Apatow. That name now means hilarious comedy. When I heard that he was doing a parody film of the musician biopic option, I was excited. Then the trailers came out, and I wasn't excited anymore. It looked average and fairly obvious. One day I was browin' around on youtube and stumbled upon r-rated clips/songs and I really wanted to see it.
Walk Hard is the "real life" story of Dewey Cox. A musician who has done everything from Blues to Disco. His ups and downs and all the drugs and wives and musical cameo's inbetween.
This film, while offering some very good laughs, ends up falling short. There are jokes that it repeats over and over and it uses some fairly obvious jokes throughout (you see a clearly not 12 year old John C. Riley say "Ma. I'm just a 12 year old."). This movie really shines though when there are songs though. If this was just a soundtrack, it would be hilarlious. With several legitamately good songs and some very funny ones, it really does save this movie.
Another inspired about this movie is the casting. John C. Riley has done musical befores, but he has never really carried a movie on his shoulders like this, but he really does a great job. He plays every scene as if it was a real biopic. Riley understands that for this movie to work, it had to mimic the movies it is trying to as closely as possible and being the very good serious actor he is, he does nail it. Hell, he pulls out tears for when he regains his sense of smell in one of the more funny parts of the movies. Jenna Fischer has always been cute from The Office, but in this she is downright hot and does the same as Riley. Though they maybe delivering some rediculous dialouge, they deliver it with a sence of seriousness. In fact, everybody, except the "real musicians" are cast as if it were a real movie.
The direction is also spot on. The cinematography and direction are exactly like a real biopic. You know that look? The deep gold/red that seems to punctuate both Walk the Line and Ray (which is this mostly aimed at, even though there is a segment that takes down Bob Dylan). It is replicated perfectly.
In fact, this could be the films biggest downfall: it is too real. It feels as if it is biopic trying to be comedy instead of a comedy trying to be a biopic. While there are admittedly enough comical parts to keep one going on (their jabs at actual musicians is hilarious), there are no really big laughs. In fact, the parts that are supposed to be rediculous are the funniest moments other than the song. These rediculous moments you ask? They are whenever we see a famous musician being played by somebody who totally shouldn't (even though, if they ever did a Buddy Holly movie, Frankie Munez could be a good choice) play them. The best is The Beatles moment where they begin fighting. Of course, these moments rely on you knowing each different musician and how they were supposed to be.
In all, this was a disappointing film, but it does have its moments. You could do worse than this (like any other parody movie that seems to come out nowadays. CAN'T WAIT FOR "MEET THE SPARTANS!") but with these people behind the movie, you would expect more.
Saturday, December 29, 2007
Enchanted
In film, it hasn't been cool be to happy for happiness' sake for a very long time. A fairy tale? No way can that be done. Not after Shrek. Well, Disney has retaliated back with a semi-parody/loving tribute to their own princess films.
Enchanted is about Giselle (Amy Adams) who is a princess who only wants to be married and share true love's first kiss. She sings songs with her animals and dances and lives in a tree and is a cartoon. One day she meets Prince Edward (James Marsden) and within that day they are to be married. Edward has an evil stepmother (Susan Saradon) who knows that when Edward gets married, she will no longer have power. Thus, she along with her cronie (Timothy Spall) send Giselle to New York. There she meets Robert Phillip (Patrick Dempsey) and her love with Edward is tested as she opens up his eyes and he opens up hers.
Every actor is clearly having the time of their life in this movie. I've never been a Patrick Dempsey fan, and I still feel he is the weakest link in this film. It isn't that he is bad, in fact he is very good. We see him go from an asshole to somebody we really do like and care about: I just hate his voice and think it is almost comically high pitched. Everyone else is reveling in playing their archetype of the princess genre. Susan Saradon has always been great at playing a bad girl and now she gets to play the ultimate evil woman. Timothy Spall should only play cowardly side kicks because he does very good everytime he does it. James Marsden plays Prince Edward with charm and a sence of idiocy that is exactly how a cartoon prince would appear in real life. Then their is Amy Adams as Giselle. From the moment you see her as a cartoon, you know you are going to love her. She is pretty, sweet and just adorable. From the first moment you see her you want to see her win and you never want to see her sad. She also has a pretty good singing voice.
Which is a great thing about this movie: the music. This is something that Shrek hasn't been able to properly parody yet, maybe their pop-music compliation soundtracks have been their way of trying to do that, but it hasn't worked. Disney has recruited Alan Menken again to do the music and he adds even more classics to Disney's repertoir. I will garuntee you that "True Love's First Kiss," "Happy Little Cleaning Song" (hilarious) and "How Does She Know You Love Her?" (once more, hilarious and parodies how musicals break out in movies while being an extremely charming song) will all be remembered for a long time after and will be playing in Fantasyland when you go to Disneyland.
This is a truly wonderful movie. Unlike the Shrek movies which have made their money on smashing this type of movie, Enchanted uses the cliches of the genre to generate their comedy and characters. It works great as we don't just like our main characters because they aren't anything like what we are used to, but we are reminded why princess movies from Disney are classics: it is because they are downright charming.
