrifying. Early in the film I told myself, "I can only hope that most jihadists are this inept and moronic," but by the end it seemed that their intelligence really doesn't matter. After all, people with hateful ideologies and explosives are dangerous regardless of IQ.
*So now I'm going to be a little more analytical than normal. I usually don't like to give away major plotpoints or get too into detail because I feel like a viewer should be able to go in fairly fresh, but I just have a lot of thoughts here that I want to explore.*
Now the realization that I came to is most likely what Morris was intending but if he was then I really don't know why he thought it was funny. Comedy doesn't work when it's forced and this movie shows that's doubly true with dark comedy. Still, it's a movie that gets into your head and stays there, if for no other reason it features the most terrifying film moment in recent memory. It is completely unassuming and quiet which only makes it all the more frightening. The scene is about a half hour until the movie's end. Omar is sitting in his kitchen late at night talking with his wife Sophia (Preeya Kalidas) about some trouble he's been having with the gang. He's feeling very downtrodden when his young son comes in to help cheer him up. The three of them discuss Omar's prospects of becoming a suicide bomber as though he's talking about preparing for the bar exam or becoming a bus driver. There's an acceptance of this mindset that it's just something they do and that it's perfectly normal.
The thing about this scene is that it's really the key to the whole movie. In the days since seeing it I still don't know what Morris's point of view is. The first could be that he trusts the audience to see beneath the surface and realize how horrifying the thought of this really going on in homes such as this one is. If that's what he's doing than it's a really brilliant and subtle moment that shows a director giving his audience credit. The second possibility though is that Morris wants us to sympathize with Omar. Clearly, Morris believes Omar to be misguided, but if this second possibility is true then he's attempting to show us the humanity of someone intending to indiscriminately murder innocent people.
For Omar and his family it's their reality and while I can't understand their mindset and never could, the idea of this scene being presented sort of from their point of view is interesting and in a way, quite bold. That doesn't mean I think the movie is condoning what Omar's planning to do. Far from it and obviously, neither do I. I say that it's interesting and bold because without commenting on what Omar is doing or condemning it, the reality of his plans and what his son is sure to become are positively chilling.
"Four Lions" doesn't work as a comedy. That said, it's quite thought provoking and has a single scene so memorable that I just dedicated two and a half fairly long paragraphs to it. I definitely wouldn't say that I liked the film but clearly, it leaves an impression. I won't bother giving this a score out of 10 because well, I just don't know what I would give it. If you are interested in seeing it you may have some trouble finding it. In Seattle it's playing at the Varsity Theater. If you live elsewhere then good luck finding it.

Never Let Me Go

2010-11-16T21:31:00.000-08:00

Three years ago, "Atonement," a film with a strong pedigree and based upon a well-regarded novel was released. It promised to be a deeply moving and emotional movie that everyone knew going in could not possibly have a happy ending. What it ended up being was a beautifully shot film that (Saorsie Ronan's brilliant performance aside) never quite clicked on the emotional level that it should have. My concern with "Never Let Me Go" was that it would end up being "Atonement" all over again. Thankfully that isn't the case.
"Never Let Me Go" presupposes a world in which a solution to cancer and diseases was discovered in 1952. By 1978, with the life expectancy now up to 100, one would think that the world would be a happier place. But there's an overwhelming sense of melancholy at Hailsham, an English boarding school attended by Kathy H. (Izzy Meikle-Small), Tommy (Charlie Rowe), and Ruth (Ella Purnell). Students are told horrifying stories about children who'd wandered off the school grounds. They don't fear trying to leave the school so much as they simply accept that they won't leave it. Not until they reach adulthood.
Kathy and Tommy become drawn to each other but only being 11 in an emotionally stifling environment makes romance difficult. Out of jealousy, Ruth comes between them and by the time they turn 18 in 1985 and have finished their time at Hailsham, Ruth and Tommy (now Keira Knightley and "The Social Network's" Andrew Garfield respectively) have been a long time couple. Kathy ("An Education's" Carey Mulligan) is the third wheel as they move into a house with some graduates of similar boarding schools. Tommy's heart however, still belongs to her, as much as he may deny it to himself.

*If you haven't seen the trailer for this film you may want to stop reading here.*

Any hope that Ruth or Kathy might have had of growing old with Tommy was taken away from them in those early days at Hailsham. It was there that they learned what their life's purpose would be. Some time, probably in their early twenties, they would begin their "donations." Their organs would be used to save the lives of others. Most wouldn't live past their third donation. The students of Hailsham are clones.
Just as they had accepted they would not leave the grounds before turning 18, they accept their early deaths. There seems to be a sense amongst them that this isn't the norm for most people but they know so little about the world at large that their fates seem more a curiosity to them than a grave injustice. Still, Tommy and Kathy hope that the rumors of getting just a few years together by proving they're really in love, give them a quiet, modest hope. By playing against the emotion, "Never Let Me Go" is all the more powerful. This subtlety is in every element of the film. One would assume that the cruel fate of these people would be highly controversial and protested by many throughout the world. Maybe it is, but we learn as much about public opinion as Kathy, Ruth, and Tommy do, which is to say almost nothing.
The cast is uniformly terrific and the direction by Mark Romanek ("One Hour Photo") is assured. He creates an atmosphere that serves the film without calling attention to itself. As Oscar bait goes this is not a movie that's shamelessly gunning for trophies. Which is to say, it's not "Atonement." The emotional element comes together. 8.5/10.

Megamind

2010-11-14T19:59:00.000-08:00

Megamind - "Dante's Peak," "Volcano." "Deep Impact," "Armageddon." "Fail Safe," "Dr. Strangelove." Movies with similar themes that were in production at the same time and released only months apart. In July, "Despicable Me" told the story of a long time criminal mastermind who discovers he has a heart and tries to do something good. Now "Megamind" is here. It tells the story of a long time criminal mastermind who discovers he has a heart and tries to do something good. In terms of the specifics of the stories they are different enough that you probably won't find yourself thinking about "Despicable Me" while watching "Megamind." But you won't laugh nearly as much either.
Just like Jor-El in "Superman," a baby was sent to Earth in an escape pod just as his home planet was being destroyed. When he arrived he was upright, truthful, and more powerful than any human. When he grew up he became Metro Man (voiced by Brad Pitt), the saviour of Metro City. Unlike Jor-El/Clark Kent however, Metro Man had a companion come to Earth in another pod. He was a little blue baby who had the misfortune of crash landing into a prison yard. As a result his concepts of right and wrong ended up a little bit backwards. Naturally when he grew up the blue man, calling himself Megamind (Will Ferrell), became Metro Man's sworn enemy.
While the always victorious Metro Man is being honored with his own museum, Megamind kidnaps Roxanne Ritchi (Tina Fey) and promises certain doom to "Metrocity." Metro Man arrives on the scene to save the day but much to the surprise of everyone in Metro City (including Megamind), Megamind defeats and kills Metro Man. The city now belongs to the supervillain. Now he just needs to figure out what to do with it.
Directed by Tom McGrath ("Madagascar") and written by Alan J. Schoolcraft and Brent Simons, "Megamind's" premise is much funnier than its execution. It's not that the film is bad or the jokes fall flat, it's that they just don't land as well as they should. The idea of a victorious supervillain being bored with the day to day operations of ruling his city is inspired but it just wasn't explored to its fullest potential. Megamind's transformation into a decent person who falls in love with Roxanne comes off well and it might be the movie's best element."Megamind" is not a failure but it's not a real success either. In a year that has given us three wonderful animated movies from three different studios ("Toy Story 3," "Despicable Me," and "How to Train Your Dragon"), this one doesn't stand as tall as I'd hoped. 6/10.

Nowhere Boy

2010-10-30T14:30:00.000-07:00

In the late '50s John Lennon (Aaron Johnson, "Kick-Ass") was not yet "the" John Lennon. But according to the new film from Sam Taylor-Wood, he already was in his own mind. A teenager with little interest in school, John was raised by his Aunt Mimi (Kristin Scott Thomas) and Uncle George (David Threlfall). With George's death, John is left solely in Mimi's hands but he also wishes to finally get to know his real mother, Julia (Anne-Marie Duff). While Julia is married with two daughters and lives close by, she has been estranged from John for most of his life and he doesn't understand why.
John and Julia finally do connect but it's quite clear that Julia has some mental troubles that make some of her interactions with John a bit creepy and inappropriate. Still, she passes her love of modern music on to John and even gives him his first guitar lessons while he's suspended from school. The film isn't so much about John becoming Lennon as it is about him coming to adulthood and the two women who have their own ideas about who he is and who he should aspire to be. This is what makes the movie interesting and keeps it from feeling like yet another music biopic in the "Ray"/"Walk the Line"/"Control" vein.
That said, "Nowhere Boy" does fall in to some of those trappings. Of course Mimi has to shout, "Don't lie to me, John Lennon!" to remind us just who she's scalding. And there have to be multiple visual references to walruses just to drive home that he already had some of his Beatles ideas very early on. Taylor-Wood does have a few of these typical biopic missteps but thankfully the movie isn't overwhelmed with them. John's first meeting with a 15 year old Paul McCartney (Thomas Sangster, the awesome kid from "Love Actually") feels like a natural meeting scene rather than somebody nudging our ribs saying, "OH! It's when John met Paul." I also liked that neither Johnson nor Sangster play the personas or fall into doing imitations. They're just characters in this movie which goes further in separating "Nowhere Boy" from other movies about famous musicians.
Johnson's performance drives the film and he makes us forget all about his role as Kick-Ass. Here he's just John and from moment to moment we find ourselves debating about whether we like him or not. Johnson plays very well off of Thomas and Duff. John's difficulty in determining who truly has his best interest at heart, his aunt or his mother, is explored fully and neither is painted as being 100 percent right or wrong. A lot of movies would pick a side for us early on but this one doesn't and is all the more interesting for it.
I liked a lot about "Nowhere Boy" but it all adds up to a movie that's pretty good, not great. There's something missing that I couldn't quite put my finger on. Whatever it is it keeps "Nowhere Boy" from being the movie that it could have been. Worth checking out but you don't need to put it at the top of your list.
"Nowhere Boy" is currently in limited release. In the Seattle area it is playing at Thornton Place and the Alderwood Mall. It's sharing a screen with another movie at both theaters so base your moviegoing on convenience of time rather than location. 7/10.

The Social Network

2010-10-04T21:49:00.000-07:00

"We've lived on farms! We've lived in cities! Now we're going to live on the internet!" Despite being the coke-fuelled ravings of a paranoid egomaniac, these words spoken by a character in "The Social Network" are undeniably true.
In 2003, Mark Zuckerberg (Jesse Eisenberg, "Adventureland") is a Harvard student desperately seeking something big "to get the attention of the clubs. Because they're exclusive. And fun. And they lead to a better life." Believing himself to be smarter than most and to also be destined for something great, he can't help but condescend to his girlfriend Erica (Rooney Mara) about the people she'll be able to meet because of him. When Erica promptly breaks up with him, Mark returns to his dorm room, drunk and inspired. The result is the instantly popular but deeply hurtful facemash.com, a site which allows his classmates to vote on pictures of Harvard girls.
What's notable is not the site itself, nor the controversy it causes. What's notable is how Mark created it and what its success signifies. Knowing he's tapped into something, three fellow students with an idea for a site to connect all of Harvard approach him. What Divya Narendra (Max Minghella), and twins Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss (Josh Pence and Armie Hammer) have in mind is something that offers exclusivity. Unlike sites such as Friendster and Myspace, HarvardConnection would only be for Harvard students. It would be a place where the intellectually and culturally elite could create personal profiles and keep up with friends.
Enlisted to write the code for HarvardConnection, Mark takes the idea and runs with it, leaving Divya, Tyler, and Cameron out when he launches thefacebook.com, a site that is exactly what they had proposed. Mark's classmate, benefactor, and only friend, Eduardo Saverin (Andrew Garfield, the next Spider-Man) is unaware of Mark's questionable ethics in creating the site. The majority of the film is shown in flashbacks during two separate legal proceedings. One is the suit filed by the "Winklevi," which we clearly understand the source of. The other is the suit filed against Mark by Eduardo, the cause of which is slowly revealed to us in detail. Amongst other things this movie is about the irony of how Mark Zuckerberg lost his only real friend as a result developing Facebook.
"The Social Network" is directed by one of the great auteurs of our time, David Fincher ("Se7en," "Fight Club," "Zodiac," "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"). Unlike most of his previous work, his touch is less pronounced. It still looks like a David Fincher film, but it sure sounds like Aaron Sorkin. The creator of "The West Wing" and writer of the outstanding "Charlie Wilson's War," Sorkin is famous for writing very intelligent characters delivering dialogue that borders on the literary. Sorkin can be hit and miss for me but when he's on he's really on and thankfully that is the case here. Realizing this, Fincher wisely doesn't feel the need to overdirect, not that it's a crime he's been guilty of before.
In the build up to this film's release, many vocal skeptics decried the idea of a "Facebook movie" that was going to take itself far too seriously. However, like Sorkin's better work it has a strong sense of humor blended with believable drama and excellent character development. Also, in case anyone actually thought it was going to be, it's not about Facebook itself. It's about the way that the internet has irrevocably changed the way we live our lives, which includes how we go about making friends and maintaining those friendships. This is also a movie that shows how once something is created and put out into the world for people to utilize there is no telling how far it can go and what direction it will go in.
One of the keys to making Aaron Sorkin dialogue work is getting the casting just right. It's always important but probably even more so when working with dialogue that sounds decidedly written. Eisenberg does a terrific job as Zuckerberg, playing the creator of Facebook as a man who is more oblivious to the feelings of others than he is malicious. As Eduardo, the most sympathetic character in the film, Garfield delivers a performance that would deserve to be remembered come Oscar time. It probably won't though as it isn't showy enough for Academy voters. He makes Eduardo an everyman who simply cannot comprehend how big this little website he funded with its first $1000 is becoming. Also very impressive is Justin Timberlake as Napster creator Sean Fanning, er, Parker. He brings the right mixture of charm, self-importance, and paranoia to the man who helps Mark understand just how to make Facebook as big as it can be.
"The Social Network's" historical accuracy may be questionable but there's no denying this: Whether you use it or not, and whether it's a good thing or not, Facebook has made the world a far different place than it was just seven years ago. This is a version of the story of how it happened. Where Facebook, the internet itself, and our way of life go from here is uncertain. What is certain is that these three things are entwined. Aaron Sorkin and David Fincher have made a movie that understands that. 9/10.

The Town

2010-09-24T23:12:00.001-07:00

The second directorial effort from Ben Affleck is a very interesting film and another in a recent spate of movies that I have found a challenge to review (I still haven't gotten around to "Machete" or "Animal Kingdom" and at this point too much time has passed for me to review them properly). It has so many elements we've seen before. It's a heist movie, it's cat and mouse between cops (the FBI in this case) and robbers, and it's a drama about a relationship that is steeped in lies. If a movie acknowledges that we have seen these things before but gives us interesting characters that we care about then that's perfectly okay. In a way, that's what "The Town" is. But in another way, it's a movie with scenes of such stark brutality that it demands to be taken seriously. This was the cause of the struggle I had with "The Town."
Doug MacRay (Affleck) is the leader of a crew of bank robbers from the Boston neighborhood of Charlestown, which we learn produces more bank robbers than anyplace else in America. When Doug, his best friend James (Jeremy Renner, "The Hurt Locker"), and two others take down an armored truck and a bank in one fell swoop, things don't go quite according to plan. They get the money and they're able to escape easily enough but the bank's manager Claire Keesey (Rebecca Hall, "The Prestige") has set off the silent alarm. They decide to take Claire hostage in case the police come after them. When it seems they're in the clear, they send her away blindfolded. Despite the fact they were wearing masks panic sets in when they learn that Claire lives only a few blocks from them.
The trigger happy James considers extreme measures when it comes to Claire. Doug however would rather handle things himself. To find out what she knows he bumps into her in public and after turning on the charm, asks her out on a date. The two become emotionally attached almost immediately. She confides in him that she is scared of what might happen to her if she talks to FBI Special Agent Frawley (Jon Hamm, "Mad Men"). Frawley is determined to capture the crew responsible for the robbery and Claire's kidnapping. Matters are complicated further when James finds out that Doug has gotten close to Claire.
With a screenplay by Affleck, Peter Craig, and Aaron Stockard, "The Town" is a movie that asks us to sympathize with a career criminal who met the woman he supposedly loves by robbing, kidnapping her, and then letting her become involved with him without knowing the truth. Believe it or not this actually could work but despite the things that Doug goes through it still feels as though the movie lets him off the hook. There are many questions raised regarding character motivations or decisions, particularly at the end, which I won't spoil for you.
Despite some of the film's shortcomings and occasionally muddled nature, this is a well produced and mostly well acted movie. Being the director and a co-writer, Affleck seemed to have a good idea of what his strengths would be in playing Doug. The character is not a good man, but Affleck gets us to like him anyway. As I said though, the movie is too lenient on him. Just because he's yet another movie criminal who "doesn't shoot anyone," he's still a criminal brandishing a deadly weapon and who works alongside a guy who has no qualms with killing. I'm willing to let criminals off the hook in movies like "Ocean's Eleven," "Snatch," or "Grosse Point Blank," because we're not asked to take them seriously. They're comic fantasies that are either about harmless thieves having fun, a bunch of idiots who just end up killing each other, or a guy who's not as bad as Dan Aykroyd. "In Bruges" is a perfect example of a movie that manages to put its characters through the appropriate wringer. We genuinely like them but they're getting what they deserve and we know it.
Hall gives a good performance but Claire left me scratching my head on a few occasions. Renner, "Hurt Locker" aside, plays yet another character I spent most of the movie wanting to slap in the face. James is a thoroughly unlikeable hothead whose inability to keep his finger off the trigger does more harm for his crew than good. As James' sister and on again off again "girlfriend" of Doug's, Blake Lively ("Gossip Girl") demonstrates an inability to talk. Maybe that's just the character but it's not a very impressive performance. As Doug's main adversary, Hamm gives a solidly good performance. Affleck's direction seems confused in regards to the character however. It feels as though late in the game he decided that we shouldn't like Agent Frawley because we're supposed to be rooting for Doug. In the end, I still liked Frawley whether Affleck wanted me to or not.
"The Town" is a deeply flawed movie but all things considered a pretty good one. Even when it's frustrating it's still very watchable. 7/10.

