I don't know why, but I tend to gravitate to movies that ruminate on the subject of death, perhaps because it's the common denominator between all of mankind, or maybe because it will always be a dark and terrifying mystery (depending on your own outlook).
In The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, directed by David Fincher (Fight Club, Zodiac), death is treated with equal parts frivolity and gravitas.
What makes the case of our titular character so curious is that he is born an old man and grows to become younger as his years pass. Early on in his life, death is a subject that weighs heavily on his mind given the fragile state of his decrepit body. Meanwhile, he is almost too-conveniently abandoned by his natural father on the footsteps of a nursing home for the elderly, so death is a constant reminder of the immediate nature of relationships.
"Nothing lasts," Button states knowingly. While most people go through life with the inevitability of death in their peripheral thought, Button's date and time of death is pre-determined. If you are born 80 years old and age backwards, then you have precisely 80 years to live. Because of this, Button lives with an almost blazé attitude towards the direction his life takes until getting caught up in a romance with a young woman who visits her grandmother in the nursing home.
The relationship first strikes when he is embodied by a geriatric man and she is a pre-teen. Probably fearing a Douglas/Zeta-Jones backlash, Fincher plays the relationship sweet and precocious at first, slowly building to the point of mutual adoration when their ages match in their mid-forties.
Pitt and Blanchett are both fine in their roles, but neither performance feels like something that is out of their range. The real miracle of the film are the special effects, which allows Pitt to act as Button throughout nearly all stages of his life (except that of an infant and teenager), without looking too pixelated and unbelievable. Also of note is Tilda Swinton, whose storyline isn't entirely necessary in the big picture of the main narrative but still manages to deliver a poignant and memorable performance.
The winner of this film is Fincher, who manages to retain the essence of his signature while stretching well outside of the boundaries of his previous work. His sets and tone can still be dark and foreboding, but much of the film is sweeping with just the right touch of grand-scale charm (and maybe a tiny dollop of schmaltz).
An acquaintance of Button's tells him something to the effect of "Death is important, how else are we going to remember how important people are to us?" Such a line rings true for those who have lost someone close and dear. Even for those who haven't experienced this hollow and shuddering pain, Button remains a must-see because of its insight and hopeless romanticism.
Grade: A-
Sunday, January 4, 2009
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Trailer Round Up
A trio of new trailers has prompted me to cook up another post on the ol' movie blog. I know they're few and far between and everyone clamors for another post like Pete Wentz clamors for eyeliner. So, not to leave you deprived, here's an easy entry that should peak some people's interest.
New Trailers!
First up:
Star Trek - Directed by J.J. Abrams
I'm not a fan of douchey little kids with attitude, so the opening of this preview does nothing for me. However, the nerd inside me really, really likes the rest of it. I've always wondered what a Star Trek movie would be like if they gave it a Star Wars sized budget and actually made the story, ya know, interesting. I don't think recasting the characters is as blasphemous as others make it out to be. Honestly, this is a stuffy and dusty franchise that could use a shake-up like this.
Watchmen - Directed by Zack Snyder
Adapted from the acclaimed graphic novel of the same name, Watchmen follows a group of superheros in an alternate reality trying to uncover a plot to kill millions. Snyder, fresh from the success of 300, brings with him the usual stylistic flourishes while trying to hew close to the source material. Having read the book, it will be interesting to see if the intelligence and thoughtfulness of the text translate to screen.
Black Dynamite - Directed by Scott Sanders
This movie wasn't on my radar until a couple of days ago, but gaawwwwd daaaayyymm if I don't want to see this right now. Who would have thought that a semi-satire of a blaxploitation movie starring the guy who played Spawn (Michael Jai White) would have me dying to see it. Satire can go either way, it can either be poignant and cutting or shallow and blunt. I'm hoping that Black Dynamite delivers the goods. This trailer certainly does.
New Trailers!
First up:
Star Trek - Directed by J.J. Abrams
I'm not a fan of douchey little kids with attitude, so the opening of this preview does nothing for me. However, the nerd inside me really, really likes the rest of it. I've always wondered what a Star Trek movie would be like if they gave it a Star Wars sized budget and actually made the story, ya know, interesting. I don't think recasting the characters is as blasphemous as others make it out to be. Honestly, this is a stuffy and dusty franchise that could use a shake-up like this.