Enchanted is about Giselle (Amy Adams) who is a princess who only wants to be married and share true love's first kiss. She sings songs with her animals and dances and lives in a tree and is a cartoon. One day she meets Prince Edward (James Marsden) and within that day they are to be married. Edward has an evil stepmother (Susan Saradon) who knows that when Edward gets married, she will no longer have power. Thus, she along with her cronie (Timothy Spall) send Giselle to New York. There she meets Robert Phillip (Patrick Dempsey) and her love with Edward is tested as she opens up his eyes and he opens up hers.
Every actor is clearly having the time of their life in this movie. I've never been a Patrick Dempsey fan, and I still feel he is the weakest link in this film. It isn't that he is bad, in fact he is very good. We see him go from an asshole to somebody we really do like and care about: I just hate his voice and think it is almost comically high pitched. Everyone else is reveling in playing their archetype of the princess genre. Susan Saradon has always been great at playing a bad girl and now she gets to play the ultimate evil woman. Timothy Spall should only play cowardly side kicks because he does very good everytime he does it. James Marsden plays Prince Edward with charm and a sence of idiocy that is exactly how a cartoon prince would appear in real life. Then their is Amy Adams as Giselle. From the moment you see her as a cartoon, you know you are going to love her. She is pretty, sweet and just adorable. From the first moment you see her you want to see her win and you never want to see her sad. She also has a pretty good singing voice.
Which is a great thing about this movie: the music. This is something that Shrek hasn't been able to properly parody yet, maybe their pop-music compliation soundtracks have been their way of trying to do that, but it hasn't worked. Disney has recruited Alan Menken again to do the music and he adds even more classics to Disney's repertoir. I will garuntee you that "True Love's First Kiss," "Happy Little Cleaning Song" (hilarious) and "How Does She Know You Love Her?" (once more, hilarious and parodies how musicals break out in movies while being an extremely charming song) will all be remembered for a long time after and will be playing in Fantasyland when you go to Disneyland.
This is a truly wonderful movie. Unlike the Shrek movies which have made their money on smashing this type of movie, Enchanted uses the cliches of the genre to generate their comedy and characters. It works great as we don't just like our main characters because they aren't anything like what we are used to, but we are reminded why princess movies from Disney are classics: it is because they are downright charming.
Sweeney Todd
I'm into theater. Most people(if not everyone) who read this know that. I first got a taste of Sweeney back when they did the concert version which I still love to this day. It was around that time when Burton was first attached to this project. Even then I thought that it would be a wonderful matchup between director and material. Then Burton left and returned to the project with post-Pirates of the Carribean Johnny Depp attached. I have lost a lot of respect for Depp after the last 2 Pirate movies, but this would be his next project and I was hoping that he would live up to when he was once great.
The story is about Sweeney Todd (Depp) who once went by the name Benjamin Barker. He used to have a beautiful wife and baby daughter, until a jealous judge (Alan Rickman) send Barker away and took on Barker's daughter as his own. Todd returns with one thing on his mind: revenege. He uses his old profession of a Barber to exact his revenge. He rents a room from Mrs. Lovitz (Helen Bonaman Carter). She loves Todd and will do anything for him, like bake his victims into pies.
Some people feel that Burton hasn't made a good movie for a very long time, I happen to disagree and really liked his "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" and "Corpse Bride" but I believe he still hadn't reached the level of genious as Ed Wood all those years ago. For all those doubters, Burton has made his best film and it is a wonderful film. He uses every trick he has in his hat in this one. Great opening titles, witty dark humor, crazy blood, symbolism and a very dreary almost black and white look. It has his fingerprint all over it, but it has something that most of his movies don't: real emotion. The characters are not quirky for quirky's sake. In fact, there are really no quirky characters.
In fact, every actor has nailed down their character. Now, none of the adults are very good singers and being an actor and not singer, this doesn't bother me. Mainly because everybody is either good to great except Anthony. While, the kid playing Anthony has a great voice when they cut the song "Kiss Me" where he an Johana meet (Sweeney's daughter who gets almost no screen time in this), his eyebrows make the great love songs he sings somewhat creepy. That and he looks like a girl. Carter is very good as Mrs. Lovitz she plays up the fact that she is in love with Todd much more than any of the performances and it works very well. She isn't too funny and her british accent is impecible. Depp's performance is not the angry Todd that most poeple are used to on stage but it is a great performance. The sorrow that lies in his eyes is so powerful that you know why he is insane and you feel greatly for him. The way he does each song, how he bites each words. One moment that is so tiny that always fills me with his sorrow is the end of "No Place Like London" at the beginning of the movie. His voice cracks off and it is so sad and great. I would say that this is his best performance other than Gilbert Grape (Ed Wood might be better, I still haven't decided). The real stand out performance of this is Alan Rickman. He is creepy and very unsettling as Judge Turpin. He is a sexual beast and his duet with Todd, "Pretty Women" is probably the vocal highlight of the movie. Rickman better get an Oscar nom for this.
Now, be forewarned as I have seen people walk out of the movie for this reason: it is very bloody. When I say very bloody, I mean that there are only 3 or 4 parts that are bloody but when the blood flows it rushes like a river. The blood isn't very realistic though, so it never gets too crazy. Another thing is that when the blood flows, it flows differently depending on the person and is a character in itself. While it is very bloody, it is tastefully bloodsoaked because it serves as another character...sort of.