The American

2010-09-10T09:19:00.001-07:00

I'll just come right out and say it. This is a difficult film to review. Not a complaint, just the truth. It's a quiet, intentionally slow-paced, character driven thriller. There aren't many of those, at least not after the 1970s and while some will find it absolutely absorbing others will complain about it being "like really boring, yo." This is one of those cases where I hear the valid arguments on both sides.
Jack or Edward (we don't know his real name but he's played by George Clooney) is a master craftsman with the construction and use of any and all types of gun. His life as an assassin has made him exceedingly paranoid and he is of the kill first, ask questions later mindset. With the life wearing him down he is sent on a mission to Rome, where he's told he "won't even have to pull the trigger." This actually does little to make him feel better. He does want to find a sense of peace for himself however, and strives towards it by forming a friendship with a priest (Paolo Bonacelli) and by entering into a relationship with local prostitute Carla (Violante Placido).
Jack/Edward's inability to trust anyone makes what would be peaceful moments all the more intense. The job, which is to provide a weapon and ammunition for younger assassin Mathilde (Thekla Reuten, "In Bruges") is simple for him. He knows what he's doing and his hands are well versed in every step of the process. It's his spirit that is failing him, he knows it, and he wants out as soon as this job is over. He just isn't sure that it's not already too late.
Written by Rowan Joffe and directed by Anton Corbijn ("Control"), "The American" is a beautifully shot, very well-made movie that is maddening for almost half of its running time. The early part of the film contains several scenes that come one after another with seemingly no connection to one another. One moment he's assembling a gun, the next he's in a brothel, and it's as though we're just seeing his daily routine.
While I certainly don't need or want a movie to show me exactly where it's going from the very beginning, there should be a sense that it is actually going somewhere. It's not the slow pace that's the problem, it's the thought that what I'm seeing is just meant to build atmosphere when this movie has more than enough already. Eventually the seemingly disparate elements do come together but it takes far too long to feel that the movie is gelling. It makes "The American" difficult to get into and by the time I really did it was well past the halfway point. A second viewing might reveal a great or near great movie and as it is it's good, but I can't say by any stretch that I loved or even liked it that much.
Clooney gives the sort of performance we've become accustomed to, which isn't a bad thing. He plays Jack/Edward with the suitable sense of paranoia that makes a picnic a terrifying experience. Bonacelli and Placido are quite good as well, Bonacelli even providing some much needed levity.
If you can watch "The American" trusting that everything you're seeing actually will come together to form something (and it does) and you don't mind a generally slow paced movie with brief spurts of action, then this is worth checking out. Anyone with an interest in photography should see it simply for the work of cinematographer Martin Ruhe, which is breathtaking. 7/10.

Cemetery Junction

2010-09-03T22:58:00.000-07:00

(This movie was inexplicably not released in theaters in the US and is already available on DVD and Blu-ray.)

The men responsible for two of the finest TV shows of the past decade (the UK "Office" and "Extras"), Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, have re-teamed for their first movie together. The result, while quite good, smacks of a strange sort of disappointment. This goes beyond the feeling of anticipation however. Regardless of who made it or any preconceived notions about it, "Cemetery Junction" is a problematic good movie.
It's 1973 and Freddie Taylor (Christian Cooke) is a young man in the British industrial city of Reading. Unlike his two closest friends, Bruce (Tom Hughes) and Snork (Jack Doolan), Freddie is working somewhere that can provide him a promising future. He's the newest salesman for Mr. Kendrick (Ralph Fiennes) at a life insurance firm. Kendrick has future son-in-law Mike (Matthew Goode) show him how the job is done and in an early scene we witness Freddie's discomfort with Mike's unsavory sales tactics. As it turns out, Mike is engaged to Julie (Felicity Jones), who's not only Kendrick's daughter but a childhood friend of Freddie's. Not having seen her for years, Freddie realizes the feelings he once had for her haven't disappeared.
When he's not struggling to make sales Freddie spends his time getting into mischief with smooth talking but short tempered Bruce and the dimwitted but loveable Snork. Bruce has been talking about getting out of Reading for years but the only places he ever ends up going are the local pub and jail after a night of fighting. Snork meanwhile, spends his spare time designing awful tattoos for himself. Freddie loves his friends but desperately hopes to make something of himself that he suspects they never will. Meanwhile, he falls more and more for Julie every day.
"Cemetery Junction" is a coming of age film that follows the genre's formula practically to the letter. It works because the characters are as well developed as they are. Still, as previously mentioned it's problematic. The actions of these characters, particularly what each one does at film's end, all make sense. We understand why they choose the paths they end up choosing. The reason it's problematic is that those actions are exactly what we've seen so many times before. Nothing is a surprise so the mixture of melancholy and exhilaration that Gervais and Merchant are attempting doesn't have the impact that it should. Still, it's a good movie with some really outstanding little moments. Kendrick's backhanded tribute to an employee he's "putting out to pasture" is one of the most effecting moments in a movie I've seen in some time.
Gervais and Merchant get the most from their actors here, particularly Cooke and Hughes, who gives Bruce a kind of rock star presence. Every scene between Bruce and his father (Francis Magee) is heartbreaking. Fiennes and Emily Watson are both excellent as always and Gervais has some very funny scenes as Freddie's father. "Cemetery Junction" is a good film. But not great. 7.5/10.

"The Other Guys" and "The Expendables"

2010-08-20T11:03:00.001-07:00

Yes, I've been to a whole lot of movies lately. By reviewing these two I'll finally be caught up on everything I've gone to in the past week and a half.

The Other Guys - An action/cop comedy starring Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg guarantees one thing. Lots and lots of yelling. What it also fortunately has is its share of good laughs and surprisingly good action sequences from the director of "Anchorman" (Adam McKay).
As the title suggests, "The Other Guys" is not the story of two superstar cops. The superstars are there (Samuel L. Jackson and The Rock, who wants to be called Dwayne Johnson now but once you've gone by The Rock that ain't goin' away), but when a foot chase doesn't go as planned, it's up to detectives Allen Gamble (Ferrell) and Terry Hoitz (Wahlberg) to pick up the slack.
Unfortunately for the NYPD, Gamble is a forensic accountant who is more useful with a paperclip than a firearm and Hoitz is best known for accidentally shooting Derek Jeter in the leg before the seventh game of the World Series, earning him the name "the Yankee Clipper." (A joke involving a particular teammate of Jeter's was especially enjoyable for me.)
Insisting, "I'm a peacock! You gotta let me fly!" Hoitz is determined to take on a big drug case and in spite of his intense dislike for his cluelessly cheerful partner, he brings Gamble onto the case. At gun point. Being that this is a comedy from Will Ferrell's crew, Gamble and Hoitz naturally screw things up early on no matter what they do. Their captain (a hilariously put upon Michael Keaton) doesn't want them on the case and another pair of detectives (Rob Riggle and Damon Wayans, Jr.) mocks them at every opportunity. As things get worse however, the two naturally, however slowly, bond as they try to crack the case.
As a buddy cop comedy, this is nowhere near the greatness of "Hot Fuzz," but I wasn't expecting it to be. With an enjoyably over the top Wahlberg handling the lion's share of the yelling, Ferrell mainly plays Gamble as a milquetoast fellow, but he has some explosive moments of his own. The two play nicely off of each other and thankfully the script by McKay and Chris Henchy gives them more to work with than "Dinner for Schmucks" gave Paul Rudd and Steve Carell.
In addition to Keaton's very funny turn the supporting cast is highlighted by Eva Mendes as Gamble's deeply devoted wife. The scenes between her and Ferrell are amongst the funniest in the film as he constantly insults her looks and personality with her sweetly taking it in stride. The biggest disappointment of the film also regards the supporting cast however.
A note to American comedy directors: When you put Steve Coogan in your film, give him material worthy of him. Ben Stiller got it wrong in the otherwise good "Tropic Thunder" and McKay and company get it wrong here. As funny of a comic actor as Ferrell is, Coogan could run circles around him, but as a slimy corporate villain, he is given nothing to work with. Anybody could have played this character and it wouldn't have made a difference. If they'd provided Coogan with a real character to play this would have been a far funnier movie than it already is. It really is frustrating because the average American filmgoer has no idea how funny the man really is.
In spite of a few shortcomings and the sense that it's sort of running out of steam near the end, "The Other Guys" is a funny enough movie with some pleasantly surprising car chases. 7.5/10.

The Expendables - Obviously every time you see a movie you want it to be good. But there are times when you find yourself hoping even more that you'll enjoy yourself. A couple of months after the movie version of "The A-Team" mostly got being a big, dumb, fun action movie right, "The Expendables" has come along, starring the biggest lineup of action stars ever assembled. I hoped for a big, fun, and dumb in the right way kind of time. Well it was big. It was dumb, but it wasn't that much fun.Directed by Sylvester Stallone, this is the story of Barney Ross (Stallone) and his crew of mercenaries who travel the world killing bad guys and blowin' stuff up for large sums of money. The crew consists of Lee Christmas (Jason Statham), Ying Yang (Jet Li), Gunner Jensen (Dolph Lundgren), Toll Road (Randy Couture, an MMA guy from Everett), and Hale Caesar (Terry Crews).
After Gunner loses it on a job, Ross decides he doesn't want him on the team anymore as they go into their next mission. The mission comes from a man who calls himself Mr. Church (Bruce Willis). Then Trench (Arnie) walks into the room with Church and Ross and we have the three biggest action heroes of all-time in one scene. This should have been a nice nod to the movies of the Reagan years. I wanted some good laughs here mixed with a sense of, "They've still got it." Sadly though this is the moment I knew something was really wrong. While Arnie was never the most skilled thesp in the world, his rustiness is noticeable. Delivering cheesy Arnie lines just isn't his thing anymore. Willis meanwhile just seems to be forcing...something, I don't know what, but he's just off, and Stallone's grasp of humor just isn't there. I should have known not to trust the star of "Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot" with pulling off sly humor. (I just realized I put "sly humor" when referencing Stallone. That was not intentional but I'm not changing it now.)
The rest of the movie involves Ross and his crew taking on a South American dictator. Along the way Ross has to find his soul again after years of...ya know, killin' people for money and stuff so he's gotta save the dictator's daughter who's fighting the good fight and...things. That's about it plot wise.
Big, dumb action movies don't tend to be known for their heart or for making us care why a boat or a compound needed blowin' up. The thing is, you don't really need that if you give us some characters who we enjoy. As director, co-writer, and star, Stallone just doesn't make Ross very interesting or terribly likeable. It seems like on all counts, Sly is just mailing it in, believing that this collection of stars will make the movie automatically good. Statham saves the movie from being a complete drag. He brings the personality, badassery, and understanding of the sort of humor a BDAM (big, dumb action movie) needs to work. The same story line with him acting as a one man wrecking crew like Arnie in "Commando" probably would have been a lot of fun. Li and Crews are both cool when they have something to do, but each only really gets one sequence. Other than that they're just kind of there. Then as one of the villains there's Steve Austin who takes the "I'm not gonna say anything, I'm just gonna stand here and look badass" thing way too far. And finally there's Dolph Lundgren who proves beyond the shadow of a doubt that the only words he should ever be allowed to say on film are, "I must break you," in an attempted Russian accent.
Throughout it all, I kept thinking that the Spike TV logo was going to suddenly appear in the corner of the screen. People who are predisposed to not like this sort of movie are probably asking, "Well, what did you expect, Bob?" I expected a highly entertaining BDAM. I like a good BDAM for what it is. For those of you who think I'm just being a snob by not liking this, I say again that I like a good BDAM. But this just wasn't it.
"The A-Team" had a sense of fun to it, with characters I liked, that "The Expendables" is lacking. It shows that even when making something considered low brow, there's a fine line between making it work and making something that feels like it was ghost directed by Renny Harlin. 3.5/10.

"The Extra Man" and "Get Low"

2010-08-18T14:28:00.000-07:00

"The Extra Man" - Independent low-budget films are often marked by their (and I've really come to hate this word) "quirkiness." Sometimes it's natural, a part of a great movie's fabric. Other times it ends up being a tool to mask how weak the story and characters are, and the more regularly I see this the more I hate the word. Based on the novel by Jonathan Ames ("Bored to Death"), "The Extra Man" isn't quirky. It's genuinely strange. By the three minute mark we learn that Louis Ives (Paul Dano, "There Will Be Blood") is a man who typically imagines himself living in the 1920s while secretly desiring to wear women's undergarments. It's a testament to Dano that knowing essentially only these two things about the character, we still feel like he's a regular guy.
Louis certainly seems normal when compared to his new Manhattan roommate, Henry Harrison (Kevin Kline). Henry dresses and behaves as though he is someone who might be better suited living in the world that Louis so often imagines. That said, Henry's old fashioned and unabashed views ("Princeton was great once. And then they let women in.") shock Louis. Henry forbids Louis bringing women over to the apartment, stating that, "I think you'll find I'm to the right of the Pope on those issues." Louis is fascinated by Henry and the two bond over a night cleverly sneaking into the opera.
Henry doesn't want to reveal much of himself to anyone, certainly not Louis, but he can't help but explain to the young man that he is an escort for older women, typically very wealthy ones. Not a male prostitute, but an escort. Someone to appear at functions and eat fancy and sometimes not so fancy dinners with. Taken with the idea of being this sort of gentleman, Louis wants to do what Henry does, even as he still harbors the strong desire to dress like a woman. This makes his budding friendship with his new co-worker Mary (Katie Holmes) decidedly difficult for him to navigate. But Louis doesn't really have an easy time figuring anything out anyway.
Directed by Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini, "The Extra Man" is the very strange story of a man, who despite so many factors, isn't such a strange guy after all. Dano does a wonderful job showing Louis as a young man still trying to figure out who he is and where he fits into the world. Even if it's with friends such as Henry and Gershon (John C. Reilly as a man with...ya know what, I don't want to spoil it for you), Louis seems to be figuring out who he is.
Being primarily a stage actor these days, Kline's film performances are not exactly bountiful these days, but they are always welcome. His performance in "A Fish Called Wanda" is bar none, my favorite of all-time. While I can't imagine him ever topping it, he does give a terrific performance here. He is funny and bizarre to be sure, but he doesn't give Henry away all at once. He is as fascinating to us as he is to Louis because despite being so set in his ways and his world view, he is constantly surprising. This would have been a very easy character to get wrong and I have a hard time believing anybody but Kline could have pulled it off as well.
Strange in a wonderful way, "The Extra Man" is definitely worth seeking out. In the Seattle area it is currently playing at the Metro. This won't get a wide release so check out the art house theaters in your area for this one. 8/10.

"Get Low" - The opening image of this new film from Aaron Schneider is so striking that we are absorbed before we meet one character. The only thing more powerful than this image is the personality of Felix Bush (Robert Duvall), a hermit in Depression-era Tennessee. Living in a shack he built himself on a massive plot of land, Felix is known about by everyone within several nearby counties. No one actually knows him but they know the stories. Whenever he does meet someone he demands their stories. Nobody seems to want to say no.
Knowing he is nearing the end of his life, Felix decides that while he's still alive he wants to throw a party. A funeral party. He wants to invite everyone who has a story about him so that they can tell them. Needing assistance with setting this up but not knowing when to turn when the local pastor (Gerald McRaney) is simply baffled by the request, Felix finds help on his doorstep.
Buddy Robinson (Lucas Black, "Jarhead") is the new salesman for Frank Quinn (Bill Murray). Quinn, concerned that his business is ironically about to go under due to the lack of local deaths, enlists longtime assistant Buddy to sell Felix on the idea of letting Quinn Funeral Home put the party together. Buddy's inherent goodness wins Felix over, while Felix's one of a kind personality charms the young man, making him care that much more about doing this right.
As Quinn and Buddy begin to advertise Felix's party, Felix shows more of himself to them, which actually creates an even greater mystery about the man who's locked himself away from the world for the past 40 years. Along the way Felix re-connects with one of the few people who knew him long ago, Mattie (Sissy Spacek).
Written by Chris Provenzano and C. Gaby Mitchell, "Get Low" is an excellent study of a man who desperately needs to talk about what has eaten him from the inside out over the past four decades, but isn't sure that he can. It's not overstating to say that Duvall is extraordinary. The best and worst in Felix are constantly at work, his internal struggle felt every moment he's on screen. Murray meanwhile, is great in his understated role as the slightly greasy but ultimately decent funeral home owner. Black is wonderful as Buddy, a man with such a big heart that Felix feels, "For every one like me there must be one like you."
"Get Low" is a film that keeps us absorbed thanks to its outstanding characterizations and the way that it builds to the truth about what Felix has been hiding away from all this time. Deeply moving with the right touch of humor, this is a film that I highly recommend. In Seattle it's currently playing at the Guild 45th. 9.5/10.

Waking Sleeping Beauty

2010-08-17T00:12:00.000-07:00

In a time when animation, particularly Disney Pixar animation, is having incredible success commercially and artistically, it's easy to forget that not so long ago it was an art form considered to be at death's door. This movie tells the story of the people who not only saved Disney animation, but who helped usher in a new golden age of animated cinema that we are still in the midst of today.
Directed by Don Hahn (a producer on such megahits as "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" and "Beauty and the Beast"), "Waking Sleeping Beauty" uses archival interviews, home videos, and old sketches to show how Disney animation came back to life during the late '80s and early '90s. We also see how it could have come crashing down all over again.
In 1984, Walt Disney's handpicked animators, or "Nine Old Men," were giving way to a new generation of eager artists who wanted to do things their own way. After the very expensive 1985 film "The Black Cauldron" failed at the box office (though it's a better movie than Hahn gives it credit for here), it was clear that some changes needed to be made. Walt's nephew Roy Disney enlisted Michael Eisner, Jeffrey Katzenberg, and Frank Wells to get the animation department going in a new direction.
Narrating the movie himself, Hahn presents the information in a very straightforward manner, and regularly makes his opinions known on certain individuals and their actions. He seems to think of animator Don Bluth as Benedict Arnold with a pencil and the success of Bluth's "An American Tail" over "The Great Mouse Detective" in 1986 still seems to pain Hahn. Mainly though, "Waking Sleeping Beauty" is about the determination of Disney's artists to make great films while the egos of Katzenberg, Eisner, and Roy Disney permeated anything and everything related to the company. Hahn seems to view the three the way most employees view their old bosses. Quick to point out their shortcomings as well as their good qualities, as he saw them. Katzenberg doesn't come off as the most wonderful guy on the planet but Hahn isn't the least bit vindictive. He doesn't smear the man who left to start rival DreamWorks. Wells meanwhile is looked upon quite fondly and even Katzenberg commented that Wells was often the peacemaker between he, Eisner, and Roy Disney and that he was easily the "most selfless" of the four. When Wells died in a helicopter crash a few months before the release of "The Lion King" the end was near and the remaining three seemed to know it.
This movie is the most interesting, the most fun, and even the most heartbreaking when focused on the making of the films leading up to "The Lion King." The two films that Hahn puts the heaviest focus on are "The Little Mermaid" and "Beauty and the Beast." The first was the film that showed that Disney was truly back and there to stay, while the second ended up being one of the few animated films to ever be nominated for Best Picture. Songwriter Howard Ashman, who died of AIDS before the release of "Beauty and the Beast" is the focal point of this section of the film.
The aftermath of Katzenberg's exit and how Disney fared after "The Lion King" are not examined here. The arrival of Pixar is discussed briefly but mainly the story ends in the mid-'90s. Hahn's film is interesting for anyone who is either a Disney fan or just has an interest in how art is created while executive egos clash around artists. I enjoyed it but for some reason that I still am trying to put my finger on, it felt like there was something missing. I think I would have liked to see more focus on the animators and what they went through to make these movies as opposed to all the scenes from old office parties. But I guess when you're hard at working creating a masterpiece you can't be holding a camcorder in your hand all day.
"Waking Sleeping Beauty" only played for one week in the Seattle area and unfortunately it's already gone. If you live elsewhere you may be able to catch it, otherwise you will have to wait for its DVD/Blu-ray release on November 30. 7/10.