Watchmen - Directed by Zack Snyder
Adapted from the acclaimed graphic novel of the same name, Watchmen follows a group of superheros in an alternate reality trying to uncover a plot to kill millions. Snyder, fresh from the success of 300, brings with him the usual stylistic flourishes while trying to hew close to the source material. Having read the book, it will be interesting to see if the intelligence and thoughtfulness of the text translate to screen.
Black Dynamite - Directed by Scott Sanders
This movie wasn't on my radar until a couple of days ago, but gaawwwwd daaaayyymm if I don't want to see this right now. Who would have thought that a semi-satire of a blaxploitation movie starring the guy who played Spawn (Michael Jai White) would have me dying to see it. Satire can go either way, it can either be poignant and cutting or shallow and blunt. I'm hoping that Black Dynamite delivers the goods. This trailer certainly does.
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
The Wackness
Johnathan Levine's directorial debut, the straight-outta-Sundance coming of age story The Wackness, is too familiar a formula to truly separate itself from its own sub-genre trappings. Perpetually slack jawed New Yawk wigga Lucas Shapiro, played by Nickelodeon's (!) Josh Peck, deals pot and is misunderstood. He yearns for the affections of a young woman, played by Olivia Thirlby, who is too free-spirited to commit, but just "bored" enough to string him along. Along the way, he is offered sagely, bong-watered down advice from her shrink step-dad, played by Ben Kingsley.
Many films have played the "student, his lover and his mentor" angle to varying degrees of success. What makes this film work is that the actors lend their roles an air of charmingly authentic emotions that, for better or worse, ring true to reality, while Levine drapes his frame with a thick and warm sense of nostalgia that only 1994 could deliver. Shapiro fiddles with an NES cartridge, Biggie blasts through the speakers and Giuliani is locking up vagrants. Ah, the mid 90's. A time like no other.
While every character in the film is working out their own demons, all of them with faults that make them semi-unlikeable, only Shapiro (the drug dealer) is sympathetic. Everyone else in the film uses their vices for self-serving purposes. Stephanie (Thirlby) uses men to satiate her wandering eye. Dr. Squires (Kingsley) trades his psychological advice to Shapiro for his drugs. Squires' wife (Famke Janssen) lives in a seemingly drug and alcohol induced stupor, forgetting her motherly responsibilities. However, Shapiro deals drugs to prevent his family from falling deeper down the spiral. It seems that Shapiro's dad has a penchant for gambling and the only resolution for it is eviction from their Manhattan apartment. The drug dealing provides Shapiro both his damnation and salvation.
Having been a naive teenage boy myself once, it's refreshing to see someone so accurately portray both the juvenile and the achingly open-hearted raw romanticism of a love-struck, neophyte Romeo. Peck plays Shapiro with the perfect balance of macho-posturing masking his insecurities, along with his very innocent and modestly confident nature. Kingsley once again proves that no role, no matter the odd makings of it (making out with Michelle Tanner in a phone booth), is too bizarre or too implausible for him. He imbues his strung-out Dr. Squires with a sense of sadness as a man yearning for his youth as if he walked through a door and instantly became old. Thirlby plays Stephanie as the prototypical type of maddeningly fickle woman who is better suited to break hearts than to mend them. You want to love her, but the more you do, the more she pulls away.
The Wackness doesn't reinvent the wheel, and is certainly tailor made to play to indie festival sensibilities (which may no longer be such a good thing). But it made me wear a big, dopey grin throughout, which is more than I can say for a lot of movies that are far more (and less) pretentious than this one.
Grade: B+
Many films have played the "student, his lover and his mentor" angle to varying degrees of success. What makes this film work is that the actors lend their roles an air of charmingly authentic emotions that, for better or worse, ring true to reality, while Levine drapes his frame with a thick and warm sense of nostalgia that only 1994 could deliver. Shapiro fiddles with an NES cartridge, Biggie blasts through the speakers and Giuliani is locking up vagrants. Ah, the mid 90's. A time like no other.