Other than my one problem of "Kiss Me" being cut, I loved this movie. In fact, I'm writing this after my second viewing. It is a excellent musical that has been worked into a very excellent movie that holds its ranking above the best of a very distinctive filmmaker (love him or hate him, everyone knows Burton). Definately one of my favorite films of the year.
The story is about Sweeney Todd (Depp) who once went by the name Benjamin Barker. He used to have a beautiful wife and baby daughter, until a jealous judge (Alan Rickman) send Barker away and took on Barker's daughter as his own. Todd returns with one thing on his mind: revenege. He uses his old profession of a Barber to exact his revenge. He rents a room from Mrs. Lovitz (Helen Bonaman Carter). She loves Todd and will do anything for him, like bake his victims into pies.
Some people feel that Burton hasn't made a good movie for a very long time, I happen to disagree and really liked his "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" and "Corpse Bride" but I believe he still hadn't reached the level of genious as Ed Wood all those years ago. For all those doubters, Burton has made his best film and it is a wonderful film. He uses every trick he has in his hat in this one. Great opening titles, witty dark humor, crazy blood, symbolism and a very dreary almost black and white look. It has his fingerprint all over it, but it has something that most of his movies don't: real emotion. The characters are not quirky for quirky's sake. In fact, there are really no quirky characters.
In fact, every actor has nailed down their character. Now, none of the adults are very good singers and being an actor and not singer, this doesn't bother me. Mainly because everybody is either good to great except Anthony. While, the kid playing Anthony has a great voice when they cut the song "Kiss Me" where he an Johana meet (Sweeney's daughter who gets almost no screen time in this), his eyebrows make the great love songs he sings somewhat creepy. That and he looks like a girl. Carter is very good as Mrs. Lovitz she plays up the fact that she is in love with Todd much more than any of the performances and it works very well. She isn't too funny and her british accent is impecible. Depp's performance is not the angry Todd that most poeple are used to on stage but it is a great performance. The sorrow that lies in his eyes is so powerful that you know why he is insane and you feel greatly for him. The way he does each song, how he bites each words. One moment that is so tiny that always fills me with his sorrow is the end of "No Place Like London" at the beginning of the movie. His voice cracks off and it is so sad and great. I would say that this is his best performance other than Gilbert Grape (Ed Wood might be better, I still haven't decided). The real stand out performance of this is Alan Rickman. He is creepy and very unsettling as Judge Turpin. He is a sexual beast and his duet with Todd, "Pretty Women" is probably the vocal highlight of the movie. Rickman better get an Oscar nom for this.
Now, be forewarned as I have seen people walk out of the movie for this reason: it is very bloody. When I say very bloody, I mean that there are only 3 or 4 parts that are bloody but when the blood flows it rushes like a river. The blood isn't very realistic though, so it never gets too crazy. Another thing is that when the blood flows, it flows differently depending on the person and is a character in itself. While it is very bloody, it is tastefully bloodsoaked because it serves as another character...sort of.
Other than my one problem of "Kiss Me" being cut, I loved this movie. In fact, I'm writing this after my second viewing. It is a excellent musical that has been worked into a very excellent movie that holds its ranking above the best of a very distinctive filmmaker (love him or hate him, everyone knows Burton). Definately one of my favorite films of the year.
Monday, December 17, 2007
I Am Legend
This movie has been done twice before: The Last Man on Earth (starring one of my favorites, Vincent Price) and The Omega Man (starring another of my favorites, Charelton Heston). Both of them were able to pull off the role in completely different ways. Vincent Price was able to pull it off in a creepy way and Heston in a badass way. So when I heard that this was being made by Will Smith, I automatically thought of the movie "I, Robot" which I really hated. Of course, I'm not familiar with the source material as I was with "I, Robot" so I decided to give this a shot.
The last man on earth is not alone. Robert Neville (Will Smith) was a scientist and a soldier before a vaccination to cure cancer was given out and ended up turning people into strange vampire... things. Now, Smith is just walking around Manhattan with his dog (who was adorable as a puppy by the way) going "crazy", trying to cure the virus, and live as normal a life as possible.
I love character driven films, I really do. I mean, I really liked "The Assassination of Jesse James" which was a 3 and a half hour movie with about 15 minutes of action and all and the rest was all character development. It was a brilliant film, and films about isolation and decents into maddness, I love. This movie though, this movie somehow made 1 hour and 45 minutes feel like 6 hours. The first 15 minutes hold promise, but the next 15 minutes are exactly the same, as are the following 15 minutes up until the final 15 minutes. Nothing ever freaking happens and, unlike Heston or Price, Smith is not able to hold this film from being boring.
Smith has become the biggest box office draw of the time. Stick this man in a movie and it is garunteed to get a giant box office, even if the movie isn't that good (Hitch). I do have a large like of Will Smith. I think we was great in Ali and does have a great charm and is very funny in the "Men in Black" films. As of late, I have been growing tired of him. He plays the same exact role in every single film. He is always the charming guy who cries at some point in this movie. In this movie, he cries a lot and is "charmingly funny" a lot. The schitck has gotten old for me and I want something new.