"Scott Pilgrim vs. the World" and "Dinner for Schmucks"

2010-08-15T08:51:00.000-07:00

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World - Back in April I opened my review of "Kick-Ass" by saying that it was a difficult film for me to review, in part because it was so unlike anything I'd ever seen. Well now "Kick-Ass" has a companion. It's nowhere near as profane (f-words are bleeped and accompanied by black bars in this movie), the violence is decidedly less brutal (instead of being soaked with blood the dead simply explode into coins), and it's decidedly less morally ambiguous. Still, this is one seriously ambitious and unique film aimed at a generation that grew up on comic books and video games.
Scott Pilgrim (Michael Cera) is a 22 year old bass player for a Toronto band named Sex Bob-Omb, he has a gay roommate named Wallace (Kieran Culkin), and Scott is dating a 17 year old girl named Knives Chau (Ellen Wong). In spite of his professed innocence ("We almost held hands once but then she got too embarrassed"), Scott's dating of Knives is meant with judgment from everyone in his life, particularly his gossipy sister Stacey (Anna Kendrick). This doesn't stop he and Knives from enjoying their time together, playing interactive video games at the local arcade. Despite his complete lack of money or potential for going seemingly anywhere with his band, Scott feels quite content. Until he meets Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead, "Live Free or Die Hard"). Instantly smitten, Scott knows what he must do. Order a package from Amazon (Ramona's employer) in hopes that she'll deliver it so that he may ask her out. He'll get around to breaking up with Knives eventually. The thought of actually doing it just makes him queasy right now.
Scott's nerdiness and insecurity around Ramona actually wins her over because she's glad to finally be dating a nice guy. What Scott quickly learns though is just how different he really is from Ramona's exes. When a battle of the bands is invaded by Matthew Patel (Satya Bhabha), the first of her "seven evil exes," Scott's commitment to Ramona is put to the test. Once Matthew is dispatched, Ramona explains to Scott that in order for them to continue dating he may have to "defeat" all seven. In the words of so many video games, "Fight."
From the Universal logo at the film's beginning, "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World" is a movie that aims to please video game nerds. Being one himself, Edgar Wright ("Shaun of the Dead" and 2007 Bob Award Best Picture winner "Hot Fuzz") is the perfect director for this. But you don't have to be one to love this film. I know that because I wasn't. My nerdiness was always invested more into movies and television. Video games were just something fun to do every once in awhile. Wright wants all geeks to enjoy this movie and at least for me, he most definitely succeeded.
Based on a series of graphic novels by Bryan Lee O'Malley, the screenplay by Wright and Michael Bacall is sharp and funny, with Wright's direction keeping the film on the fly. The appearance on the screen of words you would normally see flashing across fighting games doesn't end up being gimmicky but feels perfectly natural.
The cast obviously knew exactly what Wright was after as well. Cera, doing what he does best, is an unconventional action hero to be sure, but that's just what this movie needs. Winstead does well to not try to make Ramona more likeable than she should be. She is likeable, but she's also maddening and we fully understand Scott's frustrations with her. With his dry delivery, Culkin almost walks away with the movie and the rest of the cast provide wonderful touches throughout. Most notable are Ramona's evil exes, particularly Chris Evans, an absolutely hilarious Brandon Routh ("Superman Returns") as an ex with vegan powers, and playing the most evil ex of all, Jason Schwartzman.
"Scott Pilgrim vs. the World" is the must see movie of the moment for geeks everywhere. I think what makes it a real achievement is what I realized near the film's end. You know how when you go to a friend's house and they're in the middle of a game that they're not quite ready to pause yet? You're starving so all you want to do is get to Taco Bell. And it's a nice day outside on top of it. Let's get out of here! But you wait and wait and remember just how boring it is to watch someone else play a video game. For the first time in history watching a video game you're not playing is an absolute blast. Well done, Edgar Wright. 9/10.

Dinner for Schmucks - Most comedies fall into one of three categories. There are the very funny, the hit and miss, and the aggressively unfunny. The thing about the aggressively unfunny ones are that not only do you not laugh, you feel a bit irritated, maybe even a little angry at their constant attempts to make you laugh that completely miss.
The most interesting thing about "Dinner for Schmucks" is that it's an anomaly. It doesn't fall into any of the three categories. I don't really recall laughing at anything particularly, but not because it's unfunny. I didn't groan or roll my eyes at a gag that fell flat. Other than occasionally causing me to smile just a little bit and at one point become very uncomfortable, "Dinner for Schmucks" didn't make me feel much of anything. It's just sort of there to look at. It will be the perfect movie to have on your TV while you pay your bills, read magazine articles, or talk to people on the phone. You kind of want to see some bits here and there but you really can just ignore it if you want to.
Based on the French comedy "The Dinner Game," this is the story of an eager company man named Tim (Paul Rudd). With a coveted position having just opened, Tim's making a strong move for it. He impresses his boss (Bruce Greenwood) by telling him he's in talks with a very wealthy Swiss businessman (David Walliams). The promotion is his if he can just do one more thing. Every month the boss hosts a dinner with the other top men in the company. Each man brings a guest. Someone "extraordinary." Extraordinarily stupid. At the end of the night one guest is bestowed with a trophy, whose true meaning is only understood to the men from the company. It's the prize for the biggest idiot.
Tim is very uncomfortable with this but he desperately wants that promotion. When he quite literally runs into Barry (Steve Carell) the day before the dinner and sees that Barry would be the perfect guest, Tim can't help but invite him. Tim's girlfriend Julie (Stephanie Szostak) is infuriated by the very idea of the dinner and storms out of their apartment. The rest of the film involves Tim's attempts to win Julie back, get the promotion, and Barry's disastrous attempts to help him do both, with the dinner itself acting as the film's finale.
Rudd is one of the best comic actors working today. Always relateable as the straight man, he delivers a solid performance here. Carell meanwhile is sweet, well meaning, and incredibly annoying. It's a bit like Bill Murray in "What About Bob?" except the results of his actions are decidedly different and Bob was actually a pretty smart guy in the end. Eager to help and with a constant smile on his face, Barry unwittingly creates a nightmare for Tim that could destroy his relationship with Julie as well as his job. Along the way we meet a highly eccentric artist (Jemain Clement, "Flight of the Conchords") and Barry's manipulative boss Therman (Zach Galifianakis), who give Barry a run for his money in the schmuck department.
In terms of the casting and the premise, this movie really ought to be a comic slam dunk. But it never really gets going. The setup seems to take ages and in spite of the best efforts of the actors it never becomes truly funny. The script by David Guion and David Handelman seems content to just play it safe and not really approach something really funny, subtly or uproariously. It's just kind of pleasant and director Jay Roach ("Austin Powers," "Meet the Parents") just rolls along with it.
The character I really wanted to see more of didn't arrive until the dinner. As a blind swordsman, Chris O'Dowd ("The IT Crowd") seemed worthy of a little more screen time because he seemed to be creating a pretty interesting character there. With a script that really went for it, he, like every other character in "Dinner for Schmucks," could have been brilliantly funny.
While clearly not aggressively unfunny, "Dinner for Schmucks" could have been great if it had just been aggressive at all. As it is, it will do just fine as you glance at it on your TV screen while you figure out what to eat for dinner. 6/10.

Cyrus

2010-07-26T15:28:00.000-07:00

For the past few years uncomfortable "awkward" comedies have become more and more cromulent. Some get it right, keeping the emphasis on character and story, while others get it all wrong, believing that mere awkwardness will be enough. "Cyrus," written and directed by Jay and Mark Duplass, is uncomfortable for most of its running time and it's often quite funny, but it never feels like a comedy. Thankfully though, the emphasis is where it should be.
John (John C. Reilly) maintains a friendship with his ex-wife Jamie (Catherine Keener) and though they've been divorced a long time John still feels the sting when Jamie tells him that she's getting married. In an effort to help him out, Jamie convinces him to go to a party in the hopes of him meeting someone new. John has difficulty talking to women at the party, his drunken honesty scaring them away, until he meets Molly (Marisa Tomei), who finds it charming.
John takes to Molly so fast that he tells her on their second date, "I really want this to work out." Clearly Molly likes John a lot but there's something she isn't quite ready to tell him just yet. Unknown to her, John follows her home one night and the next morning he discovers a young man living in her house. His name is Cyrus (Jonah Hill). He is Molly's son and John quickly realizes they're going to have to get used to each other. Cyrus on the other hand isn't ready to share his mom with anyone.
Cyrus and Molly are not just close, their relationship actually makes John rather uncomfortable. Once it becomes clear to him that he and Cyrus are in a psychological battle he knows that Cyrus has the upper hand. Cyrus knows this too and he's going to exploit his closeness with his mother to the fullest.
It seems that audiences have become conditioned to laugh when things get too uncomfortable for them when watching a movie. As great as "awkward" comedy can be when done well ("The King of Comedy," "Freaks and Geeks," the TV work of Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, etc.) the sheer amount them, particularly the ones that don't work as well, has put people in the mindset that anything that's a little bit difficult to watch must be meant to be laughed at. While there are several genuinely funny moments in "Cyrus" there are some very serious heartfelt moments as well. The difference between the two can be subtle but it is most definitely there. The Duplass brothers know what reaction they're after but the assembly line of uncomfortable comedies may leave many in the audience confused. I'm not blaming the Duplass brothers for this, or even the audience (except for the too cool for school viewers who won't allow themselves to feel anything), but mainly the film and TV industries for playing up awkward pauses and forced discomfort. Not every uncomfortable moment is meant to be laughed at. Some of them are filled with genuine emotion and are the result of a believable conflict between characters. In "Cyrus" these conflicts are wonderfully played out by the cast.
Reilly has great success using every inch of his talent, playing John somewhere between Dewey Cox and John from "Hard Eight." Hill meanwhile shows off a lot more depth than he has before, showing he may be around awhile after all. Tomei and Keener are terrific as always.
Maybe the most surprising thing about "Cyrus" was that it was released in its current form. As it ended I got the sense that this was the sort of movie that could have very easily become a formulaic major studio comedy with one word from a jittery executive. John and Cyrus would have been outlandish caricatures instead of real people, there would have been a series of broad fight scenes followed by an equally broad reconciliation, and it would have been all wrapped up with people dancing over the end credits.
"Cyrus" isn't a masterpiece but it is a movie that should be appreciated for what it is. The movie the makers of it wanted it to be. This one is well worth checking out. 8/10.

Inception

2010-07-18T09:29:00.000-07:00

Films as challenging as they are entertaining do not come along every week or even every year. The rarity of these kinds of movies should tell us just how special they really are. "Inception" is that kind of movie.
Two years after making one of the most artistically satisfying blockbusters ever made, "Dark Knight" director Christopher Nolan is back with a story that takes place in what he calls "the architecture of the mind." Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) is the leader of a very elite and unique group of thieves. Masquerading as "subconscious security" they break into the mind through dreams to steal ideas. After their most recent mark, Mr. Saito (Ken Watanabe), figures out who they really are he gives Cobb and his partner Arthur (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) a chance to use their talents for him. What Saito really wants though is not to steal a thought but to plant one. Certain this is possible, however difficult, Cobb takes the job when Saito promises him the chance to go home again. Wrongfully arrested for the death of his wife Mal (the excellent Marion Cotillard, "Nine"), Cobb's been in Europe ever since, separated from his children. He can't say no to Saito.
Saito's most powerful business competitor, Maurice Fischer (Pete Postlethwaite, "The Usual Suspects") is dying. Saito wants Fischer's son (Cillian Murphy, "Batman Begins") to decide to give up the family business. This job will require the best team Cobb can get. Along with Arthur and Saito, Cobb will be entering Fischer, Jr.'s mind with Eames (Tom Hardy, "RocknRolla"), a man who can change his identity within dreams, and Ariadne (Ellen Page), a gifted architecture student who creates the world of the dream.
"Inception" is a film with a lot to explain. The amount of exposition in this movie, while necessary, would be interminable if it were not given to us in action. Nolan gives us so much detail at such a rapid rate as the story progresses that it's impossible to catch it all in one viewing. This is a film that demands to be seen again, but who wouldn't want to? Not only is this is visual feast that should be viewed on the largest screen possible, it is a marvel of storytelling. When a movie involves getting into a dream within a dream within a dream within a dream and remains completely coherent throughout, you know you're dealing with a writer-director who knows what he's doing. Through it all he never forgets that the audience needs a reason to care. Each character is fully realized and smart people are given smart dialogue.
As always, Nolan's casting is exceptional. DiCaprio gives one of his finest performances, infusing Cobb's incredible intelligence with plenty of heart. Unable to move on from his wife's death, he is a nearly broken man and it could cost his team dearly. The other standouts are Gordon-Levitt and Hardy, whose characters clash throughout the film. Gordon-Levitt continues to display his versatility after "(500) Days of Summer" and "The Lookout." Even though it's a cliche, Hardy truly does give a starmaking performance as the kind of charasmatic badass that makes you want him back on the screen whenever he's not there.
In case there was any doubt before this, "Inception" cements Christopher Nolan's place as one of the finest filmmakers of this generation, alongside David Fincher, Wes Anderson, and Paul Thomas Anderson. Clear your calendar for this one. "Inception" is even better than you'd hoped. 10/10.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z75o-F6ja2I&feature=related

Despicable Me

2010-07-12T12:03:00.000-07:00

I have a special place in my heart for supervillains. Such intelligence, dedication, and hard work, all in the name of evil. Given the amount of time and effort they expend on their schemes it's hard not to sympathize with them when some do-gooder in a cape just flies in and ruins everything, er, saves the day. The makers of "Despicable Me" have so much sympathy for these evil geniuses that they've made a film with one as their protagonist.
Gru (voiced by Steve Carell) is a middle-aged supervillain whose exploits are well known throughout the world, so much so that he's considered the best in the business. Until upstart Vector (Jason Segel) comes along and steals himself the Great Pyramid of Giza. Feeling threatened by this much younger evil mastermind, Gru knows he must do something more dastardly than he has ever done before. With the help of his old friend Dr. Nefario (a virtually unrecognizable Russell Brand) and his little yellow minions, Gru is going to steal the moon. That's right. The actual moon. With a little help from his shrink ray he will be able to fit the moon into the palm of his hand. There's one problem though. He doesn't actually have the shrink ray yet which is preventing the Bank of Evil from giving him a much needed loan.
Once Gru steals the shrink ray it doesn't take long for Vector to take it from him. Gru doesn't know how he's going to get it back, until he finds out that Vector will only let three people into his evil lair. Three orphans selling cookies. Gru sets his plan to get it back in motion by adopting the three girls in question, Margo, Edith, and little Agnes. As you can imagine, things don't go exactly as planned for our supervillain hero.
The first feature film from Illumination Entertainment, "Despicable Me" is a wonderfully imaginative look into the life of a man who makes something like moon theft seem like a perfectly normal life goal. (It is, isn't it?) We see Gru as a lonely man with a desire to impress his mother (Julie Andrews), something that has eluded him his whole life. His gradual progression as a man discovering his own heart thanks to three little girls actually comes off as the right kind of cute when it could have easily been nauseating. You find yourself rooting for him to steal the moon and to become a loving father all at once.
He also has one of the most wonderful houses you'll ever see in a movie. Or in real life for that matter. Every room and every piece of furniture is befitting of an evil mastermind. You're going to want his car, or whatever you call it, as well. What you'll want more than anything however are your very own minions. They're just cute and funny enough to be loved by small children and just evil enough so that we believe that they would work for Gru. I liked the fact that all of them seemed to truly love their jobs too.
"Despicable Me" is the second great animated movie of the summer and its only shortcoming is the character of Vector. He's not a bad character but as the villain of a supervillain it would have been nice if he had a stronger personality and been given a little bit more to do. He's also probably the least funny character in the film, which is disappointing. This one flaw aside though, this is an extremely funny and incredibly enjoyable movie. Let's face it. At one time or another you probably found yourself watching a film and rooting for the bad guy. This is a movie that encourages you to and what's not to love about that? No matter your age this is one to see as soon as possible. 9/10.

"The A-Team," "Micmacs," and "Toy Story 3"

2010-07-01T20:26:00.001-07:00

Yes, I am all about variety. Let's get started.

The A-Team - If Saturday mornings in the late eighties meant Bugs and Daffy for my brother and I, lunchtime during summer vacation meant "The A-Team." Sporting easily the most badass theme music of any TV show in existence, people falling in slow motion, and lots of gunfire that never seemed to actually hit anybody, it was one of our favorite things growing up. Even so I wasn't about to demand that a film of "The A-Team" adhere to the same rules and formula as the series. Different cast, different time, different medium. As long as it was fun, had the right music, and resembled the original even a little bit I would be satisfied. In essence don't pull a "Miami Vice." Thankfully, Joe Carnahan's movie gets it right on all counts.
Carnahan (director of the criminally underrated "Narc") starts things off with a big dumb crazy action sequence that brings our four heroes together. Following the "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" theory of what makes a great team, Bosco "B.A." Baracus (Quinton "Rampage" Jackson) is the muscle, Templeton "Faceman" Peck (Bradley Cooper) is the looks, John "Hannibal" Smith (Liam Neeson) is the brains, and Murdock (Sharlto Copley, "District 9") is the wild card. During this sequence the team kills more people than they did in the entire five seasons of the TV series.
The action picks up again 8 years later after this "crack commando unit" of Army Rangers has earned a reputation for being the best at what they do. Due to this reputation, CIA Agent Lynch (Patrick Wilson, "Hard Candy") wants to use them for a special mission in Baghdad. It turns out Iraqi insurgents have created over a billion dollars worth of counterfeit American money using U.S. Treasury plates. Lynch wants them to swipe the plates and the cash and get them back into American hands. Face's ex-girlfriend Captain Sosa (Jessica Biel) senses trouble and warns them not to go through with the unofficial "Black Ops" mission but if they listened to her this movie would have no plot. Hannibal's old friend General Morrison (Gerald McRaney) can't officially endorse the plan but he stays out of their way, the only proof that they're acting with some kind of authorization. So of course after they successfully complete the mission Morrison and the money get blowed up and the A-Team is arrested, tried, and convicted "by a military court for a crime they didn't commit." The plan did not come together.
After this the four are incarcerated far apart from each other but when Lynch visits Hannibal in prison with the promise of clean records in exchange for the treasury plates, the boys reunite after a series of spectacular prison breaks. The remainder of the film has lots of chases, comedy, 'splosions, a montage involving creating a supervehicle, and then Don Draper shows up.
All in all, "The A-Team" is just what I wanted it to be. Well cast, highly entertaining, stupid fun. With 'splosions. I'm hoping that if there's a sequel it might follow the show formula just a little bit more. A storyline involving farmers being terrorized by businessmen or an orphanage getting threatened by mobsters or something. Ya know, the gritty kind of true to life stories the show was so famous for. Be sure to stay through the end credits. 7/10.

