My Take

Midnight in Paris

2012-01-27T17:55:00.003-05:00

Leave it to Woody Allen to get me back to blogging!

In Midnight in Paris director Woody Allen tells the story of Gil (Owen Wilson), who is in Paris with his fiancee, Inez, and her family when he gets picked up in the middle of the night by a car that takes him back in time to the 1920s. As an average Hollywood screenwriter and aspiring novelist, 1920s Paris is Gil's "golden age." He spends his nights party hopping with the Fitzgeralds, Picaso, Hemmingway, and other artistic icons, and his days trying to get out of sightseeing outings.

The opening scene is the tourist version of Allen's tribute to New York in the opening of Manhattan. It's bright and cheery, but idealistic. It's very apparent in comparison to Manhattan that Allen is a tourist in Paris, but so are his characters, so it works. The first part of the movie is almost painful as Gil interacts with the real people in his life. His fiancee has very little patience for Gil's Romantic vision of the city, and her interest quickly turns to couple friends of hers who they bump into. Paul is painfully pedantic, and his wife seems endlessly amused by all of his "If I'm not mistaken" musings on every aspect of Parisian life. I love the way she struggles over French words, always questioning how much of an accent is appropriate. If all of life for these characters is a show, everything for Gil is a dream. When the night portion of the film takes over, everything glistens and sparks. We're wrapped up in the delusion of Gil's "golden age" even though it seemed so idealistic at first.

Midnight in Paris is fun and exciting. It feels as if Woody Allen is taking his own version of Gertrude Stein's advice to Gil by taking a more lighthearted view of the world, but ultimately, the film is still fraught with the tension of contradiction. Gil's ultimate epiphany may seem grand, but how much can be gained from trading one ideal for any other? Not to spoil anything, but of course, Gil learns to appreciate the value in his own world over a fantasy. But at the end of the film, I was left questioning whether it's really a story about creating one fantasy after another to just keep life progressing. One of the best qualities of this movie is that you can watch it, eat your popcorn, and walk away pleasantly entertained, or you can spend days pondering the influence of art and life over each other and the role of idealism in happiness. Not many movies can play both roles, but I think this one does it very well.

I think this movie shows that we all have a little part of us that thinks we could be so happy in another time. Who wouldn't love to be party hopping with Cole Porter and having drinks with Dali? It's why we watch period movies and get so swept up in the glamour of it all. For all the twinkling lights, it's nice to escape for a few moments, and then to be reminded that we have our own magic here and now, whether or not it's fleeting too.

The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

2011-07-25T19:56:00.002-04:00

The two youngest Pevensie children, Edmond and Lucy--who you may know from The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe or Prince Caspian--find themselves stuck living with their insuffrable cousin, Eustace, during WWII. One afternoon they are magically thrown through a painting back into the world of Narnia, which they ruled as king and queen for a lifetime before being thrown back into wartime England. They are fished out of the sea into a boat to find that their friend and current king, Caspian, is leading a voyage to find his father's 7 friends who were sent to the East before... well, there's a lot of back-story. They are looking for 7 lords. They have a series of adventures in the uncharted lands they encounter, but they discover an evil green mist that they must stop. To do this they must, for some reason, track down the four missing swords sent with the 7 lords and lay them together on Aslan's table on a mysterious island marked by a blue star. They each have to face their deepest insecurities, andEustace has to learn not to be such a dreadful pest.

This film is an adaptation of C. S. Lewis's book from the popular Narnia series. Unfortunately, the films in this series--this is the third installment--seem to be getting worse as they go along. The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe is the most popular of the books, but, in my opinion, it may be the most accessible, but it is far from being the best. If the films continue like this then I don't think they will do much to promote the discovery of the later-written Narnia books. Dawn Treader, perhaps more than the other books, has a very literary plot that plays out more like a collection of short stories with developing themes than a unified narrative. I think that this film goes wrong in trying to give the work this conventional plot, which not only cheapens the richness of the stories, but also discredits the intelligence of its audience. Lewis wrote the book for children, who can, apparently, accept and enjoy a winding story more than Hollywood gives them credit for. Originally Caspian is driven by a sense of adventure to discover what happens to his father's friends. Finding the 7 lords and racing toward the unknown Eastern edge of the world is enough momentum for the plot. The movie, however, shuffles the encounters, adds the mysterious green mist and the swords, and looses the sweet innocence of each island's lesson as a step along a larger journey.

I found the encounters and driving influences of this film to be flimsy and flat. The growth of the characters feels disingenuous with the exception of Lucy, who embodies all the grace and pluck one could ask of her.

It's Kind of a Funny Story

2011-06-21T21:32:00.003-04:00

It's Kind of a Funny Story is about a boy who checks himself into a mental ward because he's feeling suicidal. He probably isn't the kind of person who would actually go through with it--he's just a depressed teenager with a lot of pressure from his parents. He's upset to find out that the hospital not only commits him for an entire school week, but that, due to renovations, the teenagers are temporarily being held on the adult psychiatric ward. After encountering a few of his fellow patients he realizes that he might not be as messed up as he thought, but there's not much he can do about it by that point except to flirt with the pretty teenage girl on the ward and hope his school doesn't find out where he is.

Mostly, this movie tells a simple, predictable story. The boy, Craig, feels overly-stressed out by his father. Upon witnessing some of their interactions it becomes easy to see why. He likes his best friend's girlfriend, who, of course, finds Craig much more attractive once his "mental problems" become common knowledge and he's temporarily the rock star of the high school--a school for high-performing students who probably all have fathers like Craig's.

All I can really say is, it's kind of a funny story. The movie takes on serious subject matter with an air of irony and humor without poking fun. The jokes are reserved, so you never laugh, but it's still vaguely comical. The funny things are sort of serious, and the serious things are kind of funny, so you just kind of sit there and watch it unfold without knowing what to do about it. The memorable part of this movie is an unexpected musical number. The defining characteristic of a musical is the ability to use a song to convey an enormous amount of story or emotional weight in a short amount of time by evoking the audience's suspension of disbelief. You know, in a musical characters meet, exchange introductions, sing a song, and all of a sudden it seems completely conceivable that they're in love--no questions asked. Here, the song comes out of nowhere, but is used much to the same end. Craig sings about his problem and the audience sees him acknowledge his problem, let out his feelings about it, move on with his life, and bond with the other patients, all with the help of music and some really out-there costuming.

Honestly, the movie could have been 15-20 minutes of set up, the song, and a monologue to wrap things up, and I probably would have liked it more, but the rest of the movie does have some colorful characters and interesting moments. Just like it's title, it's unapologetically mediocre, but tips toward the positive.

The Fighter

2011-06-21T21:28:00.001-04:00

The Fighter is a compelling sport story. Micky (Wahlberg) is a struggling boxer working with his controlling mother who, like Micky,seems totally enthralled by Micky's older half-brother Dicky (Bale). Dicky was, himself, a mediocre boxer with a controversial moment of glory in the ring, but he has now become a crack addict working toward a "comeback" even though he can barely manage to train his adoring brother. The family is supremely broken. The mother, Alice (Leo) spends her days surrounded by the loud and smokey haze of her daughters. Her current husband, George, seems to be the only thing solid to hold the family together, but just getting by exhausts about all of his ability to affect the group. When Micky meets a tough barmaid (Adams), he finally has a window to the outside of his family and she pushes him to pursue a professional training opportunity, thus driving a wedge into the already dysfunctional family.

Watching the movie, I was very wrapped up in the story of it all. Dicky's character is really interesting through his complete lack of focus or connection to reality. The leading man himself, however, is little more than a prop--just the product of a family that wanted to love him but just didn't have the space. His girlfriend and father help Micky push back against the destructive forces of his mother and brother, but even so, Micky's resistance is just a product of him allowing himself to be pushed around by another influence. He lacks conviction and will, which are, surprisingly, the characteristics present to a fault in his mother, and developed as a strength in Dicky. Both these characters show an incredible range in the picture. It gives the picture a genuine touch of character--characters who can seem to be one way, and yet possess very contrary traits at a deeper level though neither seems contrived. They seem shaped by circumstance and routine into versions of themselves that they once weren't, but only rarely do their lost-qualities emerge from suffocation.

The film has this really gritty look. It's one of those movies that gets called a "film" because it's polished for how rough it seems. I don't say that to diminish the legitimacy of The Fighter, just to point out that the choice is a bit self-conscious. It does, however, fit the subject matter. Glossy cinematography would have been much more out of place, but this attention to aesthetics still caught my eye as over-worked, even if it did suit the setting.

I did love watching this film. I has that magical formula: make you depressed to turn around and leave you feeling uplifted. This isn't a sad child of single mother rising to Olympic hockey champion with help from a reluctant coach. The fall is greater and the rise is smaller, but it's just as big a turn-around. A messed up family tries to do the best they can to make it while one member tries to do something bigger than the small town. Micky doesn't turn out to be the best fighter who then earns enough money to buy each of his family members a home in a big city where they can still sit down for dinner on Sunday nights. He just possesses the tenacity and training to take enough punches to tire out an opponent while saving enough strength to land a big blow when it counts. He has luck and strategy, but his and his family's small victories are closer to home. I don't think I'm more likely to battle a crack addiction or take up boxing than I am to lead my hockey team to an Olympic victory, but the plot focuses more on relationships than athletic accomplishments, and that makes it accessible and enjoyable.

Black Swan (2010)

2011-03-04T12:47:00.000-05:00

I had to return to David Bordwells description of the art film: "With the open and arbitrary ending, the art film reasserts that ambiguity is the dominant principle of intelligibility, that we are to watch less for the tale than the telling, that life lacks the neatness of art and this art knows it." Black Swan is an art film and very little else. Even the subject matter is art itself, in the form of Ballet.

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As a new season opens, star dancer Beth (Winona Ryder) is pushed into retirement by her ballet director (and assumed lover) Thomas (Vincent Cassell). He introduces a series of reimagined classics--a hint at his opinion of himself--starting wtih Swan Lake. The ballet requires a performer who can embody the virginal white swan who must fall in love with the prince to be released from her swan form, and the black swan twin who seduces the prince instead. Nina (Portman) is praised as the most dedicated dancer in the company, but she is also sexually stunted--still at home with her overbearing, failed-ballerina of a mother. She gets the part for her ability to portray the white swan, but she must also learn to explore a darker side to naturally dance the black swan, which would be much more naturally danced by Lily (Kunis). Nina strives for perfection, explores her darker side, and fears Lily's encroaching talent. Insanity ensues...

Director Aronofsky pins the point of view of this film to Nina's mind. Reality, dream, and insanity all battle for Nina's focus, and all are shows with equal beauty and depth. We, as the audience, are not asked to search for the twist ending or the clue that will unlock the difference between reality and imagination, but rather we are trapped in a deteriorating mind. There is no delineation between truth and fiction--it's just about the experience. Aronofsky shot the film with an enormous amount of grace and fluidity, but the subject matter itself is extremely dark. Make no mistakes, this film is a terrifying journey into a complete disconnection with reality. It is very sexually explicit without being excessively graphic. In other aspects, the film can get very graphic, however. The mutilation and violence portrayed forced me to look away several times.

As a dancer, I am familiar with this world. I know "that girl" who is dedicated to the art and the impulse to reach perfection. This is (hopefully) an artful exaggeration of what that could lead to psychologically, but it feels very organic in its development. Ballet is a suitable backdrop because of the already extreme measures taken for beauty. Shoes are ripped, burned, and sewn as toes are broken and bodies are pushed to atheletic limits under a lack of nourishment. A psychotic break seems to be a quite natural progression.

The acting performances in connection to the beautiful direction make the experience of this film quite striking despite the lack of grounding or discrete storyline. It would also make a really fascinating study of structuralism. This is not a film to be watched for the tale, but for the telling.

The Social Network 2010

2011-01-28T23:01:00.005-05:00

I was really excited about this movie when I heard about it, then became very skeptical when it came out and received the amount of praise that it did. Usually when a movie catches on that much it is because it appeals to the masses--thus dumbed down. I didn't want a technical movie to be dumbed down. Then I saw it. I was pleasantly surprised that instead of dumbing the subject matter down, they really just jazzed it up. It is quick, sharp, and exciting, which can hold the attention of the audience though the witty and technical dialogue.

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The film is an adaptation of the book Accidental Billionaries that chronicles the story of Mark Zuckerberg, the college student who stumbled on riches and fame by creating facebook. Zuckerberg (Jesse Eisenberg) is exactly what you would expect of a 20-something year old who would invent a website that would change the social experience of going to college. He is extremely intelligent but is completely lost in social situations. He is arrogant, rude, and dry. He invents the website in a week and it gradually becomes the social phenomenon we know today.

The story is framed by depositions of two cases surrounding Facebook. In one case Zuckerberg is being sued by two fellow Harvard students who claim he stole their idea, and in the other Zuckerbergs former best friend and Facebook CFO is taking action against being cut out of the company. Through it all Zuckerberg is unlikeable, but not on screen. Eisenberg manages find that elusive balance of acting a character who we would hate to meet but love to watch. He is almost completely devoid of a moral compass, which leads directly to all the legal and social challenges that he faces, but his intense smarts continue to propel him forward as an entrepreneur. The audience is eager to see what he can accomplish as much as it cringes to hear what will come out of his mouth next.

Director David Fincher (Fight Club) balances the intellectual storyline with very relatable stories. A story that happens mostly in a deposition or sitting in front of a computer screen is driven by human experience that we do not often see combined into one movie--ambition, the desire to fit in, revenge, jealousy, naivety, and the effects of fame--all swirling around college students, mind you. The writing does something clever, though. We see a very clear starting point for the entire adventure that makes the story digestible in one bite. It's about a girl. This creation story of the ever-evolving Facebook enterprise is given a nice little bow so that it can be transformed into a compelling film script and abstracted into the fictional world enough to exist as a legend of its own instead of a sexy but inaccurate portrayal of reality.

The King's Speech (2010)

2011-01-28T22:57:00.005-05:00

Ah, Awards season. It is so exciting to have an awards season movie that features stunning, enchanting performances that aren't overdone or a dramatic depature from the actor's usual sytle in a clear attempt to grab Oscar attention. Ok, so Helena Bonham Carter's character is a pretty dramatic departure from her acting norm, but she's so bizarre that I don't count her in that category.

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Colin Firth plays Bertie, the younger son of King George V. Afflicted with a stammer, he is unfortunate to see the rise of radio broadcasting. In anticipation of the many public speeches he would be required to present as an English royal, he enlists the services of many doctors who use a number of techniques to try to cure him. After giving up, his wife Elizabeth (Carter) gives it one more push. She finds Lionel Logue (Geoffory Rush), who uses highly unorthodox methods of speech therapy. Bertie's pride and Logue's eccentricism creates wonderful tension, and of course the relationship continues to develop as it becomes apparent that Bertie will actually ascend to the throne, and do so on the verge of WWII--a time when the people need to confidence of a powerfully speaking leader.

For an English monarchy film, this historical period is fairly recent. The royals still look royal, but there is recognizable humanity and social relevance in them as well. Supurbly acted, this film manages to take the prospect of public speaking and turn it into a moving internal conflict as well as a powerful stately accomplishment. In addition to the color and style of a period piece, this film benifits from the sincerity of the relationships. The wife, in particular, stands out. She encourages and pushes her husband, but she is also a submissive wife. She has a fairly small part in the film, but shines in her moments. She does not impose her political thoughts on her husband or interfere with his work, but she always seems to be a source of support. Firth speaks with a stammer that does not seem affected, and Rush gives a highly English performance of an honest but strange man.

I found this film interesting, and amusing. It looks pretty traditional, but the story is something that feels very new and unique. It might be too plain to be honored by the Academy, but I really enjoyed it.

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The Young Victoria (2009)

2011-01-28T22:51:00.009-05:00

There's nothing like Netflix Instant Watch on a quiet night at home (yes, shameless plug). I've had The Young Victoria in my queue for a while now, and finally got around to it, and I'm very glad I did. I have to admit that I let more than a week pass between watching this film and sitting down to write about it, and some of the details have begun to fade. More than anything else, this movie is Popcorn. It's delicious, warm, and filling but not really a full meal. I love watching the colors and beautiful costumes and sets parade in front of me as I was swept up in a romance that made me feel intelligent.

The story is about Victoria, who is in line to queen at a very young age. The film focuses on the series of power struggles surrounding her and her maturity as a leader. At first the fear is that she will be too young to rule alone and will have a regent appointed. Then the danger becomes her naivite clouding her judgement in advisors as well as suitors. Yes, Victoria is a princess and queen--she is a radiant example of the beauty, grace, and intelligence that every girl would love to grow up to embody, but this movie does a remarkable job of preserving these qualities in Victoria without glossing over her flaws and the weakness of her youth. I'm assuming the outcome of the romance is no mystery considering that it is history, but it's lovely to watch Albert court Victoria. It seems to maintain all the decoroum of romance in the 1830s as well as the political motivations, but these things seem to suit the grandeur of the movie. I still believed in the love between these two characters.

I'm not an expert in the history behind this movie, but I'm certain there were some departures. That being said, it feels fairly grounded. There are too many details flitting around to keep up with every single line, but that gives the film a refreshing depth and scope while still being easy to follow.

Spirited Away (Revisited)

2011-01-04T15:08:00.002-05:00

***In going through some of my college papers I found two sets of programme notes that I wanted to publish here before they get lost in the recesses of my old college papers. I've written about these films before, but this is a more formal approach.***

The target audience of Spirited Away is young people—children and adolescents, who make up a lot of America’s anime fan base—but the plot and themes of the film contain more than enough to engage older audiences as well. Instead of innuendo aimed to pacify adults through an infantile story, director Hayao Miyazaki specializes in complex, original stories that are so imaginative that they seem to have sprouted directly from a child’s mind.

The film treads this line between childhood and adulthood. Spirited Away is, at its root, a coming of age story for young Chihiro, who finds herself trapped in a world of spirits. On a closer examination, however, it becomes clear that Miyazaki’s treatment of the normal coming of age tale is less cut and dried than the traditional trope. Adults are no more favorably depicted than children: Chihiro’s parents make foolish choices, which soon cause them to turn into pigs. Chihiro begins the story as a frightened, whiny kid instead of any kind of expected heroine. Miyazaki populates his film with monsters and mythical creatures alongside his young, female protagonist, but adult issues such as environmentalism and credit card-induced greed also find their way to prominence in Spirited Away.

Stripped from the protection of her parents and thrown into frightening circumstances Chihiro must navigate situations with no clear answers: a dilemma familiar to all adults. She has to make tough choices about who to trust and how to stand up against frightening creatures. Enchantingly, Chihiro hardly hesitates in these choices. She moves forward with persistent focus and courage unlike any real child would be likely to do on a first encounter with adult responsibility. Chihiro’s dedication to her own goals serves to accuse the audience of how easily we forget our convictions in favor of circumstance. It is not the budding adult in Chihiro that propels her forward, but rather the remaining childlike idealism that allows her to succeed without second-guessing herself or becoming too much a part of the spirit world. The witch steals her name—and with it, her childhood—when she contracts Chihiro into her service. Only by remembering her true name can Chihiro hope to escape.

For Chihiro, coming of age requires a split from her childish self. Though she must retain many of her immature characteristics, the film ensures that her ties to childhood have broken enough to force her to move forward.
In the same way, Spirited Away illustrates the way Japan is struggling along this same line of tradition and modernity. The worldwide popularity of Spirited Away serves as a testament to one small portion of Japan’s own coming of age. By embracing traditional Japanese cultural and mythical elements in a framework of Japanese animation, the film has become possibly the most successful foreign animated film in the United States, and it enjoys even more popularity in its home country.

Pan's Labyrinth (Revisited)

2011-01-04T15:04:00.004-05:00

***In going through some of my college papers I found two sets of programme notes that I wanted to publish here before they get lost in the recesses of my old college papers. I've written about these films before, but this is a more formal approach.***

In describing the art film as a distinct filmic mode David Bordwell writes, “With the open and arbitrary ending, the art film reasserts that ambiguity is the dominant principle of intelligibility, that we are to watch less for the tale than the telling, that life lacks the neatness of art and this art knows it.” By opening the film with the promise of its ambiguous ending director Guillermo Del Toro firmly establishes El Laberinto del Fauno, or Pan’s Labyrinth, as this type of film.

