Collected Thoughts #2

Cube (1997) is eerily similar to Saw, with complicated puzzling, gore, and a seemingly random group of people attempting to figure out how they got in the situation while attempting to survive it. Its premise is a little more interesting, as they're stuck in a gigantic cube, each room a cube with different cubes that lead into yet more cubes. Some of the rooms are safe, others are trapped and deadly. Math becomes important, as the victims try looking for clues, patterns, etc. While the idea itself is quite unique, the execution is lacking. Its obvious the film was done on a very low budget, the acting especially suffers, with all of the characters coming off archetypical and the performances ham-fisted. There's a lot of screaming. It has a sequel which I'll be cautiously watching soon.

Frozen River (2008) is powerful, unglamorous filmmaking. In its too brief running time of 97 minutes we're introduced to Ray, a mother of two young boys, who's husband has deserted, and her meager earnings at the local dollar store aren't quite cutting it. It deals with the pressures and lengths one will go to to provide for their own. Its a stark, gray film, cold as the icy environment that exists in it. I'd recommend it for those interested in human drama.

The Brothers Bloom (2008) is, at times, too clever for its own good. In that way, kind of poking at the conventions of film and storytelling. It's about two con-men, and although I'd be happy to not see another heist picture for a long time, it's done with a sly grin that adds a layer of appeal. I'm a big Mark Ruffalo fan, and like Adrien Brody, too; that helped influence my decision to watch it and I think most people can find something in it to appreciate. Rachel Weisz, who I didn't start paying attention to until The Fountain (2006), is also quite good is lonely heiress to a fortune but full of naiveté and aloofness.

I felt like This is It (2009) was alright but that you needed to be familar with Michael Jackson to really appreciate it fully. It wasn't an extensive career biopic or anything. But, if you don't like his stuff, or never heard of him, it'd likely do very little for you. I thought, at best, it showed heart, chiefly in the very opening scenes, when dancers from around the world shared their excitement about being able to share the stage with the undeniable king of pop music. It was interesting seeing the rehearsals, what they'd planned for a giant farewell tour that was not to be, cool to hear some of the old, familiar tunes (I especially liked the Jackson 5 song). Overall, though, unless you're a fan than it's not worth going out of your way for.

The Invention of Lying (2009) plays upon a really odd premise but works in its own quirky way. What if there was a world where there was no lying? It just didn't exist. That idea is rife with comedic potential: imagine a first date where, when you go to pick up the girl, she apologizes for not being fully ready because she was masturbating upstairs? That's just one of the many ways they explore and utilize the concept. I thought the ending was too saccharine sweet, but it's a romantic comedy, so I guess its forgivable. Ricky Gervais in the role of lovable loser is pretty easy to accept.

Public Enemies (2009) was mostly solid. No need to have squandered Christian Bale's talents in the role of Melvin Purvis. He was resolutely stone-faced and besides name value, they could have slipped any number of other people in there. Johnny Depp, though, as lead character John Dillinger has some really good moments. He and his love interest (played by Marion Cotillard) have good chemistry together on-screen, watch their eyes when they talk to each other, adds a layer of gravity to the performances for sure. The game of cat and mouse, with Dillinger always being on the run, is fairly engrossing even though history buffs know the end result.

The Hurt Locker (2009) -- wow. This movie hit me like an uppercut by a trained boxer to the gut. When these young men, a bomb squad, would go into missions in the middle of Iraq, each time I felt myself on the edge of the seat in ways I hadn't felt since the criminally underrated Judgment Night (1993). Jeremey Renner's portrayal of SSG William James is one of the best of '09. A guy whom, while having a wife and little boy back home (the isolationism he feels while grocery shopping after his tour is an incredibly strong moment), can't seem to think about anything else then deactivating deadly bombs in the hellish desert war zone. It's a great movie about real people, people faced incredibly difficult tasks, and people with real fears (I almost shed a tear when Anthony Mackie's character Sgt. Sanborn says: "I want a little boy!").

Entre les murs (2008) is a film that didn't generate a lot in me, it feels more like a snapshot than a complete narrative. Its about a teacher (played by François Bégaudeau in a good performance) dealing with a rough group of students. That summarization, while succinct, aptly tells the movie's tale. The film almost entirely takes place in the classroom, or in the teacher's lounge, and is purposefully made to feel like a documentary. I like quieter films about real people, I wouldn't say this one necessarily qualifies, while I was engaged with the goings-on it ultimately felt like a wasted opportunity to perhaps do more.

