The February forum for "Recent Watches" conversation is now open.
I WILL catch up this month with - among others - responses to There Will Be Blood, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, Across the Universe, Persepolis, Rendition, Redacted, We Own the Night, I Want Someone to Eat Cheese With, The Namesake, Beowulf, 27 Dresses, The Wind That Shakes the Barley, etc. etc. etc.
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
Recent Watches: February 2008
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25 comments:
Into the Wild: First, let me get this out of the way. I cannot believe this film got snubbed by the Academy. Yes yes, I know Hal Holbrook got a nomination and there is also one for the editing but SERIOUSLY?! Where's the best picture nom? Or *ahem* maybe director?!!? Gahhhhh....my only consolation is that it was a great year for movies and the competition is steep.
That aside--this was an amazing film. I read the book in high school (and Chris McCandless actually went to my high school in the 80s!) but it didn't resonate with me then. I think now being the same age as he was when he ventured out, I can relate to much of what he was feeling.
Penn does an incredible job of showing the audience Chris' journey in such a way that helps engage the sense of freedom and wonderment Chris himself must've felt. His spirit flew higher and higher the further away from civilization he got. But Penn is careful to differentiate the alien feelings Chris feels with the city/city dwellers and the people he meets on the road...people after his own heart who have found what he is searching for (although Chris can't see this himself and naively lumps all humans into the same category).
The film is a beautiful homage to the age old questions: what is the meaning of life? what is true happiness? what is true freedom?
I loved the way the text was written across the screen as Chris wrote to Wayne. Just floating in the air above the scenery in the background giving of a sense of Chris himself floating around somewhere in the world.
I loved Emile Hirsch in the title role. He was great. Just the perfect blend of youthful rebellion/determination/stupidity and wise beyond his years/smarter than the rest of us. He was sincere and never faltered in his dedication to the role. It was clear that he cared very much about not just the character "Chris McCandless" but also about the real young man who lived and died for what he believed was true.
And now I'll move on to Eddie Vedder's score. Haunting, ethereal, and primitive all at once. The movie would not have been what it was without it. It acted as the internal connection between Chris and nature--the invisible string that kept them together throughout.
All supporting cast members were great too. And I'm glad Hal got an Oscar nod. His performance was truly touching.
Just a beautiful and extremely well done film obviously a labor of love. This is a must see.
Before I get to my first recap of the day, let me say it's great to hear the echoes of my Into the Wild love on here. Kelly and I both really enjoyed the film (still my favorite of the year) and I'm currently in the process of making sure my friends all sit down and watch it. A beautiful, tragic story that's just wonderfully told... you're right, it deserved not only Best Picture and Best Director recognition, but also Best Actor for Emile Hirsch. Again, bravo.
Redacted. A violent, bitterly racist half-recreation of Brian De Palma’s own masterful Casualties of War, Redacted keeps the story (revolving around the despicable, remorseless rape of – this time – an Iraqi woman by U.S. soldiers) and sheds the filmmaking skills. The hatred that it captures is hard to shake and might itself be worth a watch, but because De Palma chose to shoot the film in such a haphazard home movie feel – one of the soldiers’ plans on using the footage to get himself into film school, ironically a place a lot of critics would like to see De Palma head back to – we’re forced to suspend belief about these omnipresent cameras and watch long stretches of what amounts to YouTube videos being broadcast on the screen. Plus the acting is flat out awful. C
In the Valley of Elah. Three-fourths of a good movie is still better than Crash. The rugged, rough-edged Tommy Lee Jones is largely responsible for the positive points of In the Valley of Elah, in which he plays Hank Deerfield, the inquisitive father of AWOL U.S. Army soldier Mike Deerfield. It seems Mike’s gone missing since returning from Iraq and it’s unlike Hank’s boy not to call, so he sets out to find him. The movie settles around what became of Mike and why, with Hank leading the search. The stubborn, exasperated Jones works wonders around this performance (his reaction to a topless bartender in particular is classic), and the film might have been something special if not for the late game heavy-handedness of director Paul Haggis. For roughly an hour and a half, Haggis reels in every bad habit he showed with the aforementioned Oscar-winner. He keeps the writing crisp and the filmmaking subtle… but it’s all a fake-out, as the last half hour devolves into another moral pummeling courtesy of Mr. Haggis in which he makes just about every possible mistake you can make. But I guess when you’re comparison is Crash, this is restraint. B
Into the Wild: My god...how the hell did Atonement and Michael Clayton get recognition over this. Those films have their moments, but this was a grand slam. Everything worked in this film.
