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Spectre (2015)
Where have all the Roger Moore s gone?
There was a time where the bastion of comic book readers were they're intended audience of children and weird, overweight, problem dandruff sufferers with food in their beards. At some point, however, we have elevated these fun, simple characters to high art, thus advancing this new conspiracy to invent something which was never there.
It began with the post Burton Batman movies, carried on through a hundred other super hero movies which relaunched Robert Downey Jr's career, and have culminated with the destruction of our beloved vacuous misogynist, James Bond.
James Bond is a comic book, actually even less deep than that. His beauty is you never have to think about anything going on in any of his movies. Half naked girls, big explosions, stunts, and fast cars. Wonderfully honest and unapologetically shallow.
We loved James Bond. But this movie is not James Bond. I mean the Daniel Craig fits the role perfectly, no acting and a tight, tailored suit. Our Bond girl also fits the mole, kind of. She's pretty, doesn't talk too much, doesn't really do anything.
I guess when James Bond, such a simple formula, can go so completely off the rails, you have to wonder what this world is coming to. Do people in Asia watch these and take them seriously? Do they actually think there was ever any political or social commentary?
This film would seem to indicate that people have thirsted for more, they have wanted to get to know the real James Bond. I am scrating my head wondering though, as I thought James Bond having no real basis was the whole point.
What a horrible film.
Unbroken (2014)
The Three In One War Epic
With predictable plot turns and actors straight out of central casting this film, while beautifully presented, suffers from what appears to be hatchet job in the cutting room.
The story of a first generation Italian American Olympic athlete, turned war hero just tries to be too much. We begin with a bad boy in 1930s Southern California, who narrowly avoids reform school by finding his talent as a track runner. After a good showing in the Munich Olympic Games, our protagonist enlists and finds himself over the Pacific in a B52.
The crew encounters trouble when forced to use a shoddy plane to complete it's mission, and crashes with the help of some bullets from a Zero attack. In a short scene with stereotypical fly-boys getting shot up and dying in a dramatic fashion, engine failure forces a water landing in shark infested waters and only three survivors climb aboard lifeboats.
This, if properly done could have been a movie all by itself. But this condensed version really doesn't work. The audience never has the chance to get to know this plucky crew and really has no reason to care about them.
Next we have a long battle with the elements and a lack of food and fresh water as the three, who soon become two, languish in the open sea for a month and a half. Again we have a whole movie here if done well. But this portion attempts to pluck at nonexistent heart strings and we just are left waiting for what comes next.
What comes next is our third movie, as the two enfeebled men are taken aboard a Japanese ship and tossed into an internment camp for the rest of the war. A mean spirited Japanese Sargent beats our man mercilessly as he successfully maintains his integrity and never allows the Japanese to use his celebrity to their advantage.
There you have it, three movies rolled up in a little ball splashed across the screen in two hours. One gets the impression that Angelina Jole Pitt had a lot more to say about this man, but lost a war with the studio to keep the film to the current two and a half hours standard maximum.
What we do have is a fresh, first person perspective, dead on sets, good sound, lighting, and beautiful photography. In fact rarely does a period piece get presented better than this one. Ms. Jole Pitt may have lost the battle for editorial control, but she still gave us a film that looks, sounds, and feels so good it's worth watching in spite of monumental shortcomings.
Heist (2015)
Haven't I seen this before 17 times?
When I sat down to watch this I thought I must have forgotten to set my watch back to 1999, when a dearth of mediocre crime thrillers like Swordfish, 3,000 Miles to Graceland, and the list goes on and on took a lot of good actors and used them only to sell tickets to a 'Blow 'em up real good'action film.
Unlike the aforementioned action films which had redeeming qualities as dead on genre classics, this film fails in every area. Stereotypical characters, actors who sleepwalk through their lines. A host of gangster ex-military heroes and even a hospitalized little girl that needs money for an operation challenge your gag reflex as you get to watch Robert DiNero sleepwalk through what may be his worst film.
Save yourself 91 minutes of your life and go outside, sit on a park bench, and watch the grass grow knowing you have better spent time than watching this turkey.