While every character in the film is working out their own demons, all of them with faults that make them semi-unlikeable, only Shapiro (the drug dealer) is sympathetic. Everyone else in the film uses their vices for self-serving purposes. Stephanie (Thirlby) uses men to satiate her wandering eye. Dr. Squires (Kingsley) trades his psychological advice to Shapiro for his drugs. Squires' wife (Famke Janssen) lives in a seemingly drug and alcohol induced stupor, forgetting her motherly responsibilities. However, Shapiro deals drugs to prevent his family from falling deeper down the spiral. It seems that Shapiro's dad has a penchant for gambling and the only resolution for it is eviction from their Manhattan apartment. The drug dealing provides Shapiro both his damnation and salvation.
Having been a naive teenage boy myself once, it's refreshing to see someone so accurately portray both the juvenile and the achingly open-hearted raw romanticism of a love-struck, neophyte Romeo. Peck plays Shapiro with the perfect balance of macho-posturing masking his insecurities, along with his very innocent and modestly confident nature. Kingsley once again proves that no role, no matter the odd makings of it (making out with Michelle Tanner in a phone booth), is too bizarre or too implausible for him. He imbues his strung-out Dr. Squires with a sense of sadness as a man yearning for his youth as if he walked through a door and instantly became old. Thirlby plays Stephanie as the prototypical type of maddeningly fickle woman who is better suited to break hearts than to mend them. You want to love her, but the more you do, the more she pulls away.
The Wackness doesn't reinvent the wheel, and is certainly tailor made to play to indie festival sensibilities (which may no longer be such a good thing). But it made me wear a big, dopey grin throughout, which is more than I can say for a lot of movies that are far more (and less) pretentious than this one.
Grade: B+
Saturday, July 19, 2008
Watchmen Trailer
http://youtube.com/watch?v=mSrgvJ2JyHs&feature=related
While Im talking comic movies, I might as well mention the bad ass new trailer for the film version of Alan Moore's comic book, Watchmen, unspooled in front an audiences nationwide before all prints of The Dark Knight. Do yourself a favor, if you haven't read Watchmen, you'll want to before this comes out.
The Dark Knight
When was the last time you watched a superhero movie where all the main characters felt like they were in real danger? Not the kind of fake danger where someone is going to blow up the world in 30 seconds and the hero turns off the bomb in the nick of time. No, the kind of danger where you honestly believe that any character could die at any time, for any reason. The Dark Knight is a film of threats, consequences and moral ambiguity. This is a film where the villains promise to kill people (loved ones) and then follow through with it. A film that pulls no punches is rare in this genre. You know Superman will rescue Lois Lane, there's no tension there. The only suspense is to wait and see how it happens. There is no wait-and-see attitude to The Dark Knight. The longer you watch the film the more you wonder IF Batman can save the day, not WHEN.
If Batman Begins was about what seperates Batman from the villains, The Dark Knight focuses on what makes them the same. Batman has always lived by the rule that he can not kill his opponents. However, that rule is put to the test when a murdering psychopath rampages Gotham and tries to force Batman to finally cross the line. The Joker has no agenda or motive. All he wants to do is prove a point. He wants to show the people of Gotham that when times get tough, they really are no different than he is. Instead of playing into the Joker's hands and killing to save the day, Batman puts his hopes into Harvey Dent, the maverick district attorney who is cleaning up Gotham's streets without a cowl or cape. With the help of Jim Gordon, Batman and Dent go about putting an end to the Joker's chokehold on the city.
Not everyone is so virtuous. The Joker plays on the corruptable nature of those close to our heroes, constantly finding ways to push the limits of their ethical fortitude. Batman is forced to make decisions that toe the heroic line. Does Batman have to intrude on basic civil rights for the good of mankind? What gives him that right, compared to any other average joe? The whole thing is a reflection of the times we live in. People want to feel safe, but they don't want to feel intruded upon. The film's message is that sometimes we have to make tough choices that not everyone will benefit from in order to do the greatest good. Secrets are kept, lies are told and people are killed, all in the name of justice and upholding the peace.