Sean Penn doesn't paint McCandless as a hero, nor as a stupid, selfish child, he shows him as someone not running away, but running towards a goal. I know I complete relate to him. Once I got my degree, I didn't know what I wanted (and still don't) and here we see someone who justs knows that he isn't going to find his reason for living within the constructs of his suburban life. Whether or not you agree with McCandless, it is hard for anyone not to understand her motivations. He has this amazing speech with Ron Franz (Hal Holbrook) where he says that life isn't just about those you meet, but the experiences you have by yourself. Chapter 4 floored me.
The whole cast certainly deserved consideration for best ensemble of the year. No Country won, which I don't disagree with, but this cast was extraordinary. Everyone gets a moment.Some of those scenes I loved were William Hurt's dad pulling his pants up (just like his son) as he lay in the street, Hal Holbrook asking to adopt Chris aka Alexander Supertramp, and even a possible throwaway moment with a man at the Salvation Mountain as he explains "love." There are so many great moments in here that some may see it more as a film where the pieces are greater than the whole, but they all contribute to this fascinating tragic tale of one man's need for self discovery.
Vedder's music is subtle and perfectly compliments the scenery. Too bad the Academy requires use of the song within the film since the songs are only used in snippets (Possibly the reason Vedder was overlooked). What a stupid rule.
Anyone else nearly split their side at the Danish couple rocking out to MC Hammer? Brilliant!
Lastly Emile Hirsch has come a long way. He was always a young actor to pay attention too, but I didn't think it would have come so soon. He shows so many facets of what made McCandless so unique. We see fear, warmth, insanity, imagination, calmness, understanding...all in simple facial expressions. It really deserved a nomination. Get rid of George Clooney. He's good, but not this good.
This film was such a great watch that it actually has me liking Sean Penn again. That is until he makes another stupid political remark. Sean Penn has mastered acting. Now I'm excited to see him forge a new path and direct more passionate projects like this. You could really feel his love for this story coming though in direction.
Now hopefully I'll see I'm Not There and Jesse James by week's end.
I'm Not There: Not a big fan of Dylon (scratch that, I'm unfamiliar with most of his work), but this film definitely painted the picture that he is quite a complex man.
I wouldn't say I loved it, but I certainly respected the hell out of it. Unfortunately, like a vignette film, some of the stories work while others don't. I wouldn't say any of the stories failed, but they certainly didn't always leave me with any greater understanding of the man, the myth that is Bob Dylan.
Cate Blanchett deserves all the accolades she has gotten, but I do hope Amy Ryan pulls off an upset mostly because Cate has an Oscar, and Gone Baby Gone was a better film in my opinion. Cate is riveting to watch here. You aren't constantly aware that she is a women playing a man, she just is Jude.
I also really like the Heath Ledger storyline as difficult as it was to see him doing a fantastic job. Almost wish he was awful, just so it would be easier to get through. Both he and Charlotte Gainsborough are great together showing Dylan as a father and husband.
I'm still scratching my head over the whole old Billy the Kid and really old Pat Garrett sequence. I understand he is Dylan's outlaw side, but why have two Western icons portray ages they never reached. The Kid died at 21 by Pat Garrett.
Also I wish we got to learn what was going on with Ben Wishaw's story as the poet Arthur Rimbaud. All he does is spout off metaphors throughout like chapter titles.
Overall though, I loved the style, I loved the look, I thought acting was great all around, but I just wish that Haynes dialed back on the untraditional story telling a bit just to make it a bit more accessible to novices of Dylan. Interesting way and probably very appropriate way of telling his story, but it didn't exactly make it easy to follow. I like movies that challenge you, that is why I respect it, but I still gotta be able to decipher it if I'm going to love it.
David Cross pops up as Allen Ginsberg. That was weird, but not nearly as weird as seeing Zach Galifiankis show up in Into the Wild. That took me out for a second.
Also anyone catch Kim Gordon from Sonic Youth? She shows early during a documentary of Jack Rollins (Christian Bale) when his portion is introduced. How weird.
Across the Universe. The perfect example of why no one cares about the Golden Globes, this Comedy/Musical nominee was more brutal than brilliant. Framed as the insipid non-starting love story of Jude and Lucy (yes, the rest of the movie is this obvious too), director Julie Taymor has doubled over backwards to try and wedge in as many Beatles songs as possible… all the while trying to mold the story to fit the songs. It really is pathetic, as Taymor tries pitifully to cram in pieces of 34 (34!) Beatles songs into the movie to try and distract you from the poor visual compositions and scenes she has come up with. Not to mention the futile acting and lack of chemistry from yet another musical that relies on singers more than actors (Bono anyone?). They would have been better off dropping some of the songs and creating an honest storyline… or better yet, drop the storyline and just play the music. Hell, the only pros I took from the film were when I found myself wrapped up in the songs, and for that I can thank The Beatles. D+
Dare I say that Into the Wild is the most widely beloved film of the year for "The Film Script" crew?