Micmacs - After an almost six year break, Jean-Pierre Jeunet ("Amelie") is back with a film only he could make. Bazil (Dany Boon, "Joyeux Noel") grew up without a father, due to his death from an exploding mine. Thirty years later, Bazil lives a quiet life, working in a video store. One night as he recites "The Big Sleep" in his empty store, a spectacular car chase is happening right outside. When he peers outside to take a look he is struck in the head by a stray bullet. After several months in a coma he survives but the bullet remains in his head and could actually kill him at any time.
When he awakes he finds he no longer has a home, possessions, or a job. Bazil must resort to unconventional ways of earning money and he soon catches the eye of an old ex-con who calls himself Slammer (Jean-Pierre Marielle). Slammer introduces Bazil to his new "family," a group of eccentrics who live beneath a Paris scrap heap. When Bazil discovers who manufactured the mine that killed his father and the bullet that's in his head he enlists the help of the family to carry out his revenge.
Being that this is a Jeunet film, revenge is more about comeuppance than an eye for an eye. There's nothing cold or mean spirited about Bazil but ultimately he could end up doing far more damage to the two industry titans his way than if he'd gone for Tarantino-style revenge.
Boon gives a wonderful performance as Bazil, a character we sympathize with the instant he appears on screen. The character's eccentricity never becomes cloying or quirkiness for the sake of it. Boon makes him a fully realized character. The rest of the cast do fine work as well and anyone familiar with Jeunet's work will see the usual suspects, most notably the always great Dominique Pinon.
It doesn't top "Amelie" but only a very small handful of films could. Jeunet is still a master craftsman with the love of character, story, and little details that have always made him great. The opening credits sequence alone is better than most whole movies I've seen this year. "Micmacs" is in limited release but well worth seeking out. In Seattle it is playing at the Egyptian. 8.5/10.

Toy Story 3 - After two films and several years, the target audience of "Toy Story" and "Toy Story 2" has grown up. And unlike most animated characters, so has Andy, the boy who loved his toys. Days before going off to college, Andy is packing his things. Some items will be going with him, others will be off to the attic, and some will just end up in the trash. His toys, which have not been played with for years, are worried about what their fate will be.
Some such as Rex and Hamm are convinced that disaster awaits. Woody (Tom Hanks) reminds them they'd long known this day was coming but now that it's here there's panic in the ranks. Andy decides to pack Woody in the college box and keep the rest in the attic, but a misunderstanding leads his mother to putting Buzz (Tim Allen) and the gang out for the garbage man. After a narrow escape and not knowing the truth about Andy's intentions, Buzz, Jessie (Joan Cusack), and the rest make their way into a box that Andy's mom is taking to Sunnyside Daycare. Having seen what happened, Woody tries convincing them that their job is still to be there for Andy, but their minds are made up. They want to be played with and belong to children who will love them.
Upon arriving at Sunnyside they are welcomed with open arms by Lots-O'-Huggin' Bear (Ned Beatty..."Wheeeeee!!") who leads them into the Caterpillar Room. Grateful for Lotso's hospitality and promise of an endless supply of young children to play with them, Andy's old toys are convinced that Sunnyside is where they belong. All except Woody. Angry with the others for what he perceives as selfishness, Woody decides to make his way back to Andy's house. Along the way however he winds up in the hands of a little girl whose other toys know the truth about the Caterpillar Room. A truth Buzz, Jessie, and the gang learn the hard way. Woody knows he has to get back to Sunnyside and bust them out but the bitter and devious Lotso won't make it easy.
With "Toy Story 3" Pixar extends their flawless track record. 11 feature films, 11 winners. It's very funny (Michael Keaton as Ken of Ken and Barbie fame and Buzz's Spanish setting are pure comic gold), it has a terrific villain in Lotso, and it's full of moments that are amongst the most touching in the Pixar canon, particularly near the film's end. I won't spoil them for you but you'll know them when you see them.
"Toy Story 3" is a wonderful conclusion to the story of the secret lives of the toys that mean the world to a little boy who's grown into a young man. As we see though, there's still some little boy left in Andy and "Toy Story 3" taps into that little boy or girl that's still there in all of us. 9/10.

Get Him to the Greek

2010-06-09T14:42:00.000-07:00

Well...it's been awhile since I wrote one of these and honestly I haven't seen that much lately. I started a review of "Iron Man 2" but never finished it. Long story short I was entertained and that's all I asked for. I didn't review "MacGruber" because I just couldn't imagine wasting that much time writing about such an utterly worthless film. Now I'm back with my first review in nearly two months so I may be a bit rusty but here we go.
Two years ago at the height of the Apatow factory's output "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" arrived and while it was no "Knocked Up" or "Superbad" it was a very enjoyable comedy. Stars Jason Segel, Kristen Bell, and Mila Kunis all did fine work and were funny but as crude Brit-rocker Aldous Snow, Russell Brand outshone them all. Due to the character's rousing success, "FSM" director Nicholas Stoller has made a film with Aldous at its center, "Get Him to the Greek." Things start promisingly enough with Aldous and popstar girlfriend Jackie Q (a very funny Rose Byrne) starring in the music video for the self-congratulatory "African Child." Many of "FSM's" best moments involved taking very fair shots at celebrity nonsense and this first scene upholds that tradition. The idea that no one knew anything was wrong in Africa until Bono told us has long annoyed me so this was pretty satisfying.
After this however it became apparent that something was amiss here. Things that may have seemed funny on paper and were almost certainly funny on set just don't land the way they should.
Things don't really improve when we meet Aaron Green (Jonah Hill), possibly the only person with ideas at a major record label. It's been ten years since Aldous Snow's legendary performance at the Greek Theater in Los Angeles, but the massive failure of "African Child" has turned Aldous into a has been. Aaron's plan to stage an anniversary concert is well-received by his boss, Sergio Roma (Combs Puff Diddy Daddy Sean). After Aldous agrees to do the show, Aaron is tasked with the responsibility of bringing Aldous from London to Los Angeles to perform the show. Now somehow I don't think a record company is going to send one young guy halfway across the world to bring a highly volatile drug addicted rock star in to play a concert. But since that's the premise of the film and I knew that going into it I suppose I can't complain about it too much. Still...
Not surprisingly things don't go according to plan and Aldous gets the fairly straight-laced Aaron into all sorts of shenanigans over the next three days as they try to get to L.A. Having just broken up with his girlfriend, Daphne (Elisabeth Moss), Aaron's not mentally or emotionally in a great place as it is and Aldous certainly doesn't help matters.
Near the end the movie takes a more serious turn that doesn't have the emotional impact it intends and it simply feels out of place.
"Get Him to the Greek" is mostly just flat. There are occasional moments in which Stoller gets the tone just right, particularly the quick montage of Aldous and Aaron's night in London and later on as the two run away from the sort of situation that only rockstars could get into. But the overall attempt to fully round out Aldous just doesn't work. It could have but the serious character development seems forced and the chemistry between Brand and Hill never quite seems to fly. P. Diddy meanwhile is just not a comedic acting talent. In the right hands Roma could have been a very funny character. It feels as though each of his scenes was done in one take and he frightened everyone on set into telling him that it was perfect and hilarious, cut, print, we're moving on. I just felt bad for Moss who was probably really excited to be doing a comedy after three years of "Mad Men," but the script never allows her a chance to be funny. Ironically, like "FSM," the unlikely star is a supporting character. As Jackie Q, Byrne shines brightly in her very limited screen time and she seems to be the only character who is in the movie that "Get Him to the Greek" should be. She's a glimpse at what might have been.
As 2010 nears the halfway point, it continues shaping up to be the worst year for movies in memory. 4.5/10.

Hot Tub Time Machine

2010-03-30T17:18:00.000-07:00

Sometimes a movie gives you exactly what the title promises. "Dumb and Dumber." "Snakes on a Plane." "The Assassination of Jesse James By the Coward Robert Ford." "Hot Tub Time Machine" is such a movie.
The thing about a movie called "Hot Tub Time Machine" is that I'm not expecting it to set up hard and fast rules for time travel and to stick to them. I'm not expecting complex character development or revelations that make you think about your mortality, the human condition, or why Hitler was a very very bad man. All I really want is for it to be funny. But is it?
Adam (John Cusack) and Nick (Craig Robinson, "The Office") have lost touch over the years but find themselves brought back together by their old friend Nick's (Rob Corddry) near fatal accident. Really Nick's not a friend so much as "he's an a--hole, but he's our a--hole," as Adam explains.
In an attempt to relive the good times they had more than 20 years earlier the three decide to spend a weekend in Kodiak Valley skiing and getting incredibly drunk. Adam's nephew Jacob (Clark Duke), who wasn't quite born the last time they went to Kodiak Valley comes along for the ride.
Upon arriving at the old ski lodge they find that it's not the happening place it had once been. Frequented now by senior citizens and with a cranky one-armed bellman on staff (Crispin Glover, ya know, George McFly), it's a bit of a hellhole. Determined to enjoy themselves anyway the three old friends and Jacob proceed to drink heavily in their room's hot tub and when they awake they find something's not quite right. Yes, they have gone back in time to 1986. When the guys realize what's happened and that their younger selves were there on that very weekend they determine that they must do everything the exact same way they did the first time around, fearing the so called "butterfly effect." Of course that doesn't work out as well as they'd planned.
There are definitely more aggressively unfunny comedies out there but really the funniest thing about "Hot Tub Time Machine" is its title. There are a few chuckles here and there, many of them thanks to Glover in a role that just seems to fit him so perfectly, but in the end this movie just isn't that funny. Cusack and Robinson are fine but don't really have a whole lot to do. I liked Corddry during his days on "The Daily Show" about six or seven years ago (around the time I quit watching it with any regularity), but I've just never really liked him in movies, even movies I've liked otherwise. Nick is just another variation on the obnoxious, unlikeable character he always plays and it never has been funny. Of the four leads Duke comes off the best. I liked that the guy in his early twenties was the voice of reason for the guys in their early forties. Very reasonably his character's only real concern is making sure that he still ends up being born.
"Hot Tub Time Machine" is stupid yes, but that's not the problem. It could have been the right kind of stupid and it almost is. But it just never gave me a really hearty laugh. It's as simple as that. 5/10.

The Bob Awards!

2010-03-05T15:14:00.001-08:00

Good news, everyone! The Bob Awards are here! No trophies, no meaning for the film industry, but there are mailed Red Robin gift certificates involved. Mickey Rourke, I still need your address from last year.

Art Direction
OSS 117: Rio Doesn't Answer - Like its predecessor, this French spy spoof is full of rich colorful detail that goes perfectly with the film's silliness. Maamar Ech-Cheikh did outstanding work here.

Cinematography
Black Dynamite - Most cinematographers today would have just used a computer to create the saturated look of a '70s "blaxploitation" movie, but Shawn Maurer opted to create the look naturally on film. The result goes a long way towards "Black Dynamite" being much more than a genre parody. It helps it become a '70s blaxploitation movie while satirizing them.

Costume Design
The Brothers Bloom - Beatrix Aruna Pasztor's costumes were as stylish and timeless as Rian Johnson's underappreciated second film.

Film Editing
The Hurt Locker - From first scene to last this film is as intense as anything you've ever seen. Editors Chris Innis and Bob Murawski ratchet up the relentless sense of fear.

Makeup
Star Trek - I couldn't come up with anything clever to say here. It just wins.

Original Score
Up - The best film scores are perfectly in sync with and even help establish a movie's tone. Michael Giacchino did just that in Pixar's latest masterpiece.

Original Song
Crazy Heart - In a time when so much so-called country music is bland and watered down, Ryan Bingham and T. Bone Burnett reminded us how great it can really be with "The Weary Kind."

Sound
The Road - The sound work is key to this film's sense of dire atmosphere and moments of terror.

Visual Effects
Avatar - The biggest box-office hit of all-time is notable as a piece of filmmaking for its technological breakthroughs. Now if only there had been a decent story, interesting characters, and even a scrap of heart.

Supporting Actor
(tie)
Peter Capaldi: "In the Loop" - Spewing a constant stream of bile and obscenities has rarely been this funny. Or creative. Malcolm Tucker was the funniest character on film in 2009.
Christoph Waltz: "Inglourious Basterds" - This German actor previously unknown to American audiences simply steals Quentin Tarantino's revisionist WWII tale. "It's a bingo!"

Sup. Actress
Rinko Kikuchi: "The Brothers Bloom" - In a nearly wordless performance, Kikuchi was the right mix of expressive, hilarious, and mysterious as a con-artist with a love of dynamite.

Actor
Sam Rockwell: "Moon" - Criminally overlooked by pretty much every movie award organization but this one, Rockwell gives the performance of his already stellar career. The day will come when he's finally recognized as one of the finest actors of his generation but he may never be better than he is as an astronaut clinging to sanity.

Actress
Carey Mulligan: "An Education" - We've seen coming of age movies about teenage girls "wise beyond their years" before, but I'm hard pressed to think of an actress who's pulled it off as well. Her performance as a brilliant 17 year old in 1961 London is natural and effortless.

Monty Python Award for Best Ensemble Cast
Star Trek: The degree of difficulty here was extraordinary. An entirely new cast was asked to become characters whom fans have held dear for over forty years. They haven't replaced the original cast but they have become the crew of the Enterprise for the 21st century.

Adapted Screenplay
"Up in the Air": Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner - 2009's most timely film is really a thorough character study of a middle-aged man trying to truly connect with someone for the first time in his life.

Original Screenplay
"(500) Days of Summer": Scott Neustadter & Michael H. Weber - A romantic comedy free of cliches and that feels like real life? Yes. An independent film script that doesn't rely on quirkiness? Double yes. Fresh, funny, and just plain wonderful writing.

Director
John Hillcoat: "The Road" - No film had a stronger sense of place than this unheralded post-apocalyptic tale of a father and son just trying to survive. From the very beginning you feel immersed in a world that's bleak to be sure, but it's powerful and atmospheric filmmaking.

Best Picture
(500) Days of Summer - This "story about love" may not advance film technology or tackle important social issues but it's my number one film of the year because it's a great story, well told, with characters who feel like real people. And that's what it's all about, isn't it?

And now the Fun Stuff...
Funniest Movie: Black Dynamite

Funniest Performance: Peter Capaldi - In the Loop

Most Entertaining Movie: The Brothers Bloom

Favorite Quote: "Your knowledge of scientific biological transmogrification is only outmatched by your zest for kung-fu treachery!" - Black Dynamite

Best Action Sequence: The first ten minutes - Star Trek

"Withnail and I" Award For Best Friendship: (tie) - Paul Rudd and Jason Segel, "I Love You Man." Robert Downey, Jr. and Jude Law, "Sherlock Holmes."

Best Fight Scene: Black Dynamite - "I told you never to call me when I'm doing my kung fu!"

Funniest Scene: Black Dynamite - Breaking down the conspiracy. "LITTLE RICHARD!"

Best Dramatic Scene: Carl and Ellie's married life at the beginning of "Up." Unforgettable.

Best Villain: Christoph Waltz - Inglourious Basterds

Most Despicable Character: Kyle (Daryl Sabara) - World's Greatest Dad

Best Couple: John Krasinski and Maya Rudolph - "Away We Go."

Best Movie You Probably Missed: World's Greatest Dad

Best Local Movie (that was actually shot in Seattle!): World's Greatest Dad

Best Work Movie: Adventureland

Worst Performance: Verne Troyer - The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

Worst Movie I Subjected Myself To: Miss March

Best Animated and Family Film: Up

Best Cameo: It's in "Zombieland." If you've seen it you know who it is. If you haven't I dare not spoil it for you.

Best Sequel: OSS 117: Rio Doesn't Answer

Best Ending: Away We Go

Shutter Island

2010-03-01T16:58:00.000-08:00

While I don’t feel it was for his most deserving film, I am glad that Martin Scorsese finally won his Oscar for “The Departed.” Not because it was really a lifetime achievement award that said, “Sorry about ‘Taxi Driver,’ ‘Raging Bull,’ ‘The King of Comedy,’ (my personal favorite) and ‘Goodfellas.’” It is because now with it out of the way he can just go back to making movies without the pretense of trying to win an Academy Award. While I enjoyed “Gangs of New York,” “The Aviator,” and “The Departed,” there was a sense with all three that he was caring a little too much about a little golden statue. “Shutter Island” isn’t going to win him any awards but he has made one heck of an entertaining thriller.
U.S. Marshal Teddy Daniels (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his new partner, Chuck (Mark Ruffalo) are investigating the disappearance of a woman named Rachel Solando from the Ashecliff Hospital for the criminally insane in 1954. As the head psychiatrist Dr. Cawley (Ben Kingsley) explains, “It is as though she had evaporated. Right through the walls.” From the very start “Shutter Island” is brimming with a foreboding atmosphere. Scorsese seems to be having fun just spinning a yarn. The cinematography, costumes, dialogue, and music are all there to remind us we’re watching a movie and to just surrender to the storytelling. He maintains this feel throughout its 138 minutes which actually fly by.
Teddy and Chuck have a hard time believing that Rachel Solando, a woman in Ashecliffe for drowning her three children, could have just disappeared as Cawley is claiming. The facility’s location on a remote island and the brewing hurricane suggest that even with Rachel getting out of her cell it’s unlikely she’s still alive. It also keeps the Marshals on Shutter Island even as they desperately want to escape, sensing a sinister plot.
As “Shutter Island” is a film full of surprises that unfold not as shocks but as logical progressions in its story I won’t say anything more about that. I will say though that Scorsese and screenwriter Laeta Kalogridis have adapted Dennis Lehane’s novel into something thoroughly engrossing and entertaining. That said, “Shutter Island” is hardly a happy film. Flashbacks to Nazi death camps and the senseless murders of children figure heavily into it. Still, it’s not quite as monumentally depressing as “Mystic River” (also based on a Lehane novel).
One of the elements I most appreciated about what Scorsese does here is that he uses visual effects in ways that are not only striking, but also serve to tell the story. Something James Cameron knew how to do when he made “Terminator 2” but recently forgot. The effects are a part of the emotional impact.
“Shutter Island” isn’t Oscar bait but it’s very much the movie I wanted it to be. I think most movie fans will feel the same way. 8.5/10.