This film is relentless and will not make you feel good after walking out of the theater. It's not a happy go-lucky ending type of movie. However, you will be riveted from start to finish. Heath Ledger gives not only the most definitive depiction of the Joker ever put to film, but also the shining moment of his tragically short-lived career. He disappears into this role. His Joker is full of tics, strange speaking cadences and depraved lunacy. He is truly frightening and will be remembered as one of the greatest screen villains of all time. It's almost too bad that he's so good, because he almost overshadows the tremendous work done by every other actor in the film, particularly that of Gary Oldman and Aaron Eckhart. Harvey Dent has the only true story arc here. His fall from grace is so tragic that you almost root for the guy when he goes to deliver his vengeance. Like Ledger, Oldman is a chameleon and makes you forget that you're watching him play a character.
The Dark Knight is the new benchmark for superhero movies, climbing just past Spider-Man 2 and X-Men 2. There's a lot of hyperbole being thrown around for this movie and all of it is deserved. I personally read many reviews of the film before seeing it myself and none of them prepared me for what happened. The Dark Knight is the first superhero movie to aspire to be something more than just a damsel in distress adventure.
Be prepared, it clocks in at two and a half hours, but a movie's length is only troublesome if the content isn't up to par. I never checked my watch once and could have easily watched more. If there is to be another Batman movie, the cast and crew really have their work cut out for them to top this one.
Grade: A
If Batman Begins was about what seperates Batman from the villains, The Dark Knight focuses on what makes them the same. Batman has always lived by the rule that he can not kill his opponents. However, that rule is put to the test when a murdering psychopath rampages Gotham and tries to force Batman to finally cross the line. The Joker has no agenda or motive. All he wants to do is prove a point. He wants to show the people of Gotham that when times get tough, they really are no different than he is. Instead of playing into the Joker's hands and killing to save the day, Batman puts his hopes into Harvey Dent, the maverick district attorney who is cleaning up Gotham's streets without a cowl or cape. With the help of Jim Gordon, Batman and Dent go about putting an end to the Joker's chokehold on the city.
Not everyone is so virtuous. The Joker plays on the corruptable nature of those close to our heroes, constantly finding ways to push the limits of their ethical fortitude. Batman is forced to make decisions that toe the heroic line. Does Batman have to intrude on basic civil rights for the good of mankind? What gives him that right, compared to any other average joe? The whole thing is a reflection of the times we live in. People want to feel safe, but they don't want to feel intruded upon. The film's message is that sometimes we have to make tough choices that not everyone will benefit from in order to do the greatest good. Secrets are kept, lies are told and people are killed, all in the name of justice and upholding the peace.
This film is relentless and will not make you feel good after walking out of the theater. It's not a happy go-lucky ending type of movie. However, you will be riveted from start to finish. Heath Ledger gives not only the most definitive depiction of the Joker ever put to film, but also the shining moment of his tragically short-lived career. He disappears into this role. His Joker is full of tics, strange speaking cadences and depraved lunacy. He is truly frightening and will be remembered as one of the greatest screen villains of all time. It's almost too bad that he's so good, because he almost overshadows the tremendous work done by every other actor in the film, particularly that of Gary Oldman and Aaron Eckhart. Harvey Dent has the only true story arc here. His fall from grace is so tragic that you almost root for the guy when he goes to deliver his vengeance. Like Ledger, Oldman is a chameleon and makes you forget that you're watching him play a character.
The Dark Knight is the new benchmark for superhero movies, climbing just past Spider-Man 2 and X-Men 2. There's a lot of hyperbole being thrown around for this movie and all of it is deserved. I personally read many reviews of the film before seeing it myself and none of them prepared me for what happened. The Dark Knight is the first superhero movie to aspire to be something more than just a damsel in distress adventure.
Be prepared, it clocks in at two and a half hours, but a movie's length is only troublesome if the content isn't up to par. I never checked my watch once and could have easily watched more. If there is to be another Batman movie, the cast and crew really have their work cut out for them to top this one.
Grade: A
Thursday, July 3, 2008
Snack Bar Bite Size Review: Wanted
Think bullet-time and slow motion effects went out of style 5 minutes after The Matrix came out? Think again. Wanted even follows a similar story structure as The Matrix. Every day normal guy, played by James McAvoy, discovers he has a destiny greater than warming an adjustable office chair, is mentored in the art of fighting and gunplay and discovers a world that was previously not on his radar. Add a major shot of testosterone, subtract about 100 points off the IQ level, and you have a poor man's Matrix.