And do I sense the makings of another potential tournament for the future? "The Film Script" picks it's favorite movie of the year, decided upon in the same way as the "Actor and Actress Medley"? Or is it just me?
Tenacious D and the Pick of Destiny: I had no clue what to expect with this film but I saw it lying around our house and I love Jack Black so I thought I'd give it a shot.
And I'm so glad I did. It's hilarious! And the more I think about it, the funnier it gets. Jack and Kyle are really talented comedically but also musically as well!
I have no clue where they found that kid who played young Jack but he was amazing. From all the Jack Black signature mannerisms to the crazy arched eyebrows, that kid nailed it all.
I also loved all the cameos (John C. Reilly as Sasquatch!?). Well worth a watch (and rewatch).
Man of the Year: Talk about being taken by surprise. This one was nothing like I thought it was going to be. They marketed it as a dramedy with more comedy than drama and what it turned out to be was a drama/suspense with a little comedy.
It was difficult to shake that preconceived notion off it but once I did there was a decent enough plot to go though. Laura Linney as always was great and Robin Williams is pretty good as well. Chris Walken's performance was a little flat and someone please tell me why Jeff Goldblum is still getting work?
This film was clearly made because of it's topical relevance in today's pop culture (with the whole Steven Colbert "running for president"). The story is okay but it doesn't really inspire much thought provoking material. I wouldn't necessarily recommend it.
The Brave One: Did anyone notice that somehow, in New York City, there was suddenly no one else around whenever she decided to kill someone (or whenever something shady goes on)? Not in the convenience store, not even in the SUBWAY?!?! I mean, even in the beginning where she and her fiance are strolling in Central Park: it's evening but full of other walkers and then, they kiss and then--all of a sudden there's no one else around but bad guys....hmmmm riiiiiight. For a film that tries to sell this vigilante thing as a realistic possibility, it doesn't do a good job of being very realistic.
So that's my first issue with it. The second is how poorly the relationship between Erica and her fiance was portrayed. We see them chatting on the phone, taking a walk and then post-attack, two instances of them sleeping together....then we are supposed to suddenly be invested so deeply in the relationship that we can understand why she does what she does. Perhaps the casting choice made it a bit difficult as well. I like Naveen Andrews as much as the next person but as David, he's clearly younger than she, their jobs are completely different and it left me wondering how they could have possibly met, and fallen so madly in love with each other....I don't know, that's just me. It was weird.
It was slow to start and dragged a bit but once you get to the part where she is struggling with this new person she's become and also the morality of it, things get interesting (although the film should have started here and explored things further). I liked Terrance Howard too. Also, it was kind of cool when things got going and the the movie took on a Batman-ish feel to it (which of course was promptly squashed).
I'm not sure I liked the ending either. It's an interesting topic for exploration but I feel like it could have been done a lot better. Oh well.
Girls Just Want to Have Fun: Hahahahha this movie is 80s GOLD. You have Sarah Jessica Paker and Helen Hunt as teenagers trying to get on to "Dance TV" who meet a dreamy boy who is very Danny Zuko in that he's tough but isn't afraid to DANCE! Hahaha oh jeez. The dialogue is so cheesy, the clothes are even worse and yet, it's got a nun doing a routine on a pommel horse, so really, you can't NOT love it.
One little tidbit about Into the Wild that I forgot to mention (and forget where I heard, for all I know this could have been in the closing credits)... the van that Christopher died in became something of a tourist attraction after his story was reported, and when Christopher McCandless's mother made the trip out there to see where her son had died... she left behind a note simply saying "Call Your Mom." That just broke my heart when I heard that. Damn.
I think I remember hearing that on Filmspotting. I think someone called in to comment on that. Gotta say that would have been a even more poignant ending. I'm curious if Penn at least filmed it to see if it fit properly or not. How tragic.