The Bob Award Nominations

2010-02-19T21:38:00.000-08:00

The Bob Award Nominations are back! Once again instead of complaining about where the Oscars got it wrong I have created my own movie awards which have no trophies, no influence, and no meaning of any kind. But hey, it's fun, so here they are. The Bob Award nominations for the movie year of 2009:

Art Direction
Avatar
Black Dynamite
Fantastic Mr. Fox
OSS 117: Rio Doesn't Answer
A Single Man

Cinematography
Avatar
Black Dynamite
The Brothers Bloom
The Hurt Locker
OSS 117: Rio Doesn't Answer

Costume Design
Black Dynamite
The Brothers Bloom
Coco Before Chanel
Nine
OSS 117: Rio Doesn't Answer

Film Editing
(500) Days of Summer
Black Dynamite
The Brothers Bloom
The Hurt Locker
Star Trek

Makeup
Black Dynamite
District 9
Inglourious Basterds
Star Trek
Zombieland

Original Score
The Brothers Bloom - Nathan Johnson
Fantastic Mr. Fox - Alexandre Desplat
OSS 117: Rio Doesn't Answer - Ludovic Bource
Star Trek - Michael Giacchino
Up - Michael Giacchino

Original Song
Crazy Heart - "The Weary Kind" - Ryan Bingham and T Bone Burnett
Fantastic Mr. Fox - "Fantastic Mr. Fox aka Petey's Song" - Jarvis Cocker
Nine - "Take It All" - Maury Yeston

Sound
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
The Road
Star Trek
Up

Visual Effects
Avatar
District 9
Moon
Star Trek

Sup. Actor:
Peter Capaldi - In the Loop
Daryl Sabara - World's Greatest Dad
Peter Sarsgaard - An Education
Jason Segel - I Love You, Man
Kodi Smit-McPhee - The Road
Christoph Waltz - Inglourious Basterds

Sup. Actress:
Marion Cotillard - Nine
Penelope Cruz - Nine
Maggie Gyllenhaal - Crazy Heart
Anna Kendrick - Up in the Air
Rinko Kikuchi - The Brothers Bloom
Melanie Laurent - Inglourious Basterds

Actor:
Jeff Bridges - Crazy Heart
George Clooney - Up in the Air
Colin Firth - A Single Man
Joseph Gordon-Levitt - (500) Days of Summer
Jeremy Renner - The Hurt Locker
Sam Rockwell - Moon

Actress:
Amy Adams - Sunshine Cleaning
Emily Blunt - The Young Victoria
Zooey Deschanel - (500) Days of Summer
Carey Mulligan - An Education
Audrey Tautou - Coco Before Chanel
Rachel Weisz - The Brothers Bloom

Monty Python Award For Best Ensemble Cast
Adventureland
Away We Go
The Brothers Bloom
In the Loop
Star Trek
Up in the Air

Original Screenplay
(500) Days of Summer - Scott Neustadter & Michael H. Weber
Adventureland - Greg Mottola
Black Dynamite - Michael Jai White & Byron Minns & Scott Sanders
The Brothers Bloom - Rian Johnson
Up - Pete Docter and Bob Peterson & Thomas McCarthy
World's Greatest Dad - Bobcat Goldthwait

Adapted Screenplay
An Education - Nick Hornby
Fantastic Mr. Fox - Wes Anderson, Noah Baumbach
In the Loop - Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannucci, Ian Martin, Tony Roche
The Road - Jon Penhall
Up in the Air - Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner

Director:
Marc Webb - (500) Days of Summer
Scott Sanders - Black Dynamite
Rian Johnson - The Brothers Bloom
Kathryn Bigelow - The Hurt Locker
John Hillcoat - The Road
Bobcat Goldthwait - World's Greatest Dad

Best Picture:
(500) Days of Summer
Adventureland
Away We Go
Black Dynamite
The Brothers Bloom
The Hurt Locker
The Road
Up
Up in the Air
World's Greatest Dad

"Crazy Heart" and "An Education"

2010-02-12T17:24:00.001-08:00

Crazy Heart – We live in a time when Rascal Flatts is not only considered country music, but is amongst the most popular acts playing it. Meanwhile, truly talented country artists such as M. Ward and Sera Cahoone seem to only obtain cult followings. Bad Blake (Jeff Bridges) was once at the top of the country world, but as the popular sound has veered farther away from his own, he has found himself driving his truck to play shows at bars and bowling alleys across the southwest. At age 57 his only remaining fans seem to be other musicians and people in their sixties.
Prior to one of his shows, Bad is asked to do a favor for a musician’s niece. Jean Craddock (Maggie Gyllenhaal) is a reporter for a small paper in New Mexico and Bad makes no secret of his attraction to her as she conducts her interview. It doesn’t hurt that she has an appreciation of his music. Jean, a single mother of a four year old boy, is reluctant to embark on a relationship with an alcoholic musician twice her age, but she’s won over fairly quickly. This could have sent “Crazy Heart” off the rails about half an hour in, but as written and directed by Scott Cooper (based on the 1987 novel by Thomas Cobb), the character motivations do make sense, aided in no small part by the performances of Bridges and Gyllenhaal. This can be said of most every element in this film.
“Crazy Heart” as a story feels familiar at most every turn. Bad’s alcoholism, his divorces, the fact that he hasn’t seen his son in almost 25 years, and the ups and downs of his relationship with Jean are all things we’ve seen before. Cooper and Cobb get no points for story originality but the characters make complete sense. It’s a wonderful showcase for Bridges, who has been winning well-deserved awards for the past few months and will almost certainly win his first Oscar. I’m hard pressed to think of new ways to praise his work here so I’ll simply say it speaks for itself and he is a heck of a singer. Gyllenhaal does a terrific job as Jean. We know she should know better than to let Bad into her life and the life of her child but we understand her. Colin Farrell and Robert Duvall provide nice support in what little screen time they have as well.
Cooper’s film is held back by the story’s predictability and familiarity but well crafted characters make this very worthwhile. 7.5/10.

An Education – Another familiar kind of tale is the teenage coming of age drama, but Lone Scherfig’s “An Education” sets itself apart not only with its well developed characters but through its storytelling. It’s not a masterpiece but absolutely everything about it is just so good. Very good.
A few weeks shy of her 17th birthday, Jenny Mellor (Carey Mulligan, “Pride and Prejudice”) feels as though she’s going to burst. It’s 1961 and this London girl from a modest family yearns to experience life to its fullest extent. She is far and away the brightest student in her school and is steadily on the track towards acceptance to Oxford. Her father Jack (Alfred Molina) makes sure her life is as crafted as it can be. It’s important, he feels, that she play classical music in the school orchestra, not for artistic reasons, but because it shows she’s a “joiner-inner.” Her mother (Cara Seymour) is not so strict herself but she tends to go along with her husband’s rules for their daughter. Listening to a French singer on a record is an almost forbidden escape for Jenny. Living a life of excitement seems to be far, far away until she meets the older David (Peter Sarsgaard).
David is an ideal suitor in Jenny’s mind because he can not only offer her excitement and seemingly never-ending fun, but he’s a perfect gentleman upon meeting her parents. Even Jack approves of him within moments. But as Jenny and David get closer she realizes the jazz clubs and weekend getaways come with some very serious strings attached. David isn’t the gentleman he presents himself to be and the life he promises may not be real.
Written by Nick Hornby (author of the novels “About a Boy” and “High Fidelity”) and based on the memoir by Lynn Barber, “An Education” is filled with characters who may seem one dimensional at a glance but who are given greater depth with each passing moment. David’s not the only character who’s more than meets the eye. Jack is not simply a stuffy British father of a teenage girl. He’s a deeply fallible but ultimately loving parent who desperately wants Jenny to have a better life than he’s had. Molina breathes an enormous amount of life into the character. Olivia Williams (“Rushmore”) also does a terrific job as one of Jenny’s teachers, who cares greatly for her students. It’s another character who is more than she initially appears to be.
Ultimately though, this film belongs to Mulligan and Sarsgaard as the couple that cannot conceivably work. They each have a lot to work with thanks to the wonderful writing and they make the most of it. Mulligan has a tall order playing a teenage girl torn between two staggeringly different choices, each of which has their advantages. She pulls it off almost effortlessly, never going over the top or hitting a false note. Her Oscar nomination is richly deserved. As always, you just can’t catch Peter Sarsgaard acting. He’s as natural as they come (subtle and stellar in “Shattered Glass,” “Garden State,” “Jarhead,” and “Kinsey”). The man simply doesn’t do flashy theatrics. Even after we’ve seen who David really is we still find ourselves a bit charmed by him. It takes an actor like Sarsgaard to make that possible.
A few days after seeing it I’m still deciding what I really think was the meaning behind Jenny’s closing lines and if a movie has you doing that then that’s pretty special. One of the more deserving of this year’s Best Picture nominees, “An Education” is not to be missed. 9/10.

"The Young Victoria" and "The Book of Eli"

2010-01-18T17:14:00.000-08:00

The Young Victoria – It’s been a recent trend that films have depicted the lives of monarchs in their youth, giving an actress in her twenties a chance to wear a corset and portray a woman living in extraordinary circumstances (Kirsten Dunst in “Marie Antoinette,” Keira Knightley in “The Duchess”). Now it’s Emily Blunt’s turn and she is arguably the most talented actress to do so.
In 1837 as Princess Victoria (Blunt) approaches her eighteenth birthday, a not-so behind the scenes power struggle is taking place in regards to her right to the crown. Raised hidden away from the world by her overprotective mother, the Duchess of Kent (Miranda Richardson, as always, playing someone generally despicable), Victoria faces constant pressure from her mother and Sir John Conroy (Mark Strong, “Sherlock Holmes”) to sign a regency order in the event of the King’s death. This would put the Duchess on the throne if the King died prior to Victoria’s birthday. Victoria’s uncle, King William IV (Jim Broadbent) makes no secret of his deep disdain for the Duchess and he manages to live just long enough to allow Victoria to reach the throne.
What the screenplay by Julian Fellowes (“Gosford Park”) is more interested in though, is how Victoria dealt with life before and after her coronation. In the film’s open we see how unique Victoria’s childhood was. She seemed to have been aware from early on that her upbringing was decidedly different from that of other children. How this would affect her worldview is touched on but I would have liked to have seen this more fully explored.
What works very well is the examination of Victoria’s friendship and eventual marriage with Prince Albert (Rupert Friend) of Belgium. Presented in the film as being much more than a royal marriage for political reasons, we see that Victoria and Albert not only love each other but complement each other personally as well as in their royal duties. Blunt and Friend each give terrific performances that are so reserved for so much of the film that their emotional moments carry a much greater weight.
Also of note are the performances of Paul Bettany as Lord Melbourne, an advisor to Victoria with a romantic interest in her until she finally marries Albert, and the all too brief appearance of Jim Broadbent as the King.
Director Jean-Marc Vallee seems to follow a pretty well-worn path in the look and feel of “The Young Victoria.” British dramas in this period of history generally seem to follow the same pace and tone and Vallee doesn’t particularly deviate. It almost seems as though there’s a law mandating that all movies set in Europe between the 17th and 19th centuries include at least one shot of a character sadly peering out of a window while someone enters or exits a coach. I counted two here. Still, Vallee doesn’t really take any notable missteps either.
As a piece of filmmaking “The Young Victoria” is accomplished but plays it too safe. However the performances of Blunt and Friend are strong enough to keep us interested and make us care about Victoria and Albert. 7/10.

The Book of Eli - It's only been a couple of months since the release of the absolutely fantastic "The Road" but apparently you can never have too many post-apocalyptic stories about wanderers trying to reach the ocean.
Eli (Denzel Washington) is all alone as he heads west. From the beginning we see that he can quite literally sniff out an ambush and he is not a man to be messed with no matter how many guys you've got or what weaponry you have. Armed with a sword and a book whose significance is lost upon a generation that never learned to read (Eli states it's "been 30 winters since the flash" which blinded a great many of the few who survived), Eli will not deviate from the path he is on, even in extreme circumstances.
The book Eli carries may be unknown by most who walk the earth, but it is vitally important to Carnegie (Gary Oldman), a villain who at first seems to have more in common with Gene Hackman in "Unforgiven" than most of the villains played by, well, Gary Oldman. This only serves to emphasize the feel of the movie as a post-apocalyptic western. Early in the film, Eli, unaware of Carnegie's hunt for the book, is invited to stay the night in Carnegie's saloon. Carnegie, unaware Eli possesses the book, hopes that Eli will decide to join his crew in the search of it. Carnegie attempts to seal the deal by offering up Solara (Mila Kunis), but Eli isn't interested of taking advantage of the young woman and instead teaches her how to pray, a fact that Carnegie is tipped off to the following morning. When Solara escapes a reluctant Eli allows her to join him on his journey west, with Carnegie close behind.
While it doesn't pack the punch or create the sense of place that "The Road" did, "The Book of Eli" is a very entertaining film with strong action sequences, solid performances from the leads (along with some brief appearances by Tom Waits and Michael Gambon), and actually has more substance than you would expect. Written by first time screenwriter Gary Whitta and directed by the Hughes Brothers ("From Hell"), I actually found myself surprised that modern Hollywood would make this film. It's religious content is evident and unapologetic but it manages to not come across as heavy handed.
It may be the exception rather than the rule, but "The Book of Eli" is no "January junk." 7.5/10.

On another note, Ricky Gervais was brilliant as the host of the Golden Globes. "I like a drink as much as the next man. Unless the next man is Mel Gibson." Every awards show should be hosted by him, Steve Martin, or Conan O'Brien (Lord knows he'll have time on his hands soon).

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

2010-01-11T16:54:00.000-08:00

Two years ago this month when Heath Ledger died it was revealed that he was in the midst of filming with Terry Gilliam. While I was of course saddened by the death of Ledger the movie geek in me couldn't help but think, "Well it figures it would happen to Gilliam." He's faced severe adversity on seemingly every movie he's made, most famously on "Brazil" and the unfinished "Man Who Killed Don Quixote." When he's managed to overcome it though, he's produced some amazing work, particularly with "Brazil" and "Twelve Monkeys." Lately though, he's been a bit off his game. "The Brothers Grimm" was entertaining but doesn't hold up terribly well to repeat viewings and "Tideland" was certifiably unwatchable. Seriously, I couldn't bring myself to finish watching it. But the hope for Gilliam fans was that he could overcome adversity once again to produce something special. The result is a film that is so maddening and unfocused that I really think that Terry Gilliam is done as a filmmaker. Done making anything worthwhile anyway.
Doctor Parnassus (Christopher Plummer, "The Sound of Music") runs a traveling carnival around the streets of London. To all the world it appears to be a cheap and unmagical show with a rather sad troupe of performers. There's a little man in an animal costume (Verne Troyer), awkward Anton (Andrew Garfield), and the Doctor's daughter, Valentina (Lily Cole), who's fifteen going on sixteen. And when Valentina turns sixteen the Doctor's going to have hell to pay, literally. Long ago the childless Parnassus made a deal with the Devil, or Mr. Nick (Tom Waits... naturally), that if he was ever able to have a child that the child would become Nick's the day they turned sixteen.
As it turns out, the carnival features a mirror that leads into another dimension. It's limited only by the imagination of the person who steps through it. Nick seems to enjoy his interactions with Parnassus so he offers him a new deal just a few days before Valentina's birthday. The first to capture five souls would win and the winner would get Valentina. This seems an impossible task for Parnassus until the troupe finds Tony (Heath Ledger), hanging from a bridge, dead by all appearances (a rather eerie introduction for Ledger's final character). Still, they untie him and find that he's still alive, thanks to a little ingenuity on his part. Parnassus takes this as a sign that he is going to win and so the fight for Valentina's soul begins.
The answer to the question how did they get around Ledger's death with filming not yet completed is surprisingly simple and honestly it's one of the few things about "Parnassus" that really works. Every scene in which Tony appears in the real world, Ledger had completed. Only the sequences in which he goes into the imaginarium remained, so it was written into the script that Tony take on a different appearance whenever stepping inside. Johnny Depp, Jude Law, and Colin Farrell all appear as imaginarium Tony's and each does a surprisingly good job at keeping the character consistent, or as consistent as possible with this script. While it's unfortunate that this is Ledger's last film and unfortunate that the film itself is a failure, I can honestly say that it is in no way Ledger's fault. He's as charismatic as he ever was in the role of Tony, a schemer whose past is never quite understood and whose true nature is not fully explored. He does a terrific job with a character who sadly remained underdeveloped in the script by Gilliam and Charles McKeown. Plummer and Waits each do fine work as well, but Cole and Garfield are forgettable and Troyer gives a performance so abysmal I honestly don't know how he gets work as an actor. I can't remember the last time I saw an actor so inept at simply delivering lines. Every single word from his mouth is an exercise in pain. It's of little consequence though when the script and direction are as clunky and unfocused as they are here. It certainly doesn't help matters that its two hours feel more like three.
It's a shame for so many reasons that "The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus" just doesn't work, despite the valiant efforts of Ledger, his replacements, Plummer, and Waits. Ledger will be remembered for far better things. So will Gilliam for that matter. 5/10.