Pan’s Labyrinth is essentially a fairy tale set in the turmoil of Franco’s Spain as experienced by a young girl named Ofelia. Though an understanding of the historical context certainly enhances the film, the characters of the film are just that—characters: the evil dictator, the good doctor, the innocent child. Del Toro’s use of stock characters to tell a unique story emphasizes style over circumstance in this film. Del Toro’s authorial influence emerges profoundly in the midst of what could have easily become a predictable, overdone plotline. The stereotypes must bend to fit the world this film creates. Del Toro creates entire myths for this film—among them the driving story of a curious princess trying to return to her home and immortality—and even goes so far as to drown out traditional fairy tale images with his own. He redefines creatures such as fairies and fauns to the point that they become almost unrecognizable, but Del Toro’s overall vision relentlessly shines through in all of the fairy tale creatures of Pan’s Labyrinth.

The narrative firmly moves the film forward, which contradicts Bordwell’s definition of the art film, but within the fantasy genre, even though the characters follow the rules of their apparent psychological motivations the world follows no such rules. Reality and fantasy merge for Ofelia. Neither world offers sensitivity or security for the young girl, but demand that she make difficult and crucial decisions. The two worlds also intermingle visually as the camera pans horizontally from one situation to another with no clear break or as Ofelia literally moves seamlessly from the Pale Man’s hall to her own bedroom. Ofelia’s surroundings, in either setting, are populated by rich greens, warm browns, and circles in contrast to the harsh lines and cool grays of the adult world. The fantasy world almost becomes more real than the strict, unyielding reality portrayed in the film, but it only exists to Ofelia.

The intertwining of adult reality and the faun’s fantasy world without a clearly defined set of rules dissolves the standard narrative progression of the film. The events do move forward with a cause-effect linkage, but the rules governing these interactions remain unclear. The audience knows that the book the faun gives to Ofelia will tell her what tasks she must complete but not why it also predicts her mother’s complications in pregnancy. The two worlds are one in the same, but it remains unclear whether rules of reality or fantasy should reign, thus creating much of the ambiguity of the film.
Though Pan’s Labyrinth does not express the realism Bordwell attributes to art film, it does use ambiguity to bridge the gap between its own sort of realism and Del Toro’s authorial voice. No clear explanation exists to clarify Ofelia’s fantastic experiences—to determine which set of experiences is more real. Indeed, the two worlds can only exist together. The film shows not the simplicity of a child’s perspective, but rather the beauty imagination creates, which even oppression cannot stifle.

Pan’s Labyrinth certainly integrates qualities of the Hollywood film with the art film, but Del Toro’s use of visual style, camera work, and fantasy to create a clear story still underlined by ambiguity reflects a strong influence of art cinema. The “real” world of the film moves through a typical narrative progression with building action, a climax, and conclusion, but the independently progressing narrative of Ofelia’s fanciful quest undermines any strict authority of the basic narrative, which actually adds a level of complexity that audiences typically associate with reality rather than cut-and-dry cinema. The film communicates its main effect not through its story, but rather through its style. The interaction of the two worlds in the film ensures that how the film unfolds takes precedence over where it ends.

The Princess and the Frog

2010-12-10T23:12:00.004-05:00

Ahh, yes. Classic Disney animation is back. I loved Toy Story too and all the magic of computer animation, but I grew up with The Lion King. There is something nostalgic to me about this kind of animation.

Tiana is the next generation of Disney Princesses--the non-princess. She wants nothing more than to own a restaurant to honor the memory of her father (because all good Disney characters must suffer some tragic loss of a family member). She is smart, beautiful, non-white, and believes in hard work above all else. When a conceited prince gets tangled up with some New Orleans voodoo, he is turned into a frog, and soon she is too. The two voyage to find their way back to being human while Tiana learns about the joy of love and Prince Naveen learns about the sacrificial side of love.

The voodoo magic is an odd choice for a children's movie, but New Orleans provides a wonderful setting for this reinvented fairy tale. It's right here in the United States, but it's a totally different culture than most of us know. Familiar, but foreign. The songs are catchy and memorable. Just like the Disney I used to know. I don't have much to say about this movie aside from some simple praise. It's good. It's not a timeless classic. It's not Beauty and the Beast, but it's a good solid return to the formula and style of the movies I grew up with. I really enjoyed the look, feel, sound, and boisterous characters in this movie.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (2009)

2010-12-10T22:23:00.004-05:00

As anyone who may have stumbled across my blog when the last installment of the Harry Potter film franchise came out may know I am a Harry Potter fan. I will, however, try to approach my comments on this film as objectively as possible, but my impression is certainly informed by the books.

There is no humorous interaction with Harry's "muggle" family, the Dursleys, to start off this movie. Instead, the audience becomes instantly aware that the stakes have changed. Aside from a blurred montage of flashbacks there is almost no exposition of the last six films to get new--or less invested--viewers up to speed. Harry, Ron, and Hermione are searching for horcruxes (pieces of evil Lord Voldemort's soul) that must be destroyed before Harry can take on Voldemort himself. The sixth film left off after Snape kills Dumbledore leaving the three kids with no guidance but a great deal of faith.

This film does not follow the formula of the other plot lines in the franchise. No slow build of impending danger amongst regular teenage challenges until Harry and crew have one dramatic ending burst of triumphant violence. Yes, this film is only half a book, which changes the flow of the whole story, but more than the split plot causes this digression from the other films. The kids are out in the real world. Everyone, including the government, is after Harry Potter. People are being killed each day as Harry flounders without direction. When Voldemort speaks to his followers he enters the room as a regular man--no more squeaking and flying--just utter fear from every Death Eater except for stone-faced Snape. It's very underplayed, which is very unsettling considering a teacher being suspended in a contorted position in mid-air.

The middle of the movie is slow. Lots of wandering in the woods. But this is neither poor plotting nor thoughtless editing. This is pure tension. Every minute is more hopeless and dangerous than the most, and the movie does not miss this. Better than the previous films, DH Part 1 smartly integrates comic relief. Rather than juvenile or awkward, the film--at last!--breaks the pressure of the film with sweet moments and physical humor. The comedy has a bigger payoff for HP fans who understand more than the movie's have time to show, but the tension is also more intense for these fans, so this is actually a nice balance.

As for the PG13 rating: I think it's appropriate. It's not gratuitous, but it is dark and frightening and very intense. Casual viewers of the film might notice the Nazi connection for the first time in this film--it's more prevalent in the books.

I think this is the best of the 7 films, but it does not stand on it's own. If the next film falls flat then this film will lose its luster. Without the lighthearted touches of quidditch matches and grand wizarding dances full of teenage angst and anticipation, this film relies on mood--color, emotion, and pacing. I believe it succeeds. It is visually rich, revisiting the visual motifs of the last few movies (the floating ink of Half-Blood Prince and the newspaper headlines of Order of the Phoenix). It builds on itself, but steps out on its on without that kind of visual thread. It doesn't need anything so contrived because the stakes are so much higher.

The ensemble cast works wonderfully. Whatever team made the decisions on casting Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone should feel very proud of their work. The actors have grown to understand and well-represent the characters, especially in the light of the added burden of portraying written characters than many members of the audience have gotten to know over several thousand pages and years of their lives. HP7 sees the return of many characters we haven't seen in a while, but I am eager for a little more screen time for Neville, Ginny, and Hogwarts. This film steers wisely away from all the goings-on at the school, which, I imagine, will make a substantial appearance in the second half of this film. I can't wait until July for Part 2.

Inception

2010-07-24T18:46:00.004-04:00

I wonder if it's a coincidence or if directors just have a sense of humor, but I find it amusing that Leonardo DiCaprio's last two films have both begun with treacherous looking water. I don't think he'll ever escape Titanic. There are many more similarities between Inception and Shutter Island that are much more substantial, but we can talk about those once you've seen both films.

Inception is a typical one-last-job crime film--except not. It's a unique twist on the crooks-we-like film that audiences have come back to year after year. In order to return home to his two children Cobb (DiCaprio) accepts the assignment of a Japanese businessman. Instead of extracting secrets from people's dreams, which is Cobb's normal line of illegal work, for this job he is asked to incept--or plant--an idea, which may or may not be possible. For this kind of sci-fi thriller to succeed the film must firmly establish the rules of the world, which is an interesting challenge for this film because what kind of rules are there in the dream world? Somehow Nolan manges, again, to bring his audience into an adventure that is believable but shockingly imaginative. He capitalizes on the common experience of dreaming--common to all, but intensely personal as only you can experience your own dreams. The film deals with shared dreams, achieved through some mechanical/chemical process, and thus includes dream elements that everyone can relate to: the feeling of falling, swimming through the air, etc. Nolan also addresses the personal aspect of dreams as Cobb's haunting past threatens to invade his subconscious as his team steals the most intimate secrets from their targets.

For all the necessary exposition, it doesn't become tiring or disorienting. Things are well-explained so that it never feels like your being drug along without all the pieces, but it's not overly pedantic. I found that I was able to predict certain major plot points in the film, but my ease of predicting certain points distracted me from searching for too many answers so that each scene held more surprises. With the exception of the too-long, disorienting snow ambush dream sequence the film is well-paced and attention-holding.

The thing about Chris Nolan is that he thinks big. Like the flipping semi in The Dark Knight, visually striking moments are best achieved through being willing to take risks and think one step simpler than the immediate reliance on CGI. Joseph Gordon-Levitt gets the chance to star in an extended sequence that borders on impossible yet looks almost flawless.

As usual, Nolan does not leave the film on the screen when the credits roll. This film asks to be pondered, but without answers. Unlike Nolan's earlier film, The Prestige, the joy of re-watching this film is not seeing how each scene reveals pieces of the whole mystery, but rather in choosing fresh what to think about the story with each viewing. As noted by these guys, Nolan's developing career is revealing an obsession with obsession, and I think nothing fits this better than a film that fails to offer solid resolution.

The cast is brilliant. Yes, I think that Leonardo DiCaprio is one of, if not the best actor of his generation, but the rest of the cast is so exceptional that he doesn't even steal focus. Ellen Page's performance isn't striking, but it's clean and earnest. Gordon-Levitt continues to pick excellent films and transform with each of them, and Tom Hardy is really excellent. In addition to it's filmic and stylistic merits, Inception is also entertaining. There are flawed moments in the film, but there is also a great balance of mystery, action, tension, and comic relief.

Toy Story 3

2010-06-30T10:23:00.003-04:00

And pixar does it again. The Toy Story franchise is back with the third installment. This time Andy is grown and headed to college and faces the task of cleaning out his room. Through a series of events the toys that haven't been thrown out over the years make it to a box that gets donated to a day care. Everything seems perfect at first--the children will never outgrow or neglect the toys. A seedy underground of control quickly emerges and forces the toys into a terrible plight: three year olds. The story becomes one of escape and impending doom racing against the clock of Andy's college departure.

The third movie is not as tightly plotted as the first. The third movie is not as funny as the second. The third movie is still a brilliant instance of all the things that these films do better than any others. Rather than carefully including material to appeal to adults in a children's story these films understand that children and adults can enjoy the same material. Everyone can appreciate the bond between a child and a toy, and everyone can enjoy a great escape. Even the humor is classic and appealing to a broad audience. It's just good. There are many references to the earlier films, along with a really good homage to Cool Hand Luke. There are a few less toys in the group, but they are all developed a little more in this film. It's not just Woody and Buzz's story. The addition of fashion-obsessed Ken is absolutely brilliant.

Like the first film (which terrified me as a child), this film is pretty scary. For a glossy animated film about toys they manage to stir up some serious danger. Be aware.

This film is elegant. It is smart but simple. Like the other two Toy Stories, I think this one will be just as good 5, 10, or 15 years from now. It's not the cutting edge of animation because it's all a toy world, but it looks fantastic and consistent with the earlier films. The 3D is just a bonus. It hardly plays into the gimmick of the 3D, so it is far from necessary, but it does look great in 3D. The choice of paying those extra $3 is a matter of preference, but this is not a film you should let slip by.

Robin Hood

2010-06-03T17:08:00.003-04:00

I'm very disappointed. Not by this film, but by all the reviews who claim this movie is no fun. The story is of Robin Longstride's return from the Crusades. I have very little knowledge of/attachment to the Robin Hood story, so I can't answer to any real changes from the general expectations from the name, but this film does serve as a kind of prequel to the other stories. Robin (Crowe) is finding out his history and fighting for liberty for the common people by trying to convince the new King John to sign the Magna Carta.

The action sequences are about what you'd expect, but they're very well done. There are explosions and flaming arrows and sword fights. It's violent but not excessively bloody. It's jumpy and fast-paced, but I didn't have much trouble keeping up with what was going on.

The characters are not particularly well developed. For the 2 1/2 hour length of the film there is a lot of plot, action, and scenery, but very little real internal struggle. This is not Robin Hood trying to find himself, nor is it an in-depth questioning of justice and rights. It's a summer blockbuster. I wouldn't call it shallow--the film gets into just enough of the underlying questions to make the audience care about and understand the motivations of the characters, but it doesn't linger there too long. Russel Crowe portrays a troubled Robin Hood (as he generally does with his characters). Marion (Blanchett) is no maid, but rather a feisty widow. I could have done with one less scene of the obligatory feminist fighting-with-the-boys, but it's about what I expected. I think the relationship between Robin and Marion is well-paced, and I enjoyed the interactions of many of the less central characters (Walter, Little John, Friar Tuck).

Without a wealth of Robin Hood expectations to fit this film into, I was quite pleased with the movie as an action film. It's beautifully shot and long enough to tell an epic story without dragging. It's all a little over-exaggerated. Characters yell when they should speak with confidence and it seems that each arrow fired is a major event, but the intensity helped me get into the epic spirit of things. I also think that parties in the 12th century look like more fun than parties now.

Shutter Island

2010-06-03T16:07:00.003-04:00

It's an interesting idea to make a psychological thriller about psychology. The film opens on two US Marshals (DiCaprio and Ruffalo) on a boat in gray, threatening weather heading toward the foreboding Shutter Island--home of a prison for the criminally insane. The Marshals are there to investigate the disappearance of one of the inmates, Rachel Solando, who seems to have evaporated into thin air. Soon, however, it becomes apparent that there may be more going on. Marshall Teddy may have another reason for wanting to investigate the case, and visions of his horrific experiences liberating a Nazi prison camp and of his wife who died in a fire haunt his mind.

Everything screams horror film from the isolated location, to the color scheme, to the random chains hanging on walls. There is a moment early on when the characters enter the prison and the camera sits on the front of the truck so the experience is of being pushed through the imposing metal gates. There is no escape. As the last gate opens the camera pulls back a bit as if in hesitation. As the film progresses there are beautifully disturbing jump cuts, but the audio track remains perfectly synchronized. Scorcese masters the uncanny. The horror is really well done. That being said, it's more of a mystery thriller than a horror film.

The film is purposely disturbing, which I personally don't like in my film-going experience. On the other hand, I really enjoyed the mystery of the story. The writing is interesting and always seems to offer just a few details short of what would make everything make sense. The audience discovers the situation from the mindset of Teddy (DiCaprio), and the film does an excellent job of trapping the viewer in exactly his world of knowledge and experience.

An Education

2010-05-28T14:15:00.003-04:00

An Education tells the story of sixteen year old Jenny, who is on track to attend Oxford in 1961. In fact, her father makes sure that all her actions will progress her in that direction. She need not practice the cello because it already counts as her interest/hobby, but she cannot stop going to youth orchestra because she must demonstrate that she is a "joiner inner." When she meets David he is perfectly polite and charming and the two soon begin a relationship despite his 20 years on her. He not only charms Jenny, but her parents too, with his charming smile and easy lies. He's clearly an experienced liar and strange man (going after such a young girl), but it's difficult not to like him. He allows Jenny to experience jazz clubs, fancy restaurants, Paris, and more excitement than her private school allows.

Naturally the relationship introduces Jenny to all kinds of new experiences. Eventually not all these experiences are so fun anymore and Jenny must determine how to continue living her life, but the whole affair leaves her with an education in life, glamour, love, and responsibility.

I was initially drawn to this film because the screenplay was written by Nick Hornby (my favorite author who is responsible for such books-turned-movies as About a Boy and High Fidelity). The film is based on a memoir by Lynn Barber, but his witty voice certainly shines through. Actress Carey Mulligan's performance as Jenny carries this film. She is sparkling and naive without appearing dumb or flighty. It's hard not to see Audrey Hepburn in her performance. The film has that particularly English flair for being enchanting and disheartening at once. It's about the journey and learning the hard way, but even for all the pain of the lesson there is still a lot of sparkle to the experience.

The part of the film that struck me the most was Jenny's parents' willingness to buy into David's influence on her life. They are just as naive as Jenny, which is an interesting twist to the traditional story of the young girl swayed by the influential older man. The only voice against David is Jenny's school (Emma Thompson plays the school principle in a few lovely scenes), which argues for her need to continue on in her book education instead of throwing away her options for a man. Also, the other girl who makes up a foursome with Jenny, David, and David's business partner is a delightfully stereotypical hedonist. She's fairly simple and materialistic but beautiful and sophisticated. She provides great comic relief and an interesting foil to Jenny.

All together I found the film lovely. It's enjoyable and thought provoking, but understated. It did not strike me as remarkable but left me quietly satisfied.

Another Woman

2010-05-10T11:25:00.003-04:00

Woody Allen's chamber dramas are not my favorite. Even before Allen's typical black and white titles play, this film opens with Marion narrating about her own life. As the camera moves around the New York apartment she uses as a writing studio she explains who she is as if she's reading a "What I did Last Summer" essay. She talks about turning 50 and her family and her writing aspirations, and the narration comes in both the present and the past tense, as if she's remembering the story after living it.

Her writing studio is located so that she can hear a psychologist's sessions through an air vent, which she has no interest in until she hears a woman she connects with who is very sad. She becomes almost obsessed with this woman and even follows her. Somewhere during this time she realizes that the idea she has of herself is incorrect, and she begins a journey of self-discovery--recognizing the failure of her marriage, her resentment over denying the lover of her life, and a realization that her first husband did not die accidentally, but rather committed suicide.

Marion's life, and the film, are highly artistic. She decides what she wants it to be like and choses to believe it as so. Her only glimpse of redemption comes through reading a passage in a book that she learns in a dream may have been based on her. The art of the film can put Marion in the situation to overhear the therapy sessions and reclaim her life, but life only brings these moments by chance if at all, but the art is still imperfect.

Bullets Over Broadway

2010-05-10T11:01:00.003-04:00

Woody Allen takes on the roaring twenties.

John Cusack plays David Shayne, a playwright who claims the upmost fidelity to his art. In order to get his play financed he must turn to a mobster who insists on casting his talentless girlfriend, Olive, in a role, and the compromises only begin there. The lead is played by Helen Sinclair, who is completely self-absorbed and always dramatic. She manipulates Shayne into bulking up her role to suit her ambitions and soon begins an affair with him. The leading man cannot stop eating and puts on an unbelievable amount of weight as the play progresses.

It is Olive's bodyguard, Cheech, who has the talent, however, and his rewrites to the play bring Shayne increased praise and success, but Cheech actually believes in the integrity of art above morality, which leads to its own set of conflicts. A cast full of these and other colorful characters makes the movie entertaining and quickly paced. More exciting than Allen's dramas, this comedy still deals with his typical preoccupations about moral absolutes and the intersection between art and life. The two characters committed to art, Cheech and Sinclair, do not encourage sincere emotion, however, they silence it, but Cheech also calls for art to have a scope expanding beyond the opening and closing curtains of the play--art must point back to life to be successful.