Rush Hour 3. I don’t know why I even bothered. Except for the – very – occasional one liner from Chris Tucker, the sight of watching Jackie Chan trying to grapple with the English language and seeing both Max Von Sydow and Roman Polanski embarrassing themselves, there’s hardly anything humorous about this blatant cash grab. There’s a whole lot of nonsense about the Japanese Triad and uncovering the secret identity of its leaders, but honestly there was little thought put into the script outside of placing Tucker and Chan in a setting that neither one of them was accustomed to (after Rush Hour 1 & 2 milked all the fish-out-of-water jokes they could in America and Japan). This time they’re in France and unfortunately still directed by Brett Ratner in an even more laidback, lazy manner than we’ve grown accustom to from him. D+
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. There are few films that can work as just pieces of art, and fewer still that also work as topnotch filmmaking, Assassination does both. It’s also incredibly satisfying to see a film that doesn’t rely solely on the beautiful Oscar-nominated cinematography of Roger Deakins but has a story that sucks you into the picture and uses the imagery simply as a compliment to its characters. How amazing is it that the movie can keep you glued to your seat even after giving away its climatic scene before its title screen ever shows? The movie is filmed in a style as to make Jesse James appear iconic, with a narration that runs as if the film was a documentary or a historian was commenting on the events. It’s a unique blend, with a maniacal, snake-like central character (Brad Pitt as Jesse James) who seems always to be on the verge of striking and a foil who’s more taciturn, idolizing and weasel-like (Casey Affleck as Robert Ford). As James once said to Ford, “I don’t know if you want to be like me or if you want to be me.” Their relationship is peculiar and about hero-worshipping, while the film is at times haunting, lyrical, mesmerizing and consuming. It’s also one of the very best pictures of 2007. A
God Rush Hour 3 sucked.
Jesse James: I too just saw this and I too found it mesmirizing, lyrical, beautiful, and at times poignant. I don't think it is perfect. There are too many extraneous scenes that are fun, but when you run 160 min, you should get rid of anything that isn't necessary to propel the plot. For example, the scenes that lead up to the fight between Dick Liddle and Wood Hite. They are still well done, but they really do become unnecesasry and cause a detour that takes us away from the much more engaging plot. These scenes give us great moments from character actors that probably never would have gotten there shot, but I think for the sake of the pacing, they should have been at least truncated.
That said, I never found this film boring. At such a long time, I was always attentive, never aware of how long I had been sitting watching. It has a deliberate pace that may try normal audiences' patience, but I found it quite rewarding.
Another problem I had was with Pitt himself. I like Pitt, and god know he can do crazy (12 Monkeys), but I don't think we get a good grasp on what makes him tick. We don't see the paranoia set in, I laughed at the scene where he beats up a kid, and the dinner scene was particularly bad as he berates Bob for no reason. He is a charismatic man and probably a good bet to play the role, but the movie isn't about Jesse James, and seeing such a high profile actor in it just ends up becoming distracting at times.
This is Casey's film through and through. I now think that Javier should have more to worry about than previously thought. Hal Holbrook broke my heart in Into the Wild, and Casey steals the film right out from Pitt. We sympathize with Bob Ford and understand what it is like to have a hero who you love (this movie does not lack any homosexual undertones), but also hate your hero for not returning the affection. The movie brings up many feelings from the viewer. Through the rather affective narration, we see a very tragic story take place not because of the death of James, but because of the backlash against Ford. This movie shows the perils of celebrity in a most unusual way, and that made it all the more fascinating. Definitely in top 15.
Persepolis: This was a very funny and whimsical story about a young girl coming of age during the Iranian Revolution. The animation is quite unique and beautiful, but also keep sus somewhat disengaged from the actions that take place. It is harder for me to well up from the death of a black and white figure than it is to see Old Yeller. It makes the movie wholly unique and touching, but keeps it from being the knock out that I was expecting. Also, we don't get great development of the supporting characters except for the grandmother and Uncle Anouche. I always felt their was more to her parents, but we don't see the opportunity present itself. Very happy to see it get a nomination, but Ratatouille better win it instead.
and I happen to see some dreck recently too. One was my mistake, the other falls on one of my fellow bloggers. You know who you are, and I hope you have repented for your sins.
Strange Wilderness: This films has Steve Zahn, Justin Long, Jonah Hill, Kevin Heffernan (from Broken Lizard), Ernest Borgnine, and Joe Don Baker...and it still was one of the worst things I've ever seen. I was so embarrassed to have sat through this, but I liked the cast and had some mild hope for some dumb fun. This thing was so bottom barrel that I'm not going to talk about it anymore.
Meet the Spartans: Just because you don't pay for the film, doesn't mean you should see it. Needless to say, the strike didn't keep these guys from writing and shooting their film during it. This thing had to have been shot in two days in some guys garage. Thankfully it is short, but it has the longest credits ever. We sat and actually saw them repeat their credits in order to add more time to the film. It also features the creepiest score title ever "Old Man Watching." Somebody still owes me a fritter since I tagged along.
Also forgot to mention that I think that with all the beautiful, lush films that were shot this year, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford is hands down the best of the year and I hope the Academy recognizes it. But I think No Country will get it, which I can't complain with since Roger Deakins shot both No Country and Jesse James. So basically Deakins better win it.
Yes Rush Hour3 blew and it blew hard.
A History of Violence: I had been warned about this film in one way or another by almost everyone I'd told I wanted to see it. Interesting how a film can have that effect on people.