The Leisure Class (2015)
Satire In Context
For years I've watched Project Greenlight try to catch lightening in a bottle. Looking for that Rocky, or Goodwill Hunting they've kissed a lot of frogs. While this is far from a great film, it's certainly not a bad one. And for a first time writer/ director it's actually pretty good. I mean even Altman made Dr T and the Women, and this is certainly better than that. In the past 20 years I could count on one hand the smart satires given any sort of wide release. With Project Greenlight, a whole lot of people who have a lot of money and influence read this script, met the reluctant director, and greenlit the movie. So what can I compare this to, while it's really not a comedy, it really is pure satire. Only a few movies come to mind, but I'll choose one and say it compares favorably to The Object of Beauty. The 1991 Michael Lindsay-Hogg film staring John Malkovich, and Andie McDowell was billed as a "romantic comedy" even though there wasn't really anything funny about it. That story followed a couple running up credit accounts in Europe's most expensive hot spots while waiting for a risky business venture to pay off. Just like Leisure Class, the male lead was essentially a fraud, but hid in plain sight, and his seemingly hapless girlfriend just went along for the ride. That film won the coveted two-thumbs up from Siskel and Ebert, and the story did work a little better than this one, but not that much better. We don't attempt films like this anymore, it was brave, true to it's own nature, and very well shot, scored, and edited. All of this created a backdrop that allowed Bruce Davidson to show all his talents on the screen. If Woody Allen had been forced to pay all his actors scale, had a shooting schedule, and budget like this one, Crimes and Misdermeanors might not have been any better. Of course it's impossible not to consider the eight hours of backstory we all saw prior to this finished product. And I think it's appropriate for the viewer to consider it. This film on it's own was not especially entertaining, but it was a good piece of art from a first time director with a lot of talent, let's hope someone has the vision to let us see more of him.
Steve Jobs (2015)
Thank God It's Too Early to Ruin Christmas
It's difficult to review a film about a subject and time which I was so close to. So I tried, I really tried to suspend disbelief, give the writers of this turkey a fair amount of artistic license, try and concentrate on the positive, the sets, the costumes, lighting, sound, acting.... good God, anything! But there is nothing, nothing good about this episodic CBS drama less a cadaver and FBI task force cut to movie length I was charged $10 to see. For a moment though, I would like to comment on just how historically inaccurate this film is. Aaron Sorkin took the reality of one of the most interesting characters of our century and decided that that person, even though he had been commissioned to write his story, did not fit the cookie cutter, It's a Wonderful Life/ A Christmas Carol, mold he needed to appeal to his core audience of what appears to be 55 - 70 year old women, so he manufactures a thoroughly codependent female assistant whose quiet strength serves to tame the savage beast of conceit and misogyny. Boy, am I just getting started. I will not comment further on the factual stretches of this script, except to say has this been a Revolutionary War epic, Ben Franklin would have consulted Abraham Lincoln to determine how to react to King George's indifference. It's that bad, but unlike Mr. Sorkin, I have enough respect for the current colleagues and friends of the late Mr. Jobs to further plunder their personal history. Amadeus was a good film, it was entertaining and sad, funny, and a million other things, but it was never pandering, shallow, and embarrassing to all involved. To say Steve Jobs is as important to history, and as compelling a character as Mozart is not a stretch in my opinion. Mr. Sorkin, took this source material, and presented us with a very special two-hour West Wing/ Newsroom, what an absolute shame, and the fact that the filmgoing public with all the research at their fingertips at any time accepts this as alright, that they allow themselves to be duped into, to steal a Sorkism, a halcyonic state, is the biggest tragedy of all.