Husbands and Wives

2010-05-10T10:47:00.003-04:00

I wish I had the DVD case to post some excerpts from the blurb on the back about this movie, but I believe it ended with calling Husbands and Wives a "comic valentine." I hope whoever wrote that was bitter and alone and just wanted to see happy couples try to watch the film and completely tear their relationships apart over it. Woody Allen almost never writes happy couples, and this is no exception.

Sally and Jack announce to their friends Judy and Gabe that they are separating. They're both very cordial and claim it's just to try things out, but of course Jack is already secretly dating an aerobics instructor who actually lets him watch movies unlike his frigid wife. Judy is totally shaken by the separation and it sparks serious insecurities about her and Gabe's relationship, which is already her second marriage. Sally begins dating one of Judy's coworkers who Judy is attracted to, and Gabe starts up an emotional relationship with one of his students. Everyone is looking for something else and unwilling to be honest with themselves about their motives and faults.

Allen gets experimental with his camera in this film employing a handheld camera to capture the frenzy and claustrophobia of the situation and setting the camera as an uninformed participant, guessing where the action will go next. The film is framed as a pseudo documentary, it plays very much like current reality TV with characters speaking in a confessional form to an unnamed camera. This format points out the performative nature of life and seems to ask when we are the most ourselves and when we are acting, because the interviews that should be the most honest and truthful often appear the most staged.

The movie is interesting, but very depressing. According to this film there is very little hope for change and we are bound to keep on repeating our mistakes and settling for "whatever works."

Hannah and Her Sisters

2010-05-09T17:07:00.002-04:00

Told over the course of three Thanksgiving dinners, this movie tells the story of three sisters. Hannah's husband, Elliot, has an extended affair with one of her sisters, Lee, who had spent many years living with an antisocial former professor of hers. Allen plays his typical neurotic character. Though he is Hannah's ex-husband most of his story of hypochondria and ultimate renewal of meaning through the humor of the Marx Brothers stands outside of the more coherent familial plot, though involvement with Hannah's youngest sister, heroine-addict and struggling actress Holly, brings him back into the main story.

The film presents an uncharacteristically positive outlook on the world for Woody Allen, which may imply more irony than the film suggests inherently. Though the subject matter is serious, most major conflicts are skirted with a bit of humor. It is difficult, however, to ignore the overlap between the actions of the film and Mia Farrow and Allen's off-screen romance, particularly when Farrow suspected Allen of being attracted to her sister.

Stardust Memories

2010-05-09T16:54:00.003-04:00

(See my comments on 8 1/2)...

Stardust Memories is Woody Allen's version of Fellini's classic 8 1/2. Allen takes his interest in the relationship between art and life to a new level in an adaptation of another film that poses a director, played by Allen, struggling to make a film while being bombarded with demands and criticisms from every side. Filmmaker Sandy Bates is in the process of making a new movie, and not much else is clear. It is not clear what is part of "reality" and what belongs in Bates's film. Bates juggles the many women in his life the same way he juggles the people trying to find out about his film, but ultimately art cannot save its maker.

The film is one giant circus of confusion. The clearly bracketed excerpts from Bates's earlier funny movies would be a good grounding element--at leas it's clear what they are--if it weren't for the blurred lines between Bates and Allen himself. They could just as easily be scenes from one of Allen's earlier films. It has it's funny moments, but all together it is just a different directors point of view on 8 1/2.

Manhattan

2010-05-09T16:02:00.003-04:00

The film opens on two couples together at Elaine's Cafe in New York. Yale and his wife are the typical married couple, but Isaac is with his high schooler girlfriend, Tracy, who is twenty five years his junior. Yale begins an affair with a woman named Mary who Isaac does not initially get along with, but he quickly begins dating her when she and Yale cool things off.

Everyone in this movie sets up their own rules and refuses to live by them. They make moral judgements but refuse to live them out in their own lives if they don't like the implications of doing so. Only the youngster, Tracy, seems able to see things in a larger context, but even she is a confusing character dating a much older man with apparently serious intentions. There seems to be an overarching ethical law governing the characters, but they only adhere by degrees.

The film is famous for its opening montage of the city in black and white to a Gershwin soundtrack. It's stunning. Allen turns life into something more beautiful than reality without bothering the disguise the artifice of the process. The characters are all corrupted, but the city remains gorgeous. Art and truth do not necessarily come together in this film.

Interiors

2010-05-09T14:06:00.003-04:00

Interiors is an homage to Ingmar Bergman. The story, if there is one, is of three daughters dealing with their highly structured mother and much looser father as he starts a new marriage. Pearl, the step-mother, introduces color and life into a family almost entirely stifled by art and order. Eve, the mother, imposes her artistic rules on her family and their lives, but none of the daughters is artistically successful.

Though less oppressive than a Bergman film, Interiors is still tough to watch. In my opinion, Allen may appreciate the highly artistic form of the European art film, but he excels in the intersection of comedy and drama. Even Pearl is not enough life for this film. I typically want films to be open to not only different interpretations, but also different experiences. Interiors has no other level. If you do not enjoy the artistic style and heavy-handed subject matter then there is little to redeem the film.

Play It Again, Sam

2010-05-09T13:23:00.003-04:00

***Disclaimer: I've taken a blogging hiatus in order to survive my last college semester with a 21 credit hour course load. I will be back to blogging regularly in a week or so. Today however, I'm using it as a nice way to review for my Auteurs final exam tomorrow, so I hope you all enjoy the flood of Woody Allen entries***

In this adaptation of his Broadway play, Woody Allen plays, confusingly enough, Allan Felix, a man surrounded by films and movie posters who is much more comfortable in the filmic world than the real one. The film opens with the famous ending scene of Casablanca, and a Humphrey Bogart character shows up throughout the film as Allan's mentor.

Allan's friends try to set him up on dates, but he is just too clumsy and awkward. Bogie tries to give him hip lines to try on the ladies, but Allan can't pull off that kind of detached charm. Allan is also plagued by a fantasy version of an old girlfriend who undoes all the confidence boosting Bogie works for. When Allan realizes he is in love with his married friend he has to decide what Bogie would do and chose between finding love and being the better man.

For it's simple and predictable plot Play It Again, Sam is a funny movie. It lacks a lot of the deeper challenging preoccupations of Allen's later films, but manages to convey the inability of life to escape the vast influences of movies and updates the conflict for a less dramatic story.

Up in the Air

2010-01-18T16:27:00.005-05:00

I think circumstance was a friend to director Jason Reitman with respect to Up in the Air. This film was meant to be made much earlier, but other films pushed this one back to 2009. I think the current economic climate is extremely relevant to the success of this film.

Ryan Bingham spends his life flying from company to company firing employees he has no connection to and has never met. His job is to handle the way people react to the news that they no longer have a job, and make sure that they make it through the experience alright, or at least get through that first day with enough sanity to turn things around on their own later on. He tells people, quite convincingly, that there are bigger things than employment, that their children admire them for following dreams rather than bringing home a paycheck, that it's ok to start over. He, on the other hand, holds on desperately to a job that is becoming obsolete thanks to a young up-and-comer who proposes moving much of the interaction to the internet, thus removing the need for Ryan to be in constant motion around the country.

Ryan's only real goal has to do with acquiring frequent flyer miles. Everything in his life becomes portable and temporary as he fails to put down any roots. Only George Clooney could portray this character as likable through all his flaws. He's charismatic and engaging, and then dismissive and shallow. Many aspects of this film are pleasantly real. As with Reitman's other films, he doesn't shy away from harsher truths and doesn't go out of his way to tie up loose ends with a happy ending, but he still manages to create driving and enjoyable films. The tension between the freedom of a travel-sized life and the fulfillment that comes with responsibility plays out beautifully in the scene where Ryan reaches his magic number of miles, although I can't say too much about it without giving things away.

It has the feel of a small movie, more like Thank You For Smoking than Juno, despite the highly-recognizable cast. It has the gloss and pop of a big-budget film while retaining a trust for the intellectual capacity of its audience, which pays off in the quality and depth in the way Reitman treats the subject matter.

Sherlock Holmes

2010-01-18T16:26:00.001-05:00

I'm glad the Christmas season did a better job of delivering enjoyable popcorn films than this summer did. Guy Ritchie brought us Robert Downey Jr. as a charismatic, but unlikable Sherlock Holmes--exactly how I imagine Holmes. Jude Law, as Watson, is a much more likeable, if slightly less compelling, character. The chemistry between the two actors plays well as they work to defraud the apparent sorcerer and killer, Lord Blackwood. The team seeks to uncover the simple, if sometimes contrived, explanations to what Blackwood passes of as black magic.

The story isn't perfect, but it retains enough of the Sherlock Holmes tradition to be enjoyable and familiar. Many questions arise during the story line, which the film tries to answer neatly, but unsatisfactorily by the end, but ultimately none of it matters. It's a fun movie. There's mystery, action, and suspense, which is precisely what I wanted out of it.

Avatar

2010-01-03T13:47:00.005-05:00

This movie will change the way you look at movies, yes, but only the way you look at movies.

Avatar tells the story of a paraplegic marine, Jake Sully, who fills in for his brother to operate an alien avatar in scientific exploration and mercinary reconaissance on the planet Pandora. Yes, Pandora. Subtle, right? As the story develops there is a growing conflict between the researchers exploring the social/biological aspects of the planet and the capitalists and their mercenaries who are after the extremely valuable supply of "unobtanium" (again, subtle) located under the native species' home tree.

Sully and a few others make use of "avatars," which allow them to operate, what is basically an organic robot version of themselves in the form of one of the natives. Sully spends most of the film becoming one of them, and then must defend these people against the blindly evil Americans who are out to steal and destroy.

Yes, this is a Blockbuster film, but it really does work down to the lowest intelligence of the audience. I'm not implying that only unintelligent people can enjoy this film, because I actually did enjoy the experience of watching it, but everything is right on the surface. It is blatantly environmental without making any deeper points or subtle connections. The Navii people seen vaguely Native American in their worship and respect for land and nature. Somewhere the film degrades to a grown-up version of Ferngully with an action sequence where Jurassic Park meets Star Wars. The plot has enormous holes and a lot of the dialogue is clunky and cliche. To be fair, Sam Worthington's performance was really enjoyable here. After this film and Terminator: Salvation, I have full confidence in his acting skills ability to pick lucrative roles, but not much faith in his judgement of quality movies.

All that being said, I have never seen anything like this film. The plot problems did keep me from being entirely swept away, but I could have easily sat through another 30 minutes of one-dimensional characters and plot holes just for the chance to continue looking at the spectacle of the film. The visual effects were that good. I'm thrilled I had the chance to see it in 3D, and I hear that the IMAX experience is even better. It's entertaining, but I wish that the technical mastery could have been applied to a better film.

Brick

2009-12-06T21:41:00.004-05:00

After loving The Brothers Bloom, I couldn't help checking out writer/director Rian Johnson's debut film, Brick. I wasn't expecting to spend more time thinking about the debate I just witnessed about whether The Big Sleep was a legitimate film noir than about Bloom.

Brick is a total film noir without all the foggy streets and dark corners. It's also set in a high school. Without the traditional setting and appearance of a noir, it's interesting to see what's left. The "detective" character is Brenden, who finds his ex-girlfriend dead in the opening scene. He enters the deep drug rings of the school to determine the extremely complicated realms of interest that contributed to her death. He's a classic tough guy, except that he's 18 years old. Though the cops are a factor here, Brenden and the vice principle have the relationship you expect out of the detective and the cop--familiar but always a power struggle. The language in the film is extremely difficult. People speak in highly stylized slang that's tough to keep up with, but it draws you into an acceptance of a bunch of high-schoolers living in a Dashiel Hammett novella. Also, like any good noir, it's more about the thrill of the ride than being able to keep up with all the details on the first viewing.

Though the movie has no realistic foundation, the noir types translate remarkably to the high school setting. Here, the stakes are life or death. My high school experience didn't have shootouts and drug wars, but being a part of the right clique certainly seems like a life or death situation. The audience can relate to the "brain" or the guy who eats behind the school or the girl who uses her beauty to control her social status, but it's much more fun to watch these types play out in an intense crime mystery than in another story about high school drama (living through that time once was enough). The femme fatale type works particularly well in the high school setting.

Brenden makes this film work in my opinion. Noir is driven by a compelling character. I wasn't always sure how Brenden would benefit from getting to the bottom of Emily's death, but I cared enough to keep watching. Brenden is still the hero who can take a punch but never shows his cards, the streetwise man who can improvise a plan well enough to get caught up in the dangerous situation and manage to pull himself right back out. He also has a noble goal: he loved Emily. Even though they weren't together anymore, it's especially compelling to watch Brenden fight with such dedication for a girl who didn't love him back.

As Johnson's debut film, Brick is more intriguing than anything else. It's a complicated story with a strong tradition behind it that leaves out half of what makes up that tradition. It's highly stylized but made on a low budget. Many of the actors are recognizable without being huge stars. It's a story of compromise: claiming back all that you can to fill the hole of something you've lost and trying to break even.

The Brothers Bloom

2009-11-29T17:02:00.005-05:00

Two brothers start their lives as con men early, but younger brother Bloom eventually wants out of older brother Stephen's elaborate stories. As one last con, Stephen chooses a wealthy "epileptic photographer" as the mark, who also happens to be a beautiful girl. The brothers take her off on a trip around the world as part of the con, disguising themselves as smugglers. I can't say much else about the actual plot of the film because it's too delightful to watch it unfold.

As far as con movies go, this one is about the brothers, played by Ruffalo and Brody, rather than the con itself--or maybe to be more precise it's more about the con's relation to the brothers. The story follows the structure of a fairy tale with a strong focus on the nature of storytelling with a strong story to back it up. The final mark, Penelope (played by Rachel Weisz), loves making pinhole cameras and discusses photography as a mode of storytelling, claiming "The more it tells you the less you know." The Brothers Bloom adheres to this line. By the end of the film, not all the questions of background and future are answered perfectly, but only so far as to make sure that it remains a story. The film is in no way to be taken as a representation of reality, and it makes sure the audience knows this. For example, if the immediately rising and setting sun doesn't take you a degree away from reality, perhaps the saturated colors and old world suits of the title characters may finish the job.

In my opinion, the brilliance of this film comes in the details. Because we stay with Bloom's point of view the audience spends most of the film in full knowledge of the direction of the con, but we also get slowly let in to the inside jokes of this world. The con men say so much that on first viewing there is no way to catch every word, but the repeated lines and themes really pay off at creating a world. Jokes involving sugar bowls and camels give way to graffiti and dramatic irony upon repeated viewing, which is a difficult feat for a con movie. It doesn't rest on plot twists, though it certainly has a few.

The nuts and bolts of this movie build on all the traditional rules of the con movie, but the actual execution accomplishes something entirely different. There is a built in sense of expectation for how the ending twists of this kind of film will play out, and there is a point about 2/3 of the way through this movie where it could have taken that route, but instead, this film houses unique characters and allows some of the major expectations to pay off early and become a driving force rather than a result, yes I'm mainly talking about the love story.

The perfect con is one in which everyone gets exactly what they want, and I certainly got what I wanted out of this film.

Thelma and Louise

2009-11-20T16:26:00.005-05:00

I'm wrapping up my film club's series on duos, and I included Thelma and Louise because, as always, we were short on females in the films. Now that I've seen Thelma and Louise, this choice was either perfect or remarkably inappropriate to serve that purpose.

Thelma is an uhhappy housewife who takes off for a weekend away with her more savvy waitress friend Louise. In her attempt to let her hair down and enjoy herself Thelma gets herself into a bit too much trouble, and the two girls end up on the run from the cops for a series of crimes (each one leading to another). The film unfolds as a wonderful road film full of interesting characters and escalating encounters.

In films, Westerns in particular, women typically fit one of two roles: the angel or the whore. The beginning of this movie seems to set the women up nicely in those two roles, but these identities are entirely gone before the first reel of the film is over. Neither woman fits a category, but the men they encounter on the road are most often caricatures of types of men, almost all of whom are misogynists and bums, with a few positive exceptions to balance out the field. Even Brad Pitts role as the attractive drifter reverses not only the old female identity of the hooker with a heart of gold (the charmingly polite thief), but the film reverses the camera's objectification of the female form by instead lingering suggestively on Pitt's chiseled features and equally chiseled muscles.

The women make the choices. They set the stakes. They have the power to mess things up, fix things, or just keep running even though the whole predicament of the film revolves around the fact that Thelma and Louise are up against the male dominated world of law enforcement. Even the cops have little power against this duo. Thelma and Louise are certainly female leads, but everything about this film is about reversing the filmic stereotypes of men and women without undoing anything about the identities of men and women as distinct genders.

Also, the film is really fun, even while it hurtles toward one of the most famous endings of all time.

Paper Moon

2009-11-08T23:53:00.003-05:00

It's hard for me to watch Ryan O'Neal in anything other than What's Up Doc, especially another exploit of Peter Bogdonovich's, after seeing a few hundred times, but I was pleasantly surprised by how different a character he plays in Paper Moon.

Moses Pray shows up at an old friend's funeral only to have her child forced on him to transport to the child's aunt in Missouri. The girl, Addie (played by Ryan O'Neal's actual daughter Tatum O'Neal), is an outspoken and remarkably clever tomboy who still wants to emulate the femininity of her mother. Moses, on the other hand, is a slick but only moderately talented con man selling bibles to widows, and though he claims not to be Addie's pa, she never believes him.

Moses soon realizes how helpful Addie can be in his line of work and the two travel together accumulating money and growing in friendship and respect. They travel on a less than reputable woman and her black assistant girl for a while, but Addie and Moses work best as a pair. It's hard to really root for a criminal, but with the sympathetic influence of Addie, the pair becomes both more successful as criminals and more likable. Set in the Depression, there is something saddening but delightful about Tatum's performance as Addie. She certainly steals the film and turns it into something really striking and enjoyable. Even as a child she has that wonderful quality of contradiction that can make for a good actor. She is already a very pretty girl, but truly looks more like a boy for most of the film. She's the kind of impetuous kid you'd hate to deal with in real life, but has so much spark and pugnacity that you can't help but love watching her on screen.

The film follows that rambling structure of most journey films. Sometimes the inevitable destination of the trip seems the only thing holding the story together as it wanders through episodes and characters, but the relationship between not-exactly father and daughter is enough to keep the film on track.

Where the Wild Things Are

2009-11-08T23:23:00.004-05:00

After growing up loving this classic children's book I wondered how the story would fill an entire movie. The book features an unruly kid who's room turns into a magical world. He becomes the king of its inhabitants, the wild things, and then returns home for dinner. The movie definitely follows the same story, but with so much more meaning and action.

Max is the youngest child with divorced parents and and older sister, none of whom seem to have enough time and energy to really devote to Max, who is a wild and imaginative boy. He runs away after a fight with his mother and sails to the land of the Wild Things. He becomes their king in an effort to avoid being eaten, but the balance of the situation remains slightly tense throughout the film. It's all too big for little Max to handle on his own.

The most striking element of this film, aside from the absolutely stunning visual quality, is the way it seems so in touch with the imagination of a child. It's not really a film for children, certainly not young ones, either because they would be scared or bored, but the rules of the world are the rules of a child's game. I can remember thinking that way--claiming that I can slip through the cracks and that if you have a machine to seal the cracks my double recracker will break through and nothing in the whole entire world can undo that, so there. I win. Also, the characters of the imagined world are fantastic and bizarre, but each display qualities of the people Max knows (different people at different times). The film credits Max with a range of emotions that recent children's movies aren't willing to ascribe to children. Max is lonely, angry, scared, and clever; his acts his age, but even children can feel and interact meaningfully with their surroundings.

The plot is a little slow and odd, but there is always so much to look at on the screen that it doesn't matter. Because the Wild Things aren't just computer generated this film feels substantial. It's real and tangible and full. Animations just can't hold the story told here. The casting of Max and the Wild Things' voices is great. The whole film is something really unique that works to tell a simple but relatable story.

Amost Famous

2009-10-25T15:58:00.004-04:00

I know it took me far too long to see this film, but I've finally done it!