I can't quite nail down a definitive analysis of it but I'll try. It was missing something. Void of perhaps a humanistic element? Like for some reason, I never connected with the characters enough to make the revelation of the truth about them make an impression. It also felt slow and choppy, jumping from character development to character development with no real smooth or natural transitions.
I'd say the best part of the movie was after the incident in the front yard ends and you can see the murderous Joey on Viggo's face and then before your eyes, he slips back into Tom. Great acting there. But that's all Viggo, it doesn't make the movie great. Ed Harris was awesome in this as well but again, great acting can't always save a movie.
It just felt unpolished and while still not my all time favorite movie, Eastern Promises was a much better effort by Cronenberg (and Viggo too).
Gotta disagree with you on A History of Violence. I don't know what it is about David Cronenberg films, but we just don't see eye-to-eye on them. Outside of some truly terrible acting by the bully character, I thought it was an inspired piece of filmmaking about a man purging his soul and who he used to be. When he cleanses himself in the water at the end and returns to his family in utter silence as they re-embrace him by offering him a spot at the dinner table? Pitch perfect. And how bout the silent scene at the beginning and how Viggo disposes of those villains? Then the acting by Mortenson, Bello, Harris (and how could you forget) Hurt? My second favorite film of ’05 (after Brokeback). Love that one.
Black Book. Quite possibly the first erotic thriller centered within the Holocaust, let it be said that Paul Verhoeven is nothing if not consistent in his filmmaking decisions, after all this is the same man who said, "When I was making movies in Holland my films were judged by the critics as decadent, perverted, and sleazy... so I moved to the United States. This was ten years ago. In the meantime, my movies are criticized as being decadent, perverted, and sleazy in this country." Good to know some things never change. Verhoeven does a solid, workmanlike job piecing together this story about a Jewish woman (Carice van Houten) forced by circumstances to snuggle up to a Nazi party leader (Sebastian Koch from The Lives of Others). Largely due to its acting and solid direction, the film moves along briskly, but Verhoeven undermines himself, too often getting wrapped up in making sure there’s nudity on the screen (presumably to entertain himself). It’s a weird, downright inappropriate decision and leaves you wondering how much better the film could have been if only Verhoeven could keep it in his pants. B
Trainspotting. Trainspotting's only real purpose for being is to present the story of a heroin addict as a man who deludes himself into thinking he can quit, that he has will power, that he has control of his life, while he keeps marching down the same road over and over again. I get it. I also get that this is a soulless, empty movie that is over-reliant on style and devoid of character motivations (in the first scene Renton (McGregor) praises the high he gets from heroin and in the second he decides to quit, later in the movie when Renton finally has a little control of his life and has gotten clean… he immediately gives that up to test heroin his friends want to sell in a drug deal he wanted no part of a scene earlier. Then he robs them.). I think where I reached the breaking point with this movie was when their freakin' INFANT dies... and these junkies immediately decide they need to shoot up again. Or maybe it was when McGregor’s character literally climbed into the crap-covered toilet to retrieve his heroin-filled anal suppositories. Trainspotting is over-hyped, over-praised and completely underwhelming… but at least Begbie (Robert Carlyle) is over-the-top to the point that it’s hilarious. D
First Snow. This little-known movie is wrapped up in its opening monologue, a short voiceover reflection on fate as our protagonist Jimmy Starks (Guy Pearce) drives along a darkened street in the middle of nowhere. “This road you’re on… you put yourself on this road... on this exact night. Who chose this? A man makes his destiny, right? Nothing makes the gods laugh harder.” It’s a bit heavy-handed, as is the story, but it grabs your attention. The remainder of the film plays out, leading us back to that road with a nifty, noir-ish feel. It’s a very minimalist, very indie movie directed by Mark Fergus (best known for penning Children of Men and the upcoming Iron Man movie). Some of it seems familiar (the all-knowing fortune teller whose every prediction comes true, the convenient setups that lead to confrontations) but in the end I think it’s just good enough to have deserved better, and a bigger audience. B-
Lars and the Real Girl. I can’t believe they pulled this off. What should have been an oddly deranged and creepy film about a cripplingly shy man who orders (and dates) a mannequin, obviously as a substitute for the human interaction he so desperately needs… instead becomes a story of brotherly love and compassion, a story about the good of humanity and in people and, yes, it even gets kinda sweet and funny. There’s a scene early on in Lars that I think is the flat-out funniest scene of the year. I rewatched it three times alone. And the movie is so charming that at times you have to remind yourself that what you’re watching is a potentially unstable individual who at least I, for one, would not leave a loved one with. But if you get past that and some minor conveniences in the script (the girl who likes Lars continues to do so even after finding out he’s ‘dating’ a mannequin… riiiiiiight), you’re really rewarded with a lovely – and obviously unique – story. And that’s not even taking into account the brilliant performance of Ryan Gosling, who is so dedicated to the role you never once catch him winking at the camera or playing it for laughs… and because of that, the film maintains the sincerity and honesty it needs to capture the viewer’s heart. B+
Gotta say, I just got through listening to a couple of songs off the Into the Wild soundtrack again and it got me nostalgic... thinking that's what a great movie should be. Characters you could hang out with all day long, great music, great pictures, great places and most of all a storyline that keeps you interested in repeat viewings and has something to say without browbeating you with its message. Man I love it.
got a few to discuss...