Oh, and for the director: YOU'RE NOT PAUL GREENGRASS! Shaking the camera does not make it "scary" nor does it build any tension. In fact, it just gives us a headache. Lucky for us, we don't have to put up with it since there are only three action scenes in the entire film, all of them poorly executed.
The man reason they don't click is because of all the crappy cgi that is in this film. Why do you need the main vampires CGI'd? It isn't even like what they look like is that un-human. They could have easily been done with makeup, and very cheaply also. You just need some white makeup that looks translucent. BAM! Damn, how hard is that? Even if they only had the main vampires. They had two different main vampires. That would have added some credibility to it instead of taking the audience out of it all with CGI flying this way and that way.
Honestly, I really disliked this movie. It is the first movie that I've ever walked out of to go to the bathroom halfway through. It took me about 5 minutes and guessed how much I had missed? 0. Nothing that contributed to the film. The second half of the film, I couldn't control my yawning. Don't get me started on the blatant 9/11 references OR the product placement (which was the exact same as "I, Robot": EVERYWHERE! Good thing I have a MAC, that way I can cure the world of vampires too!). If I was marketing this sucker the tagline would have been more informative: "The Last Man on Earth Is Boring As Hell."
The last man on earth is not alone. Robert Neville (Will Smith) was a scientist and a soldier before a vaccination to cure cancer was given out and ended up turning people into strange vampire... things. Now, Smith is just walking around Manhattan with his dog (who was adorable as a puppy by the way) going "crazy", trying to cure the virus, and live as normal a life as possible.
I love character driven films, I really do. I mean, I really liked "The Assassination of Jesse James" which was a 3 and a half hour movie with about 15 minutes of action and all and the rest was all character development. It was a brilliant film, and films about isolation and decents into maddness, I love. This movie though, this movie somehow made 1 hour and 45 minutes feel like 6 hours. The first 15 minutes hold promise, but the next 15 minutes are exactly the same, as are the following 15 minutes up until the final 15 minutes. Nothing ever freaking happens and, unlike Heston or Price, Smith is not able to hold this film from being boring.
Smith has become the biggest box office draw of the time. Stick this man in a movie and it is garunteed to get a giant box office, even if the movie isn't that good (Hitch). I do have a large like of Will Smith. I think we was great in Ali and does have a great charm and is very funny in the "Men in Black" films. As of late, I have been growing tired of him. He plays the same exact role in every single film. He is always the charming guy who cries at some point in this movie. In this movie, he cries a lot and is "charmingly funny" a lot. The schitck has gotten old for me and I want something new.
Oh, and for the director: YOU'RE NOT PAUL GREENGRASS! Shaking the camera does not make it "scary" nor does it build any tension. In fact, it just gives us a headache. Lucky for us, we don't have to put up with it since there are only three action scenes in the entire film, all of them poorly executed.
The man reason they don't click is because of all the crappy cgi that is in this film. Why do you need the main vampires CGI'd? It isn't even like what they look like is that un-human. They could have easily been done with makeup, and very cheaply also. You just need some white makeup that looks translucent. BAM! Damn, how hard is that? Even if they only had the main vampires. They had two different main vampires. That would have added some credibility to it instead of taking the audience out of it all with CGI flying this way and that way.
Honestly, I really disliked this movie. It is the first movie that I've ever walked out of to go to the bathroom halfway through. It took me about 5 minutes and guessed how much I had missed? 0. Nothing that contributed to the film. The second half of the film, I couldn't control my yawning. Don't get me started on the blatant 9/11 references OR the product placement (which was the exact same as "I, Robot": EVERYWHERE! Good thing I have a MAC, that way I can cure the world of vampires too!). If I was marketing this sucker the tagline would have been more informative: "The Last Man on Earth Is Boring As Hell."
Sunday, November 25, 2007
No Country for Old Men
I actually heard about this movie about a year and a half ago. At the time I was going through a phase almost all modern film fans should go through - hunt down every single movie the Coen Brother's have made. So I checked IMDb, the idea was interesting, but I had just finished my viewing of most of their films (except Crimewave and Blood Simple, so sue me) and with The Ladykiller's being their most recent film, I wasn't expecting much. Then the reviews from the Toronto film festival came out. Then the trailer came out, and I didn't just want to see this movie I NEEDED to see it.
If it wouldn't piss some people off this could be my entire review:
Best Movie of the Decade Thus Far.
Thank god for the Coen's. They have made another classic and a simply great film all around. Even with a fairly basic plot: A man, Llewelyn Moss (Josh Brolin), stumbles upon a drug deal gone wrong. He takes the two million dollars and goes off to live a good life. Of course, he realizes that one person must have lived through it and not have gotten the money. Moss knows he is in for a difficult time, but he doesn't know how difficult. We then meet the one who got away: Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem). Chigurh is a storm, a force of nature, wanting the money and only one can make it out of it all. Throughout the film we get updates on Sheriff Ed Tom Bell (Tommy Lee Jones) as he follows their blood-ladden trail.