William Miller is a fifteen year old kid who's never been exactly normal. His college professor of a mom rejects rock and roll and commercialized holidays but encourages the intellectual development of her son, who is two years ahead in school. When his sister "escapes" from the oppression of their home she leaves her records for William, who falls in love with them. After managing to get an interview and hang out with a rock band called Stillwater William somehow scores a job writing a piece on them for Rolling Stone, which comes with a spot on the tour bus.

The film is basically a coming-of-age film. William gets swept up into a world full of flare and color, but with the mark of all great coming-of-age films--the experience dramatically changes him but leaves his life much where it started. It's an ellipsis to the real world, and it knows it. Almost Famous knows exactly what kind of movie it is. It doesn't glorify music, but the characters do. It's not overly sentimental, but sometimes it's characters are. Not every scene has a purpose for the greater plot of the film, but the whirlwind of action comes together in a fairly tight plot. It's funny, but only in the way that life can be really funny. Although the film does not feel overly scripted, it is conscious of its artifice as a film. Main characters each have a moment of the film to make a grand speech or declaration of purpose that creates layers in the film's driving forces.

It's all happening.

The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford

2009-10-15T18:59:00.003-04:00

As the title suggests, this film is about how Robert Ford assassinated Jesse James. The story begins with the James Gang's last train heist and there is little back story explaining how everyone came to be there. It's hard to nail down a plot description other than the fact that the film follows from this time through Jesse's assassination and on to a bit of the aftermath. It's a long movie, two hours and forty minutes, and it's slow, but it's also one of the most interesting and thought-provoking films I've seen recently.

Aesthetically the film is stunning. There are hardly ever two things to look at on the screen at once, and if there are, the shot is edited to look like a daguerreotype, an old type of photograph with blurred, darkened edges. At moments, the film has the feel of a History Channel documentary, with partially-related images keeping the eye entertained during a purposeful voice over--only, here, the intermediate images are remarkably artful without being distracting.

One of the remarkable tensions of this film is that it deals with two major killings--one that is an assassination, and one that is not. Celebrity culture becomes a central issue in this film as Jesse James becomes aware of his status as a public person. He seems bemused by this attention, and Robert Ford is one of the people who buys into every dime novel story of the murdering thief. In fact, it seems that the disconnect between the man and the myth might play one of the key roles in Fords' decision to kill James.

There is a lot to chew on in this film, and the pacing allows plenty of time to really play out each whim and expectation. The central characters have rich layers that the film does not attempt to judge with conclusions. As with life, there are many perspectives to be taken from this film and no clues or morals. Both James and Ford are fascinating characters. Motivation for Ford's actions are clear where James largely remains a mystery, but the interactions of the two men and the other members of the gang are fraught with complexities that fill the substantial length of the film.

Inside Man

2009-10-14T14:36:00.004-04:00

Who doesn't want to be a bank robber? There is something so appealing in outsmarting the system and mastering each tiny circumstance that cinema returns to the familiar story all the time. What makes Inside Man different? These aren't bad guys we like, they're good guys.

A group of masked robbers (led by Clive Owen) take hold of a New York bank and use fear tactics to keep everyone inside hostages while police and detectives (led by Denzel Washington) try to keep the hostages safe without giving into the terrorism of the robbers. The film does not follow an entirely linear structure, but rather occasionally breaks to the future questioning of hostages from the bank to slowly enlighten audiences of the circumstances of the resolution.

The movie has several story lines running at a time, and it often leaves one or many for too long to hold interest. It may be an intentional strategy to keep audiences from constantly trying to draw connections instead of paying attention to the action of the film, but I had to remind myself to care each time one of the side stories was reintroduces into the film, which is never good. The film is very evenly paced. It is not action-packed or excessively tense, but it is thoroughly intriguing. The layers of the bank robbery are enticing and the mystery of the whole caper is well written and carried through.

Crash

2009-10-12T20:13:00.004-04:00

While maintaining a roughly narrative structure, this movie is mostly about racial stereotypes. The film simultaneously undermines and reinforces these stereotypes and shows how connected we are as a race. Generalizations expand beyond racial judgments and every action can have unforeseen consequences for oneself and for others.

Several characters form the central cast of Crash. There are the black boys from the hood who hate everyone for judging them, though they live up to the judgments, a wealthy white district attorney and his wife, a responsible Mexican locksmith and his family, a black academic-turned-director and his wife, and several cops of varying races and dispositions.

What strikes me most in this film is how it depicts characters having grotesque flaws as well as shining redeeming qualities. Most of the characters could easily be classified as "good" or "bad" people at some point in the film only to have those distinctions reverse in the next scene. These characters have both heroes and monsters within them, and must choose at every moment which one to bring to the surface. I don't think I've ever run across anyone who's demonstrated the same degree of greatness and despicable undervaluing of other human beings as the characters in this film, but it works as a remarkable illustration of the folly of judging an individual's next action by their last one. These characters fit their stereotypes more often than not, but that doesn't isolate them from the potential to act against it, and even good people can give in to the worst within themselves. Brilliant gods-eye shots show scenes playing out as if their outcomes have already been determined.

The film also metacinematically reminds audiences of the artifice of enacting race on screen, bringing each viewer's predispositions of racial identifiers into question as characters act predictably according to their established character traits--both physical and intellectual.

Although this film claims the inevitability of people crashing into each other, literally and figuratively, due to the speed at which we live our lives and our need for interaction in our highly caged-off society, the complete breakdown of the power of external judgment leaves only the plea for individuals to take enough responsibility for their own actions to reach for the best of their potential instead of the worst. The rest falls into the hands of nature. One person's goodness positively affects even strangers in substantial but unexpected ways.

The Proposal

2009-09-25T13:54:00.003-04:00

What makes a great romantic comedy is dynamic characters. Comedy comes mostly from expectations--stock characters acting as only they can, living up to stereotypes and delivering the perfect punchline. To merge this genre with romance, there has to be enough drama to draw the audience in. You have to care. For this to happen a film relies on character development. It is not enough to simply see through layers of a person to understand them better, there must be some fundamental change or self-discovery. This is what The Proposal lacks.

Sandra Bullock plays the stern and feared boss of a New York publishing company who threatens her male secretary into agreeing to marry her just long enough to secure her a visa to stay in the country (since she's Canadian). Of course, this means fooling the federal government and the man's family into believing that the unlikely pair is, in fact, in a relationship. And of course, they fall in love.

I did find this movie amusing. I ate my popcorn and smiled, but I have very little desire to ever see it again. The characters don't change. They just open up enough for the plot to move forward. There's no real development. It's natural to like people more as you learn more about them and where they come from. There is nothing between these two leading characters that suggests that any more than circumstance guides their romance. In fact, the romance comes almost out of nowhere. I didn't feel the change coming through any means other than the formula I expected the film to follow.

Inglorious Basterds

2009-09-23T16:34:00.003-04:00

Tarantino's latest film is an entirely inglorious bastardization of history, but with undeniable flare. It's one of the most captivating things I've seen on screen in a while. I don't always enjoy Tarantino's over-stylization and gratuitous violence, but the film references, overlapping genres, stylization, characters, and story of Inglorious Basterds (yes it's spelled like that) really hit the spot. I wish I could have watched it twice before trying to share my opinion on this film, but alas, here I am.

Brad Pitt plays a Nazi-scalping commander of a troop of soldiers known as the "Bastards" who mercilessly hunt and kill Germans in WWII. They're a cartoonish exaggeration of hatred and violence that act out the desire for people to always remember the evil of the Holocaust, but this isn't their movie. Instead, this film is a rewriting of history in which several plots come together and revenge fantasies progress toward ending the war in a more abrupt fashion.

The first twenty minutes of this film build suspense so simply and effectively over one conversation between two men in a small house that I think film students will study it for years to come. Everyone knows that Tarantino is known for doing everything over-the-top, but this scene is restrained, tense, and engaging. The camera work is brilliant, and film geeks will spend so much time trying to catch each reference--such as the fitting music from The Battle of Algiers--that you forget to notice how long the scene drags on. The second attempt to drag out suspense in the same fashion that occurs in the basement bar scene does not carry the same grace as the first scene, but contrasts shockingly with the much more graphic conclusion. In this way it is terribly effective.

I think of all the confusions of genre that make up this film, one of the most brilliant is the pairing of the high Romance in the utterly unromantic scene in the projection room near the end of the film. I cannot say what conspires in this film, but Tarantino captures all the conventions of a romantic finale in the most unconventional way, which is particularly fitting just after the reversal of the Cinderella story that occurs a few moments before.

Because this movie exists almost entirely apart from reality it works well as a cathartic, revenge-centered drama instead of any kind of Holocaust denial, even though it develops the leading Jewish character from victim to oppressor. The leading Nazi character is incredibly well fleshed-out for the fact that almost every level to the character is deplorable. On the other hand, this character, Colonel Landa, bestows a kind of elegance and sophistication to the utterly self-serving, brutal, and ultimately capitalistic leader of the SS. The charm and decorum of the so-called "Jew Hunter" serve to show the talent behind this performance.

In all the praise I have for this film, I feel obligated to mention that the violence is almost unbearable to watch. In a film that is thoroughly enjoyable, it is also sickening. Although Tarantino is often accused of reveling in the violence of his films, one cannot help but notice the self-conscious moment of watching Hitler laugh at the violence in a piece of German propaganda just moments after catching oneself laughing at the darkly humorous violence on screen. In fact, the whole film turns into a metacinematic piece through the integral involvement of the cinema in the unfolding story. The cinema becomes, artistically and literally, a way to deal with the emotional horror of a savage part of world history without being bound by all the shades of complexity found in reality.

Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen

2009-09-07T23:12:00.003-04:00

Lights dim, the scene opens on a desolate landscape, and Optimus Prime's voice-over begins: "EARTH..." That pretty much sets the tone for the rest of the movie. The autobots have started working, secretly of course, with the United States government to fight off the evil decepticons who are out to destroy the earth, but not everyone in the the administration trusts the transforming, robotic, alien race. Sam (Shia LaBeouf) touches a shard of the cube (see first installment) and starts seeing symbols he can't decipher as he tries to manage parents who can't let go and a long-distance relationship in his first few days at college.

I think this movie might be really epic to a 12 year old boy, but otherwise it tries so hard to be intense that I actually laughed all the way through the film. It was actually a lot funnier than I expected, particularly a passing joke about the swine flu that was better timed for my dollar theater viewing than its original release. That being said, most of the things that had me laughing were not, to my knowledge, intentionally funny. Of course, my laughter was only encouraged by the boy speaking loudly in Spanish just over my shoulder through the film. Never underestimate the power of a theater on your experience of a movie.

The movie seems to be confused. The action is cartoonish, but the story and humor strives to be adult. I think I could have enjoyed watching it as a full-fledged family film or a hard-core action thriller, but the balance it has struck didn't interest me much. I can only watch robots battle for so long. I didn't care enough about them "living" or "dying." And thousands of people die in the course of this movie without any substantial notice. It's all taking place on some highly isolated plane of terrible writing.

The Hurt Locker

2009-08-21T01:06:00.005-04:00

Much like several other of this summer's films, The Hurt Locker opens on a robot in a dire landscape. Instead of battling the robots, here, the "bot" is moving forward to scope out a bomb before American soldiers move in to diffuse it. It's Iraq in 2004. Instead of a traditional narrative structure, this film follows one company of bomb diffusers as they finish out the last part of their tour. This is a really impressive film.

Instead of following a war-movie kind of arch rising and falling upon some critical battle or change, instead there is a situational consistence here in the fact that any given day can be life or death. These soldiers do not have one defining moment that changes their lives for better or worse. Each day is a battle, and their heroism is counting out their days trying to get the job done without dying. The film isn't political. It's not a commentary on the state of modern war or the particular conflict going on in Iraq. The point here is much more centered upon these men and their day to day lives at war.

Director Katheryn Bigelow masters a distinctive style without allowing the style to overwhelm the experience. The shaky camera will remind you of the urgency of the situation without giving you a headache because of the nonstop movement. The style suits, but does not overshadow, the story. Of course, "story" here is used loosely. I found myself sidetracked in the middle of the film trying to figure out where, if anywhere, the plot of this film was headed. I kept waiting for the moment when everything would click into focus around something. There is enough of the Hollywood war formula left in this film to expect that sort of resolution--like characters who show up for the clear purpose of dying. The structure wasn't what I initially wanted out of it, but I was plenty satisfied. The ending brings the film into focus just enough to leave me with something to think about.

This is one of the most unique and memorable war films I've ever seen. It's not uplifting. It's not life-changing. It just caught my attention.

A Beautiful Mind

2009-08-14T11:31:00.004-04:00

Movies should have the power to make life more real. They should transport you to a different life. A Beautiful Mind is based on a true story, but only just, but I will allow it those digressions because of the story it creates.

We meet John Nash as he enters Princeton for his graduate study. Socially awkward, Nash avoids class and most other "normal" aspects of academic life and instead spends days on end writing on windows searching for his original idea. When a break trough of governing principles propels him into a successful career that involves some side work with government code breaking. He even falls in love.

John, however, is a paranoid schizophrenic. When his delusions are finally recognized he faces one of the worst living fates I can imagine. Friendships, purpose, memories, identity, and reality all slip away. How terrible to discover that so many important things in your life never even existed. Russell Crowe acts the part so well that the feeling of the world slipping away is terrifying and real. The emotions and uncertainty are so vivid that they are almost tangible. John's struggle then becomes separating the truth from the delusions and determining what his life can be either without the security of a drug induced grip on reality or without the ability to perform in the life he has always known.

What makes this movie so appealing is the way the intense pain and desperation play into what is ultimately a romance. Leave it to Ron Howard to invent some heartbreaking story to breathe new meaning into a boy meets girl story. By heightening the emotional content of the film Howard manages to bring out more intense emotions all across the board for this film. Sadness, trust, love, friendship, accomplishment, community, communism, mental illness--it's all there. More than being a good film, it is a consuming experience for two hours, and that goes a long way.

Terminator Salvation

2009-08-11T13:25:00.003-04:00

The war between man and machine wages on and prophesied leader John Connor (Bale) is at the center of the resistance. The entire world seems to be a barren wasteland with pockets of humans surviving on who knows what as a fleet of different kinds of deadly machines hunt, capture, and kill. This is the future that John Connor must try to prevent by sending civilian Kyle Reese back to his mother to become his father (see the first Terminator movie). Time travel gets a bit confusing when you try to sit down and figure out the implications of the four movies connected, but Salvation is further confused by Marcus Wright, a criminal encouraged to donate his body to science just before taking the lethal injection. He discovers himself to be stuck between the two sides of the world as the audience is left to ponder what separates man from machine.

Unfortunately, all this set up comes to nothing. I don't want to watch Batman kill machines. I'm much more interested in people full of life and emotion resisting their control, but Bale's bat growl and motorcycle stunts only recall the cold, detached personna of Batman, which does not belong in a Terminator movie. I blame the filmmakers for this more than Bale, as his character was clearly written to be hard and unrelenting. The man/machine hybrid character was much more dynamic. I cared about the fate of Marcus, but in the end, none of the questions were really answered and it didn't really matter.

The film had all these huge questions and plot set-ups, but none of them delivered. The story just doesn't matter.

The action, on the other hand, looks incredible. I sat on the edge of my seat, flinching, gasping, holding my breath. The colorization is muted but clear, which lends itself well to the high-impact action of the film as well as the sharp contrast between the warm tones of humanity and the cold steel of machines. I enjoyed myself for those two hours, but took nothing away. It felt like playing a video game. The outcome didn't matter as much as the experience of playing. I'm glad I only paid a dollar for this one, though.

That Thing You Do!

2009-08-04T16:46:00.003-04:00

Don't be thrown off by the title. That Thing You Do! is not just another run of the mill romantic comedy. It does have a love story, and I would call it a comedy, but it isn't just another chick flick. In the 1960s, when the drummer from a band breaks his arm Guy Patterson is brought in as a temporary substitute for a talent competition. When Guy speeds up the band's big ballad on the fly during the show it turns into a hit and the band suddenly finds themselves on a whirlwind to the top of the charts. Everyone deals with the fame and success differently and fractures between the members only deepen.

It's colorful. It's fun. It's really funny. The humor is sometimes subtle, sometimes classic, but never complicated. It's easy to be drawn into this film and forget about anything else. It sweeps you up. You'll find yourself repeating lines days later and humming "That Thing You Do" for weeks.

The movie actually has a lot in common with its title song. Poppy and catchy, it's clearly something special, but not for its greatness or originality. Somehow it manages to take all the expected elements and combine them in just the perfect way to create something wonderful instead of tired and cliche.

Minority Report

2009-08-04T16:12:00.003-04:00

Spielberg and science fiction. Throw Tom Cruise into the mix and you've got everything you would expect.

John Anderton (Cruise) is a head officer of Washington D. C.'s precrime unit which has used a genetic mutation in three "precognitives" to predict and prevent murders for six successful years... until Anderton himself is named as the next killer. He rushed to discover who he is supposed to kill and how he could have possibly set up as the entire precrime division tries to capture him.

Good science fiction should combine technology with morality to force a present audience to examine how the moral question factors into the current world. Minority Report does this. Do we actually get to choose what our actions are? Where is the line between intent and action? How much can human flaws manipulate technology that we trust to be perfectly objective?

As a popcorn movie this one is pretty solid, but in the scheme of science fiction it lacks the tightness of its peers. Most science fiction films work to establish a futuristic world so believable that the audience can suspend disbelief enough not to ask too many questions. They must answer just enough questions that the audience trusts the plausibility of the environment and can connect the dots from now to then, but a good sci-fi will very carefully select the questions to answer that directly influence plot without giving away all the pieces of the puzzle too early. Minority Report seems to leave out things that I would have liked explained in favor of answering questions about obscure portions of the society that only raised more questions for me.

For example, most of the middle of the film is occupied by a large digression about Anderton switching eyes so that the scanners cannot recognize him. The importance of eyes and the black market of eye trading show up again and again so it is firmly established as a necessary part of Anderton's hiding, but ultimately it comes to nothing. There are so many connections between Anderton, the eyes, the dealer, precrime, etc... but only enough that it seems to all fit together just right. All the pieces fit together perfectly in a puzzle, but the completed puzzle doesn't make any kind of bigger picture. They just fit for the sake of fitting instead of being means to a larger end in the film. I find this inattention to story a significant weakness to the film--one that kept me from being able to just sit back and enjoy the explosions and fast paced mystery unfolding.

Let The Right One In

2009-07-21T21:07:00.004-04:00

This Swedish horror drama tells the story of a misfit young boy who falls in love with a strange girl who turns out to be a vampire. She is both kind and vicious. Yup, sounds like a foreign horror film to me.

This is not the Twilight version of vampires. Just because the vampire is a 12 year old girl doesn't make her any less threatening and malicious. She is also a sympathetic character, which left me wondering what a "right" choice would be in this world. Clearly it is terrible to kill a bunch of innocent people just because you need to drink their blood to survive, but it's survival--how do you fight that? Eli, the vampire, cannot help killing people, but would it be worse for her to waste away to nothing or burst into flames in the sunlight?

Oskar is just a lonely boy. He is teased in school and his parents are separated. He can seem both extremely young and mature for his age. He spends most of the film looking out at the snow. He may still be able to remember how to feel cold, but he seems no warmer than Eli. These kids are capable of terrible things, but only show emotion towards each other.