Film Discussion #1: Descent (2007)

My friend Jessie and I are going to exchange movies neither of us have seen before and I'll be posting here our e-mail discussions about the movies. I hope you enjoy these dialogues:

Jessie:

it was an obviously dark film, not sure which of the two rape scenes i had a harder time watching really. Rape is always a terrible crime and whenever you watch a film about it, it usually plays out much like this, i don't want ot make light of the act and aftermath itself, but the plot i kind of felt was retread, not necessarily how she carried on after but just the overall tone and self-deprecation of herself afterwards. I wondered how she maintained her lifestyle of drugs and promiscous sex yet still kept her job and her grades up? Also, one thing i don't think was very clear was the guy, he's a very charming dude and then there's this other side to him, a rapist, a cheat, a loser, but what are the qualities of this guy that turned him into a such a violent atrocity during the rape scene and then a kind of dumb slackoff in the next scene, his ego is the big factor but I thought it was poor characterization. Overall, can't say i would recommend this to anyone else, even being a fan of Rosario, i wasn't too enthralled with her performance, i know it's supposed to be uncomfortable, but it's even more so than that: i wasn't really attached to anyone in the film at all, i think more dialogue or character scenes for her would have helped the viewer grow more attached to her as a person instead of just scene after scene of her degrading behavior and her thinking back on it during work. so that's my 2 cents, what did you think?

Brian:

i can see a lot of what you're saying and where you are coming from.. - i think, ultimately, it is a flawed film.. - its basically told in three acts: introduction/rape, her venture into the realm of sexual violence/drugs, and lastly, her revenge.. - i think you covered a lot of the ground in regards to what the film does poorly.. - you mentioned perhaps having more character-related scenes, although, after watching the two deleted scenes, i actually liked her character less.. - they definitely deserved to be on the cutting room floor.. - i felt the second act was the hardest to find good in.. - in terms of story, i wasn't entirely clear on her objectives/motivations, and in terms of filmmaking.. it felt hurried and i got emotionally detached in it.. - the stuff at the clothing store all felt superficial and not particularly well laid out..

things i liked.. - at first, there were moments, even alone in my apartment that i felt awkward watching.. - but, after a day or two, i could reflect and there were some things i did enjoy.. - the scene where she's in the bathroom looking in the mirror.. imitating Adrian.. trying to give herself that false self-confidence.. understanding the ramifications of power/control.. - i also felt, while the third act is the hardest to watch (at times) it also has in my opinion the most rewarding pieces of cinema.. - the best part (for me) of the film is when Jared goes to meet her.. - the facade of toughness tarnishes as vulnerability begins to seep through.. his faking non-embarrassment as he stands naked.. stark.. unsure.. - i especially liked when Maya called him out on lying about his braggadocios football tales.. - she says, "you didn't score a touchdown" and that small moment where internally he realizes he's been had but outwardly he stumbles just a bit but replies attempting assuredness "I did"..

Jared, overall, i felt was the most interesting character.. - his narcissism masking his weakness.. - walks through the hallway chewing sunflower seeds confidently, but we see in the locker room after football practice, a tubby, out of shape guy easily manhandles him a la a little brother.. - the things he was saying why he raped her.. - in terms of psychology, i was fascinated by the words chosen and their roots.. - what had happened to him before college to turn him into such a monster?

you're right, this wasn't Rosario's best, her moments of candidness and reserved superiority at the party where some of her better character moments.. - when she turned to the dark side, so to speak, i found her character less and less relatable/understandable.. - watching the special features, its clear she felt strongly and passionately about the project, going so far as stepping up to produce it herself to ensure it getting made.. - my overall thoughts on the film are tiptoeing on the line.. i couldn't give it a full-fledged recommendation.. there's too much they didn't get right.. which is a shame as it had great potential as a bold piece..

Jessie:

oh that's interesting, i wasn't able to watch the deleted scenes so i wasn't aware of that part.

okay i shouldn't be all negative, interesting things for me were her as a teacher's assistant and being a test proctor, it was the only glimpse into the shiver of life she seemingly left behind, as we see her graduate with indifference, yet she still retains that connection but maybe that was part of the setup to luring him in, although how would she know he would cheat? I also liked the locker room tussle part, but i wasn't too sure how it played out, like were those two friends, but he did seem embarrassed by the action. Also liked the long walking shot of him, which plays into him being alone with himself, his thoughts and actions. You can see that he is a loner, no friends are around, his complete attention is given to Rosario, no other women in his life, no one talking to him at the party, and afterwards, he's on the football team but apparently not very good, as you mentioned, she follows the team and outs him, which he tries to hide. They are some interesting factors that play into his character now that I look at it more deeply, think you may be onto something.