Brainstorm (1983)
Ambitious, Controversial, Prescient
On September 5, 1921, Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle; a well liked comedic actor attended a San Francisco party at which a starlet who crashed the affair died five days later of a ruptured bladder. This served as ample time, however, to allow her to accuse Mr. Arbuckle of rape. She had done this before, but William Randolph Hearts' publishing empire, looking for a scandal picked up the story, resulting in three murder trials and the ultimate acquittal of Mr. Arbuckle. He never appeared on film again. So too is the backstory of the film "Brainstorm", Douglas Trumbull's accidental magnum opus. It is impossible to tell the story of, or review this film without mentioning the drowning death of it's star vehicle Natalie Wood, near the end of its filming. I will leave you to your own research if you wish to learn more about those tragic events. At the beginning of an albeit shortened career, Christopher Walken heavily uses cues from Ms. Wood, and the fantastic character actor Louise Fletcher, who turns in her best performance in this film. And while the creepy editing which allowed for the completion of a film whose star died part way through filming, the scandal made it hard to watch in theaters, especially as much of the audience suspected Mr. Walken of knowing more than he was saying publicly regarding the death of his co-star. One wonders, as great as this film is, how great it might have been without the scandal. One also wonders if the audience knew how remarkably accurate Trumbull predicts future technology, if that would have made a difference. But now, 32 years later, with Christopher Walken again on everybody's top actor list thanks to his Quentin Tarantino sponsored revival, and the scandal just a spec in history's rearview mirror, this film stands on it's own, and it is remarkable. The story is about the development and use of a technology that allows people to record their thoughts an feelings on a device using a 300 baud modem and optical tape library. So we suspend disbelief a little for that. Walken is the junior partner to Fletcher who leads the project, Cliff Robertson directs the project from a corporate and funding level. Robertson is so good at this role, that having worked in a similar environment makes my skin crawl. The two scientists live in the newly developed Research Triangle Park, which serves as the perfect setting for this strange and wonderful research. Natalie Wood also works for the same company, and at the beginning of the film is in the process of divorcing Walken whose creationis obsession with the project has resulted in their separation. While planning their divorce, they also work together in the development of the device that will bring it out of the lab to the consumer. Wood, in an empowering role for a woman at the time, plays a major role in breathing life into this product. As the film continues to focus on how the characters react to the existence of the new technology, Robert Trumbull puts his unique stamp on the evolution of the product, taking us through the production, data storage and even cyber security issues surrounding the technology. With the photography, lighting, and soundtrack all spot on, we are whisked away into this world of technology that in 1983 was just a fantasy, but seems very real today, almost as though we are actually viewing a true account. Sadly it is hard say what Robert Trumbull may have gone on to do had this film been met more favorably. But just as Altman had his "Shortcuts", Paul Thomas Anderson has his "Magnolia", Robert Trumbull has "Brainstorm", clearly a very personal and special film.
Chappie (2015)
This movie might change your life...
Well, that might be a bit extreme, but this may in fact be one of the most misunderstood films I've ever seen. The evolution of Short Circuit meets Robocop is indeed complete. Beautifully stylistic, written and presented with heart and humor.
In a near future Johannesburg an American corporation has sold it's drone police force to control a restless and impoverished population. Suggesting that South African governance is indeed a one trick pony. Gangsters have taken over the industrial apartheid palaces one ruled by a cruel white minority. As the film opens, it would appear that all that's really changed is the law and South Africa has fallen into chaos, necessitating and anything goes effort to reduce street crime.
Sigourney Weaver plays the head of this imaginary company that manufactures and supports the robotic police force. But inside the company competing forces push for change.
Dev Patel plays the engineering head who has successfully made his robots just human enough to be palatable, while Hugh Jackman has a much more militaristic super robot called the Moose he is trying to promote.
The good engineer approaches his boss with a breakthrough that will make the new police drones actually have consciousnesses, he is shot down immediately.
Undeterred he steals a robot slated for destruction and plans to use it to try his new program. His plans are immediately thwarted by gangsters who kidnap him, and his stolen robot with plans to use it to create a super gangsta.
The engineer seizes the opportunity to conduct a real world experiment and activates his robot, one problem though, the robot is damaged and will only live for five days.
The evil engineer Vincent Moore, (Jackman) has plans of his own, and tries to hijack Chappie, the newly conscious robot, for his own purposes.
In order to really appreciate this film one must look past what initially appear to be some obvious flaws. Suspension of disbelief regarding many technical elements of the film and an understanding that a certain lack of subtlety, and nuance is required to support style elements and the breakneck pace, which allows the audience to really feel the chaos in the lives of the people live in this near future hell.
This is done beautifully. In terms of artistic success by a science fiction vehicle it could be favorably compared to Blade Runner, and makes recent Matt Damon and Tom Cruise vehicles that attempt to the essentially tell the same or a similar story to this one look like complete failures.
This film has heart, great characters, fantastic special effects, soundtrack, editing, and never slows down, or apologizes for it's breakneck pace.
Chapie is a super rare example of what happens when the right team is given the right budget and the freedom to do whatever they want. Some people see this as a simplistic action movie, but if you open your mind, and your heart to a plucky little robot named Chappie, you might just find a masterpiece.