The pacing of the film is one of the most powerful bits. It's slow but very rhythmic. Scenes of artistic establishing shots are followed by scenes of extreme violence with very little change in tone, speed, or style. The film is even. The vampire violence is no more extreme than Oskar being bullied at school... hmm. This keeps the tension building without traditional American techniques of horror. There is no building violin, jump cutting, or foreshadowing flashes of terror. Don't be fooled, though. There are terribly dark scenes of horror and suspense, but with a fresh, foreign perspective. It is certainly a foreign film, but it has plenty to offer American audiences.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

2009-07-16T23:13:00.003-04:00

Yes, I think it's the best so far. Now that everyone knows that Voldemort is back Dumbledore helps Harry gain insight into Voldemort's past so that they can begin a long dangerous journey to destroy him. Life at Hogwarts continues basically as normal with Snape finally taking up his desired post as Defense Against the Dark Arts instructor as Dumbledore invites fame-obsessed Slughorn to take up post as Potions master. Naturally, Dumbledore has his own reasons for each decision. While Harry and Dumbledore get closer to discovering the key to killing Voldemort the social world blossoms at Hogwarts. Everyone has a love interest, requited or not.

Though there isn't enough time to really develop any of the great tensions of the story, Malfoy is a gem in this film. With an ominous task to complete, he seems to have aged 20 years as the rest of the students are busy navigating teenage romance. Malfoy broods and struggles with his newly-official position in the realm of dark wizards.

Instead of the teen angst of Order of the Phoenix, Half-Blood Prince treats the drama between the wizards as mostly lighthearted and humorous, which is a welcome balance to the pending doom of destruction. Harry's bout with Felix Felicis is one of my favorite parts of the entire series. With Ron on the Gryffindor quidditch team the audience finally gets to see some quidditch action that doesn't revolve around Harry and the golden snitch. Ron is a new focal point for the game, along with the greatly improved graphics. Quidditch looks dramatically better. In fact, the entire movie has a wonderful aesthetic appearance. Though not quite a surrealistic as the first version of the film, the color scheme is clear and artistic. The magic regains some of the childish wonder of the earlier films but with much more style--like Dumbledore putting a house back together in the beginning or summoning swirling fire at the end.

Most of the changes from book to film are minor and acceptable with the exception of the destruction of the Burrough, proving Harry's lack of control against the Death Eaters, combined with no immobilizing curse from Dumbledore to keep Harry from fighting back later in the film. Why add an extra scene to make a character point and then remove the major moment that would have made use of that trait? I also wish Harry could have been a little more forward with his feelings for Ginny since much of their attachment is edited out.

I worried that the return to the PG rating after two PG-13 films would mean a less intense film than the story warranted, but I think Half-Blood Prince may be the most intense of the six. Several scenes were frightening and the climatic scene is both beautiful and suspenseful.

Being one of those special people to dress up and see the midnight premier of this movie I could write paragraphs about the nuances of the story with all the knowledge of the books, but this film also stands on its own. Both the style and story of this film are well constructed, and the lighthearted touches create an extremely enjoyable experience.

If you're unfamiliar with the books, don't spend too much time trying to figure out the meaning of the title. It's ultimately not that exciting or critical to the story.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

2009-07-14T16:53:00.003-04:00

With Voldemort back in action it's time to start fighting. Too bad the government doesn't seem to agree. While Voldemort gains supporters and power the minister of magic teamed up with the Daily Prophet promote messages only of peace and prosperity along with slanderous stories about Harry, Dumbledore, and anyone else who would dare claim that Voldemort is back in power.

Dolores Umbrige comes to Hogwarts as the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, though she adopts a purely theoretical approach to teaching. As she and the ministry continue to meddle at Hogwarts she develops into one of the most despicable screen villains I can think of. She represents all that is "the man" along with every annoying quirk of excessive femininity including an office full of decorative cat plates and a knack for passive aggression. As Harry and his friends form a secret group to learn defensive spells Umbrige's power only increases.

Along with the power struggle in the wizarding community, Harry encounters his own sort of power struggle--in his mind. Voldemort and Harry have some intense connection, which seems to be about the only connection in Harry's life as everyone else seeks to shut him out of important details. Professor Snape attempts to teach Harry to block his mind from the dark lord, but the connection's past usefulness along with a stubborn temperament keep the lessons from being very successful.

Once again, a year of building tension leads to an all-out climatic fight. It's a tried and true formula, and it strikes again--I would say successfully. Although not as enjoyable as the third and fourth films, Order of the Phoenix continues to develop the deepening conflict and increasingly interesting visual style of the series.

There is a definite arc to Harry's progression through the films. 1) Harry discovers companionship for the first time and discovers its usefulness in adventure and fighting. 2) Harry and Ron build their friendship as Hermione is left out of the final fight. 3) Harry and Hermione must tie up loose ends with Ron temporarily out of commission. 4) Harry is forced to face danger alone but has the support of his friends and schoolmates. 5) Harry is alone and knows it. He struggles to end and to maintain his isolation, but he is clearly set apart from everyone else and eventually discovers why.

From the books, I expect that 6 will see Harry embrace the task that is his alone and 7 will show Harry working toward his own destiny but with the help of his friends again who have their own jobs to do along the way to saving the world.

Side note: the Weasley twins' exit from Hogwarts does not live up to its literary excellence.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

2009-07-14T16:35:00.004-04:00

Something terrible is happening at Hogwarts. When witches and wizards from all over the world come to Hogwarts for the tri-wizard tournament someone enters Harry's name and he is chosen as one of four champions to compete in potentially deadly magical tasks of nerve and skill. Everyone assumes Harry figured a way to enter his own name despite his youth and chalk the whole thing up to his pathalogical need for attention. After this, it is easy to forget that there is any great danger to Hogwarts and the wizarding world, but this installment of Harry Potter contains the turning point for the entire series.

Harry competes in three tasks as part of the competition. Each task is extremely dangerous, but the danger is primarily for sport--the way Quidditch can be a frightening game. Harry is in grave danger, but the whole school is there cheering him on. No rule breaking. No secret plots. No deep, dark mystery to uncover... oh wait! Harry isn't in this tournament by accident.

The darker appearance and themes of the third film carries over to the fourth. Although the film boasts a bit more color and bounce than its predecessor it also has a much darker climax--one warranting the first PG-13 rating of the series.

Goblet of Fire holds up very well in the collection of films, but it is also the first of the films that suffers a substantial loss in the transition from book to screen. From this point on, the films and the books begin to diverge in details. Don't expect to have the same depth of respect for the characters as in the books. There is simply not enough time to include a full story and complete character development the same way as in a 700+ page novel. On the other hand, the film does strike a balance between the two so that neither side of the coin takes too big a hit.

Humor and romance begin to find their way into Hogwarts in this film, as well. As Harry, Ron, and Hermione get older their social lives begin to broaden at school, which is a welcome development in light of the darkening prospects for the wizarding (and muggle) world with the return of Voldemort.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

2009-07-14T16:19:00.003-04:00

Movie #3... finally one that looks like a real film!

Director Alfonso Cuaron (Children of Men) brings some much needed legitimacy and style to the Harry Potter franchise. If you somehow miss the darkened color pallate (much more blue than gold this time) you will certainly notice the darkened subject matter.

The third story still follows a similar structure to the first two. Mass murderer Sirius Black--reputed to be the one who betrayed James and Lily Potter to Voldemort--has escaped from Azkaban prison and everyone knows he must be after the last of the Potters. Dementors, Azkaban's guards who suck the happiness from the world, have come to Hogwarts to attempt to keep its students safe. The school year goes on as danger builds until the three children work their way up to a final series of fights to save the world (and a few friends) once again.

The children have begun to grow into their characters, the franchise finally hired a competent director, magic seems both commonplace and mysterious. Like a good stew, the pieces of Harry Potter's world finally seem to blend together correctly in Prisoner of Azkaban. There is emotional depth in Harry's struggle that was missing before. Everything he takes on in this film truly is his battle to fight--no one else's. He is not an overly adventurous kid with a death wish, but rather an extraordinary wizard who has survived through a very particular set of circumstances.

This is a wonderful jumping-off place for the rest of the series, which requires the more serious tone created by Prisoner of Azkaban.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

2009-07-11T12:38:00.002-04:00

With the same director, Chris Columbus, the second episode of the Harry Potter series works as a seamless continuation of the first. Back for a second year at Hogwarts, Harry Potter soon discovers that heir of Slytherin is about to open the "Chamber of Secrets" releasing a monster that will kill students with impure wizarding blood. Before long suspicion arises in the school that the heir may be none other than Harry himself, so he takes it upon himself to solve the mystery and save the school, which is the only home he knows.

Much more story driven than the first, the second film is more complex than the first. It also features the first appearance of one of the series' most beloved characters: Dobby the house elf. The special effects are better here, but the quality of the films are comparable. Harry spends a lot of time questioning himself how much evil may actually be inside him. This theme continues through the rest of the films, but he has clearer resolution here than later in the series.

Harry and Ron's friendship develops in the climactic scene of this film. The two of them must fight and save the world without the intelligence of Hermione bailing them out. Instead of cleverness, Harry must rely on bravery, instinct, and passion, which luckily, are his strengths.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

2009-07-11T12:02:00.003-04:00

Let the countdown begin. In preparation for the sixth installment of the Harry Potter series I'm moving back through the first five movies.

Welcome to the shiny world of wizarding. On his 11th birthday Harry Potter finds out that he is a wizard--a famous wizard who somehow contributed to the downfall of the most powerful dark wizard in history. He enters Hogwarts, a school for magic-folk, makes friends, and quickly discovers his taste for adventure as he, Hermione, and Ron discover that the Sorcerer's Stone, which can give someone eternal life, is at Hogwarts and someone is trying to steal it. They face the potential for expulsion, death, and a number of terrible magically-induced injuries, but these three kids persevere in the name of goodness.

The challenge with this film is introducing the magical world. Half of the film revolves around orienting Harry, and the audience, to Hogwarts and all that comes with it. This leaves only half of the film to actually delve into plot. As good as it is, it still feels like a children's movie. Everything is done with special effects--maybe too much. There is a simplistic quality missing from this movie, but because the world of the Harry Potter books that comes alive in this film is so exciting and interesting the film could hardly help but carry on the quality of awe and wonder that the words "Harry Potter" inspire in modern culture.

The children are young and their acting is unpolished but not enough to be distracting. The movie provides a solid foundation for the rest of the series, but naturally does not live up to the book.

Public Enemies

2009-07-11T11:15:00.002-04:00

Bank robbers have been an important focus of American cinema for a long time, and Public Enemies certainly follows in the tradition of movies like Bonnie and Clyde. John Dillinger is a bank robber, pure and simple. I know very little about the history of the man, and after watching this movie, I still know very little. Instead of developing a story Public Enemies develops a character. Johnny Depp is one of the most fun actors to watch on screen. He brings the charm and charisma Dillinger needs to be a bad guy on screen who the audience can believe as both a cold-hearted killer and a romantic hero.

Dillinger robs banks, breaks out of jail, goes on the run, and somehow manages to dote on the love of his life in the process. There isn't much to the story. No background, no daddy-issues, no great identity crisis. Dillinger lives by the moment and never really second guesses his choices. He's a ticking clock, but keeps perfect time right up until the end. Christian Bale plays the FBI agent, Purvis, who is dedicated to capturing public enemy number 1: Dillinger. I sincerely hope today's FBI doesn't take the same approach to capturing thieves. FBI agents do anything necessary to get information out of people, but when it comes to actually apprehending Dillinger they are surprisingly inadequate.

I found the style of the film a bit distracting. It's mostly beautiful and true to the styles of gangster and noir films, but it goes back and forth between about 15 different styles. Close ups, handheld shots, romantic establishing shots, Tommy guns flashing in the dark, etc. Each shot seems to cut out about half a second before it's really finished so there's never time to really get your bearings.

Overall it's a good movie--not great--but solid. It belongs in the summer, but that kind of action brought to life by such amazing actors makes for a fun night at the movies.

Sunshine Cleaning

2009-06-24T13:50:00.003-04:00

Rose Lorkowski's son, Oscar, picks up the CB radio, which he thinks broadcasts him to heaven, and asks, "If you already live in heaven, where do you go when you die?"

No one would mistake the lives of Rose, her sister, father, and young son for heaven. Former head cheerleader, Rose, finds herself as a maid still trying to take care of her younger sister and problematic son while continuing an affair with her high school boyfriend, who suggests crime scene clean-up as a lucrative niche to explore. A need for money leads Rose and her sister to dive head first into the gruesome and highly technical field of bio hazard removal under the name "Sunshine Cleaning."

There is something simple and satisfying about watching people cleaning up messes others leave behind in an effort to clean up the messes they've created in their own lives. From the same creative minds that brought us Little Miss Sunshine, Sunshine Cleaning offers many stylistic and thematic similarities. The most striking difference in the two, aside from the subject matter, is the lack of comedy in the latter film. There are certainly comical moments, but more along the lines of entertaining moments that happen in an everyday life and exaggerated circumstances. The serious subject matter doesn't have the same ironic approach as in Little Miss Sunshine. For the most part, when something is serious, it's pretty serious.

There is something raw about the story. In a few moments the drama becomes, well, drama, but many of the dramatic moments happen between the lines. The exposition is well-distributed across the film and not every question has an answer. The audience learns to understand the characters well enough to know their motivations without needing every action to be explained.

With the obvious contrast between hard-working but unsuccessful Rose and her irresponsible partying sister, Norah, the natural expectation is some sort of compromise between the two for a better conclusion for each sister. Thankfully, this film resists that urge. Both girls clearly must make some progress in their lives, but this means something different for each of them. The growth is in recognizing and accepting one's own defining qualities and doing the same for others.

It's a short film, but a full one. Encouraging and lighthearted, at the same time blunt and dark. Even though Clifton, the one-armed cleaning supplies salesman is my favorite character, Amy Adam's carries the film. She's got a way of being endearing and dynamic without always being likable. You root for her as if she's an old friend who's lost her way. Every character of the small cast carries his or her own weight in this film. Their chemistry is off just enough to believe the group as a dysfunctional family.

All About Eve

2009-06-23T14:18:00.005-04:00

The film opens with witty but cynical narration as Eve Harrington (Anne Baxter) is about to win a prestigious acting award. Those posed as her closest friends seem hardly pleased with Eve's accomplishment, and the film quickly moves back to the start of Eve's career to look at how the actress rose to success.

Wide-eyed Eve shows up as an obsessed, but extremely humble fan. By the time she shares her story of coming to New York and attendinging every performance of Margo Channing's (Bette Davis) play everyone is eating out of her hand. Margo takes in the young girl as friend and secretary, and no one can help but admire young Eve. Her reserved nature captures attention, even as she draws attention from Margo and her actor beau, Bill, engaging in a passionate kiss by respectfully looking away. It becomes increasingly apparent that her innocence is more manipulation than truth. Characters slowly begin to recognize Eve's sneaky cunning, but almost always one step too late.

Fortunately for the film, Eve's acting performances full of "fire and music" is left to the imagination of the audience. Davis's portrayal of Margo is so fantastic that I doubt that Eve would pose a believable threat to Margo's fame. Baxter does, however, have just the right blend of excessive modesty, mousiness, and determination simmering just behind her eyes. She's likable, initially, but not as dynamic as the other female leads. She is exactly the type she is accused of being. Margo, on the other hand, retains the personality quirks of an actress (late, dramatic, paranoid about her advancing age) but with depth. She is a unique, if not always likable, character who can sustain interest much longer than her conniving rival.

People always love a good love story. The love between Margo and Bill seems like another tale of short-lived, shallow celebrity news until it continues to endure and deepen through the screwball twists and turns of the plot. The "theatre" faces sharp-tongued criticism and bitter ironies from almost everyone wrapped up in the lifestyle, but at moments love, friendship, and forgiveness seem to outweigh the scheming, ambition, and glamour.

This film suffers from no lack of glamour, however. The mere presence of any of the leading women makes me wish for the chance to dress in diamonds and furs and speak in that quick, but softly enunciating voice. When a film that is nearly 60 years old can still sparkle with style and excitement, it must be something special.

Fargo

2009-06-13T12:14:00.005-04:00

The Coen Brothers' 1996 film, Fargo, is a seamless blend of the extremely familiar and the amazingly original. Car salesman Jerry Lundegaard devises a fake kidnapping of his wife to save him from financial trouble. Naturally, everything goes wrong. In one sense, the film is a stereotypical crime thriller: a plot unravels, and a sharp cop follows clues to put the pieces together in the name of justice; but at the same time each piece of the story is full of incredible subtleties that make each moment exciting and unique. The film seems understated, but also one degree over the top in each scene. The rhythm of the film is sleepy as if affected by the frozen setting, but each scene is craftily developed to steadily advance the plot, which wastes nothing.

The Coen Brothers specialize in characters. These people are neither beautiful nor extraordinary. They are strikingly normal, but fleshed out with interesting quirks and truly amazing dialogue (though the variety of vocabulary is much narrower than in a normal movie, yah?). Even the minor characters are fully formed.

Police chief Marge Gunderson is one of the most likeable heroes I've seen on screen in a long time. She's seven months pregnant, and her husband is somewhat dull, but loving. Her distinctive Midwest accent and cheery demeanor almost hide her notable detective skills, but she's smart and extremely competent. She seems to exemplify the favorable side of the American values that the rest of the shamefully money-focused characters so clumsily deface. What a fantastic movie!

Up

2009-06-09T14:00:00.010-04:00

One of Pixar's biggest strengths is their ability to create stories that are equally compelling for adults and children. Up is no exception. I hesitate to summarize any of the plot because it all develops so beautifully that I don't want to give anything away. Basically there is a remote location in South America known as Paradise Falls, and an old man travels there to have grand adventures in a house lifted by balloons.

Some of the humor in Up is more childish than Pixar's other recent films, but it's still light and entertaining. The story, on the other hand, is full of deeply emotional conflicts presented subtly with class and openness. Children will not be overwhelmed with heavy-handed plot elements, but I cried twice during this film. Pixar has mastered the skill of creating lovable, dynamic characters.

For me, Up is the much needed antithesis to Revolutionary Road. Instead of people who spend their whole lives waiting for adventure to start and self-destructing when they loose sight of their youthful dreams, this film features the joy that is possible through simply living life. Here, the greatest adventure is in living a full life with someone you love and treasuring the simple pleasures. Of course, real adventure matters as well--you don't discount the excitement of adventure in a film about a floating house--but Up acknowledges that dreams and expectations can change without a loss of individuality or idealism. By not moving to a far away country, these characters do not abandon all of their dreams for the mundane, but rather find joy that eclipses the desire to chase old dreams.

Dreams matter--they can be realized--but they do not always take the same form as expectation, and that's ok. This film is about imagination, but doesn't discount the value of reality. It's refreshing and simple.

This was also my first 3D movie, and the 3D makes a difference! It's not a gimmick, nor will it give you a headache like an amusement theatre attraction show. You forget about the plastic glasses, and it's really unique to see. I'm excited that 3D is catching on. It's worth the extra two dollars.

The Sting

2009-06-09T10:48:00.004-04:00

Robert Redford and Paul Newman at their greatest.

The Sting is a 1973 con movie about a grifter (Redford) who tries his hand at the "big con" with the help of a washed up con artist hiding from the FBI (Newman) to get revenge against a bookie mobster. The iconic ragtime music sets the stage for the building excitement as the con unfolds. The honest motivation for running the big con wipes clean the audience's memory of the leading men's pasts as common street thieves. They become crooks we like, and it is easy to root for them to win.

One thing that film has lost over the last 30 years is the rhythm. Half of the time this film unfolds without many clues as to what's really happening. A lot of characters look alike, and the film doesn't stop to explain who they are or why they're there. People have quick-paced conversations where only half of what's said is comprehensible, but somehow it all comes together in the end. It's all about the details, but there are so many details hurled at the audience it is hard to know which ones matter. I think that's how the film manages to unfold with such a pace of anticipation. The audience is only ever half-aware of the con, so there are always surprises.

Star Trek

2009-06-09T10:20:00.003-04:00

For all the overly-cerebral award season movies this year it's a good thing this summer is full of entertaining summertime flicks. If Slumdog Millionaire wasn't enough to get you in off the ledge that Revolutionary Road and The Reader may have pushed you to, Star Trek certainly is. Not that those other movies aren't good, but hot weather and long days should mean excitement and fun at the theater instead of introspection.