Day of the Dead: This is going to be a direct to DVD release I think sometime in April. I got a DVD screener and I can see why it is direct to DVD. This was bad. Nothing in common with the recent Zach Synder Dawn of the Dead remake except Ving Rhames as a totally new character. Mena Suvari, Nick Cannon,..Yeh its bad. At least they didn't forget to have the Bub character from the original Romero film, but he isn't utilized nearly as intelligently. The original Day of the Dead wasn't good itself, but its effects were out of this world. How have we come twenty years since and the makeup is worse. Skip it.
Run Fatboy Run: Won't be released stateside til end of March, but got a UK DVD version. Certainly doesn't do anything new, but it is fun. Simon Pegg is one you root for and its nice to see David Schwimmer directed this with a script by Michael Ian Black. Its sincere, funny, and somewhat exciting at the end. I was pleased with it if not bowled over.
Sleeping Dogs Lie: I remember hearing about this one years ago and its premise certainly peaked my interest. It is written and directed by Bobcat Goldthwait, if that gives you any idea about what this will be like. In structure and dialogue, it is a typical romantic comedy where the boyfriend meets parents scenario and boyfriend finds out about history of girlfriend. But what he discovers, as we learn early in the film, is his fiance's big secret is she once performed oral sex on her dog....I'll let that sink in for a sec.....Ok and now were back. The movie is tasteful by not showing us the act and I thought the girl sold it and made it better than it may have been, but this topic was done and perfected with Chasing Amy. Still if you have a sick perverse mind like I, you may get a kick out of it. Don't think it will actually get released though. Which is a shame because I was rooting for a Bobcat comeback.
Jumper: It looked good, the actors didn't bore me, and it gave me enough to keep me interested, but I can stand the little details. If you "jump" into a crowded place, the least the director should do is show you footage of people reacting to people that just teleported out of nowhere. If you "jump" a double-decker bus into the desert, we should see what the hell happened to all the people that are now in the middle of the desert when they were just taking a London tour. They did a terrible job of keeping their "secret" secret. So much so that it annoyed me throughout.
Lars and the Real Girl: The community portryed here does not exist anywhere...not in America...not even in Europe. I'm sorry Mulligan, but this movie had me rolling my eyes the entire time. I wanted to like it. I thought Gosling and Inc were all great and certainly sold me on the belief in "Bianca," but the entire town rallying behind him I thought was just asinine. They act as if "she" is real, even when he isn't around. They yell at him for mistreating "her." They cry when "she" gets sick. I loved that the psychiatrist/family practice, decided after one session that he is a perfectly normal male who has conjured up this delusion and we should simple let him work it out himself. No sorry. Using the idea of "real" doll in order to get over your fear of people/society/girls is something I can get a hold of. I can't understand how the whole town got behind it. You know they would be one asshole who would run up and knife the doll. They should have sent him to the loony bin.
Margot at the Wedding: Worst movie of the year. I base this not on style, though I thought it was ugly. I don't base it on acting, which was decent. And certainly movies like Norbit have no redeeming qualities whatsoever, while this does. But the people in here are THE worst people I have ever seen committed to celluloid. It was torture seeing this terrible mother/sister Margot constantly berate those around her. Baumbach clearly has some family issues he needs to resolve. Perhaps this film was cathartic for him, and I'm glad, so hopefully next time he will go make another Squid and the Whale, which was a hell of a lot funnier and resonated more with me. This is all about terrible people who say lines like "I masturbated last night." and "She tried to kill me once by putting me on a baking sheet with paprika and putting me in the oven." This film shows nothing that is redeeming about family, siblings, children, neighbors, etc. They all hate the life they lead and hate the people that live with. This is perhaps the most hateful film I've ever seen. It made me want to vomit.
4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days: Finally an absolute winner in this bunch. Fascinating story of two girls getting an illegal abortion in Communist Romania. The first thirty minutes unfold as we are yet unaware of what is going on. We than find out the plot and it is a most tense tale afterwards. Very uncomfortable to watch, but very rewarding. How the hell did it not get a Foreign Lang nomination is beyond me. Not pro-life or pro-choice, but simply tells the dangers of the time and how many may have died over reasons like money, jail time, or family disappointment. Wonderful camera use that teases us and keeps us on our toes. The last 30 min are some of the most unnerving ever in my life. Top 10 of year.