My problem with this movie is that it has no redeeming social value whatsoever. There are action movies and then there are action movies that are just recklessly annoying and well, offensive. Animals are used for explosive devices, the main character has a hard-on for for macho posturing, even going as far as talking down directly to the audience.
The more I think about this movie, the more my brain hurts. Assassins are given the names of people to kill in order to thin out the population for the greater good of humanity. Guess where they get the names from. The Loom of Fate. That's right, fate is speaking to assasins through magical blankets. Also, the healing power of wax can apparently heal a broken limb in the matter of hours.
If you want to check your brain and watch people shoot each other in increasingly implausible situations with no rhyme or reason, this film is for you. However, if you're looking for more substance, you're better off looking elsewhere.
My problem with this movie is that it has no redeeming social value whatsoever. There are action movies and then there are action movies that are just recklessly annoying and well, offensive. Animals are used for explosive devices, the main character has a hard-on for for macho posturing, even going as far as talking down directly to the audience.
The more I think about this movie, the more my brain hurts. Assassins are given the names of people to kill in order to thin out the population for the greater good of humanity. Guess where they get the names from. The Loom of Fate. That's right, fate is speaking to assasins through magical blankets. Also, the healing power of wax can apparently heal a broken limb in the matter of hours.
If you want to check your brain and watch people shoot each other in increasingly implausible situations with no rhyme or reason, this film is for you. However, if you're looking for more substance, you're better off looking elsewhere.
Monday, October 8, 2007
Snack Bar: Fun-Size Reviews
Ok, so I've realized it goes against all theories of time and logic to offer a lengthy review for every film I've seen recently, so every once in a while I'm going to offer up a bunch of quick reviews posted in bulk for your snacking pleasure. Enjoy the first edition of Snack Bar.
Review: Bottle Rocket
Wes Anderson's directorial debut is charming yet muddled first film. You can see where the conventions of a "Wes Anderson" film started and why he sticks with those conventions later on. Some of them work: Offbeat characters looking for their place in a world they don't understand (and that doesn't understand them), uncomfortable silences, botched plans and an awesome soundtrack make Bottle Rocket redeemable. However, the parts that don't work stick out like a sore thumb. Plot points are shoved on you like unwanted Christmas presents. Sometimes you find you can accept it, but most of the time you scratch your head and wish you never got it in the first place.
Two friends, Dignan (Owen Wilson) and Anthony (Luke Wilson), dream of becoming notorious criminals and pulling off heists that would make Danny Ocean blush. However, Dignan's hair-brained schemes often aspire to be quite a lot more than they actually turn out to be. While on the lam Anthony falls in love with a motel-maid, tries to clean up his act, but the allure of the job and his loyalty to Dignan pulls him back in....one more time!
This plot is standard in heist movies, but this one is so on-the-nose with it's idiosyncrasies that it elicits more rolling eyes than awkward laughs.
3 out of 5 Stars.
Review: The Painted Veil
A well-to-do flirty woman (Naomi Watts) marries a well-to-do nebbish doctor (Edward Norton) to satiate her parents wishes. Bored by the daily routine of her close-enough-to-be-arranged marriage, Kitty falls for another man (Liev Schrieber) and dreams of leaving her husband. Their tryst is discovered and Dr. Walter Fane decides to exact his revenge by taking his adulterous wife with him to the middle of a cholera epidemic that he has volunteered to help cure. The two work out their differences amidst the suffering and death of the town they occupy and Kitty sees her husband under a different light.
Well acted and stunningly photographed, The Painted Veil is a movie that is easy to get lost in, but also abruptly yanks you out of the story at times. The love triangle is stock, but once the conflict reaches the cholera stricken town, The Painted Veil really shines. Watts and Norton show little chemistry at times and large amounts at others (appropriately so). Excellent film if you enjoy period pieces with a conflict. Abrupt ending may turn off some.
4 out of 5 stars.