Star Trek comes out of the gate at full force with everything you could want in a good summer action film: a big fight, critical plot set-up, an explosion, and outer space. The film goes on to document enough of the lead characters' childhoods to understand exactly why they act as they do, and then it's back into space for some more explosions.

I feel obligated to mention that I've never seen Star Trek until this film. I didn't grow up on the show or the movies, so I have very little frame of reference for the characters and I can't speak to the prequel tendency to over explain mysteries of future installments of the franchise or inclusion of details meant for the thousands of true Star Trek fans. I do know that Star Trek is so much a part of popular culture that even I know many of the iconic phrases and characters and was able to pick up on them in the movie. I did not feel left out of some cult knowledge watching this film, instead I felt included in a very accessible version of that world.

Scripting is not this movie's strong point. In a few cases the chance to use a special effect or hold out for one last dramatic moment wins out over logical plot development. Events are explained and then forgotten when a second evaluation would reveal several holes in the explanation that was just presented, but by that point the Enterprise is facing another crisis, so who has time to wonder why future Spock must stay where he is, or how he eventually gets to Earth.

As an avid LOST fan, I could not help noticing director J.J. Abrams' authorial voice in some of the themes of this Star Trek. The entire film revolves around time travel and one's ability to change the past, present, and future. Time travel is a timeless concept in science fiction, and Abrams does well to include one perspective on the concept without turning the film into some kind of philosophical argument about why or how time travel must actually work; it's confined to the circumstances of the film.

I thoroughly enjoyed this film. If you can gloss over a few details with a bucket of popcorn, this is a really fun movie. Brilliant but troubled hero fights odds to save the planet; to forge new friendships; to explore strange new worlds; to seek out new life and new civilizations; to boldly go where no man has gone before.

Amores Perros

2009-04-15T22:54:00.004-04:00

To write about this film in a few little paragraphs is ambitious. AmoresPerros is for Mexico what Citizen Kane and The Godfather are to America. Mexican cinema is taking off and this is the staple film. Honestly, I wish our critical films were this explosive, but that's not to imply that AmoresPerros is easy to watch.

AmoresPerros, which translates to "Love's a bitch," tells three unique stories that intersect with a violent car crash. Part one, Octavio y Susana, chronicles Octavio's entrance into the violent underworld of dog fighting (they say no dogs were harmed, I'm not sure I believe them) in order to gather enough money to run away with his brother's wife. Daniel y Valeria is the story of a man who leaves his wife and daughters to start a new life with supermodel Valeria who is put in a wheelchair after the horrible collision with Octavio. Part three, El Chivo y Maru follows intellectual turned revolutionary turned private hit man as he tries to finish a job and also subtly regain contact with his daughter.

The stories have dramatically different plots, characters, and social settings, but each story shares in hardships that even class cannot stratify. Just as the characters literally collide, so do their motivations and hurts correspond. None of the characters are above dog-like cruelty or animalistic instincts. It's hard to decide if there's much redemption in the film, but there is certainly some degree of resolution. The film doesn't offer cliche happy endings for the characters, but neither do the stories offer clear pictures of what would constitute a "happy ending" for them. There will always be troubles for these characters, but there will also always be choice of action.

The film captures a unique Mexico City. Shot in real locations with real people there is a definite realism to the picture, but realism is also substantially obscured to allow the film to speak to a broader state of humanity than can be quarantined into a few city blocks of Mexico City. The music is amazingly effective and the color processing of the film--a risky move because that particular development actually ruins the film--gives the film an edge. It's real, but not the real we're used to seeing. It's not altogether new, but the film is so visually and thematically striking that it cannot help it's dramatic impact.

The Reader

2009-04-15T22:06:00.004-04:00

I'm not quite sure why this year (2008 really) was so full of cerebral, aesthetically pleasing films that don't actually come to much. Like Revolutionary Road, The Reader is based on a novel, but I cannot really imagine how long the novel could be when so much of the movie is filled with long silent glances and nudity.

Hannah Schmitz (Kate Winslet) helps out much younger Michael (Fiennes/Kross) as he returns home from school sick one day, and the two begin a secret affair despite a large age difference. Hannah likes for Michael to read to her, but eventually she just leaves. Michael does not encounter her again until he is attending the trials for war crimes after WWII as part of his law school education. Hannah is on trial.

The film certainly made me think about the excuses people make for themselves--what I may be responsible for just because I remain ignorant to a lot that is going on in the world. The middle part of this film, however, voices a lot of questions that could have been posed better situationally. I suppose a trial is a good way to ask tough questions, but it's also a setting that demands answers that the film could not readily supply.

I did really enjoy The Reader for the most part. Well, not so much enjoy... but I thought it was beautifully made and acted and dealt with interesting issues. I liked watching the story of the two main characters unfold, but I have a problem with the way illiteracy is held as more shameful than directly causing the deaths of hundreds of people.

Revolutionary Road

2009-04-06T23:39:00.005-04:00

If it weren't for the incredible aesthetic beauty of this film it would be almost impossible to watch. Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet play a young couple, the Wheelers, in a 1950's suburb who are special. Everyone including themselves can see that they're special but they end up stuck in the same routine of mediocrity as everyone around them and it tears them apart.

The film is beautifully acted, which is good because the audience doesn't get any real glance of the history of these characters outside of their downfall. DiCaprio and Winslet, however, carry on as if they've lived a lifetime together. April Wheeler concocts a grand bohemian plan to pick up their lives and move to Paris so that they can finally begin the life they've always planned. Frank Wheeler eventually agrees and the couple happily make their travel arrangements until practicality and circumstances slow them down.

The first 30 minutes of Revolutionary Road are carried by the incredible rhythm of the camerawork. The contrast between the moving and still cameras stands out beautifully. Director Sam Mendes uses the camera to clearly convey his message--not in a subtle film geek kind of way, but in a way that is easily accessible without being dumbed down.

The Wheeler's problem, if you ask me, isn't conforming to a standard of mediocrity when they could be doing so much more, but rather thinking they're more than the life they've created. The problem here isn't that society stifles all the life out of the Wheelers. Instead they hide their own inadequecies in dreams they cannot fulfill. Their life isn't horrible. We get a glimpse in one scene of how out of touch Frank and April truly are with each other. There is no redemption possible for the Wheelers after how much melodrama they endure, but they brought themselves there. Frank could actually find a way to thrive in his job if only he didn't feel that any commitment to coperate America were selling out. It's his and April's unwavering dedication to a lifestyle that neither of them has the courage to persue that isolates them from happiness. The film overtly critiques characters who live the conveyor belt life without any recognition of what else is possible, but it fails to show anyone who is really happy and alive.

The only honest character is mentally ill, but his exemption from the ordinary rules of society permits him to speak the truth about everything around him, which he certainly does. It's heartbreaking and funny at the same time, and at least he provides a welcome relief from the repressed personalities who populate the rest of the film.

My reaction to the film is the importance of being aware and active. The only happiness in conformity is in ignorance, but that doens't mean that people have to break all social patterns to be happy. The Wheelers funnel into a life that society allows for them while they wait for their chance to do what they really want. The only conscious choices they make are based on whims and circumstance. They take no responsibility for choosing their own paths, always expecting opportunity to strike one day. That is conformity: inaction. Given, April has very few chances to act out wihtout being put away in an institution, but there is also the matter of responsiblity for one's choices, that neither of the Wheelers seem to have.

Fair warning: this is not an uplifting movie. In fact, only watch it late at night so that you can go to sleep and wake up happy the next day.

Cache (Hidden)

2009-03-12T14:19:00.008-04:00

Have you ever felt someone looking at you? A gaze shouldn't be palpable, but everyone knows the feeling of being watched. In Cache the home of the Laurents is being filmed. The tapes are dropped off at their house. There are no threats. There are no letters. Just the terror of being watched and somehow exposed. The film implicates the audience in this as there is virtually no way to tell whether you are watching the film or viewing a tape that the characters in the film are watching. It gets a little confusing at times.

The film goes on to deal with a conflict between Georges Laurent and the Albanian man who lived with his family briefly in his childhood. I didn't know very much about the political implications of the movie, but I do know that with all the drama and suspense I kept waiting for "it" to happen. Something was coming to make it all mean something--something the film was driving towards. I never really got there. I don't need everything answered in a film, but I do need to care about the questions and this film just didn't bring me to that point.

Rachel Getting Married

2009-02-23T18:59:00.007-05:00

Pay close attention: Rachel Getting Married is NOT to be confused with Anne Hathaway's other recent film, Bride Wars. I think the people in row in front of me at the theater were confused by the art house nature of this film, because something inspired them to get up at leave during the film. This independent movie tells the story of Kim (Hathaway) as she leaves rehab for her sister's wedding. Most people, according to the film, take a long time before they're ready to see their families upon leaving rehab, but Kim takes a weekend away to be thrown right in the middle of a big family wedding being put on in their home. The film mainly revolves around the dynamic of the two sisters fighting for attention, acceptance, and understanding.

The film is slow. The audience looks on from a handheld camera's perspective almost as if we are one of the relatives in for the wedding. We see the rehearsal dinner, the wedding, the fights, and the spontaneous games between the family. The film shines for the honest way it captures the interactions of the family--it feels like a real family with big problems but the same emotional struggles of any family.

As far as a narrative, the film carefully doles out exposition in dramatic spoonfuls as the audience becomes initiated into the family's history. Resolutions are not sweeping and final, but the characters try to work out their issues and confront their pasts. Rachel Getting Married is not your typical fare for Friday night at the movies, but there is one scene near the end of the film--you'll know if if you've seen it--that so beautifully depicts the sisterly connection between Kim and Rachel that the entire film becomes tinted with a sort of honesty and hope that makes the boring family speeches and shaky filming worth the time.

I left the theater thinking how much I would love to attend a wedding like the one depicted there. Rachel's family has a lot of issues, but these things get put aside as much as possible to celebrate a simple but true love. The wedding is strange but intimate, and though the reception was foreign to anything I've experienced, I felt the happiness of the people dancing there. Being happy doesn't erase their pain, but there is the sense that happiness is something that exists even in the midst of turmoil.

Alphaville

2009-02-23T18:58:00.009-05:00

Yes, when I'm taking a class on foreign film that focuses on the new wave in different countries it means I review a bunch of weird movies. Enter: Alphaville.

French New Wave films feature a self-conscious rejection of what was previously the standard cinematic technique. Basically, instead of focusing on adapting literary stories new wave directors stepped in with non-linear narratives, understated acting, jump cutting, tracking shots, and plenty of intercontextual film references.

Alphaville is some bizarre mix between a sci-fi thriller and a noir detective drama. Lemmy Caution arrives in Alphaville from the "Outlands" as a reporter who is chasing some big story. Alphaville is a city on a far away planet, though it is clearly recognizable as Paris. As the film develops we learn that Alphaville prohibits all things illogical. Excessive emotion, love, independent though--anything that does not fit in with alpha 60, the computer voice of the city.

If you think the premise of the film sounds strange, it is nothing compared to the particulars. While director Goddard maintains some elements of narrative plot structure, the film is much more interested in communicating its themes than in presenting a story. Unfortunately, in my opinion, the themes of many New Wave films stem from Deconstruction, so Alphaville serves as an argumentative essay of sorts about the arbitrary nature of representation. Signs never only mean what they appear to mean, so they have not inherent meaning at all. Sound cuts out when the characters realize their communication is fruitless; assassins appear from nowhere, are killed, and then never mentioned again; women serve only to be looked at--an idea both promoted and criticized by the mise en scene of the film; unlabeled arrows point in all directions. All these things work together to create a film world where signification becomes a real problem.

All that is very interesting and well though out, I'm sure, but it makes Alphaville a terribly frustrating film to watch. It does not make sense on first viewing, and it becomes more muddled the more I try to think through it.

Forgetting Sarah Marshall

2009-02-23T18:58:00.005-05:00

Who hasn't experienced, at least indirectly, a difficult break up? Awkwardness, regret, mind games. Oh yes, people revert to Jr. High social politics when it comes to broken hearts, and that is the subject matter for this comedy.

When television star Sarah Marshall breaks up with Peter he doesn't know what to do with his life. In an effort to get over her, he takes a solo trip to Hawaii only to run into Sarah immediately after arriving at the luxury hotel. Peter stays at the hotel to save face, but naturally, things become a jumbled mess thanks to the presence of Sarah's new eccentric British musician of a boyfriend.

Most new comedies that are sweeping the cinema these days rely on dumbed down jokes and sexual humor. This certainly has a taste of that new comedy (warning: the nudity in this movie is pretty rough), but the main drive of the laughs in this film are dialogue and situational based--a return to the screwball comedy in many ways. The guy is the pathetic screw up, but he's also the good guy. It's refreshing to see a film where people can be flawed and still fall in love. He's not perfect, she's not perfect, but compromises can be made.

I prefer comedies with character actors rather than characters that attempt to be realistic. These people are meant for this movie. This movie takes a common situation and makes it absurd and entertaining enough to be a good way to spend 2 hours of a Friday night. I enjoyed it.

The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada

2009-02-03T15:46:00.003-05:00

This film, directed by Tommy Lee Jones, straddles the border between Mexico and the U. S. Segmented into chapters by interetitles, the film depicts what it calls the three burials of a Mexican immigrant named Melquiades Estrada (though I'm not sure the last name is ever mentioned anywhere in the film aside from the title). The story moves non linearly through time. Set in a border town in Texas, the film spotlights a kind of Americanness that we all hope never to have to experience of hot dogs, trailer parks, and greasy diners that function as old western saloons complete with a resident woman for sale.

The opening titles appear in English as well as Spanish creating the feeling that this American film is being translated for another audience, though many aspects of the film feel distinctly opposite: that an American audience is allowed to look in on this Mexican film. Featuring many characteristics of the classic American genre--the Western--this film witnesses the breakdown of many of the traditional forms. Women are still framed indoors, but instead of a front porch looking into the vast Western wilderness, they peer through windows at obese neighbors sunbathing in lawn chairs. The independent male lead sets off on a journey through the desert, but masculinity just isn't what it used to be. In fact, the film supports the notion that perhaps the ideals of the American West haven't vanished, but they were fictional constructs to start with.

Nevertheless, the film does have a redemptive ending. Though not entirely settled, much of the tension between old and new, wild and civilized, lessens into a suitable compromise that still requires pondering from the audience.

It takes a while to figure out where this film is going, and as a fair warning there are some horrendously disturbing scenes, but the arc of the movie is interesting and enjoyable.

Pulp Fiction

2009-02-03T15:15:00.005-05:00

Despite my high school film teacher's assurance to parents that this film would not be in the class curriculum, Pulp Fiction is really difficult to escape in the film world. It is one of the most referenced movies of the 90s. Three stories--independent of one another but sharing in many circumstances and characters--play out on screen. The stories move forward and back in time with no distinct clues, but the path of the movie and its chronology remain easy to follow, probably because the timeline is not all that important.

Two strange hit men complete jobs for their mob boss, who asks one of them (Travolta) to take out his wife for the night. The night is half fun and then takes a very serious turn. A boxer (Willis) fails to throw a major fight for the mobster, but must turn back during his escape to retrieve a very special watch that he inherited from his father. The hit men must clean a car... quickly. Two amateur criminals decide that there is a lucrative future in robbing diners. These are the major stories.

This is not the kind of film where everything is so intimately connected that following one path of a story sheds critical light on how another of the story perspectives plays out, but nothing is entirely independent either. Ultimately, the film doesn't come to much. Because director Tarantino isn't trying to progress some weighty plot, the dialogue and situations do not all have to have some higher purpose, which frees them to be hilarious and strange of their own right. Tarantino revels in every story and shot. It's enjoyable and memorable, not life changing--but that's not what it's aiming for.

The title is self-referencing and accurate. Pulp Fiction is full of the grittier side of life--much grittier than I ever expect from mine or most people's lives. It's a different world that deals with drugs and mobs and sex and death with some witty dialogue and clever direction. It's an escape, and a funny one at that.

Man On Wire

2009-01-25T14:20:00.003-05:00

This documentary directed by James Marsh tells the story of Phillipe Petit's illegal but elegant high wire adventure between the twin towers of the World Trade Center. I never knew that this happened, and I certainly wouldn't have guessed that it would be possible with or without approval from whatever authority would decide something like that.

The film sets up "the coup" and progressed through the actions of the grand stunt while referring back to Phillipe's life and his other illicit tightrope endeavors, which include some stunning locales. Phillipe refers to his walking as a kind of visual poem, which sounds kind of hokey, but the footage of what he does really is spectacular. I was shocked at how beautiful and graceful it was.

I don't watch many documentaries, but had heard so much about this one I decided to check it out so I could at least have an opinion about one of the Oscar nominees, and I'm glad I did. It's slow and informative, but as interesting and well-developed as a fictional narrative film.

Slumdog Millionaire

2009-01-21T13:20:00.006-05:00

Danny Boyle's adaptation of Vikus Swarup's novel Q & A begins when young Jamal is one question away from winning the Indian version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. This intensely likable character has come so far in the game as a result of the difficult and tragic circumstances in his life, which are shown episodically as flashbacks through each answered question.

The events of Jamal's life are rough. Born as a Slumdog it's not a steady ride up the social ladder. Boyle portrays Jamal's India in vibrant colors reminiscent of City of God. The slums are alive and exciting rather than dull and bleak, but they are also not glamorized. The world of poverty must have vibrancy and life to also portray the pain of being so confined by circumstance.

After all, Slumdog Millionaire is not a harsh picture of the terrible conditions in India, though that is certainly a part of the story. Instead, it is a refreshing love story--a fairy tale--of fate, devotion, and undying hope. To enjoy the film one must feel the connection between the lead characters, but any lacking chemistry between the two child actors is made up for by the perseverance of the love story in the midst of all the other darker plot elements.

No other relationships in the film are romanticized; for example, Jamal's brother often goes out on a limb to save Jamal, but he is also his greatest enemy. Because everything else in the film is portrayed with some ambiguity and duality, the singularity of Jamal's love for Latika manages to appeal to the audience for its simplicity rather than just as an overly romanticized escape.

Just in case you don't buy into the love story Boyle still sends you out with a smile inspired by the Bollywood-like dance number that relives the pressure of the pain of the film and celebrates one last aspect of Indian culture before the credits roll.

A Scanner Darkly

2009-01-06T22:00:00.003-05:00

This is the strangest movie I think I've ever seen. Filmed digitally, a computer process was used to change it to animation. It's a really unique effect that is worth the ridiculous amount of time it took to create it. Based on a novel written in the 70's, the story is set 7 years in the future in the dystopia that America has become under the devastating effects of an unstoppable outbreak of addiction to a drug called Substance D.

Even though it stars Keanu Reeves, this film works as one thoroughly disorienting drug trip. Bob Arctor (Reeves) works under a conciled identity as a scanner to watch survaillence to discover himself--suspected to be high-up in the Substance D trade. As he watches himself he realizes how messed up he has become as he goes back and forth between sharing in long drug-induced conversations wtih his buddies and observing the videos he's taken of himself.

It takes a long time to figure out what is going on in this movie, and the only way to follow it is to accept that the audience is forced into the same turmoil as the lead character. Nothing is clear or believable, and the innovative animation only enhances the surreal quality of the film.

A Scanner Darkly was never intended for mainstream audiences--and for good reason--but for anyone who likes experimental films, this is a really fascinating one with a sad streak of realism and just the right amount of comedy.

Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang

2009-01-06T17:03:00.003-05:00

Harry is a second rate thief before he comes to L.A., but within a few days he is reunited with his high school dream girl, learns to be a detective, and has bodies begin to pile around him as he tries to discover the truth behind a series of murders before the bad guys can get to him. I say "bad guys" because this film does not take itself too seriously. It consciously unfolds like a cheap spy novel. Everything means something and all the pieces fall together in just the right way, but because the film recognizes this unrealistic element--primarily through Robert Downey Jr.'s clever narration--it all works.

Because the film doesn't try too hard for all the twists and turns to catch you off guard, you forget to anticipate too closely, and most of the punches land hard. It's not entirely cheesy either. The story is actually interesting and the characters are intriguing. To quote the back of the DVD box because it's just too good to pass up: "Kiss kiss, bang bang--watch watch."