Black or White (2014)
Can there be a Mike Binder renascence?
Back in 2000, Mind of a Married Man was a show, a little ahead of it's time. Binder wrote plot lines for this made for HBO sitcom like, "My TiVO thinks I'm gay." Which were funny like Seinfeld, but with a nerdy midwestern edge.
One thing is for sure, Binder is the perpetual middle aged white guy from the midwest. Perhaps he is too much like us. Why is Larry David worth $750,000,000 and, I suspect, Binder still clips the occasional coupon?
Are we that incapable of laughing at ourselves? Does it have to be deprecating someone else?
Well for whatever reason, the oft-underrated, always funny and heartfelt Mike Binder has now three times in a decade maxed out the acting talents of a great Hollywood star and made three movies.
First in 2005, Binder writes and directs Kevin Costner as an alcoholic retired sports personality in suburban Detroit who is forced to clean up his act for love in "The Upside of Anger". A couple years later, Adam Sandler is forced to deal with the loss of his family in 9/11 plus his own ptsd in "Reign Over Me".
In 2014 there's Black or White. Again Kevin Costner, has to deal with how to be a parent when his wife dies in a car crash, after his daughter dies in childbirth. This time set in Los Angeles, but strangely shot in New Orleans, Costner must help his granddaughter cope with her grief, while dealing with his own, and his own sloppy drunks.
The Gambler (2014)
True remake of a sleeper classic
Life events hit us hard. It's an almost too often told story, something horrible happens close to the protagonist and it's sets in motion a suicidal path which unveils the darker nature of the character and forces us to look at the darker nature of ourselves.
Whether it be Looking For Mr. Goodbar, Leaving Las Vegas, or The Gambler; a story well told saves us as it brings us down. The trick is to portray that dark nature with absolute abandon and perfection of poor judgement and risky behavior. Such a portrayal is one of the hardest things to do on screen. Mark Walhberg took a big risk doing it, and he did it to perfection.
As a straight artistic vessel this is not a great piece. The many talented actors playing alongside Wahlberg are mistreated, abused, and their talents underutilized. The sets and costumes were only OK, and there were many scenes in the movie that were hard to believe could happen in real life.
Some examples of these are; walking into a bank and asking for $260,000 in cash, bank branches don't keep anywhere close to that much cash around anymore. If I were to be a party to fixing a sporting event, I probably would not show up to said event, for the first time ever, with visible recent lacerations on my face. And the choice to have the college student, love interest character drive around in a late 80s Yugo seemed like a bad one.
I think trying to match the gritty nature of the original may have caused a partial development of a stylized world that was distracting. This also seemed to cheapen what was otherwise a very true unflinching look at this man's reality.
There also seemed to be a scene by scene start stop attempt in the film. References made to characters well developed in the original, which made little sense in the context of the remake.
Walhberg put so much in this film, and yet another stand out supporting role brought in by John Goodman, rivaling his role in Flight, that these can be overlooked.
It took a lot of guts to remake such a challenging movie. Where it counted Walhberg and the film bring it home, and forty years from now, they'll be calling this the sleeper hit of 2015.
Project X (2012)
Every generation needs one
This is an epic piece. My parents had Peter Seller's in The Party, I had Sixteen Candles, and the hipster kids have Project X.
This has no real story, it's a great party, filmed as a docudrama. I find it had to believe that anyone who has ever been a teenager wouldn't enjoy this film. Three obnoxious teenage boys plan a party while one has parents out of town. The make all the plans they can, even go around warning the neighbors. In the end everything that could happen does, and there are a few surprise twists, but really it is what it is.
I mean I've seen it before, everyone has, it's just a great party. Worth a night in, remembering what it was like to be 16 again.
A Walk Among the Tombstones (2014)
My Father's Oldsmobile
You know this isn't really my kind of story. Imagine Chinatown with no bite. There are bad criminals and smart people who can catch them, and that's the basic premise of film.
Nothing fancy, nothing too deep. Liam Neeson plays every-man cop, Matt Scudder. He has no real superpowers, except being impervious to low morals. Scudder is a loner, who finds a side kick in a street kid named TJ, who is his every-man Robin.