The Coen Brother's have constructed the next classic film. Their direction here is the best they have ever done. The cinematograhy here is incredibly beautiful, as you would expect from the Coen's. In fact, this is the only film where I have been so scared where I got chills. Chills literally ran up my spine and I jumped about a foot - even though I knew what was coming. That is the genius of the of the Coen's. At the beginning they tell you how Moss works and how Chigurh works, from there you can figure out everything that is going to happen and even when you see it coming, they build up the suspence to where it is almost intolerable which is then followed by violence that is almost as intolerable. This is all aided by the brilliant choice on their half to have no soundtrack playing. It is never a hinderance: it only helps, in a big bad way. Instead of the music building higher and higher cuing you how much time you have left until it happens, the Coen's put you right in the middle: you know what is going to happen, but you don't know when. The end is never clear who will win either: Moss or Chigurh.
Josh Brolin kicks some ass Llewelyn Moss. This has really been a break through year for Brolin with Grindhouse, In The Valley of Elah (didn't see it), American Gangster and now this. All of them he is incredibly bad ass. Here is very silent and calculating. He knows what he is facing, and he is trying to out do him. This would probably be a role that Brolin could get nominated for a Oscar for if he wasn't totally overshadowed by Javier Bardem as Anton Chigurh.
You know those clip shows where they always show Hannibal Lector and Darth Vader? Add one more to that list. Anton Chigurh is the next film legend. He is a force of nature and Bardem adds so much power and danger to this role that everytime he is on screen you are scared for everybody else. Very few people see him without dying. You can notice that Bardem is shorter than some of the people he is playing opposite of, but you are never worried for him. One look into his eyes is to look into the eyes of someone who views human life as something useless, something that can be just tossed aside. He won't stop until he gets exactly what he wants. Even just hearing his footsteps inspires a sence of fear. Bardem has the Best Supporting Actor award locked up.
There has been some controversy surrounding the end of the film. I would not have had it any other way. If I made it, I could have done it differently, but I'm not a genious as the Coen's are. In fact, I felt the movie was even better for the choice that they made with the end. Yes, they messed with some big structure things in film, but they did it in a way that is brilliant and makes perfect sence and adds to the feeling it is trying to communicate.
Nothing has touched this film in quality so far. In fact, nothing has even seen its dust. Usually, I think less of a movie after a few days of seeing it (I'm writing this 4 days after I saw the movie for the first time) but this movie has not lost its impact.
The Coen's are back and thank God for them.
If it wouldn't piss some people off this could be my entire review:
Best Movie of the Decade Thus Far.
Thank god for the Coen's. They have made another classic and a simply great film all around. Even with a fairly basic plot: A man, Llewelyn Moss (Josh Brolin), stumbles upon a drug deal gone wrong. He takes the two million dollars and goes off to live a good life. Of course, he realizes that one person must have lived through it and not have gotten the money. Moss knows he is in for a difficult time, but he doesn't know how difficult. We then meet the one who got away: Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem). Chigurh is a storm, a force of nature, wanting the money and only one can make it out of it all. Throughout the film we get updates on Sheriff Ed Tom Bell (Tommy Lee Jones) as he follows their blood-ladden trail.
The Coen Brother's have constructed the next classic film. Their direction here is the best they have ever done. The cinematograhy here is incredibly beautiful, as you would expect from the Coen's. In fact, this is the only film where I have been so scared where I got chills. Chills literally ran up my spine and I jumped about a foot - even though I knew what was coming. That is the genius of the of the Coen's. At the beginning they tell you how Moss works and how Chigurh works, from there you can figure out everything that is going to happen and even when you see it coming, they build up the suspence to where it is almost intolerable which is then followed by violence that is almost as intolerable. This is all aided by the brilliant choice on their half to have no soundtrack playing. It is never a hinderance: it only helps, in a big bad way. Instead of the music building higher and higher cuing you how much time you have left until it happens, the Coen's put you right in the middle: you know what is going to happen, but you don't know when. The end is never clear who will win either: Moss or Chigurh.
Josh Brolin kicks some ass Llewelyn Moss. This has really been a break through year for Brolin with Grindhouse, In The Valley of Elah (didn't see it), American Gangster and now this. All of them he is incredibly bad ass. Here is very silent and calculating. He knows what he is facing, and he is trying to out do him. This would probably be a role that Brolin could get nominated for a Oscar for if he wasn't totally overshadowed by Javier Bardem as Anton Chigurh.
You know those clip shows where they always show Hannibal Lector and Darth Vader? Add one more to that list. Anton Chigurh is the next film legend. He is a force of nature and Bardem adds so much power and danger to this role that everytime he is on screen you are scared for everybody else. Very few people see him without dying. You can notice that Bardem is shorter than some of the people he is playing opposite of, but you are never worried for him. One look into his eyes is to look into the eyes of someone who views human life as something useless, something that can be just tossed aside. He won't stop until he gets exactly what he wants. Even just hearing his footsteps inspires a sence of fear. Bardem has the Best Supporting Actor award locked up.
There has been some controversy surrounding the end of the film. I would not have had it any other way. If I made it, I could have done it differently, but I'm not a genious as the Coen's are. In fact, I felt the movie was even better for the choice that they made with the end. Yes, they messed with some big structure things in film, but they did it in a way that is brilliant and makes perfect sence and adds to the feeling it is trying to communicate.