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

2009-01-06T16:41:00.005-05:00

Benjamin Button begins his life with the infirmities of old age and his body ages backwards as he grows up. This fascinating cross between Forrest Gump and Big Fish creatively isolates the aging of the body and mind. The premise of the story is interesting and weird enough to carry the film without particularly likable leads. The audience looks on Benjamin as a Curiosity, just as the title suggests, rather than as a real person. His story will carry pull you in and break your heart, but from a step back, his life is only marginally remakable aside from his aging reversal.

Benjamin falls in love with a girl, the granddaughter of one of the women residing in the home where he is raised by his adopted mother, and their lives continue to intertwine until their ages can actually meet in the middle. In the meantime, however, Benjamin encounters a number of fascinating characters who impact his life. As the film makes the passage of time unreliable, place and relationships take the foreground of story.

The tearjerker of a story reminds audiences of the brevity of life and of all good things in this world. Despite this depressing theme, however, the film also takes care to remind characters not to wait for life to begin or to catch up, but rather to recognize the need to take each day with purposeful initiative. Fate seems to play a major role in this film, but only in circumstance. The characters have a profound influence on the paths of their own lives. Their reactions to the situations brought upon them by fate are what truly affect the outcomes of their lives.

Though this fantasy drama is a new frontier for director David Fincher, he comes at it gracefully and with a careful eye. The same irreverent humor--the kind you're not sure you should laugh at--that followers of Fincher love does sneak in, particularly in the first half of the film. It looks a little self-important, but there's not really a way to tackle a serious film based on manipulation of time without a confident and bold attitude. And, for what it's worth, the aging effects are incredible. Brad Pitt's role does not require a lifechanging performance, but he looks as great at 70 as he does at 25 and just as believable as 40.

Doubt

2008-12-28T23:43:00.003-05:00

Growing up, we are taught to look for the good in people, but also to question everything that we see and hear. This film examines the results of both of these approaches and why we chose to believe and act on certain things that we witness over others. Two nuns--one a naive, loving teacher, the other a hardened and strict principle of a catholic school--come to question a relationship between the priest and a young boy who happens to be the first black child to be educated at the school. The focus of the film is on how this suspicion takes hold on the women, what they choose to believe, and how they act upon their convictions. Facts are sparse, but each side holds enough circumstantial evidence to create plausible explanations.

The film unfolds slowly with almost all still shots. The pace of the film urges the audience to choose a side in the argument while constantly frustrating those attempts by developing neither side in emphasis to the other. Several canted shots beg for some kind of overarching meaning, but to my observation they only serve to try--and fail--to make the film more visually interesting. That being said, the film has plenty of visual moments. One of my favorite moments is a low angle shot of Sister Aloysius (Meryl Streep) looking up at her in awe and wonder. The film immediately cuts to a high angle shot of Father Flynn, portraying him as lower, more connected to the congregation, which beautifully illustrates the struggle between these characters regarding the need for progress and fresh kindness in the church.

It is impossible to exit the film without some sort of doubt, which, I guess, is the point. The characters seem to align with the side that most serves their own interests, but never so surely that they abandon logic. Logic itself takes the biggest hit as it continually fails to lead to a conclusion.

The Royal Tenenbaums

2008-12-10T13:55:00.007-05:00

Wes Anderson tells the story of the Tenenbaums, a broken marriage and three child prodigies. After a quick look at their successes, the film jumps ahead about 20 years and zeros in on the pitiful states of each of the characters. The self-centered father, Royal, tells the family that he is dying to convince them to take him back into the house where all three kids end up living again as a result of different circumstances. The characters must learn that things do not always revolve around themselves.

Anderson tends to focus on the bad sides of his characters, but he tells his stories in such a clever, straightforward manner that it becomes clear that he likes these characters, so the audience must too. You have to keep watching to see how the lives of these terrible people could turn out. They're not despicable, but just a mess that they've created for themselves. It's cathartic to know that your life will never be that screwed up.

What makes this film so enjoyable--aside from the cast--is the style of the film. Everything is still, symmetrical, clean, and bright. Nothing is hidden, but it still looks pristine. It echoes the decay of this family.

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade

2008-12-06T18:03:00.004-05:00

A hat, a whip, Nazis, and the holy grail. It had to be a blockbuster hit. Despite the horrid excuse for a latest installment of this beloved franchise, the third film still has the power to captivate. Last Crusade gives enough of an origin story to satisfy fans of the leading character and to contextualize the father-son aspect of the film. Sean Connery plays the father. Though Dr. Jones lacks the excitement and gusto of "Junior," it's still believable that this man could have raised Indie with the same wit and historical knowledge.

Indiana Jones is always at its best when it's centered upon an ancient Christian artifact that the general audience understands and cares about. Audiences know enough about the holy grail to go along with Jones as he rattles off dates, places, and historical this or that as he gets closer to discovering the grail... before the Nazis who are out to use its power of eternal life for evil.

Jones's one-liners maintain the cheesy quality of the series, but Indiana Jones is a strong enough character to hold up the strength and popularity. Along with the focus of the Jones's quest in this film, the other factor that makes is so thrilling is the way situations are created and thuroughly played out. Instead of situation leading to situation, one set of circumstances allows for a wide variety of action situations that must fully play out before any new situations are addressed. Because the audience cares about the whole leading cast, the camera can move from character to character among the dire situation, and keep the action up without having to arbitrarily create many equally far-fetched situations. Speilburg creatively utilizes all the action potential before moving on with the plot.

Ed Wood

2008-11-12T15:53:00.003-05:00

This biopic directed by Tim Burton follows the career of Edward D. Wood, Jr. who has been officially honored with the title of Worst Director of All Time. Upbeat Ed (Johnny Depp) directs horror flicks starring his drug addicted has-been friend that have become famous for their poor dialogue and egregious technical errors. Wood has a positive attitude, a passion for films, and a secret: he likes to wear women's clothes.

The film is funny, upbeat, and charming. It's offbeat subject matter allows Burton to shine, even in the stylistic black-and-white filming. Particularly refreshing in this film is Depp's performance. Though he plays as quirky a character as audiences know to expect from him, the dominating attribute of Wood is not his strange habit, but rather his incomparable optimism. In one scene, my favorite moment of the film, Wood actually bounces up and down in a vinyl restaurant booth as he cannot contain his excitement and enthusiasm for whichever of his terrible films is just on the cusp of fruition.

This is a strange film, but a new genre for me. I find the idea of a biography of this admired but utterly unsuccessful man intriguing. The movie doesn't come to any great triumph as you would expect from a normal story of a man's life, but it is encouraging by showing the success that can come from anyone with a passion, a strong work ethic, and enough dedicated friends to be along for the ride. I do really want to sit down and watch Plan 9 From Outer Space now to compare it to the productions recreated in the film.

Zodiac

2008-11-03T00:10:00.003-05:00

David Fincher's 2007 film works in 2 acts to tell the story of the Zodiac Killer and the obsessive need for cartoonist Robert Graysmith to close the case. Instead of the traditional flow of plot through rising action, climax, and falling action to a resolution, Zodiac works on a much more linear plane. To tell the story of Graysmith's tracking of the Zodiac case, the case must first be set up so that the audience can follow each piece of the puzzle. The audience must first know the story, care about the brutality of the Zodiac, and be intrigued by the limited facts of the case. Fincher succeeds in this, but to be fair, the linear movement of this film is a bit slow and leads to a lengthy run time.

There are moments of traditional suspense in this film, but much of the suspense comes from the longer chase for answers. The more immediate suspense is gripping without being over done with visual effects or dramatic music leading to disappointing lulls when nothing comes from a moment of suspense. All the suspense is tightly reeled in.

What makes this film fresh and exciting is the focus on the men chasing the Zodiac rather than the killer himself. Instead of some sick horror film that expects audiences to be captivated by the violence of the crime, Zodiac calls attention to the men trying to solve the mystery. Each man looses something of his own life in the search for the Zodiac, which increases the desperation for finding him, and the personal aspects of each mans search intimately involves the audience in the crime solving path. Along with the personal lives of the men searching for the Zodiac, the audience is treated to many individuals' own perspectives on the case. They have different favorite suspects as a result of the different research that they have done, and as Graysmith contacts everyone he can to reach a conclusion, we, as the audience, gather information through personal accounts rather than conclusive absolutes. As the characters go through the search Fincher involves the audience in noticing clues, forming speculations and hunches, and being disappointed by each new contradictory piece of evidence.

Although it is the killer who invokes "The Most Dangerous Game" as inspiration, the intense involvement of the audience in the painstaking search for answers puts the "good guys" in the position of hunters of men. Rather than the suspense that the Zodiac intends for his victims of being hunted, the film inverts this relationship by building on the same thrill of hunting that he claims. The protagonists of the film end up in the position of persuers, which almost proves the Zodiac's point about the thrill of the chase. Their honorable intentions make this chase less sickening, but some negative elements, such as obsessive and reckless behavior, leak over from the darker side of this famous short story. This element of ambiguity and subtle inversion of intention is just one example of the complexity of this film.

Field of Dreams

2008-11-02T23:42:00.003-05:00

A mysterious voice tells farmer and ex-hippie, Ray, "If you build it, he will come." He decides this means that he should plow over some of his crop to build a baseball field so that dead baseball legend Shoeless Joe--falsely accused of cheating in the 1919 World Series--will somehow return and play. From there the voice continues to lead Ray on a religious type pilgrimage to a destination he cannot foresee.

When you think hard about the story line of this film it is very hard to take it seriously. Really? Ghost baseball players? Mysterious voices? All framed in a seemingly realistic setting. On the other hand, something about this movie endures and manages to be not only interesting, but moving. I think there are several places in the film that a slight misstep could have derailed the entire film. For example, if Ray's wife could not see the baseball players and he had to constantly convince her of his sanity, the movie would not have worked. Instead, her voice of reason and firm support of her husband in extraordinary circumstances illustrates the kind of marriage everyone craves.

Baseball in this film clearly represents some religious experience that also aligns with some sense of the "American Dream." It calls back some pure sense of calling that hasn't been "erased and rewritten." Along with an appreciation of the purest parts of baseball (sights and sounds along with the pastoral element of community and family) Ray's version of baseball also works hand-in-hand with political activism. He cannot just watch his ghost buddies play a game. Instead, he must work toward some greater good, stand up against his conservative community--shown in an amazing PTA meeting scene--and be willing to act on blind faith.

I think this mixture of an uncorrupted institution and its necessary influence on the community hits a resounding note for Christians and for Americans that allows for enough suspension of disbelief to get past the absurdity of the plot. Beyond that, the family support and redemption that shines through in Field of Dreams makes audiences continue to return to this bizarre film 20 years after its release.

Psycho

2008-11-02T23:12:00.003-05:00

Yes, Samford Film Club screened Psycho just in time for Halloween this year to spotlight Alfred Hitchcock in our Directors Film Series. It was quite a success, and for good reason. It's amazing. Shot in black and white for effect, Psycho has the simplicity that characterizes older films without any of the slowness.

A woman involved in a love affair hits the road with some stolen money to make all her dreams come true. Her anxiety and guilt set the tone of suspense that continues throughout the film. She ends up alone in a hotel on a side road run by a mama's boy. Tension builds. When the woman's sister and lover begin looking for the runaway strange and creepy details continue to pile up as the story is propelled by suspenseful moments, fresh dialogue, and a terrifying soundtrack.

Yes, the shower scene is famous--and for good reason considering the effective creativity of quick cuts to disorient the viewer, add suspense, and create a sense of violence--but the rest of the film lives up to the fame brought to it by this single scene. The plot moves forward at quite a clip, which plays well with the building suspense.

For people who hate modern horror movies, this one should not be a concern. It is still frightening in a less direct way. Hitchcock is a genius at setting up elements of a plot in the most suspenseful way to involve the audience in a constant game of evaluating and reevaluating the information to piece together truth. Story and soundtrack pose questions, and answers only raise new questions. Even in resolution this film presents the dark world of psychology--the psychologist in the end of the film, by the way, is pretentious and really annoyed me--that raises as many new questions as it answers, thus preserving the suspense indefinitely.

On the Waterfront

2008-10-24T00:34:00.003-04:00

This mob movie about corruption on the docks uses a classic set of conflicting interests to unfold a triumphant story about the power of people to work together and achieve something without glossing over the cost of such efforts. Young Terry (Brando) is involved with a union-running mob and unknowingly contributes to the death of his love-interest's brother. Terry has to decide whether his own convictions line up more closely with the girl's or with his brother and the mob boss's, and the stakes for making the wrong choice are high as people keep getting knocked off for their resistance.

Terry is a classic smooth talker. Even as an audience member fully aware of his criminal involvement, I knew that I would have instantly fallen for his tough-guy act along with the twinkle of innocence in his eyes. He is a deeply flawed character as well as an intensely likable hero.

The involvement of the church acts as a major catalyst for the action of this film. The girl, Edie, accuses the priest of hiding in the church early in the film, which is enough conviction for him to break out of those four walls to impact the community. He invokes traditional religion to declare the cruel killings of good members of the community as crucifixions, but other than this he rarely resorts to religious methods. For the most part, he stands up for what is right even to his own danger because that's what Christianity is about. The film clearly supports this involvement of the church (as people rather than an institution) in the state of a community. The priest, though not perfect, gives the people the convictions and courage they need to stand up to organized crime on the waterfront.

The power of this film comes from this synergy of religion and good of the community along with a strong collection of unique characters and a familiar but well-executed story of sticking it to the man. The story is based on actual events and circumstances, which adds an element of legitimacy to the film, but there was no single such moment of success in reality as is depicted.

Close Encounters of the Third Kind

2008-10-24T00:08:00.006-04:00

Aliens and America

Despite the dramatic attempt in this film to highlight the glory days of America, I can't help but feel like the film hijacks the use of a god-like image in the form of aliens to reaffirm a dying nationalism.

From the 2008 perspective, very little happens in this movie. After a few hours of dramatic build-up, a frightening soundtrack, and a few fright-inducing moments, the aliens come in peace. The film does everything to reinforce the audience's fear of the unknown in the form of the aliens, and then seems to criticize the close-mindedness of such assumptions. It fails in this manner, because the film tries to further both sides of the argument.

Sci-fi films provide a great medium for exploring religious themes in a safe space. One issue can be pounded out and highlighted without religious or anti-religious groups making news stories out of a film. There are clear religious signs in Close Encounters probably best exemplified by one alien's cross-like stance after emerging from the space ship. The aliens are a god figure and have the power to "call" and deeply affect some people in an inexplicable way. The aliens in this film, however, are out with an agenda of reaching out to the roots of the United States in the form of rednecks and common folk. The association between the aliens and American culture continue so far as to imply some deeper connection between the two.

American consumer product names litter the screen throughout the film--and not subtly. The main character even receives his answer to the mysterious call through the television just after a Budwiser advertisement declares that "The king is coming" and then he proceeds to kneel before the television set, almost in an act of worship.

Overshadowing the message of hope is Spielberg's belief in film as the ultimate media for communication. Audience members can hardly fail to see thier reflections in shots of staring onlookers to the action. American culture and media actually becomes the thing that the aliens seek out and utilize as if these god figures are affirming everything the country stands for.

I'm sure there are plenty of other ways to read this movie, but in the absense of any real driving-plot, I was left with little to do but analyze, and this left me unsatisfied with this acclaimed classic.

Be Kind Rewind

2008-10-23T23:48:00.007-04:00

When Jerry's (Jack Black) magnetized heads causes all the tapes in the corner movie rental store to be erased he and Mike (Mos Def) are forced to start filming their own versions of the demanded movies to keep up appearances for the sake of the store owner. Their versions of the films become a hit and their business of making terrible, low-budget remakes of classic films meets more success than the dying video store ever did.

Director Michel Gondry usually makes grand dramas like his recent hits, The Science of Sleep, and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. This absurd comedy certainly takes a different approach. The satire of the Hollywood industry comes across pretty clearly in the nostalgia for films that involve the people instead of meeting traditional standards of quality or technology. Particularly interesting with this point is Gondry's trademark rejection of computer graphic imaging (CGI). Instead of CGI, Gondry uses physical illusions to create rather fantastic visual effects that do actually shine for their very solidity. I can't help but note the connection between his choice in this matter with the fictional video store's rejection of the DVD revolution.

This film is funny and entertaining, but nothing on the level of Gondry's usual work. Even Jack Black's performance doesn't really hold up with expectations. This film will be particulary entertianing if you've seen a lot of movies, because othewise all the spoofs will be a little lost on you.

For all the anti-establishment momentum of the plot, this film is surprisingly formulaic. It follows the traditional twists, turns, and triumphs. I enjoyed watching it, but I was not impressed.

Run Lola Run

2008-10-23T23:04:00.005-04:00

With only 20 minutes to come up with 100,000 marks to save her boyfriend, Mani, the only thing Lola can do is run. When one situation's time runs out, the film moves back to the start and she has another go at the odds. And then one more. Yes, this movie gives three alternate presentations of reality. They don't resolve each other, but instead all three exist independently as possible realities. I use the word "reality" loosely because much of this film deals with the deconstruction of the idea of any reality at all. Rather than moving linearly, everything becomes cyclical.

The fact that this is a German film will probably scare off anyone who doesn't enjoy non-mainstream movies, but if that doesn't do it the philosophical opening scene of people milling around each other and the inclusion of cartoons should probably do the trick. This film is strange to say the least.

With the three alternate story lines, one of the treats of this film is watching how the use of the camera changes with each scenario. Certain shots reoccur and change slightly with each time Lola runs. Many things stay the same in each of the three instances, but with minor changes that spiral into other coincidences and futures. This balance between similarity and difference is visually represented in the camera work as Lola runs. The same path, landmarks, and people are recognizable and sometimes shown in identical shots, but each time there are subtle differences in angles, and cutting effects.

Even gender roles are slightly reversed in this film. The responsibility falls to Lola, the girl, to rescue to boy. Along with being a clear break from reality, Lola's glass-shattering scream works to assert her power over the present situation. This film destroys any traditional form of orientation to tell a story about possibility and the connections between people. I don't entirely accept the circularity of life depicted in the film, but as a piece of literature it is very interesting.

Le Schaphandre et le Papillion (The Diving Bell and the Butterfly)

2008-10-06T21:42:00.000-04:00

After suffering a stroke, editor of Elle Jean-Dominique Bauby became paralyzed from head to toe. He eventually learns to speak and dictates a book, his autobiography, to his very patient helper by blinking as she recites the letters of the alphabet. This film is the adaptation of the book.

At the same time this film is both reminiscent of every french film I have seen and truly original. As "Jean-Do" is trapped inside his body, so does the audience spend much of the movie seeing blurry glances of his limited surroundings, but we are also treated to beautiful images of imagination and memory, which Bauby claims are the only parts of him aside from his eye which are not paralyzed. Get ready to pull out the tissues, but it's also very encouraging. To feel his frustration at his immobility and inability to speak is also to feel the triumph of communication and small moments of progress. For a story about imprisonment, somehow director Julian Schnabel manages to emphasize the possibility of hope.

Not having read the book, I don't know if it was a choice of the screenwriters or a bi product of the autobiographical nature of the story, but I love that Jean-Do's character is not perfect. When so much of the time is spent literally inside his head it works to paint the picture of him as a flawed character so that the audience feels the desperation for him to make amends before he dies even in vegetable-like state. The sentimentality of the movie feels very French--I'm not sure why--but I think that if you watch it in the right mood the emotion of the film works well instead of being overdone. The whole film is a little entrancing.

The cinematography is worth mentioning. I've never seen some of the effects used here to create the feeling of coming out of a coma or slipping into a sickly sleep. Some of the butterfly shots also had me staring wide-eyed and amazed. One thing about foreign-language films is that you can't look away because you'd miss the dialogue, so it's easy to really sink into the images. I like that.