Scudder solves one murder, prevents another in a mildly entertaining way. I've spent worse hours in front of a screen.
However, fans of the genre, who might be type cast as men over 55. From the flyover state and suburbs. The Nascar dads, don't necessarily watch Fox News but probably vote Republican.
You know the guy I mean, the Low T, erectile dysfunction guy, who probably has a muscle car project in the other half of his two car garage.
For that guy, this is a perfect film. So my five stars, plus a two star homage to my dad, and all the other dads out there.
Matt Scudder is the 86 Caprice Classic of movie stars, but they sold millions of those cars. So I hope Neeson enjoyed this role, and makes more Scudder films. It's honest, poorly acted, and shot, direction was really not an issue either. As satisfying as a sixer of PBR and some Rockford Files.
Not every film has to change the world, sometimes we just want a stick to your ribs story, and you'll find that here.
The Captive (2014)
How the mighty have fallen
I just had the pleasure of watching Sarah Polley's amazing documentary, Stories We Tell, and reminded myself I had an Egoyan to watch. When I was younger I idolized Brian DePalma. And even as I rented the video tapes of his later work and tried to like it, I just couldn't.
I could forgive Bonfire of the Vanities and other works that fell outside his wheelhouse. But after Blow Out, Dressed to Kill, and Body Double, I eagerly awaited his next masterpiece. What I got was Raising Cain.
Then another master seemed to emerge from our friends to the north, Exotica rekindled my spirit and The Sweet Hereafter was a beyond wonderful. And I've waited for my new suitor Atom Egoyan to come out with a great work. Something in his wheelhouse, "this", I thought, "this must be the story."
And maybe it could have been, perhaps it might have been. But a more poorly cast film I do not think I've seen. Egoyan follows the Cohen Brothers and DePalma in his casting decisions ordinarily, but not now. I only saw two of his regulars here, and both had small roles.
The story never gained any traction, and the point of it was even spelled out in the end, flattening out what little fizz it had left. This is a story about the sick pleasure some get from watching others quiet desperation.
And yes in Barton Fink, we see this too, just done well.
I give you clemency for Chloe, can even forgive The Devil's Knot, write Where the Truth Lies off as the soft core porn it was. But for this you lose me as your Captive.
The Rover (2014)
Move over Harrison Ford
This may sound unpatriotic for an American to say this; but no one does tense, steely-eyed like the Australians. Of course it doesn't hurt that half the continent is a soundstage for Post-Whatever Anarchy.
David Michod brings this to a new art form, in much the same way Atom Egoyan has done with Canadian sexual aberrance.
The story is fairly simple. A man sits in his four door, mid-sized, domestic family sedan, and stares out at the wasteland ten years following what the film calls "the collapse". He opens the door and walks into the one of the dusty, weird, convenience stores that line the main highway for a drink of water.
As he depressingly stares at his beverage, a criminal gang of three men, comes flying past the window in a small truck and crashes onto some spooled utility wire and get stuck.
The shopkeeper grabs his shotgun and watches as the criminals abandon their getaway truck and steal our mans little car.
Eric (Guy Pierce) then begins an epic chase to get his car back. Along the way he finds the brother of one of the thieves, nurses him back to health and finds he is a staunch ally, but has almost no intellectual ability.
In the typical Autrailian way, political messages of warning are dished out along the way. Don't worry, they're as subtle as a Luke warm Foster's, you can't miss them.
The art of showing how nature is always the main villain when it comes to survival is clear. The photography and sound are both so good, you forget you are watching a cross between Of Mice and Men and Rambo.
As a package, this would appear to be the coup de grasse of all Outback films. While it's hard to lend a 9 out of ten star rating to any narrow genre specific film. I cannot imagine a better example.
What's nice about a film like this is it's really like a day at the beach for your head. Simple, beautiful, and there really isn't too much else that can be said.
Of course, I've yet to watch Animal Kingdom.
Red Oaks (2014)
Great New Comedy
A fantastic show, original and funny in its own right, yet still pays homage to John Hughes and Caddy Shack fans. A usual Soderberg hits one out of the park. A little more populist than his great Section 8 work, Red Oaks follows the life of a character any Gen Xer can identify with. The dialog was snappy and clever, and after watching this one half hour pilot, I felt like I had been loaded with three hours of back-story.