Nothing has touched this film in quality so far. In fact, nothing has even seen its dust. Usually, I think less of a movie after a few days of seeing it (I'm writing this 4 days after I saw the movie for the first time) but this movie has not lost its impact.
The Coen's are back and thank God for them.
Sunday, October 28, 2007
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
Look in any Entertainment magazine for the last few years and you will see this film under the "coming soon" section. The director had a problem getting the studio to release the picture that he wanted to be released instead of the western-shoot 'em up that they wanted. After much fighting from director Andrew Dominik and producer Brad Pitt, they released the version they originally shot. Once it was released there were mixed reviews some calling it overly long and others calling it a masterpiece.
This is the story of all the events in Jesse James' (Brad Pitt) life leading up to his murder by Robert Ford (Casey Affleck). It starts after James' last train robbery where they re-cruited a band of rag tag robbers to take over a train in this group is Charlie (Sam Rockwell) and Robert Ford (Casey Affleck). From the first moments we see that Robert Ford is obsessed with his heroes. He idolizes Jesse James and desparately wants to be like him. He knows all the similarities and he is just a slimey bag of uncertainty and want. We are also introduced to James in this scene and he is extremely charismatic and we know why he is the stuff the legends are made of. Throughout the film though we see James' decent into paranoia and Casey Afflecks realization that this god, is simply a man.
This is wonderfully portrayed by the two leads of the film: Brad Pitt and Casey Affleck. I love Brad Pitt, I feel that he and George Clooney are the closest we have to the hey-days of old classic cinema. Brad Pitt is once more incredibly awesome in this film, even though he is sort of just playing a toned down version of Tyler Durden in this. He is cool, calm, but at the right times, he just snaps. There is one scene that exemplfies his paranoia and explosive personality. We also see him casually except that his life is soon going to be coming to and end and probably by Bob Ford. Casey Affleck, simply, this is his year. He stole "Ocean's 13" and is supposed to be incredibly good in "Gone Baby Gone." This role though, this is his Raging Bull role. The perfect matching of actor with role. We see his disdain of how Jesse James treats him and how this hero of his is just a man. He starts out with an underlying feeling of uncertainty that grows to the realization that to be what Jesse James is, which is what he clearly wants, that he has to do something more infamous than anything James' has done. He has to kill the unkillable: he has to kill Jesse James.
Their relationship actually invokes a very biblical relationship of Jesus and Judas. In fact, this is very much a religious metaphor of the film: Jesse James is a god to the American people and here comes this man who he sort of trusts. Then Ford decides to sell out to the law. The point is also driven even more to the point during a scene where James walks on a frozen lake speaking about suicide.
This was only Dominik's second film and he has created a very worthwile film that was worth it to fight for. In parts it is a revenge film, in parts it is a character study. He knows right where to put the camera and every scene is beautifully composed and the frame is always a treat to look for. Now, the criticism about this film being overly long is valid at some points. There are a few scenes that seem to go on a minute too long and you begin to be bored (this is a very rare occassion) and he cuts to the next scene making us compelled again. The problem is that these could have simply of been tightened up by trimming seconds off of some angles, but it is a rare occasion where it drags. It doesn't matter anymore once it gets to the fantastic assassination scene. He plays it like a classic Leone mexican stand off, except James doesn't have any weaponry and it is only sounds that would naturally exist in the room. The rattling of Ford's terrorfied gun. The slight breeze from the snow. It is an exceptionally crafted scene..
In fact, this is a very well crafted film that wants to be a masterpiece so badly but just falls short into being the best movie I've seen so far this year, and not the great american masterpiece which it tries to be. Of course, if Casey Affleck doesn't get an Oscar-nomination for this film he will be criminally robbed (not saying he should win yet, but he definately deserves a nod). I'm extremely glad I saw this movie in theaters, as I thought I would only be able to see it on DVD because of the limited release. Definately a great film, but only for people who can sit down and take in everything they are seeing.
This is the story of all the events in Jesse James' (Brad Pitt) life leading up to his murder by Robert Ford (Casey Affleck). It starts after James' last train robbery where they re-cruited a band of rag tag robbers to take over a train in this group is Charlie (Sam Rockwell) and Robert Ford (Casey Affleck). From the first moments we see that Robert Ford is obsessed with his heroes. He idolizes Jesse James and desparately wants to be like him. He knows all the similarities and he is just a slimey bag of uncertainty and want. We are also introduced to James in this scene and he is extremely charismatic and we know why he is the stuff the legends are made of. Throughout the film though we see James' decent into paranoia and Casey Afflecks realization that this god, is simply a man.
This is wonderfully portrayed by the two leads of the film: Brad Pitt and Casey Affleck. I love Brad Pitt, I feel that he and George Clooney are the closest we have to the hey-days of old classic cinema. Brad Pitt is once more incredibly awesome in this film, even though he is sort of just playing a toned down version of Tyler Durden in this. He is cool, calm, but at the right times, he just snaps. There is one scene that exemplfies his paranoia and explosive personality. We also see him casually except that his life is soon going to be coming to and end and probably by Bob Ford. Casey Affleck, simply, this is his year. He stole "Ocean's 13" and is supposed to be incredibly good in "Gone Baby Gone." This role though, this is his Raging Bull role. The perfect matching of actor with role. We see his disdain of how Jesse James treats him and how this hero of his is just a man. He starts out with an underlying feeling of uncertainty that grows to the realization that to be what Jesse James is, which is what he clearly wants, that he has to do something more infamous than anything James' has done. He has to kill the unkillable: he has to kill Jesse James.