Okay, so I've only seen two films out of your recent watches Chachi... and I disagree with you on both of them. Haha.
First off, I can understand where you're coming from on Lars and the Real Girl and to a large extent you're right... there is no town like this in the United States (or anyplace in the world) and they all act pretty nutzoid themselves. Still, I was never distracted by that to the point that it ruined the film for me. Mainly because the acting of Lars' "inner circle" (his brother (Paul Schneider), his brother's wife (Emily Mortimer) and even 'his' therapist (Patricia Clarkson)) were all so good that they kept me focused on them. They all acted genuine and sincere, minus the ability to diagnose Lars within 5 minutes of meeting him, and had a large portion of the scenes interacting with Lars. And despite loving the performance that Ryan Gosling gave in this film... it would have been nothing unless built around the performances working scenes opposite him. I admit when the town starts to grieve over Bianca it gets ridiculous but those characters are so extraneous to the primary story that I never let it bother me. Oh, and you've got to at least admit that scene with the flower early on is sheer brilliance.
And as for Margot... we saw the same film. I just found humor in the irredeemable qualities of, especially, Nicole Kidman's character. She's such a grotesque, awful human being that - at least to me - it became humorous. It's not a great film by any means and I've put off writing about it for a while... but I still found it worth watching. I'd give it a mildly passing B- in much the same fashion I gave Citizen Ruth... another film I know you hated.
If you look at the reviews for Lars, you see that most people are divided. Those that didn't like it (like I) couldn't get past this community, while those that did like it (like you) were able to get past it. I hold absolutely nothing against any of the main cast (Paul Schnieder had quite a year with this and Jesse James) and I think Emily Mortimer is the cutest damn thing in the world. Gosling really does elevate this beyond just a one joke premise. But I just wasn't able to get past all the ridiculous extraneous characters. I mean they yelled at him for yelling at "her." Maybe they need the psychiatrist more than he does.
As for Margot, I somehow knew you would like it. I have real trouble watching films that are all about terrible people doing terrible things. I need someone to root for, and I need to feel like the earn some empathy from me afterwards. Ruth certainly doesn't earn any respect from me in Citizen Ruth. Before the Devil Knows Your Dead was very good filmmaking and acting, but I found myself hoping they all get what they deserved. Here Margot has no redeeming attributes. She is a hateful, bitter person and we don't really know why. Her sister isn't nearly as bad, yet they grew up in the same household. We get a little back story that there was some sexual abuse as children, but they laugh about it. It takes a lot to offend me (after all, I'm a huge Kevin Smith fan), but laughing about child rape is not something I find humor in, certainly if you grow up to be an awful person like Margot.
Yeah, you're right and I guess I kind of half-expected you to have that reaction to Margot as well but for me I can always watch a film in which its characters are awful human beings just as long as they're not trying to present them as anything but. Margot was used as device for showing the horrendous childhood I can only imagine Noah Baumbach grew up in.
I will say the best rebuttal of the movie that I've seen came from a reviewer basically saying he understands that Baumbach has a lot of shit to work through, but does he really have to subject the rest of us to it?
But I feel like Baumbach knows enough about what he's doing to interject some humor into the film... you didn't. And at this point it's just a matter of personal taste.
Like Citizen Ruth or Margot or Before the Devil Knows You're Dead (which I would contest grouping Ethan Hawke's character into) and Closer... these are films about terrible people largely doing terrible things. In order to 'enjoy' them the viewer needs to get past that.
Still... I found it about a hundred times more enjoyable that watching the 'heroic' shitbags in Croupier and Trainspotting (which I'm still shocked that my reaction to has caused no debate).
I plan on rewatching Trainspotting so I have a good idea on how to approach your disgust with it. It has been a few years, but the first time I saw it so many years ago, I claimed it was among my favorite of all time. So I have a feeling I will be debating with you on this, but I gotta give you credit. You have balls to say how awful it is, when it is nearly universally praised. Sometimes I wish I could be that type of person and just say "Godfather is crap." (which I totally disagree with)
Yeah, Trainspotting was pretty roundly praised. I don't get it. After I watched it I sat there feeling like I was on an island alone in my hatred for it - I even searched out the only 2 reviews I could find that equally despised the movie on Rotten Tomatoes. Then the next day I went into work and practically started a fight (a geeky word fight, not a fist fight) with a buddy of mine who claimed to love the film. I asked why and he couldn't give me a reason... then I asked him to defend it against some of my problems with it and he said something along the lines of "You've never been around junkies before" like that has anything to do with the film. I've never been around a cowboy with a racist streak towards Comanche's or an early 20th century oilman with a God complex either... but that didn't stop me from enjoying The Searchers or There Will Be Blood. As long as the movie can get you into the mindset of its characters, as long as the movie makes sense with its character's motivations and as long as the director isn't doing everything just to show off something he learned in film school or fiddling around with the camera... then I can appreciate it even if I don't happen to love the film.