In fact I have already grown to like these characters so much, as a viewer I am now able to sit back, relax and go pretty much anywhere the storyteller chooses to take me. A rare gift given to the audience of a sit-com.
Soderberg has broken my heart so many times before, presenting such wonderful material aired for just a season with an unanswered cliff- hanger.
I am fairly sure that this show is populist enough to keep its legs under it. I narrowly survived the cancellation of K-Street after one amazing season, so lets just green light five season now, shall we?
Halt and Catch Fire (2014)
It's "the way it was" I was there
So I feel an impassioned plea must be made at this point to save what I believe to be the first, accurate, and properly edgy portrayal of what was going on in the world by a true Gen-Xer.
So first let me say that the post Mad Men AMC is beginning to spell the kiss of death for any quality television piece.
Let us remember that at once, a long time ago Bravo's only real show was Inside the Actor's Studio (whose host was essentially paid in free Burberry ware), and showed two or three commercials per hour. In fact the entire network was largely funded by selling a program guide/ magazine subscription.
A&E showed endless blurry recordings of Russian ballet, and strip show send offs of shows that looked and sounded like Austin City Limits.
Sadly we know what happened there. Dipping below the pole and just slightly over standards and practices has been the norm of basic cable.
So goes AMC, whose viewer-ship exploded with Mad Men and Breaking Bad. Proving HBO does not have a monopoly on quality television. But wait... AMC seems to keep creating great quality television with Low Winter Sun and now the Mad Men of the eighties, Halt and Catch Fire.
They even threw in some Six Feet Under style homo-erotica to keep the critics interested. But something smells rotten in the state of Denmark.
You cannot pan this show as a critic. It is so well constructed and acted. The writing may be weak, as is the portrayal of females as the weaker sex, but the show is a quality show. It's topical, relevant, accurate and downright entertaining.
And so the critics are not "panning" it per SE, but there are using it as the lessor of two or a group of shows in a group review. Constantly comparing it to Mad Men, which would be like comparing every HBO show to the Sopranos.
Also it is the only watchable hour now on AMC during its entire first season, with no support. Dare I remind the critics and network executives of other nearly canceled misses that changed the world like Seinfeld, and Hill Street Blues. Or perhaps the hindsight cancellations of HBO masterpieces such as K Street and Luck?
Unless AMC plans to do a Breaking Bad Miami or Mad Men Los Angeles (oh sorry they already are), AMC has no where to go but down.
Look the shows not perfect. This is not a Mamet/ Tarentino brainchild staring Jack Nicolson and Al Pacino. It's a regular show about real events happening to average people in an exceptional time.
There are not ferries, vampires, or zombies in it. Lee Pace is a great looking guy, but Scoot McNairy is a little funny looking, so there's that.
What else can I say? In the real world it's the kind of show that just brings the whole room together.
I beg of you, watch this show, then rally to it's cause. I really want to know what happens in 1984.
K Street (2003)
The Real House of Cards
Having just watched the second season of Netflix's breakout hit House of Cards, I am reminded of this show. While it lacked the "Out foul spot!", bloodlust of a Shakespearean history, the characters were more real. In fact James Carvelle and Mary Matlin are actually playing themselves.
Section 8, made a number of ingenious vehicles that really never should have been made. This show was clearly ahead of its time and worth a look. I mean what else you gonna do? More House of Cards is a year away.
The show centers around a lobbying organization who after 911, seem to be attracting attention due to their middle eastern clientele. To make matters worse, the new firms ownership is not really known even by the firms active partners.
The show centers around the personal relationship of the players and the uncovering of an unsavory "follow the money" trail pursued by both the Feds and employees at the firm.
The Strangers (2008)
No Twist or Format
This film fails both at being a good formulaic slasher vehicle, or horror thriller with a twist at the end.
Liv Tyler who has never really shown any acting chops, plays a ridiculously easy victim in this film, the other characters are just as forgettable. The hurt boyfriend, the enshadowed stranger who knocks on the door and asks for someone who is not there. The buddy of the male protagonist, no one is memorable in this movie.
There is really no chemistry between the members of the leading couple. I'd like to think it may have been a victim of bad editing, but the film runs only 71 minutes sans end credits so god knows there was plenty of room to squeeze in a scene that might make the audience identify with the main characters.