My problem with her role is that you wondered, was this really her all along? was this who she wanted to be/or was, like when she's having intercourse with two diff. people, she is happy, seemingly, and even pleased thinking of it, even in her gregarious junkie looking state (which i'm surprised an uppity clothing place like that hired her, as she mostly looks like the walking dead) but I guess the film didn't have the same effect on me, as I haven't really been thinking about it, or what it was trying to say. There is a usually a role reversal scene like near what happens at the end of the film in other pieces like this and almost always the heroine comes out of it with her revenge, but never really going back to their old life, which I wish we could have seen a least a moment afterwards as to what happens now. Thought the DJ was interesting, i mean, did he and Rosario sleep together in some scenes, thought i saw them in the club together, or was he just homosexual and if so, does that mean he would willingly rape another man, shouldn't there be more to it than that? It was a hard film to watch but ultimately I think what leaves me feeling void from it is my lack of connection to her and what had become of her after it, despite the terrible tragedy of the event.

Brian:

i think Adrian was bi-sexual.. - i recall a scene in the club where Maya glimpses him standing with his hand on a girl's head while she's blowing him.. - i think, overall, in closing, we can agree that at its best there are some rare moments of interest and character development.. - but overall its a flawed film with some major holes.. namely in the depiction (and lack thereof) of Maya.. - as you asked, more or less, what happens next? - for Maya? for Jared? for us? the last one isn't so hard to answer.. we walk away from the film feeling moderately disturbed and left with more questions instead of growth or gained knowledge..

Collected Thoughts #1

With my final semester of college beginning, starting a job this week, buying and moving into my first house, and a first kid on the way, not to mention my several other Internet projects, I realize now that I can't continue writing full-fledged pieces on everything I watch. I will, however, try to do these capsule reviews every week or two on what I've watched since my last writing and my thoughts.

Pride and Gloryy (2008) was sterile and cold. The corrupt cop story has been done many times. The score was intrusive and manipulative. Edward Norton and Colin Farrell played close to their respective strengths, but neither hit any notes we haven't seen previously and done better.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009) was enjoyable from the standpoint of someone who has loosely followed the franchise (through film adaptations only). It was noticeably darker, both visually and in terms of content. No real strokes of genius, but fairly strong character acting from series lynchpins like Alan Rickman and Michael Gambon helps. Sets up to the inevitable finale quite abruptly.

Inland Empire (2006) is a nearly three-hour journey through the nightmarish, bizarre mind of filmmaker David Lynch. Deals with the perception of reality, frightening forewarnings, prostitutes revealing their bare breasts, spousal abuse, murder, hypnosis, jealousy, adultery, and -- well, the list could go on and on. Lynch is certainly not for everybody. Amid disturbing imagery and the film's undeniable mysteriousness, Laura Dern gives a fantastic performance and anchors the film admirably, arguably its saving grace from devolving to a completely muddled misstep. Shot on digital video it has a certain grainy aesthetic that I liked. Despite its inherent weirdness, I did find myself fascinated by it, and it takes up residence in your mind long after it ends.

Morvern Callar (2002) is a quiet character study of a girl (Morvern Callar played by Samantha Morton) in the days following her boyfriend's unexpected suicide. We basically fill the role of voyeurs, watching on as Morvern picks up the pieces of her life, working at a supermarket, opening her Christmas presents, and chopping up her decaying lover's corpse in the bathtub. Callar erases her boyfriend's name from his manuscript and submits it as her own work. We don't know why Callar is as she is, unfortunately, we're only privy to the present as she pushes forward past grief and loss. It's a film that feels unresolved in some ways, but while it didn't appeal to me on some levels, Morton's performance is captivating, even with very little dialogue, and for it alone the film is worth a serious look.

Once (2006)

A really terrific, tender, beautiful film. A lot of its 85 minutes of running time consists of music, be it playing it in the streets, recording it, talking about, etc. This had me somewhat apprehensive beforehand but I can safely say my concerns were unwarranted. I wouldn't call it a musical, people don't break out into song randomly, etc. All the music is inherently tied to the storytelling.

In short, the plot is about a guy (the two lead characters are unnamed, credited as simply "Guy" and "Girl") in Dublin who works in his father's vacuum cleaner repair shop. When not at work he's working on his true love music. He plays in the streets and that's where he meets the "girl". They bond over music, as well as the shared experience of past loves gone awry. The story takes place within the confines of a week, wherein she helps him record a demo he'll be taking with him to London.

I don't want to explore the story in any more depth, I feel it'd be a disservice to this brilliant film. I do want to mention my three favorite scenes. First, when Guy plays his demo for his father for the first time. There's this pause while he's waiting for his dad's reaction. Will he like it? Will he think he's a fool and wasting his time? Secondly, during an all-night recording session, Guy and his ragtag band of other street performers and Girl fight off sleep. Even though everyone is thoroughly beat, they press forward, not allowing the night to end, taking a break from the confines of the studio to toss frisbee on the beach while the sun comes out. It reminded me of times I spent with friends, during that stretch right after high school, where nobody knew for sure where we'd be in the future but in the interim we were all about making the most out of every moment right then. Lastly, my favorite moment, was the first time Guy and Girl play music together in a downtown music shop. Its such an astoundingly beautiful scene. Really, truly, one of the better moments captured in film in the decade of the 2000's. They play Guy's original song "Falling Slowly". It's worth seeing the film for this scene alone.