Their relationship actually invokes a very biblical relationship of Jesus and Judas. In fact, this is very much a religious metaphor of the film: Jesse James is a god to the American people and here comes this man who he sort of trusts. Then Ford decides to sell out to the law. The point is also driven even more to the point during a scene where James walks on a frozen lake speaking about suicide.
This was only Dominik's second film and he has created a very worthwile film that was worth it to fight for. In parts it is a revenge film, in parts it is a character study. He knows right where to put the camera and every scene is beautifully composed and the frame is always a treat to look for. Now, the criticism about this film being overly long is valid at some points. There are a few scenes that seem to go on a minute too long and you begin to be bored (this is a very rare occassion) and he cuts to the next scene making us compelled again. The problem is that these could have simply of been tightened up by trimming seconds off of some angles, but it is a rare occasion where it drags. It doesn't matter anymore once it gets to the fantastic assassination scene. He plays it like a classic Leone mexican stand off, except James doesn't have any weaponry and it is only sounds that would naturally exist in the room. The rattling of Ford's terrorfied gun. The slight breeze from the snow. It is an exceptionally crafted scene..
In fact, this is a very well crafted film that wants to be a masterpiece so badly but just falls short into being the best movie I've seen so far this year, and not the great american masterpiece which it tries to be. Of course, if Casey Affleck doesn't get an Oscar-nomination for this film he will be criminally robbed (not saying he should win yet, but he definately deserves a nod). I'm extremely glad I saw this movie in theaters, as I thought I would only be able to see it on DVD because of the limited release. Definately a great film, but only for people who can sit down and take in everything they are seeing.
Across the Universe
During the early days of The Beatles they released three movies, a cartoon show, a documentary about their unraveling and music that changed the world of rock and roll. Undeniably the most influential band on modern rock, The Beatles are legendary. always turning out good work and breaking up before they had a chance for things to go down hill.
Then, in the late 80's the rights of the songs fell out of the hands of McCartney and the rest of The Beatles and found themselves into the hands of Michael Jackson. MJ is fast for selling any Beatle song anybody wants to use very cheaply. This made it easy for Julie Taymor (Director of "Titus", "Frida" and the stage version of "The Lion King") to make this movie which is all about how many "Beatles" songs you can cram into one movie.
The plot is Jude (Jim Sturgess) is from Liverpool, London and he comes to America to find his dad. Ends up his dad is a janitor at Princeton. At Princeton Jude meets Max (Joe Anderson), a fun loving American who hates the war. Max has a sister named Lucy (Evan Rachel Wood) who hates the war as well. Jude and Lucy fall in love once Lucy, Max and Jude move into an apartment with Sadie(Dana Fuches), JoJo (Martin Luther) and Prudence (T.V. Carpio) in New York. Max gets drafted into Vietnam. From there the plot goes all wackey with Drugs, Vietnam protests, Sadie going single from her band and one Beatles song after another.
The plot is no what matters in this film at all though. The usual case is that we get about a minute or two long scene and then another song. Now, this is would not necessarily be a bad thing if the story did have every cliche of the '60's. In fact, that doesn't even make it bad. What happens is that you only connect to your actors the way you connect to a cover band: it is okay, but you want the real thing. This has been the fundamental problem of all other Beatles movies: they have been disjointed with very little substance because they are all just built around the songs. Characters are named after songs and are in there literally for one song (Prudence) or the story will take a turn into the useless for another song (Mr. Kite).
The acting in this is fairly normal. Sadly, none of the two leads stick out and are the least interesting characters in the entire movie. Joe Anderson as Max is actually very charismatic and has the best singing song out of Jude, Lucy and him. He brings out the feelings every song is trying to get at. Most notably is "With A Little Help From My Friends" and "Happiness is a Warm Gun." The two best singers in the movie are given only two or three songs: Martin Luther as Jojo and Dana Fuches as Sadie (who isn't that sexy, but has an awesome voice). These two are rock stars and kick ass in their songs. Their duet during the break up of their band is the most energetic part of the film that actually works. Luther's rendition of "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" was the 2nd best part of the film and is show stopping since it is all accustic and his vocals are so soft and sweet, just how the song is supposed to be. Fuches does a really really kick ass version of "Why Don't We Do It In The Road" and "Helter Skelter." The person who really stole this film for me though was, surprisingly, Bono as Ken Kasey with a different name. He sings "I Am The Walrus" and the rest of the sequence just... kicks ass and is the high light of the film and it also marks the moment the movie starts going down hill because it is immediately followed by Eddie Izzard's "Mr. Kite" which is undeniably a trip visually, but it is an absolute terrible cover. I didn't even recognize the song until I made out that he said the words "Mr. Kite." This is the moment the movie kicks it to just wanting it to be the visuals.