There was a scene in the beginning of the movie that began to provide some background, but kept cutting us short. Even the voice-over in the beginning explained the film was based on true events, but "know one really knows what happened." One of the victims survived the ordeal, wouldn't she know?
Just a terrible movie in every way.
Shutter Island (2010)
Good job with tough material
This was a tough film to watch and, I'm guessing, an even tougher film to make.
First I think it's important to point out that the the director really had a lot of obstacles to overcome. Mainly a story that all at once combines the mellow-dramatic want to shoot myself depressing back story elements of say a Crime and Punishment, while trying to maintain the terror of The Shining. In many ways the story was in fact so similar to The Shining, that I thought it was a bit of a rip-off. But then to torrents of back-story roll in upon us. All of which has to be wrapped in a bow by the end of the film and it made this quite frankly, a little tedious.
The story, in case you've been living under a rock south of the equator since last November, is about the investigation by a Federal Marshall (played with his normal over the top aplomb by Leonardo DiCaprio) of an escaped patient at a hospital for the criminally insane on an Alcatraz like island. Mark Ruffalo plays DiCaprio's partner well. Performances by Ben Kingsley, and Max VonSydow as the doctors on the island are good, but wish they spent a little more time with VonSydow, and a little less time forcing Kingsley to tie the story together like a one man Greek Chorus. Michelle Williams makes what I think is the only real stand out performance as the female lead.
The island itself was darkly beautiful. The sets were true to period and dark and scary also. Not surprisingly the film was shot beautifully with a great variety of camera angles and lighting that set just the right mood.
It just seemed like this film tries too hard. There is only so much you can do with an adaptation. So I guess amongst the big budget adaptations this one falls squarely in the middle between Bonfire of the Vanities and LA Confidential. Not terrible or terrific, but a good investment of ten dollars and two hours on a rainy Saturday afternoon.
Outland (1981)
Story stands on it's own, a wild, short ride
It seems that we finally learned our lesson after Contact took us on an impossibly long journey to nowhere, and the endlessness of films like Jurassic Park, or the immensely complicated Star Wars: Episode One. We screamed out for the less complicated sci-fi films of lore, and our cries brought the brilliant, Moon, and soon a remake of this film.
Beautiful in it's simplicity, this "Sci-Fi Western" is a simple play with simple characters not too good, not too bad. Of course we have henchmen and heroes. And of course Sean Connery showing the stoic mastery of a true Scot, while literally, blowing up the bad guys.
Come for the story, stay for the exploding heads. This is an hour and 38 minutes of fun, you will not leave the theater enriched, but you will certainly be entertained, and taken at face value, this film is a true work of art.
The Box (2009)
Weird, but nice
This was not what I would call "my kind of film", it falls in some strange sub genre of films. The best way to describe it is, "The Paralax View meets Twin Peaks." That having been said, it was a lot of fun to watch. After this and Frost Nixon, I'm convinced that watching two hours of Frank Langella reading the phone book would be preferable to another formula romantic comedy. It seems that he becomes more brilliant with each successive film. And he was brilliant in this one.
So brilliant in fact, that he made up for Melanie Griffith like performance of Cameron Diaz, who was a train wreck in this film. Constantly dropping her accent, (which was supposed to be Southern, but I think she may have thought they meant South of Irvine)Diaz played a super-likable character, that just proved to me more and more annoying with each successive scene.
So the movie has its faults, but all in all holds together well, it is flawlessly set, and brought me back to 1976. The director seemed to even take care so as to add twists that might not even make sense to a person under 30, which I thought was brave and refreshing.
Without giving too much away the story is very Outer Limits, Twilight Zone like. If you like those kinds of stories, you will like this one.
Butte, America: The Saga of a Hard Rock Mining Town (2008)
Historical Documentary about Mining Industry
Set in one of the most isolated spots in the contiguous United States, Butte, Montana serves as the perfect setting for tales old west intrigue. And while Butte has plenty of those stories to tell, hidden amongst the brothels, and beautiful Victorian mansions that dot Uptown, this film chooses to focus strictly on the mining industry in Butte as told by the surviving members of a once strong brotherhood of laborers. While interesting, the filmmakers only scratch the surface of the incredible history, of a place where even today is difficult to travel in and out of, but was once a thriving metropolis, and the largest city west of the Mississippi.