Sherlock Holmes

2010-01-08T17:28:00.000-08:00

For some, Sherlock Holmes stories are all about solving mysteries and becoming captivated by one man's unique intellect. While these are certainly a part of Guy Ritchie's new film, at its heart, this is a look at one of the most legendary friendships in all of fiction. Holmes (Robert Downey, Jr.) and Dr. John Watson (Jude Law) are closer than brothers and bicker like an old married couple. They've shared a London flat while solving several mysteries together but now Watson is getting married to Mary (Kelly Reilly, "Mrs. Henderson Presents") and moving out.
Feeling abandoned and bored, Holmes fills his days and nights performing some rather dangerous experiments. It's been months since their last case in which they caught the infamous Lord Blackwood (Mark Strong), whom Watson himself pronounced dead after his hanging. But when Blackwood's tomb is found destroyed from the inside, the coffin is opened. Blackwood has been replaced with a red-haired "ginger midget." It's just the sort of mystery to get Holmes out of the house and perhaps more importantly to him, a chance for some more bro time with Watson.
Ritchie and a rather large team of writers have crafted a very entertaining film full of action, humor, intrigue, and most importantly of all, characters we care about tossing around fantastic dialogue. Regardless of what your idea of Holmes may be, Downey is a blast to watch. He's as charismatic as an actor can be here. Law is almost as good. Despite the many annoying and manipulative actions of Holmes, Watson is loyal to the end and it's easy to see why these two are the closest of friends. Think Shawn and Gus from "Psych" but in late 19th century England. Rachel McAdams does a fine job as well as the only woman to ever outsmart Holmes...twice.
"Sherlock Holmes" is a ton of fun and a great way to spend a Friday night. Or any night for that matter. 8/10.

"Up in the Air" and "Nine"

2010-01-07T17:55:00.000-08:00

Up in the Air – “Who the f%#k are you?!” That’s a question you would get asked a lot if you were Ryan Bingham (George Clooney). It’s easy to understand why. Ryan works for a firm that specializes in traveling the country to fire employees when bosses don’t want to do it themselves. Ryan’s technique is notable because he puts a positive spin on the situation. He’s fond of the phrase, “Everyone who ever changed the world or built an empire sat where you’re sitting right now.” Given his successful sideline as a motivational speaker it only makes sense that Ryan would pitch this to the newly unemployed.
Given the constant travel and almost no contact with people in a positive frame of mind, Ryan is understandably isolated. He likes it this way, or so he tells himself. The closest thing he has to a friend is a woman in his apartment building, the place he calls home for, by his estimation, about 44 days a year.
The only thing that Ryan seems to truly care about is reaching 10 million frequent flyer miles. They’re not to go anywhere really. “The point,” he explains, “is the miles.” While on his journeys he meets a like-minded woman named Alex (Vera Farmiga, “The Departed”). They bond over wanting nothing serious in a relationship and thus begins a casual relationship built around figuring out when they’re next scheduled to be at the same airport again.
Things change for Ryan when his firm hires a young woman on the go. Natalie Keener (Anna Kendrick) plans to revolutionize firing people by having the firm’s employees stay home. The solution is to perform layoffs via video conferencing. Ryan is disgusted by the idea, telling his boss (Jason Bateman) that, “There’s a dignity to the way I do it.” Surprisingly this line doesn’t come off as a cynical joke. Ryan truly means it and from what we’ve seen we can’t help but agree. His boss decides that Ryan has a point and due to Natalie’s inexperience, the two are sent on a training run across the country. Ryan’s going to show Natalie what firing people is really all about.
Co-written and directed by Jason Reitman (“Thank You For Smoking”), “Up in the Air” is funnier than its subject matter would suggest and sadder than its trailer would lead you to believe. The role of Ryan Bingham is tailor-made for Clooney but he’s far from coasting here. He gives one of the finest performances of his career as a man who’s never truly connected with anyone and is just now figuring out how lonely that isolation really is. What is interesting about the performance and the film as a whole is how we see that Ryan is not only unable to commit to a romantic relationship, he has no real friendships, and even his family feel like strangers. It’s hard to imagine any actor but Clooney making such a character relatable, let alone likeable.
Kendrick meanwhile gives a breakout performance as a young woman who like so many other people in their twenties is obsessed with the idea of living on a timeline. “I’m 23 years old, I’m supposed to be driving a Range Rover by now.” In one of the best scenes in any movie of 2009 Natalie, Ryan, and Alex discuss life and the idea of timelines.
Reitman has fashioned a movie that is as timely as it is good. It’s so timely in fact that many of the people we see getting fired are not actors. They were people who recently lost their jobs and were given the chance on camera to either re-create their on the spot reaction or to say what they wish they would have said to the person letting them go.
There are moments in “Up in the Air” that I related to and others that reminded me of the struggles of my own friends and family. Any movie that can do that and still entertain is pretty special.
Believe everything you’ve heard, this is one of the best movies of 2009. Not to be missed. 10/10.

Nine - Several years ago I took a class all about Italian film director Federico Fellini. He made some good films ("Nights of Cabiria"), some great ones ("La Dolce Vita"), and some nearly unwatchable messes ("Satyricon"). Fellini was erratic but he did make at least one undisputed masterpiece, "8 1/2." The story of a movie director having a mental and emotional breakdown because he's run out of things to say is probably one of the most personal films ever made. That was 1963.
In the decades to follow Fellini's film was adapted into a novel which was adapted into a stage musical which has been adapted into Rob Marshall's "Nine."
Guido Contini (Daniel Day-Lewis) is set to begin filming "Italia" in ten days. After making several beloved "early films," Contini's latest offerings have been by his own admission, "flops."
Seemingly the whole of Italy is hoping that "Italia" will be a return to form. But what Guido isn't telling anyone, except his trusted costume designer Lilli (Judi Dench), is that not one word of script has been written. In his desperate search to recapture the creative spark he turns to his life's obsession, women. Amongst others there's his muse, Claudia (Nicole Kidman), his mistress, Carla (Penelope Cruz), an enamored reporter (Kate Hudson), and his neglected wife, Luisa (Marion Cotillard, "La Vie en Rose"). Guido hopes they will help him find his way but with each passing day he just comes further and further apart at the seams.
As with Marshall's earlier film, "Chicago," "Nine's" musical sequences are framed as fantasies of the lead character. The highlights belong to Cruz ("A Call From the Vatican"), Dench ("Folies Bergere"), and the best singer of the bunch, Cotillard ("My Husband Makes Movies" and "Take It All").
"Nine" doesn't come anywhere close to the greatness of "8 1/2," but it is a good and worthwhile movie with a dynamite performance by Cotillard. Her Luisa has long put up with Guido's infidelity and lies. She's finally had enough. It's the most fully realized woman in the film in both the script and the performance.
Day-Lewis meanwhile had a lot to live up to after "There Will Be Blood" and while this won't make anyone forget Daniel Plainview, his work here is very impressive. At one point Luisa tells him, "You think this is your job but this is our lives!" Day-Lewis has breathed life into a man who cannot separate the two. When this is the case the inability to create goes well beyond writer's block. 7.5/10.

"Invictus" and "The Road"

2009-12-17T18:22:00.000-08:00

Invictus - For some, sports are nothing but meaningless games, contested by overpaid and overglorified athletes. Even as a sports fan I have to say that these people make a good point. On the other hand, sports are important. They can unite families, schools, cities (Seattle in '95), and even whole countries in a way nothing else can. Even after almost 30 years of imprisonment, Nelson Mandela understood this. Clint Eastwood's new film tells this story, and is one of the few films I've seen to effectively illustrate just why sports truly matter.
Four years after his 1990 release, Mandela (Morgan Freeman) was elected president of South Africa. With apartheid still fresh on the minds of the entire nation, Mandela sought to bring blacks and whites together and end the ongoing mistrust amongst his people. He seems unsure just how to accomplish this until he attends a rugby match between the nearly all-white South African national team and England. "The whites are all cheering for South Africa," he realizes while, "all the blacks are cheering for England. That needs to change." As unimportant and inexplicable as this seems to many close to him, Mandela makes it his mission to make the Springboks beloved not only amongst the white minority, but by all South Africans. It goes beyond sports in his eyes, even beyond politics. "It is a human calculation," he insists. It wouldn't be easy however, as the Springboks still represented apartheid for many.
Mandela's first step towards achieving this is meeting with team captain Francois Pienaar (Matt Damon), who seems utterly overwhelmed as he fully understands just what Mandela's aim truly is. "We're more than just a rugby team now," Pienaar tells his teammates. "We may as well accept that."
Even as the host nation for the 1995 Rugby World Cup South Africa was believed to have no chance at winning a single game, let alone the Cup itself. But as the team began to win they began to unite a nation.
As always, Eastwood's direction is assured and accomplished without being flashy. He and writer Anthony Peckham keep their focus on the relationship between not only Mandela and Pienaar but on the relationship between Mandela, the Springboks, and the South African people. Freeman and Damon each give quiet yet exceptional performances as the two men who helped to heal a nation through something as seemingly trivial as sport. The supporting cast is just fine though outside of Mandela and Pienaar no other characters are fully developed. Perhaps developing these characters further would have given the film an even greater impact. As it is though, Eastwood has delivered another winner and a film that even the most rabid non-sports fan can enjoy. 8/10.

The Road - The last time a Cormac McCarthy novel was brought to the big screen, the Coen Brothers finally got their Best Picture Oscar for a thoroughly dark modern day western. This time we get a futuristic tale that makes the worlds of "Blade Runner" and "Children of Men" seem cheery by comparison.
After a nuclear apocalypse has wiped out the majority of life on earth, human, animal, and plant alike, the survivors spend their days and nights doing just that, surviving. An unnamed Man (Viggo Mortensen) and his unnamed Boy (Kodi Smit-McPhee) travel the empty roads searching for food and shelter anywhere they can find it. The few people they meet along the way cannot be trusted. "Cannibalism is the great fear," Man explains.
From the beginning, director John Hillcoat ("The Proposition") immerses us in this bleak world in which there is seemingly no reason to hope for a better future. Man's wife (Charlize Theron) realized this early on- as we see in flashbacks- as did many others who took their own lives rather than continue to live in such a world. Man's resolve is such that he will not take this way out, nor will he resort to cannibalism. "We're the good guys," he tells his son. "No matter what." Throughout however we see that it is up to the Boy to remind his father of this.
For the vast majority of its running time, "The Road" is astonishingly good filmmaking. The sense of place Hillcoat establishes truly is something special. There are moments of genuine dread and terror, such as a moment in which dying trees fall all around Man and Boy. I found myself so drawn in by the film that their discovery of canned food created a sense of joy. We really come to care about these characters and find ourselves wondering if we could handle such a life.
Another element that makes "The Road" work as well as it does is that for Boy, this is all he knows. "I must seem like I'm from another world to you," Man tells him as they enjoy a feast courtesy of Del Monte. He truly is.
Mortensen and McPhee breathe tremendous life into these characters. Mortensen captures Man's struggle as he protects his son at all costs in one moment, while putting a gun to the child's head in case they cannot escape a gang of cannibals the next. McPhee meanwhile delivers one of the finest child performances I can recall. This is true throughout the film but it is especially evident in the moment that Boy sees another child for the first time in his life. Not able to trust another living soul Man pulls Boy away as he screams to get another look. "He was like me!" he cries. It's a powerful moment in a powerful film.
I'm still chewing on what I really think of the ending of "The Road" but there is no doubt that it is a must see movie and one of the year's best, featuring an outstanding musical score from Nick Cave and Warren Ellis ("The Assassination of Jesse James By the Coward Robert Ford"). 9/10.

Fantastic Mr. Fox

2009-11-27T16:22:00.000-08:00

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"

2009-11-18T17:05:00.001-08:00

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"

2009-10-30T17:03:00.000-07:00

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"

2009-10-07T17:53:00.000-07:00

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

2009-09-08T18:23:00.000-07:00

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"

2009-08-23T11:08:00.000-07:00

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

2009-08-11T18:44:00.001-07:00

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

2009-08-02T09:50:00.000-07:00

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

2009-07-19T10:43:00.000-07:00

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

2009-07-16T17:11:00.000-07:00

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.

"Moon" and "Bruno"

2009-07-14T18:39:00.000-07:00

I tried to do three reviews last night but problems with the intertubes meant I could only complete "Public Enemies." So I'm back with looks at Sam Rockwell in "Moon" and Sacha Baron Cohen's latest assault on good taste and human decency (but hey, it's funny).

Moon - "Bowie's is in space." - Flight of the Conchords
Well Bowie's not, but his son is. First time director Duncan Jones does something wonderful with "Moon." This isn't to say it's a spectacular film. It's good but what's truly wonderful about it is that it is a showcase for one of the most talented actors working today, Sam Rockwell. You've seen him in an array of films. In movies as different as "Galaxy Quest" and "The Assassination of Jesse James By the Coward Robert Ford," Rockwell has shined brightly.
Here, Rockwell is Sam Bell, a man in the final few weeks of his three year mission on an isolated moon base (is there any other kind?). Amazingly with no one to talk to but a robotic smiley face named GERTY (who sounds an awful lot like Kevin Spacey), Bell hasn't completely lost his mind. He is getting there though. The thought of seeing his wife and daughter again is keeping him going, but when he goes out for a routine drive around the surface, he ends up buried in a pile of rubble. Not knowing how much time has passed, Sam awakes back on the base with GERTY watching over him. "How long have I been out?" Sam asks. "Not long," replies GERTY, but what does that mean?
To say what happens next would be to enter Spoilertown so I'll just say that we get to see a whole lot of Sam Rockwell talking to himself the rest of the way. As a fan of great acting I had absolutely no problem with this. Rockwell is, as always, not just brilliant, he's surprising. The way Bell reacts to the situation didn't strike me as how I might expect a person to handle it. He seems strangely unfazed by it as though he were almost expecting it. Rockwell makes us believe it though and Jones trusts him enough to let him go.
The story and screenplay by Jones and first timer Nathan Parker is definitely derivative at times but as a character study of Bell it's well thought and the character of GERTY is an inventive twist on the HAL 9000.
"Moon" is a movie that will definitely require a second viewing to solidify some things but Rockwell's performance is so outstanding (and it goes by very quickly) that I look forward to giving it another look. It's in limited release but check this one out if you get the chance. 8/10.

Bruno - In 2006, Sacha Baron Cohen gave us "Borat: Cultural Learnings of America For Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan" (I love saying the full title). It was a film that not only pushed the envelope, it tore the envelope into tiny pieces. With "Bruno" he's given us a film that pours gasoline on those pieces and sets them on fire before urinating on them. If the end of that sentence grossed you out then stay far away from this one.
Bruno (Cohen) is an Austrian fashion reporter with dreams of becoming "uber-famous." Like "Borat," "Bruno" is a combination of staged bits and real world interactions between Cohen's character and his unsuspecting victims. The first of his treks into reality (if you can call a European fashion show reality) comes when he disrupts a star studded fashion event with an all Velcro suit that comes close to truly bringing down the house. Banned from the major European shows, Bruno must come to America. With his loyal assistant Lutz (Gustaf Hammarsten) by his side, Bruno goes to Hollywood, believing the best way to become "uber-famous" is to become an actor. When that fails he doesn't become discouraged. He decides that interviewing the beautiful people in Hollywood will be the key to success. Unfortunately they're saying no. "Wilhelm Schmidt? Bradolf Pittler?" No.
When "Borat" came along we'd never really seen anything like it. It was the most inspired kind of comic lunacy imaginable. Cohen gave himself a lot to live up to and it would be impossible to replicate the freshness of "Borat." What "Bruno" lacks in its ability to surprise, it tries to make up for by going to greater lengths of insanity. It's not always successful comically, but it is more often than not, and no one can question Cohen's fearlessness. No one, and I mean NO one else would travel to the Middle East (or "ze Middle Earth" as Bruno calls it) to prank Israeli and Palestian officials or tell a terrorist (suspected anyway), "Your king Osama looks like a kind of dirty wizard or homeless Santa Claus." With "Borat" I often thought, "He's lucky he didn't get his ass kicked." With "Bruno" I thought, "He's lucky he didn't get murdered."
The real difference in feel between this film and "Borat" is that in "Bruno" there are times when Cohen doesn't seem to want the laugh, even the shocked laugh. He just wants us to be shocked and horrified by people at their absolute worst. It's difficult to laugh when a woman is seriously agreeing to having her baby undergo liposuction to get chosen for a photo shoot.
Once again, Sacha Baron Cohen has turned the mirror on society and the results are often less than flattering. "Borat" was a funnier movie but "Bruno" (which is still very funny) is the more shocking. That may not be what we wanted as an audience but I think that's what Cohen was going for. On those terms it's most definitely a success. 7.5/10.

Public Enemies

2009-07-13T17:10:00.000-07:00

I was trying to write reviews of "Moon" and "Bruno" tonight as well but my interwubbzy was having some issues. At least I got my review for "Public Enemies" finished. Let the complaining begin!

Public Enemies - Michael Mann is responsible for one of the finest crime films (or any kind of film) ever made, 1995's "Heat." He also churned out one of this decades biggest misfires, 2006's "Miami Vice." Going into "Public Enemies" it was anyone's guess as to which Mann would show up. The answer is a director somewhere in the middle.
"Public Enemies" follows John Dillinger (Johnny Depp) through the final year of his life. Just out of prison, Dillinger is infamous, but loved by the public. And he can't wait to get back to doing what he does best: robbing banks.
No one seems able to stop Dillinger and having the Chicago police force in his pocket only makes things that much easier. Only J. Edgar Hoover (Billy Crudup, sounding like Rex Banner) has any real aspirations of catching Dillinger. For Hoover, Melvin Purvis (Christian Bale) is the man for the job.
As a portrait of the battle of wills and wits between Dillinger and Purvis, "Public Enemies" misses the mark. This is due mainly to leaving Purvis largely undeveloped as a character. We never really understand just what it is that's driving him. Imagine if "The Fugitive" had left Tommy Lee Jones as a virtually blank slate. Perhaps this was intentional on Mann's part, as he seems to want us to sympathize with Dillinger as though he was some sort of misguided folk hero. Mann wants us to let him off the hook. It's possible to have a three-dimensional portrayal of an infamous historical figure without trying to make the audience like them (see "The Assassination of Jesse James").
As Dillinger, Depp does a fine job but it is nothing earth shattering. It's not going to make me forget "Ed Wood" anytime soon. The underdevelopment of Purvis makes Bale's performance unmemorable, but Marion Cotillard does a wonderful job as Dillinger's girl, Billie Frechette. There are some really terrific supporting performances along the way, namely Stephen Graham as "Baby-Face" Nelson and Stephen Lang as experienced G-Man Charles Winstead.
Finally, there is the look of the movie. Shot on digital, "Public Enemies" is an affront to anyone with eyes. It's often so murky that it feels like trying to watch a movie caked in mud. After the visual disaster that was "Miami Vice" Mann should have learned his lesson. He either needs to go back to shooting on film or he should give David Fincher a call and ask him what he did to make "Zodiac" look so incredible (another film shot on digital). It's just unacceptable from a director of Mann's stature working with big budget. 5.5/10.