But yeah, there's only a few films that have been so outrageously positively reviewed that I've come up against so hard in the opposite direction. Off the top of my head, Croupier and to a lesser extent Easy Rider (lesser because Jack is brilliant in it). I definitely don't mind taking the minority opinion on a film... but I don't search it out either. I wanted to like Trainspotting, a lot actually, which is one of the reasons I think it amplified my disgust for it.
Anyways, I look forward to hearing what you have to say on it after a rewatching and we'll see if you can turn me on to some of the finer aspects of the film because as of now I don't see them.
Alright, and what I really came on here to do... film capsules!
I'm going to keep the word count down on these because I want to knock out a bunch of them in one sitting.
We Own the Night. There are really only two scenes of note throughout the entire 2-hour running time of We Own the Night. Both involve someone ultimately getting shot. For the most part though, it's forgettable filmmaking and Joaquin Phoenix's performance in the lead role is uninspring (the guy more closely resembles a 6 foot tall baby than a guy on the fringe of the mob). Plus, the film makes it look like the easiest thing in the world to go from nightclub owner to cop. It's all shortcuts and scenes we've seen before. Might be worth watching for Duvall though... he hasn't been this bad since Something to Talk About, I guess even the best have their off days. C
The Wind That Shakes the Barley. A film about the British occupation of Ireland and how it led towards the disintegration of families and even Irish fighting Irish. When Britain maintained control through Ireland's own people, the IRA's enemies became their own friends and brothers. It's a fascinating story pitting two groups of Irishmen - both trying to do what they think is best for their country - at odds with one another. Cillian Murphy stars as a doctor drawn into the conflict as he's about to leave the country, continuing to show his ability to find compelling projects in his homeland (Intermission, Breakfast on Pluto). Deservingly won the Palme D'or at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival. A-
The Namesake. The Namesake's story is split into two parts. The first: Ashoke Ganguli (Irfan Khan), an Indian man who moves to America after a near-death experience, raises his family here after returning home briefly to marry a Bengali woman named Ashima. The film starts out as a story of adjustment, as these two have to contend with the differences in everyday life they face after their move. Then as the film branches out to refocus on Gogol Ganguli (Kal Penn), their son, the film becomes more about the influence of the environment you grow up in and whether or not you can still retain your background and heritage while living thousands of miles away from it. There are a few missteps and Kal Penn is saddled with a horrendously distracting wig for far too long, but you can tell that this story is important to director Mira Nair and for the most part she does a good job with it. B
27 Dresses. To date this is still the only movie I've seen in theaters since the beginning of 2008 (you have no idea how depressing that is to me)... and I only saw this one because I was with my mom and Kelly and they paid for my ticket. Truthfully, since I was expecting the worst film imaginable - on par with film's like last year's Because I Said So - I was actually pleasantly surprised a little bit. Hooray for lowered expectations. Anyways, there's enough charm and chemistry between Katherine Heigl and James Marsden to keep the film from becoming unpleasant... even if it's never actually "good." And Judy Greer has some genuinely funny moments in a supporting role. Too bad Edward Burns showed up. C
Rendition. This movie has no story. None. It's a complete political statement piece, very thinly veiled, about an Egyptian man who's trying to return home to Reese Witherspoon and gets abducted for being foreign. Witherspoon acts upset. Meryl Streep plays a politician with no emotion as far as I can see and is directly responsible for torturing her husband. Meanwhile Jake Gyllenhaal stands around watching. Drama supposedly ensures. Peter Sarsgaard is the only actor to get out of this film with any self-respect as he somehow manages to coax some real depth out of a cookie sheet character used as a go-between for Witherspoon and Streep. In the end we're supposed to realize the awfulness of torture, apparently because we've been sitting through it for the last 2 hours and we can sympathize. C-
A Prairie Home Companion: In a word: boring. In another: uninspiring. In yet another: grueling. It tried to be nostalgic and poignant and all that but it was very convoluted and just...odd.
True Romance: Ahhhh I love Tarintino. This film is no exception. It's classic Tarintino but this one clearly has more heart in it. Loved all the performances. So many great actors in this and while not your run of the mill love story, certainly all the better for it. Probably one of my new favorites.
Waiting: I'd heard everyone and their dog quote the movie before and nearly everyone who's seen it said it was really funny. When I finally saw it I was definitely entertained. It's definitely one you appreciate more if you've ever been a server (and I have). Probably won't want to watch multiple times but will likely quote and reference :)
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