Glen Hansard plays Guy and does a terrific job. His real life career is a musician, and he's clearly gifted in that regard, but he also was able to bring to the role a boyish enthusiasm and optimism that made the character so likable. Markéta Irglová plays Girl and is also fabulous. Remarkably, she was only seventeen at the time the movie was made. Her character has a practicality about her, fighting off youthful idealism, showing a sense she is much wiser beyond her years. This is one of the best films released in 2006.

The Jerk (1979)

I'd never seen this movie but have saw it sitting on video store shelves for nearly two decades now. I mistakenly thought the premise was that Martin was some sort of jerk, maybe an egoist, loudmouth, etc. In fact, that's not (quite) the case, Martin plays essentially the most gullible, naive man I've seen in cinema. From the first scene I knew I was in for something different, as Navin R. Johnson (Martin), now a bum living on the street, began retelling his story stating, "It was never easy for me. I was born a poor black child." For those that don't get the inherent humor, or have never seen Steve Martin, he's about as white as rice.

They don't make comedies like this anymore. Nowadays, they'd (most likely) toss Seth Rogan or someone into the lead role, add in some contemporary music to boost soundtrack sales, boost up the foul language and toilet humor, etc. But here, they allow the film to rely on Martin and his immense comedic strengths. His timing is suburb. From the moment he hitchhikes away from his Mississippi home, everywhere he lands, from working as a gas station attendant, to traveling with a carnival, losing his virginity in a trailer to a punk rock stunt woman, we are kept interested and laughing by Martin's portrayal of lovable loser Navin.

It doesn't have the emotional heft of Martin comedic gem Planes, Trains & Automobiles, which I recently watched and wrote about, but does offer a hefty dose of quality laughs and moments. Navin's first love Marie (Bernadette Peters in a fantastically understated and cute performance) helps anchor the second-half of the film. As stated before, the film doesn't offer much in the way of an emotional punch, but there is one scene I found quite beautiful, as Navin (playing the ukulele) and Marie walk along the beach at night singing "Tonight You Belong to Me", ending sweetly with Marie doing a cornet solo.

Angels & Demons (2009)

It doesn't get as muddled in the details as its predecessor The Da Vinci Code, but the end results are still pretty uneven. One thing I noticed fairly early and irked me is that the characters are constantly talking "at" each other and not "to" each other. To clarify, it never feels as if anyone is having a genuine conversation. Everything spoken (typically shouted) is constantly driving the plot forward endlessly, there's never moments of pause or reflection. I can understand that Robert Langdon (Tom Hanks) is a Harvard professor, and thus, understandably quite brilliant. How come everyone else is so smart? One of his partners, running around Rome from one plot device to the next, is Vittoria Vetra (Ayelet Zurer). Vetra is a scientist, yet, somehow without clear explanation during the proceedings she appears as nearly Langdon's equal in his own field (symbols), helping him translate Latin, extrapolate on theological riddles, etc. Even it seems the local security force doubles as art historians, driving from one sculpture to the next as if adrenaline junkie taxi drivers.

Once the ball gets rolling on the suspense portion of the film, it is fairly entertaining and compelling save you don't get bogged down in all religious drudgery. Its never riveting but fairly innocuous entertainment.

My Summer of Love (2004)

Am emotionally exhausting film about despair. I'm quite sure despair is not the right word, although hope is in short order, and melancholy permeates throughout. It never hits a false note yet is tirelessly discordant. It's about two girls and their summer together, one full of love, lust, deceit, and ultimately disappointment. Mona (Natalie Press) is a girl with no family outside of her "born again" brother. The only other man in her life is an adulterous cretin who has no ambitions for them beyond his own selfish design. Then along comes Tamsin (Emily Blunt in a terrific performance), fresh from boarding school, a dangerously smart, cavalier soul who befriends Mona. But what are Tamsin's intentions? Is she just bored and lonely?

The girls are quite different. Mona is all "what you see is what you get" with her sharp tongue and homeyness. Tamsin is very pretty, but prattles off about Nietzsche, using her intelligence as a defense mechanism to disguise her own woes. Their first kiss, in a creek, is awkward, later, naked together in the emptiness of Mona's summer home, their affection is more natural. But, this isn't a love story, not by the numbers. It's much more than that. And, as the third act draws nearer to its close, its almost difficult to watch as revelations are made, composure is crushed, and even faith itself is questioned. The Yorkshire countryside makes for a beautiful backdrop for a story that itself isn't so glamourous.