Away We Go

2009-07-02T18:11:00.000-07:00

It can be easy to forget that life is an adventure. This seems especially true for people who are about to have a child as they feel their sense of freedom will be gone forever. But Burt (John Krasinski) and Verona (Maya Rudolph) see an adventure that is just beginning and like two people about to embark on any true adventure they have no idea where they're going.
The ever optimistic Burt is excited for the arrival of their daughter as he "cobbles" (whittling, really) in the mornings, hoping to impart a love of making things to the child. Still, the couple has no sense of home and with Verona's parents dead and Burt's moving to Europe (played by Jeff Daniels and Catherine O'Hara in a very funny scene), the young couple decides to seek out their own home and their own future. They travel from city to city, meeting friends all the way from Phoenix to Montreal hoping to find the perfect place to raise their little girl. The friends in these cities are couples at various stages and decidedly different levels of happiness. In them Burt and Verona see what their futures could possibly bring.
"Away We Go" is the fifth film from Sam Mendes and the first one that doesn't feel bred to be an awards contender. Having said that, it's probably his best since his debut (a little movie called "American Beauty") and more deserving of Oscar consideration than the bleak "Revolutionary Road." Burt and Verona are the couple that "Road's" Frank and April didn't have the courage to be. As the couple, Krasinski and Rudolph are absolutely terrific. Krasinski has been great on "The Office" but the films he's appeared in thus far (the abysmal "License to Wed" and the disappointing "Leatherheads") haven't given him the opportunity to show what he can really do. Rudolph is a long way from struggling through a poor "SNL" sketch as the weary Verona. The screenplay by Dave Eggers and Vendela Vida gives the pair plenty to work with. From the couple's stops along the way we are shown more and more how uncertain the future really is, but there is an overwhelming sense that Burt and Verona are going to be okay, and what's more we are genuinely happy to believe that.
"Away We Go" is a film full of colorful characters, many of whom could have come off as caricatures or as cartoonish in the wrong hands. Allison Janney, Jim Gaffigan, Maggie Gyllenhaal, and Paul Schneider (among others) make their brief appearances memorable, but Mendes, Eggers, and Vida wisely keep the film's focus on Burt and Verona. This is a wonderful movie that should not be missed. There will be plenty of time to go to "Transformers" and "Public Enemies." Go see "Away We Go" while you have the chance. You will be glad you did. 10/10.

Now a couple of trailers for some films I'm really excited about. First up, getting its Seattle release tomorrow, "Moon," starring one of my absolute favorite actors, Sam Rockwell.

And the new comedy from Steven Soderbergh, "The Informant," starring Matt Damon. Thanks to blogger buddy (and fellow Oriole fan) Keith at Reel Fanatic for making me aware of this one.

Year One

2009-06-21T18:35:00.000-07:00

What happened to Harold Ramis? The director of "Caddyshack," the writer of "Stripes," and co-writer of "Ghostbusters," one of the cleverest and most underrated scripts ever written. How did he end up co-writing and directing a movie with Michael Cera, Jack Black, and a host of other very talented actors...that's just so bad? In the almost 24 hours since watching "Year One" my feelings on the film have gone from bad to worse. There was so much potential here. So what happened?
"Year One" is a look at biblical and ancient history through a comedic (well attempted comedic) lens. Zed (Jack Black) is the worst hunter in his village, while his only real friend, Oh (Michael Cera) is a shy gatherer with a crush on Zed's sister Eema (Juno Temple). Zed wants to do something special, something important. Mostly he wants to impress Maya (June Diane Raphael). He decides to find the Tree of Knowledge and eat an apple from it. "It has sort of a knowledgy taste," he declares. But it also has "a forbidden taste," so when his fellow villagers find out, Zed is banished and forced to roam the earth. His exit doesn't help anyone though when he accidentally burns the village down upon leaving. Oh reluctantly joins him while Eema and Maya are captured by a slave master.
The opening is a bit slow but there was a sense that once Zed and Oh embarked on their journey the story (and hopefully the comedy) were going to pick up. Sadly, it never really does. Their meeting with Cain (David Cross) and Abel (Paul Rudd) has the potential to be a comedic home run. Instead it's more like a weak single trickling past the second baseman. It's kind of funny but not nearly as much as it ought to be. Still, it ends up being one of the best scenes in all of "Year One." Most gags feel flat, rarely hitting their target. Black and Cera try but they have very little to work with. Not even Hank Azaria and Christopher Mintz-Plasse (McLovin) as Abraham and Isaac can liven things up. The script by Ramis, Gene Stupnitsky, and Lee Eisenberg is incredibly weak. It didn't help that virtually everyone involved with the making of "Year One" kept trying to compare it to Monty Python's "Life of Brian." Where "Brian" was a smart and very funny satire that had something to say, "Year One" is a series of lazy poop and penis jokes that lack imagination. The fact that Stupnitsky and Eisenberg have been hired to write "Ghostbusters III" now concerns me greatly.
"Year One" is a tremendous disappointment involving a whole lot of people who must have known on some level that this just wasn't up to snuff. This is one to avoid. 3/10.

To wash the taste out of my mouth, here's a clip from "Life of Brian":

The Brothers Bloom

2009-06-10T20:28:00.000-07:00

Two young boys, Stephen Bloom, age 13, and Bloom Bloom, age 10, are not typical kids. They talk different, they dress different, and they can never seem to find a set of foster parents willing to put up with their shenanigans. Life has been hard for the boys and they have difficulty connecting with others and finding something they are good at. But when Stephen comes up with a fantastic story designed to help Bloom make friends and more importantly to Stephen, make the brothers some money, the brothers Bloom find their calling. The first con doesn't quite work out the way they had hoped, but there's no going back for these two.
The story picks up nearly 25 years later with Bloom (Adrien Brody) vowing to walk away after a con in Berlin. Stephen (Mark Ruffalo) knows Bloom will come back. He always does. But this time it will take something special to get Bloom to return to the life. It takes Penelope Stamp (Rachel Weisz).
Penelope is a lonely shut in living on the spacious estate left to her by her billionaire parents. For Stephen she is the perfect mark. Like the first con they ever had, this one begins with, "Bloom talks to girl." He gets to know the eccentric Penelope who fills her days "collect[ing] hobbies." Bloom convinces Penelope to come along with him on a little adventure, giving her a chance to get out and live, and making the brothers rich. "The perfect con," Stephen explains, "is one where everybody gets what they want." As they set sail for their adventure, Penelope is introduced to Stephen and the mysterious Bang Bang ("Babel's" Rinko Kikuchi).
"The Brothers Bloom" is the second film from writer-director Rian Johnson. 2006's "Brick" was an inventive modern day noir that never quite came together as a whole. With this Johnson realizes his full potential as a storyteller and filmmaker. The tale is as expertly crafted as it is fun to watch. The snappy dialogue, colorful costumes, and quirkiness of the characters all serve to immerse us in the movie's world. There are no quirks for the sake of quirks. The characters are fully developed and the relationships between the four are interesting and revealing.
Johnson gets terrific performances from his actors. As the cautious and more tender of the brothers, Brody is outstanding. His weary face says so much about Bloom's state of mind. Ruffalo is a blast to watch as the more mischievous Stephen and in their scenes together they are totally believable as brothers. Like most sibling relationships complexity and simple love go hand in hand. Weisz provides depth to the kooky Penelope. She shows us a woman who is about to burst with excitement after spending her whole life inside. But it's Kikuchi who just about runs away with the movie. As Bang Bang she says almost nothing but that only makes her more interesting. With the range she displays with a simple facial expression, Kikuchi doesn't need words. "She just showed up one day," Bloom explains. "And one day we figure she'll just disappear."
It may not be your typical summer movie fare, but "The Brothers Bloom" does have explosions and action to go along with the quotable lines, wonderful story, terrific performances, and sharp filmmaking. It's currently in limited release but if you can find it don't miss out on "The Brothers Bloom." 9/10.

"Up" and "Terminator Salvation"

2009-06-03T17:30:00.000-07:00

Up - Pixar has consistently produced not only the finest crop of animated films of the past 14 years (beginning with 1995's "Toy Story"), but some of the finest films in that time period. With their first venture into 3D, they have made a film that is a towering achievement even by Pixar's standards.
Like so many Pixar films, "Up" is the story of dreamers. When we meet young Carl Fredricksen, he is a wide-eyed little boy with visions of exploring the world. At the top of his list is Paradise Falls in South America, considered by many to be the last true wilderness on earth. As he walks through his neighborhood balloon in hand, he hears a little girl playing in an old broken down house. He goes inside and meets Ellie, a talkative and happy go lucky child who lives for adventure. "You don't talk very much," she tells a dumbstruck Carl. "I like you!" She likes Carl even more because he's promised to go with her to Paradise Falls some day.
The next several minutes of the film are more emotionally powerful than most whole movies. It's a wordless sequence in which we see Carl and Ellie grow up and grow old together. They save money for their dream adventure but life's complications and obstacles force them to spend the money they save on house repairs and medical bills. Sadly, Ellie passes on before they get to go to Paradise Falls. Life understandably just isn't the same for Carl (voiced by Ed Asner) anymore. Living alone, surrounded by construction crews he's become cantankerous and connected to no one. When he's faced with a court order to move into a nursing home, the former balloon salesman knows that for Paradise Falls, it's now or never. With thousands of balloons tied to his roof, Carl's house takes to the skies for South America. Unbeknownst to Carl, he has a hitchhiker. A boy scout named Russell (Jordan Nagai) needs only one more merit badge for assisting the elderly and he just happened to be on Carl's porch the moment the house took off. Together this unlikely pair is going for the adventure of a lifetime. All the while Ellie's presence is palpable. We know that she's right there with them and loving every minute of it as they make new friends along the way.
Co-directed by Pete Docter and screenwriter Bob Peterson, "Up" is a film of rare beauty, artistry, and humor that has the greatest emotional impact of any Pixar film to date. At its core is the lesson that it's never too late to take that grand adventure and maybe the kids who see this will gain a greater understanding of their grandparents, realizing that they were young once too.
As for the 3D, it was fun watching "Up" with the dark glasses but it's not necessary in order to enjoy this movie to the fullest. 2D or 3, "Up" is a wonderful adventure that ranks alongside "The Incredibles" and "Ratatouille" for the best of Pixar's best. 10/10.

Terminator Salvation - Six years after the enjoyable if not spectacular "Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines," the "Terminator" franchise gives us the fourth installment in the series. With Arnie busy Governating, "Terminator Salvation" focuses on the future, the year 2018 to be exact, and the resistance against the machines. At this point John Connor (Christian Bale) is not the leader of the human resistance just yet. For some he's the ultimate symbol of hope, for others a false prophet. Kind of like Batman.
Connor knows what he is destined to become and will stop at nothing to ensure that destiny is fulfilled. All will be for not though if Kyle Reese (Anton Yelchin) is unable to survive. Reese is only a teenager now, but unbeknownst to him, he is the elder Connor's father thanks to time travel (Reese is played by Michael Biehn in the first film).
The third key player in "Salvation" is Marcus Wright (Sam Worthington), a killer who's awoken in the future, unsure how he got there, but determined to do some good with his life.
Written by John Brancato and Michael Ferris and directed by McG, "Terminator Salvation" is a very entertaining if flawed film that is a worthy addition to this franchise. The film's biggest weakness is actually its main storyline. Whenever we were with Connor I kept wanting to go back to the Reese and Wright storylines (which are intertwined more effectively than the Connor story). We know full well that John Connor will be the leader of the resistance and it doesn't feel as though any new light is shed on the character or his purpose. Reese is far more intriguing and Yelchin more than makes up for being the weakest cast member of "Star Trek." He is absolutely terrific here. We see the man he will become in "The Terminator."
Even more interesting is Wright. His unfolding story is the most surprising and well developed. Worthington plays the role just right. This is a man who remembers where he came from but who has no idea how he got to where he is. His journey is an effecting one. It takes a special kind of actor to pull off what Worthington does here and I have a feeling this virtually unknown Australian is well on his way to becoming a major star.
McG's film is no classic but it's got good action and is far more fun and much more well executed than most are giving it credit for. If you're even a casual fan of this series you will enjoy this movie. 7/10.

It's Official: Season 3 of "Chuck"!

2009-05-18T18:30:00.000-07:00

In news that can only be properly classified as "awesome," the most entertaining series on TV today, "Chuck," has been picked up by NBC for a third season. Keep making decisions like this guys and I may eventually forgive you for cancelling "Freaks and Geeks." Okay, well I won't do that, but still. Good on you, NBC. Thanks to the Chicago Tribune's Maureen Ryan for the news:

Awesome news: 'Chuck' to return for a third season

It's official: "Chuck" is coming back for a 13-episode third season.

This. Is. Awesome.

Here are various stories/blog posts on the renewal news:

* The Hollywood Reporter
* Variety
* The Televisionary
* TV Guide
* The Los Angeles Times
* Zap2it.com
* Eonline.com
* Entertainment Weekly
* TV Week

Keep checking with those sources and here Monday and Tuesday for updates on "Chuck's" renewal. If further details emerge, I'll post them on this site. (For previous "Chuck" reviews and interviews, go here.)

Now, first of all, I just want to reiterate that I"m happy about the fact that "Chuck" is coming back. Look at this video clip -- it captures how happy I feel.

But as you've seen as you read all the stories above, there's a catch to the "Chuck" renewal. To ensure another season, "Chuck" will have to cut its budget (as is apparently the case with "Dollhouse," which is also coming back). The show will have to let go a couple of writers, and some actors who were series regulars in Season 2 may only be recurring guest stars in Season 3.

I absolutely don't want to lose the Buy More mayhem from the show (and I've not seen any reports that that will necessarily be the case). And the writing on the show was so good in Season 2 that the thought of losing any ace "Chuck" scribes is a tough development to ponder.

But critic Alan Sepinwall is optimistic about "Chuck's" potential Season 3 awesomeness: "I have faith that Fedak, Schwartz and company can make the show work on a tighter budget, and maybe, if the ratings are decent enough (and compared to some of what NBC has aired since the 'Chuck' finale, 'Chuck' looks like a world-beater for them), that 13-episode order becomes 22."

Amen! Preach on, brother!

All in all, I'll take a world in which "Dollhouse" and "Chuck" both get renewed. Time's James Poniewozik makes the argument that "smaller audiences and more creative—unfortunately for the talent, cheaper—budget arrangements can mean that shows survive that a few years ago would have been to tiny for broadcast. If 'Firefly' had debuted in 2009 instead of 2002, we'd be celebrating its second-season pickup today."

As I noted in this post on the renewal of "Dollhouse," we may be entering an age in which audiences, which now have far more ways to watch programs, also have far more say over which shows stay and go. In this case, the fan campaign to save "Chuck" is widely credited with helping the show get a third season. It's far better for a network to have a collection of passionate fan bases than to assume that throwing a bunch of stuff at a wall and hoping some of it will stick is a reasonable and rational business model.

In other words: "Chuck" fans are awesome. Well done, folks.

But this is no time for complacency. Give Me My Remote, one of the originators of the fan campaign, had this to say: "I think the worst thing we could do right now would be to let up on our 'Chuck' chatter. Let’s continue to do what we can to try to get new fans for next season. Lend out your DVDs and keep talking up the show."

Oh, and one more thing. When it comes to how I feel about NBC's decision, let me quote John Casey:

"You've done good work here."

Star Trek

2009-05-09T16:16:00.000-07:00

The term "reboot" has been a popular one with many film franchises in recent years. "Batman Begins" and "Casino Royale" were both outstanding rejuvenations of what had been struggling franchises. Now "Star Trek" is giving it a try with its latest entry, a film simply called, "Star Trek," or as I like to call it, "Star Trek: The First Film of This Series Without a Colon In the Title...You Know, Except For The One Indicating That There's No Colon."
J.J. Abrams's film takes us back to the beginning. In fact, James Tiberius Kirk isn't even born until the end of a spectacular opening sequence in which his father gives his life to save nearly a thousand from the vengeful Romulan, Nero (Eric Bana). Nero's on the trail of Spock even though he is also unborn. That's right kids. Time travel is a plot device in "Star Trek." (I'm sure when they decide to reboot "Three's Company" the story will revolve around some sort of misunderstanding.) What's noteworthy is the clever use of time travel in this film. It allows for some subtle (and some not so subtle) changes in characters, motivations, and "Star Trek" canon, which I won't spoil for you here.
The childhoods of Kirk and Spock are briefly touched on before we catch up with the reckless teenage Kirk (Chris Pine), as he hits on Uhura (Zoe Saldana) and picks a fight with four large members of Starfleet Academy. He's headstrong and brash, but Captain Christopher Pike (Bruce Greenwood) sees something in the young man and invites him to come to the Academy. "In four years you could be an officer. In eight you could have your own ship," Pike tells him. And so begins the journey of James T. Kirk.
Written by Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman ("Transformers"), "Trek" introduces us to the characters we all know and love while constantly keeping things moving. Abrams never slows down as we meet Bones (Karl Urban), Sulu (John Cho), Chekhov (Anton Yelchin), and quite far into the film, Scotty (Simon Pegg). Only Kirk, Spock (Zachary Quinto), and to a lesser extent, Uhura, are allowed much time for character development. However when you consider how fully Kirk and Spock are developed, particularly the dynamics of their legendary friendship, it's an acceptable sacrifice. Quinto does a fine job as Spock, but Pine is really fantastic. He never makes the mistake of trying to ape William Shatner. He fearlessly and unapologetically makes the character his own. The scene in which we see Kirk take the Kobayashi-Maru Test (much discussed in "The Wrath of Khan," the best "Trek" movie) is an instant classic. Most of the supporting cast give terrific performances as well, most notably Saldana, Cho, and Pegg. I had some trouble with Urban's Bones as it felt like he was doing an impression of DeForest Kelley, but in the 48 hours or so since I saw the movie, I've come to like his work here. As for Yelchin, he seems to be doing a caricature of Walter Koenig's Chekhov, making him the cast's weakest link.
So all in all, some minor flaws aside, "Star Trek" is an absolute blast and the most fun a "Trek" film has been since James Doohan beamed up some whales. I can't speak for the fanboys, but as a casual "Star Trek" fan I was highly entertained. I get the feeling I'll enjoy this even more the second time around. Bob out. 8/10.

"The Soloist," "Crank: High Voltage," and some TV goodness

2009-05-04T17:54:00.000-07:00

I've been to a couple of movies the last few weeks, "Wolverine" not being one of them. I just can't get excited for it, I'm sorry. I am however VERY excited for "Star Trek." Already have my ticket for Thursday night at 7. If it were the standard midnight screening there's no way I'd be able to go so it's nice to have a pre-opening day showing I can go to for a change.
I don't really have a heck of a lot to say about either "The Soloist" or "Crank: High Voltage" except I enjoyed both of them, but I'll give you just a little more than that.