Review: Idiocracy
You remember Mike Judge right? He of the massive cult hit Office Space? You do know he made another film after that? If not, you're not the only one. Idiocracy was released to a paltry amount of theaters and hastened to DVD shortly thereafter. However, if you feel offended that you didn't get a chance to see this film on the big screen, don't be. Idiocracy is satirical in content, but so over the top that it quickly deteriorates into just a stupid comedy.
Luke Wilson stars as Joe, a shlubish army librarian who is content with not doing anything with his life. After being forced to participate in a freezing experiment that lands him in the 26th century, Joe finds himself the smartest man alive through the dumbing down of society. He must find a way home or risk leaving humanity to its eventual demise.
Judge clearly has a bone to pick with modern sensibilities and sometimes the jokes are played for genuine laughs. However, there is more subtlety in a Carl's Jr. ad than in this film. I like a good satire as much as anyone, but this is so blatant in content that you end up getting the point 20 minutes in and have to sit through an additional hour just to get to the end.
2 stars out of 5
Podcast:
If you haven't checked it out yet, here it is.
Review: Bottle Rocket
Wes Anderson's directorial debut is charming yet muddled first film. You can see where the conventions of a "Wes Anderson" film started and why he sticks with those conventions later on. Some of them work: Offbeat characters looking for their place in a world they don't understand (and that doesn't understand them), uncomfortable silences, botched plans and an awesome soundtrack make Bottle Rocket redeemable. However, the parts that don't work stick out like a sore thumb. Plot points are shoved on you like unwanted Christmas presents. Sometimes you find you can accept it, but most of the time you scratch your head and wish you never got it in the first place.
Two friends, Dignan (Owen Wilson) and Anthony (Luke Wilson), dream of becoming notorious criminals and pulling off heists that would make Danny Ocean blush. However, Dignan's hair-brained schemes often aspire to be quite a lot more than they actually turn out to be. While on the lam Anthony falls in love with a motel-maid, tries to clean up his act, but the allure of the job and his loyalty to Dignan pulls him back in....one more time!
This plot is standard in heist movies, but this one is so on-the-nose with it's idiosyncrasies that it elicits more rolling eyes than awkward laughs.
3 out of 5 Stars.
Review: The Painted Veil
A well-to-do flirty woman (Naomi Watts) marries a well-to-do nebbish doctor (Edward Norton) to satiate her parents wishes. Bored by the daily routine of her close-enough-to-be-arranged marriage, Kitty falls for another man (Liev Schrieber) and dreams of leaving her husband. Their tryst is discovered and Dr. Walter Fane decides to exact his revenge by taking his adulterous wife with him to the middle of a cholera epidemic that he has volunteered to help cure. The two work out their differences amidst the suffering and death of the town they occupy and Kitty sees her husband under a different light.
Well acted and stunningly photographed, The Painted Veil is a movie that is easy to get lost in, but also abruptly yanks you out of the story at times. The love triangle is stock, but once the conflict reaches the cholera stricken town, The Painted Veil really shines. Watts and Norton show little chemistry at times and large amounts at others (appropriately so). Excellent film if you enjoy period pieces with a conflict. Abrupt ending may turn off some.
4 out of 5 stars.
Review: Idiocracy
You remember Mike Judge right? He of the massive cult hit Office Space? You do know he made another film after that? If not, you're not the only one. Idiocracy was released to a paltry amount of theaters and hastened to DVD shortly thereafter. However, if you feel offended that you didn't get a chance to see this film on the big screen, don't be. Idiocracy is satirical in content, but so over the top that it quickly deteriorates into just a stupid comedy.
Luke Wilson stars as Joe, a shlubish army librarian who is content with not doing anything with his life. After being forced to participate in a freezing experiment that lands him in the 26th century, Joe finds himself the smartest man alive through the dumbing down of society. He must find a way home or risk leaving humanity to its eventual demise.
Judge clearly has a bone to pick with modern sensibilities and sometimes the jokes are played for genuine laughs. However, there is more subtlety in a Carl's Jr. ad than in this film. I like a good satire as much as anyone, but this is so blatant in content that you end up getting the point 20 minutes in and have to sit through an additional hour just to get to the end.
2 stars out of 5
Podcast:
If you haven't checked it out yet, here it is.
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