Full Metal Jacket

2008-10-05T15:30:00.000-04:00

War movies often try to communicate the dehumanizing effects of war; this one succeeds. Not having ever been at war, I have no idea what it would be like, but whether or not this film presents an accurate portrayal of its psychological effects, it made me think and thoroughly creeped me out.

Kubrick starts the film with a group of marines going through training on the Island. In true character, Kubrick breaks the film clearly into two acts, and the training process serves as the first. Private Joker rises to a leadership position and tries to help Private Pyle, who is fat and hopeless. When Act 1 hits a dark ending, Act 2 picks up with Joker as a marine journalist in Vietnam. As you would expect, he gets thrown into the thick of the action.

It's harsh and cruel and loud. Rock music punctuates the yelling and dying. The drill sergeant--who really was a drill sergeant--is sharp-witted and brutal. The virtually all-male cast and brute force of the language does a lot to bring this film right into your face. While it may not be terribly realistic, this remove from reality does allow the film to comment on more than just Vietnam and explore some of the shadows of human nature... as Stanley Kubrick loves to do.

The rhyming elements of the film--not literal rhymes, but starkly similar repeated plot elements--give a fullness to the voice of the film. The two pivotal deaths acting as the most obvious of these. Also, it's beautiful that Kubrick can use a joke such as Joker's naive play at the duality of man by wearing a peace sign on his chest and the words "born to kill" on his helmet to later act as a subtle sign of the tension between this very duality when the peace sign in entirely eclipsed when the darkness of Joker's character comes into play.

M-I-C K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E

The Last Temptation of Christ

2008-09-25T00:10:00.000-04:00

I would hate to imagine people unfamiliar with Christianity using this film to form opinions about Jesus, but for Christians, this film actually points out some interesting and unique sides to the Passion story that are often overlooked.

Based on a novel by the same name, a title frame clearly states that this movie should be read as a fictional account and not an interpretation of the gospels. Scorsese dives deep into the psyche of his Jesus character to examine the conflict between the human and divine sides of his person. Jesus, here, is not sure of his own identity as the messiah, and while he does not sin, he does get as close as possible in an attempt to make God angry with him. Jesus, once he frees himself from haunting voices and pains, sets out with a message of love, then with an axe, then with a mission to be a sacrifice, then to have a family, then again, to fulfill his role as savior. The sources of the inspirations to each of these shifts is ambiguous and leaves room to notice that even Jesus, in all his humanity, cannot discern truth in the sources.

Personally, I don't think Scorsese gives an accurate portrayal of the psychological battle in the mind of Christ. On the other hand, I do often take His choice to obey for granted. It doesn't often cross my mind that Jesus could have chosen to get married and raise a family and try to be happy living out a normal life. I hardly acknowledge that as a temptation of Christ, but that's exactly what the title of this film refers to.

This movie is shocking and not entirely Biblical, but for the overwhelming amount of controversy it caused, it actually raises some interesting questions about the dual nature of Jesus as both man and God. Most of the key contributers to this film (writer, screenwriter, director) have some kind of Christian background, so they came at the story with a full range of Christian references and imagery to fill out the story in interesting ways.

Taken as a piece of literature rather than scripture, The Last Temptation of Christ is a challenging and unique look at the nature of Jesus and what all went in to his ultimate sacrifice on the cross.

I don't love the casting. Defoe speaks some of the lines with familiarity and a conversational tone and others with an overly pronounced King James sounding clarity. That actually took a lot away from my overall impression of the film.

Step Up 2 the Streets

2008-09-24T23:57:00.000-04:00

After 15 years of dancing, I'm allowed to love dance movies, ok?

Step Up 2 the Streets follows the story of a street dancer, Andie, who starts attending Maryland School of the Arts as a last resort before her guardian sends her off to Texas (which, yes, would be the end of the world). Her new life, which she barely fits into, jeopardizes her place with her dance crew, so she forms a new crew out of unlikely misfits at MSA for the ultimate street dance competition: "the streets."

This sequel offers none of the depth or plot originality of its predecessor, but when it comes right down to it, the dancing is spectacular. Not only is the story cliche, but it's also entirely unbelievable. Even the best dance scenes rely on coincidence and good filming, but it does profit from these.

I challenge anyone to remain seated and content through this entire film. The energy and dancing--this time almost entirely street dancing rather than the blended choreography of Step Up--can still carry this movie. The characters are likable but not unique. The music is pounding, but not fantastic. But the dancing suffices for these failures. For pure entertainment quality, this movie can survive on the dancing alone.

A Midsummer Night's Dream

2008-09-24T23:49:00.001-04:00

For all the humor and depth to this play, and for all the film adaptations that have been done of it, Reinhardts 1935 version should just be skipped if at all possible.

In each of its 133 minutes, Puck's and Hippolyta's high-pitched screeching is enough to ruin the entire experience. This is a very clear example of a film adaptation that does not hold up well with the passing of time. It's well-made, but all the stylistic choices probably fit very well in 1935 and do contradict any choices that would be made in 2008.

The Searchers

2008-09-24T23:29:00.000-04:00

First of all, I've never been able to suspend my disbelief enough to enjoy the scripting and acting of old John Wayne films (not that I don't like John Wayne's acting, but the supporting characters are always cheesy), but there is still a lot of depth in The Searchers. Uncle Ethan (Wayne) rides into town fresh from some questionable service in the Civil War, but Indian raids soon send him and some young men out on a search for his young niece. As the search continues Ethan's motivations become unclear and even frightening.

Director John Ford so clearly structures his film that the audience can't help but to follow the many conflicts. Ethan's hat is either white or black (read: good intentions, questionable intentions). Women stand inside or on the porch though men can wander the expanses of the West. Some people belong in society while others will never have a place there. In a film about how society decides identity, these slight differences become interesting.

Ford's image of the Americcan West does not disappoint in this film, but some of the ideas--particulary concerning the stereotypes of Native Americans--do not fit in with today's standards of political correctness.

Even though I spent most of the movie laughing AT the strange characters and melodramatic moments, the story drew me in. Complex family obligations and notions of honor figure into the almost hopeless journey of Ethan and Martin as they track the cheif, Scar, across time and wide open space. A sweet and quirky love story balances out some elements of tragedy and further situates the film in the range of social commentary.

Nosferatu

2008-09-24T23:00:00.000-04:00

I don't know much about the Dracula tradition, and I think that hindered my ability to enjoy this 1929 original film adaptation of the story.

The hero goes to Transylvania to sell some land in town to Count Orlok (point of interest: the names of all the characters are inconsistent from one version of the film to another). He tries to put off the stories about the Nosferatu (vampire) but after finding bite marks on his neck he gets scared and eventually tries to flee the estate. Orlok hitches a ride on a ship hidden in a coffin, which causes an outbreak of plague on the ship and in ports.

This is where I start to have questions. I don't understand why the hero can be bitten by the vampire and live, but a crazy plague breaks out. There is also a touching love story tested by the fact that only a willing sacrifice can stop the madness.

The story is pretty intersting, and the appearance of the Nosferatu is pretty shocking, but the horror aspect doesn't translate all that well from a silent foreign film. I love experimenting with different kinds of movies, but sometimes I happen upon one that I just can't get in to.

Burn After Reading

2008-09-13T18:16:00.000-04:00

This movie is not for everyone. It's probably not for most people, but I thought it was good. It's not my favorite of the Cohen's films, but it's still pretty enjoyable.

It all boils down to the idea that self-important people make too much of their problems that don't matter anyway. The Cohen's get criticized a lot for making fun of their characters, and this movie certainly won't help that reputation. Every character in this film is a mess. Each one is either stupid, sleazy, mean, or pitiful. It's impossible to like anyone, which is probably for the best because you would hate for a character you like to die suddenly.

I think this film is funny. I bought Brad Pitt as an idiot and I thought that the limited vocabulary of his lines is perfect. I'm not used to George Clooney playing such a completely unlikable character, but he just made me angry every time he showed up. True to Cohen brothers style, however, all the story elements circled around on each other until they can be summed up by a short debreifing: "I guess we leanred not to do it again, but I'm not really sure what it is we did." Everything turns out to be entirely trivial--even when they're big issues like life and death. The movie is clearly not condoning a nihilistic outlook, but it looks at these characters who get so wrapped up in their own lives that everything else falls apart and nothing really matters.

Don't take it too seriously and don't try to figure it out... there's not really anything to get... and you may really enjoy it.

In Bruges

2008-09-07T00:26:00.000-04:00

What a fantastic movie! This film is so unique and intriguing that there's not a lot I can say about this film in the way of story. After messing up a job, hit man Roy is sent with his older friend to await further instruction in Bruges--that's in Belgium. There, everything just gets more complicated.

Information is doled out in spoonfuls. Clever dialogue and spectacular city shots of Bruges carry you into the plot as the characters unfold critical matters only as they become necessary. You come to really care about these hard criminals even though there's no justification for their jobs. They're just in it for the money, but you love them. The scripting is beautiful. Everything comes full circle--the way a good stand up comedy routine should (props to Blake for that appropriate metaphor. Well done, friend). More than anything, the writing shines through. At more than one F-word a minute, the language is undeniably rough, but unlike Tropic Thunder, this film manages to play it off with humor that never detracts from the story.

The first 3/4 of this film is clearly a dark comedy. It's not crass or shock-value humor, but it's ironic, satirical, and so so clever. The film turns to drama by the end. There are some brutally violent scenes, but it's not gratuitous. The story of these hit men raises some serious questions about morality and where you have to draw the line. The men are waiting in the purgatory of Bruges seeking redemption and answers. How this film is so challenging and so intensely funny at the same time is a mystery to me, but I'm thrilled it works so well. So enjoyable.

Mean Streets

2008-09-06T16:27:00.000-04:00

As real and gritty as this movie is, I think I would have enjoyed it more with subtitles.

Mean Streets is one of Martin Scorsese's first big movies. Release in 1973 it is a shockingly real depiction of the lives of some hoods as they go about their business in New York City. It's clear that a lot of it must be drawn from Scorsese's experience because some the smaller incidents are so random and fitting to life that they must have really happened.

For those of you who read this blog fairly regularly, you probably know that usually I'm not that picky about the narrative quality of a film plot. Often I enjoy films that act as more of a vignette into a life or situation that is foreign to me than as a story-telling device, but I have to admit that this one was too much for me. I don't know if it's because I'm a girl or because my life I'm so far removed from the 70's gangster life of NYC, but I had a hard time following the interactions of the plethora of characters through their mumbled lines. I literally couldn't understand it, and that made it hard for me to care.

On a positive note, Scorsese's use of a rock and roll soundtrack was still a pretty bold move at this time even though The Graduate had already absorbed the shock value in '67 and American Graffiti rocked the big screen a few months before Mean Streets. The pop music still worked synergistically with the semi-documentary style of the film.

A lot of the potential for Scorsese's later work is clear in this film, but unless you want to study the progression of that career, you might as well just watch the more polished films where he had perfected his craft. I know a lot of people who really love this film, but for me it's too scattered and inaccessible to be enlightening or enjoyable.

The Day The Earth Stood Still

2008-09-05T10:51:00.000-04:00

This 1951 Sci-Fi Film begins when a space ship lands in Washington D.C. An alien (who looks just like any other man) and an intimidating robot emerge. Klaatu, the alien, brings a very important message to save the earth, but he refuses to share his message until he can tell an ambassador from every one of earth's nations. He tries to disappear for a while among humans, and a woman and her young son befriend him.

Considering the year it was released, The Day the Earth Stood Still makes some pretty strong statements about the bomb. Even though Klaatu finds the government to be ineffectual and untrustworthy, the robot, Gort, appears to be an affirmation of the containment policy. By having the bomb threatening total destruction if war and panic break loose, such dire conflict is entirely avoided. Just as Gort will destroy the world if any inter-planetary violence breaks out, by removing the power from any one entity, everyone is forced into peaceful submission. At least that's what this film seems to be portraying.

There is certainly an ominous tone of what lies in store if America and the world cannot come together in peace and trust, but there is also a hopeful promise that maybe atomic power will lead the world to reach some kind of protective agreement.

There is also a lot of really interesting Christian imagery in this film. It's not a direct allegory, but it is pretty entertaining to try to correlate everything leaving Gort to either be the Holy Spirit or Peter standing at the gates.

One more thought: There is a remake of this movie coming out in December starring, yes--him again, Keanu Reeves. Judging from what I've seen in the trailers I can hardly even tell that there is any direct relation from one film to the other. Aside from trying to believe that Mr. Reeves is a supremely intelligent being, the entire basis of the film seems to have changed. I'm anxious to see how it is.

Rififi

2008-08-28T15:24:00.001-04:00

The title of this 1955 French heist film is French slang for rough and tumble--as in tough guys on the street pounding their chests and carrying guns.

There may be a remake in the works of this film, which would be thuroughly justified because the building blocks of Rififi are classic. After getting out of jail and finding out that his girl is no longer his, Tony the Stephanois ends up getting involved in a bank heist with some younger buddies of his. The planning and execution of the job are straightforward. The guys carefully figure out what the obstacles are going to be, plan how to overcome them, and then painstakingly stick to the process to pull off the heist. This movie actually got pulled from some shelves because similar robberies started occurring. It's not a matter of circumstance, it's just practice, precision, and rififi.

What makes the actual heist in the film so amazing in addition to its realism is that it's done with no dialogue. At all. The suspense doesn't come from things going wrong or desperate innovation. The silence simply builds and puts the audience in the midst of the abandoned bank waiting on the edge of their seats to see if the criminals really can succeed.

This is the 1950's though, and crime cannot pay. Kidnapping, dishonesty, and murder all become ways of maintaining dominance between these French gangsters. The film is full of the depravity of these guys. They're real characters with families and lives that matter, but when they succumb to this seedy underbelly of society they become little more than rod-toting gangsters. I wanted to scream at the screen for the last 30 minutes because if cell phones had been invented there could have been a much happier ending, but the symmetry and simplicity of this film make it really enjoyable. Like you would expect from a film of this genre, it's brimming with "rififi."

Iron Man

2008-08-28T15:02:00.001-04:00

Comic books come to the big screen again! Even though Iron Man follows the same formula of most of the origin-story comic book films, this one really takes on a new perspective. Tony Stark doesn't get bitten by a radio active spider or need to avenge his parents' deaths or stumble across a chemical test being performed by the government. He is simply captured by terrorists, and uses his mechanical expertise to escape.

As much as Iron Man is about Stark's transformation into this ironclad terrorist-warrior, it's also a story of how a egocentric millionaire remembers how he came to the foreground of technology and realizes what his innovations in the world of weaponry really mean. There's definitely a taste of the conflict of George Bernard Shaw's famous play Major Barbara. Realizing the damage that can come from weapons doesn't force Stark into a pacifistic passivity, but rather confronts him with a moral dilemma and inspires him to take some very extreme initiative in cleaning up his mess.

The movie looks good. It's fun and different enough from the other comic book films of the summer to be really entertaining. Stark is a high profile millionaire--yes similar to Bruce Wayne--but much more involved in the politics of war are community than Batman, which makes his Superhero type involvement take on a new kind of dynamic.

There is a sequel in the works scheduled for release in 2010, in case you were wondering.

Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2

2008-08-28T14:44:00.000-04:00

I can't decide whether or not I support the decision here to just add "2" to the title instead of some other subtitle. The books are "The Second (Third, Fourth) Summer of the Sisterhood," but since the movie jumps ahead to the last year of the book and takes the best stories from all of them, this naming system clearly wouldn't be appropriate. I think I might appreciate the acceptance of this films identity as a pure sequel and not some independent venture... but it's also not a very creative name.

If you've seen the first movie you probably have a pretty good idea of what to expect from this sequel. Four best friends who fit into the same pair of jeans against the laws of physics share them equally between each other, and these pants always bring excitement or change to their lives. Jumping ahead three years to the summer after their first year of college, the girls are much more distant from one another than in the first movie, but their personalities have developed into truer versions of their own selves.

I can't help but notice the similarities between these four girls and the Sex and the City girls who just made their big-screen debut. The four young ladies are very different but share a tremendous friendship and willingness to put each other first even if it takes them a while to make these compromises. The subject matter is certainly different from Carrie and her HBO adapted gal pals, but the strength of the dynamic is the same. Even though the lives of the characters are exaggerated and extraordinary, the emotion and conflict hits on a very true level that almost any girl should be able to relate to. I've never had my heart broken in a messy foreign-love affair, nor have I had to mend a relationship with my father after uncovering suppressed layers of our past, but these experiences of fear, self-identification, love, and growth through common experience are shared by everyone. Because Tibby, Lena, Carmen, and Bridget are such different archetypes of young women they offer plenty of chances for the audience to relate to some part of their stories.

I wish the four story lines (and I really mean five because Bridget really has two seperate experiences) had been a little more closely entwined because the disjunction of switching between the four did not keep my attention as well as the first film, but I still enjoyed seeing this movie. It's beautiful and fun and lets audiences see their own mundane issues played out in extraordinary situations.

Tropic Thunder

2008-08-27T17:35:00.000-04:00

A team of actors spanning the expected range of stereotypes (shallow, crude comedian, overly-dedicated award winner, failing action stud, etc.) go on location in Vietnam to make the best war movie ever. In an attempt to revamp the failing film the director takes a risky move that unintentionally lands the actors in the middle of a real drug war amidst a sea of camera and explosive-rigged trees.

Ok, the basis of this movie is good. It's got exactly what it needs to be really hilarious, and for the most part, it delivers. It plays best in its sharp satire of the characters and the entertainment industry. As a film-geek, I loved picking out the little references and jokes about certain kinds of movies and actors. Fair warning, the movie starts with a whole series of fake trailers to set up the characters. Do not be caught off guard, or other people in the theatre will hear your incredulous remarks about how terrible these movies are going to be and they WILL laugh at you.

Two things were terribly wrong with this film.

1. The language is unbelievably foul. I'm not usually deterred by strong language and it's become the norm for blockbuster comedies these days, sad as it is, but Tropic Thunder takes it to the extreme. I was hoping that the extent of the language would be concentrated in the "script" of the movie that they're filming as a reference to the always strong language of war films and in the scenes with the big Hollywood boss. Then it could have been used as another piece of satire and it would have been funny. The man pulling the strings of this whole movie, Ben Stiller, doesn't know where to draw the line. Which brings me to...

2. Ben Stiller doesn't know where to draw the line. His character, the action hero Tugg Speedman, is by far the most overacted part. If Stiller had stayed behind the camera and focused his attention on his other roles as director, writer, producer, controller, puppeteer--oh wait, I think I made up those last two--he could have put in another actor in this role who would have acted it a little straighter, and it probably would have been more effective that way. The other actors aren't winking at the camera the way Stiller is, and it just makes you want to cringe a little whenever he takes the screen.

It was an enjoyable movie. It wasn't great, but I laughed a lot. The end came together well for me. Robert Downey Jr.'s character acting in blackface for his role is hilarious. He hits the mark between the comedy and actually acting. I was hoping it would be a little more substantial than an over-the-top, over-produced comedy and actually hit at something funny and a little bit pointed. It gets close, but, ironically, can't quite escape it's own stereotypes.

Mamma Mia!

2008-08-06T21:21:00.000-04:00

It's High School Musical for grown up women!

Sophie invites all three men who could potentially be her father to her wedding hoping to find the one to give her away, but their arrival brings more chaos than answers for Sophie, and even more for her mother.

If you love ABBA or the Broadway musical then you'll probably love the movie. It's a wonderful bonding movie for women. There is singing and dancing and plenty of excitement, but the film itself is campy and unbelievable. I have a hard time believing any of the singing, especially Pierce Brosnan's but if you go into the film with the right attitude, it's good for plenty of laughs. Someone on the set went a little crazy with the backlighting, so all the characters have glowing outlines setting them apart from the beautiful scenery on an island in Greece.
The biggest music scenes that fully embrace the silliness of the film work the best. Neither the plot nor the performances are the strong point, but it's a touching mother-daughter story and offers a lot for girlfriends. It's a lot of fun.