The Soloist - Robert Downey, Jr. is outstanding (as always) as Los Angeles Times writer Steve Lopez, the real life journalist who discovered troubled musical prodigy Nathaniel Ayers (Jamie Foxx) and saved him from the dangerous streets. Director Joe Wright injects a bit more heart into this one than his previous effort, "Atonement." It's a moving story and a must for any fan of Downey. 7.5/10.

Crank: High Voltage - Remember how insane "Crank" seemed when you first saw it? Well, the return of the seemingly unkillable Chev Chelios (Jason Statham) is even more out of control. It's as if someone had a fever dream, then woke up and said to himself, "Hey! That'd be a sweet movie!" Nevertheless, I was entertained. While not as consistently enjoyable or clever as its predecessor, it's still quite a bit of fun. 7/10.

In TV news, if you have Starz and you're not watching "Party Down," slap yourself in the face. I'll give you a moment. ...Good. Now that you've done that select the first episode from your On Demand menu and get watchin'. All seven episodes are there. It's the story of struggling actors (and a writer) in Los Angeles, scraping by as caterers. Each episode takes place at a different party. The best one so far features J.K. Simmons as an angry father at his daughter's Sweet 16 party. The main cast includes Adam Scott (easily the funniest part of "Step Brothers"), Ken Marino, Lizzy Caplan (Janis Ian from "Mean Girls"), and Martin Starr ("Freaks and Geeks" and "Adventureland"). It's a very very funny show from the minds that gave us the late, great "Veronica Mars."
Then there's "Chuck." Any executive at NBC considering dumping it in favor of another hour of Howie Mandel, Jay Leno, or Donald Trump must now slap themselves in the face. You have the most entertaining show in some time on your hands. Don't let this one get away. Jeffster alone should be reason enough to give "Chuck" a third season.

Observe and Report

2009-04-13T18:09:00.000-07:00

A week after "Adventureland" turned out to be a much different film than advertised (but a great one!), "Observe and Report" comes along to be even farther away from how it was advertised. From the trailer, it looked as though Seth Rogen's Ronnie Barnhardt was going to be a lovable if somewhat self-important schlub. A good guy who's simply misunderstood by those around him and unfairly maligned for being a mall cop. What writer-director Jody Hill gives us however, is the story of a deeply disturbed and delusional individual who has absolutely no business in a position of authority, no matter how small. This marketing bait and switch was clearly designed by someone at the studio to sell more tickets, but this is a film that probably has more in common with "Taxi Driver" than any of Rogen's own earlier work. That's not to say this isn't a comedy, but don't expect it to be "Paul Blart" with a "Superbad" sensibility.
Ronnie is the head of mall security at a New Mexico shopping center that has just been terrorized by a chubby flasher. The pervert exposed himself to several shoppers and he comes back for more. When he comes after mall employee Brandi (Anna Faris), it becomes Ronnie's personal mission to capture and yes, kill, the flasher. He even says so in a profanity-laced tirade on the local news. But as a simple mall security guard Ronnie has limited resources and gets no respect from Detective Harrison (Ray Liotta), who rightly tells Ronnie to stay away from the investigation. Now in addition to the flasher there's also a burglar arriving in the night. Ronnie will not let this stand. Meanwhile, he applies to the police department, much to Harrison's aggravation.
In between violent, brutal outbursts, Ronnie courts Brandi but this is hardly a sweet budding relationship. Ronnie's creepy and Brandi is about as stuck up and self-obsessed as a person can be. It's a credit to Rogen and Faris as actors that they don't try to make these people likable or more cuddly. They get what Hill is going for here. This tone works well for many of their scenes together, but not everything comes off. Many scenes, particularly the more violent ones, Hill seems to be unsure of what he wants. Does he want us to laugh at Ronnie and Dennis (Michael Pena) beating kids with night sticks or does he want us to be horrified? In his seeming indecision he tries to have it both ways and the result is that we don't really feel anything.
For all of its flaws though, I still liked "Observe and Report." It's a very interesting film and Rogen proves he's able to stretch himself. There is some good work from the supporting cast as well. Pena is unrecognizable as the guy from "Crash" and "World Trade Center," and Jesse Plemons ("Friday Night Lights") and Collette Wolfe are both very good though sadly underused.
"Observe and Report" shows us a man that we sympathize with even if we would never want to be in the same room with him. There's something to be said for that. Just don't expect the laugh-fest you were promised. 7/10.

Adventureland

2009-04-05T18:14:00.000-07:00

Some of the best friends I'll ever make and most of the best stories I have to tell come from working a lousy minimum wage job where dignity was something I had to fight for every day. It was a battle I often lost. So I know exactly where Greg Mottola (director of "Superbad") was coming from with "Adventureland."
In the summer of 1987, James Brennan (Jesse Eisenberg, "The Squid and the Whale") was supposed to be going on a trip to Europe to celebrate graduating college. Unfortunately his parents (Jack Gilpin and Wendy Malick) can no longer afford to pay for it as they promised and with almost no money of his own, James needs to get himself a summer job to pay for graduate school in New York. With extremely limited work experience the only job James can get is at Adventureland, a Pittsburgh theme park run by a kooky couple (Bill Hader and Kristen Wiig) who love their jobs far more than they should.
It doesn't take long for James to realize how awful this job really is. He loses a "giant ass panda" to a dishonest dad at knife point in his first couple of days. The only thing making it worthwhile are the friends he's making who have been suffering there for ages. Joel (Martin Starr, "Freaks and Geeks") shows James the ropes while Em (Kristen Stewart) catches James's eye. It ends up being the best and worst time of his life all at once.
"Adventureland" was marketed as a silly teen comedy with a whiff of nostalgia to it, and it looked enjoyable enough, but this was a huge disservice to it. Greg Mottola has written and directed a film that captures the joys, frustrations, and boredom of working at a job like this. The on the clock gripe sessions, standing around after work trading cynical wisecracks, followed by an impromptu house party at a co-worker's. This makes for a very funny but also incredibly authentic film, filled with well-developed characters, outstanding performances (particularly Eisenberg, Stewart, Starr, and a toned down Ryan Reynolds), and some truly heartbreaking moments. Comedy and drama are rarely balanced so well as they are here. The budding romance between James and Em doesn't feel like something out of a goofy teen comedy because that's just not what "Adventureland" is.
I enjoyed just about every moment of "Adventureland," even the more painful ones. I loved that although it's set in 1987, the time period is never exploited for cheap gags. We just feel like we're there with no sense of irony. You can tell this movie wasn't made by VH1. The only eighties song that gets pounded into our skulls is Falco's "Rock Me Amadeus," but that's only because poor James has to hear it "twenty times a day" at the park. Anyone who's worked at an "entertainment venue" knows you hear the same music over and over again, all day, every day until you want to kill someone. And then they play the song some more.
This is a great movie about a time in your life you can never forget. Mottola is clearly glad to have left it behind him, but a big part of him misses it too. I know how he feels. 9/10.

"Duplicity," "Sunshine Cleaning," and "I Love You, Man."

2009-03-29T09:31:00.000-07:00

So now that we're into the spring there are finally movies out that I'm excited about seeing. Over the past few days or so I caught up with three.

Duplicity - Ray Koval (Clive Owen) and Claire Stenwick (Julia Roberts) met at a party in Dubia on July 4, 2003. Ray was MI-6 and after being drugged and having a vital envelope stolen, he found out that Claire was in the spy game as well. She's CIA.
Five years later the two are using their spy skills in the corporate world and they just happen to be each others contacts. Or is it happenstance after all?
Tony Gilroy's second film as a director isn't nearly as heavy as his "Michael Clayton" but the plot is even more involved. The basic set up though is that Ray and Claire have teamed up for a $40 million score. The plan is to steal the big secret project that Burkett and Randle's Howard Tully (Tom Wilkinson) is about to unveil and sell it to the highest bidder. They do this by working for Equikrom's Richard Garsik (Paul Giamatti), but Ray and Claire know that the big pay day will come taking the secret elsewhere.
With a clever script by Gilroy, "Duplicity" is as entertaining as it is twisty. Owen is terrific as Ray. It's the sort of role Cary Grant would have played 50 or 60 years ago and Owen pulls it off with aplomb. Roberts however is her usual bland self. Gilroy writes the character just fine but he never should have cast her. That so many people think she is such a wonderful actress remains a mystery to me.
Giamatti and Wilkinson are great in relatively small roles. Their knockdown, drag out fight scene during the opening credits is easily one of the coolest scenes I've seen in a long time.
"Duplicity" is a bit of good fun and the ending really will surprise you. 7.5/10

Sunshine Cleaning - So the producers of "Little Miss Sunshine" have given us a new film with "Sunshine" in the title with Alan Arkin playing a lovably cantankerous old man. You'd think they're trying to cash in on something here. That said, to simply say it's another "Little Miss Sunshine" would be a disservice to this film written by Megan Holley and directed by Christine Jeffs.
Rose Lorkowski (the always great Amy Adams) has not really been living the dream. She's making ends meet by cleaning the homes of her more successful former classmates while clinging to the hope of getting her real estate license. All the while she's having an affair with her married ex-boyfriend, Mac (Steve Zahn). Mac is an Albuquerque detective who suggests a more lucrative job for Rose. A crime scene cleaner. "They make good money," he insists, for cleaning up the blood in homes and businesses after the bodies and evidence have been collected. Rose is understandably reluctant but she needs money to get her son (Jason Spevack) out of the nightmarish public school that insists he must be put on medication. She decides to give it a try, enlisting her unmotivated sister Norah (Emily Blunt) to help out.
"Sunshine Cleaning" is filled with dark humor but also enough dramatic heft to maintain a sense of reality. The script does have some flaws. Some things, such as the one-armed cleaning supply salesman (Clifton Collins, Jr.) feel like quirks for quirks sake. That said, Collins does a fine job with the part. The cast is able to take some of these elements and make a great many of them work. Adams and Blunt certainly don't look like sisters but their performances and chemistry are so good we absolutely believe they are. Spevack gives a surprisingly good child performance and Arkin is great as always.
"Sunshine Cleaning" is a very enjoyable movie and one that promises to be a word of mouth hit. It is currently in limited release. In the Seattle area it plays at the Guild 45th, the Egyptian, and Bellevue's Lincoln Square. 7.5/10

I Love You, Man - There's a common phenomenon known as a man's woman. The kind whose friends all seem to be guys because she relates more to them than she does to other women. What you don't hear as often about is the woman's man. The kind of guy who's a great boyfriend and who gets along well with women wherever he goes. Peter Klaven (Paul Rudd) is that kind of guy. When he gets engaged to Zooey (Rashida Jones, Karen from "The Office"), she spends the remainder of the evening calling all of her closest friends, of which she has many. Zooey asks who Peter wants to call, but he really doesn't have an answer. When we see him at work the next day he's clearly more at ease talking to his female co-workers than he is with Tevin (Rob Huebel of "Inconsiderate Cell Phone Man" fame), who just makes crass remarks and forwards filthy internet videos.
Worried that he won't even have a best man for the wedding, Peter decides he needs to make some friends. His brother Robbie (Andy Samberg) suggests setting up some "man dates" to make some friends. And so Peter's incredibly awkward journey begins. In less capable hands, Peter would come off as a loser, even a little bit scary. But Rudd makes us feel for Peter and more than once I found myself identifying with him a little more than I would have liked to. He's a nice guy that would make friends easily if he didn't try so hard. Just when he's about to give up though, he meets Sydney Fife (Jason Segel). The two instantly connect. Peter appreciates Sydney's honesty and Sydney is impressed with Peter's choice of sandwich. At first Zooey is excited for Peter, but the road ahead is going to get a little bumpy.
Written and directed by John Hamburg (atoning for the dreadful "Along Came Polly"), "I Love You, Man" is funny, highly quotable, funny, endlessly entertaining, funny, and thoroughly enjoyable. Rudd and Segel are so perfect together (whether they're playing Rush songs in Sydney's man cave or running afoul of an angry Lou Ferrigno) that you're left with a smile that will last a long time. These two bring these characters fully to life. Sydney could have come off as psychotic as played by many actors, but Segel plays him as a guy with a big heart who just happens to have a few anger issues and who occasionally puts his foot in his mouth (which hurts Peter more than it hurts him).
It's been awhile since I had so much fun with a movie and whether the line was written by Hamburg or improvised by Segel, "Broseph Goebbels" has to be one of the funniest things I've ever heard. Whether you're seeing it with your girlfriend, your boyfriend, or your best friend, "I Love You, Man" is a movie you will love...man. 8.5/10

Why worry? Each one of us is carrying an unlicensed nuclear accelerator on his back.

2009-03-28T06:30:00.000-07:00

Like most any other child of my generation I grew up on the 1984 classic, "Ghost Busters." Since about the age of five it's a film that has never failed to make me laugh and ever since then I've thought that Bill Murray is pretty much the funniest person who's ever lived. "Ghostbusters 2," while not a classic is a much better movie than people give it credit for.
For awhile now it's been known that a third installment is on its way. At this point all that really seems to be known is that the screenplay will be written by Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky, who've written a number of episodes of the American "Office." The storyline seems to be that 25 years after first going into action, the guys are training the new team. This article from Empire (the absolute best film magazine in existence) features one man's opinion regarding the potential cast. No matter what you think of his other suggestions, you have to agree that he's right on about Paul Rudd.

Who Ya Gonna Call?
Posted on Tuesday March 24, 2009, 17:46 by Nick de Semlyen

Like it or not, a new Ghostbusters movie is marching towards us like a giant, sailor-suited mallow-bastard from another dimension. At this point, all we have to go on is hearsay, rumours and evidence drawn from ouija-board seances, but it seems likely that GB3 will see the old gang training youngsters in the ways of the proton pack. “A big element is passing the torch onto a new generation of Ghostbusters,” Dan Aykroyd said recently. “It’s going to be Harold and me and Billy and Ernie training the new ones.”

This got me thinking. Who, if I had similar supernatural powers to Viggo (scourge of Carpathia, sorrow of Moldavia) and could manipulate the mind of Aykroyd and co., would I pick to fill the roles of this “new generation”? Here are my ideas; if you think I’ve got it completely wrong or have overlooked the perfect potential ‘Buster, leave a comment below. No this-man-has-no-dick insults, if you please.

Tracy Morgan
As any 30 Rock fan knows, Morgan perches right on the border between “loveably quirky” and “absolutely batshit demented”. He’s hilariously volatile and unpredictable enough when playing deluded TV star Tracy Jordan —give the man a piece of nuclear accelerative machinery that could potentially end the universe and you have guaranteed quality mayhem. Later this year he’s making his jump to the big screen by buddying up with Bruce Willis in Kevin Smith’s action comedy A Couple Of Dicks, so Ghostbusters 3 would be the perfect follow-up and vehicle for his livewire antics.

John Krasinski
Another TV star, this time from the American version of The Office. I see Krasinski playing the straight man to the madness, much as Bill Murray’s Peter Venkman used to deflate the earnest pronouncements of Ray and Egon with acid one-liners. Like Morgan, he’s an actor who’s loved by plenty of small-screen viewers but hasn’t had proper exposure at the multiplex. Something that might give him an advantage here is the fact that the writers of The Office are penning the Ghostbusters 3 script.

Paul Rudd
Judd Apatow’s production company has been linked to the new Ghostbusters sequel, though details remain fuzzy. If the modern-day Master of Mirth does prove to be involved, can we expect to see members of his repertory in major roles? Very possibly — Seth Rogen, Steve Carell, Jonah Hill or even Will Ferrell could end up holding the keys to the Ecto-Containment Unit, in the process irritating the hell out of one of Walter Peck’s descendants. We may even see McLovin as Egon Jr. But more than any of those, I’d like to see Paul Rudd taking on unruly spectres. He’s cool, sly, likeable and — crucially — was born in New Jersey, not too far from NY City. In my opinion, a New York attitude is a crucial part of the DNA of any potential ‘Buster.

Tiny Fey
And talking of which, who’s more New York than Fey? Adding a lady to the team would really shake things up, and this one has all the necessary attributes (biting sarcasm, an adorable nerdiness, Rick Moranis specs) to bring the Ghostbusters into the 21st century. She’s also an alumnus of Saturday Night Live, the show which three decades ago gave Aykroyd and Murray their big break.

Shia LaBeouf
We saw glimpses of his comedy chops in Transformers, so we’re guessing he’d be game for a properly silly film. Plus he’s used to interacting with CG creations, of which we’re sure there will be many in this movie, possesses a laidback scrappiness, and has the experience to hold his own against the older generation.

So now that the British man from the magazine has had his say, I'm going to throw my hat into the ring.

So I'll start off with another couple of names mentioned in the article, Seth Rogen and Jason Segel. While we're at it, why not just go total "Freaks and Geeks" and add James Franco to the mix. This isn't just another Apatow crew idea as I see it. If you're going to do another "Ghostbusters" it should be made by people who understand what made the first two work and how to carry that spirit on yet bring something new and truly funny to the table. These guys, along with Rudd, are just the sort of guys who would get it. And I would love to see those four on screen with Murray and co.

British Ghostbusters? Why not?

Speaking of people who'd get it, how about Simon Pegg and Nick Frost? Anyone who's seen "Shaun of the Dead" or "Hot Fuzz" knows that these two know their way around blending comedy with genres not typically known for being funny, such as zombie films, cop movies, or...paranormal thrillers? And as long as I'm suggesting Pegg and Frost I really think that Edgar Wright is the man to direct this, regardless of who is cast. I think even more than Ivan Reitman (whose recent track record hasn't been that stellar), Wright could make this work better than any other director in the world today.
Finally, if we're going to have some red coats on the new team I have to suggest a place for the funniest person in the world today, Ricky Gervais. Maybe not as one of the crew, but maybe their publicist or the guy who answers the phones. Just putting him in something in any capacity would automatically make it at least 37 percent funnier.

Other names just floating into my brain this Saturday morning:

Sam Rockwell - An actor with more range than most anyone else out there today, Rockwell's proven he can do this sort of thing (see "Galaxy Quest"). I think he'd look right at home carrying a proton pack.

Will Smith - I'm surprised I haven't heard anyone else mention him as a possibility. When it comes to action/sci-fi/comedy, he's kind of been top of the heap the last decade or so. Or maybe it's just too obvious. I'd be concerned about the studio wanting to turn it into another "Will Smith vehicle" but I think the man knows how to play well with others better than people give him credit for.

John C. Reilly - Come on. It would be awesome.

Michael Cera - You simply cannot talk comedy right now and not have George Michael Bluth come to mind. Here's another guy who I think would truly get it.

Well, that's about all I've got right now. But I'd love to hear who you'd like to see take up the Ghostbusting mantle or if you even think making a third entry is a good idea at all. But "like it or not," it's on its way and I will most definitely be in line when it comes out.