The visuals are mixed between two things: the music and the dialouge. The dialouge has no feeling to the camera. It drops dead. There is nothing original there. She does the basic "point the camera and shoot" technique or she re-creates a beatles album cover for a laugh. Then there is her visuals during the music. She undeniably has an eye for this sort of stuff as every visual is tantilizing to the eye, if challenging to the brain. The problem with her visuals is that they can become comical or it has nothing to do with the song, and she just thought the visuals synched up well with the beat of the song. Truthfully, the song that most shows her pluses and her minuses is the "I Want You (She's So Heavy)" sequence. It starts out amazing strong. A terrifiying visual of Uncle Sam reaching out to Max singing "I WANT YOU!" then he gets pulled inside for training and it is the same drill sergent for everyone and they all have very goofy makeup on and I couldn't help but laugh. I mean, it is terrible when you try to make the visuals for a song that she wants to be slow and moving and people start to laugh at it, of course, they could have been laughing at her complete lack of knowledge about what the song is ("I Want To Hold Your Hand"). Then there are her amazing sequences: I AM THE WALRUS. She literally takes us through an LSD trip. Bono starts off normally and then the visuals of his body start lagging behind where he is in real space, then he becomes all negative. It is an awesome trip and a really cool scene.
But for all of the good covers, there are 2 or 3 bad covers or songs that have no use other than to be there. For a great example of a terrible cover is the rendition of "I Want To Hold Your Hand" which she decided to turn into a slow emotional song and it just doesn't work. The other terrible cover is "Mr. Kite" while Eddie Izzard has never disappointed me, I hated this sequence and it just pissed me off. "Dear Prudence" isn't a bad cover, but it is a terrible sequence that just wastes time on a useless character. Pretty much, any time it focuses on Prudence it is useless. Another sequence that was stupid/cliched was the "Hey Jude" sequence which we had been waiting for the entire movie ended up... being just another musical sequence.
The Beatles always had bad taste in movies if their films accurately show what they liked in this film and the worst criticism that I could probably give it is that it is a film that the Beatles would have liked: aka very bright and crazy colors and something to look at while tripping.
Then, in the late 80's the rights of the songs fell out of the hands of McCartney and the rest of The Beatles and found themselves into the hands of Michael Jackson. MJ is fast for selling any Beatle song anybody wants to use very cheaply. This made it easy for Julie Taymor (Director of "Titus", "Frida" and the stage version of "The Lion King") to make this movie which is all about how many "Beatles" songs you can cram into one movie.
The plot is Jude (Jim Sturgess) is from Liverpool, London and he comes to America to find his dad. Ends up his dad is a janitor at Princeton. At Princeton Jude meets Max (Joe Anderson), a fun loving American who hates the war. Max has a sister named Lucy (Evan Rachel Wood) who hates the war as well. Jude and Lucy fall in love once Lucy, Max and Jude move into an apartment with Sadie(Dana Fuches), JoJo (Martin Luther) and Prudence (T.V. Carpio) in New York. Max gets drafted into Vietnam. From there the plot goes all wackey with Drugs, Vietnam protests, Sadie going single from her band and one Beatles song after another.
The plot is no what matters in this film at all though. The usual case is that we get about a minute or two long scene and then another song. Now, this is would not necessarily be a bad thing if the story did have every cliche of the '60's. In fact, that doesn't even make it bad. What happens is that you only connect to your actors the way you connect to a cover band: it is okay, but you want the real thing. This has been the fundamental problem of all other Beatles movies: they have been disjointed with very little substance because they are all just built around the songs. Characters are named after songs and are in there literally for one song (Prudence) or the story will take a turn into the useless for another song (Mr. Kite).
The acting in this is fairly normal. Sadly, none of the two leads stick out and are the least interesting characters in the entire movie. Joe Anderson as Max is actually very charismatic and has the best singing song out of Jude, Lucy and him. He brings out the feelings every song is trying to get at. Most notably is "With A Little Help From My Friends" and "Happiness is a Warm Gun." The two best singers in the movie are given only two or three songs: Martin Luther as Jojo and Dana Fuches as Sadie (who isn't that sexy, but has an awesome voice). These two are rock stars and kick ass in their songs. Their duet during the break up of their band is the most energetic part of the film that actually works. Luther's rendition of "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" was the 2nd best part of the film and is show stopping since it is all accustic and his vocals are so soft and sweet, just how the song is supposed to be. Fuches does a really really kick ass version of "Why Don't We Do It In The Road" and "Helter Skelter." The person who really stole this film for me though was, surprisingly, Bono as Ken Kasey with a different name. He sings "I Am The Walrus" and the rest of the sequence just... kicks ass and is the high light of the film and it also marks the moment the movie starts going down hill because it is immediately followed by Eddie Izzard's "Mr. Kite" which is undeniably a trip visually, but it is an absolute terrible cover. I didn't even recognize the song until I made out that he said the words "Mr. Kite." This is the moment the movie kicks it to just wanting it to be the visuals.
The visuals are mixed between two things: the music and the dialouge. The dialouge has no feeling to the camera. It drops dead. There is nothing original there. She does the basic "point the camera and shoot" technique or she re-creates a beatles album cover for a laugh. Then there is her visuals during the music. She undeniably has an eye for this sort of stuff as every visual is tantilizing to the eye, if challenging to the brain. The problem with her visuals is that they can become comical or it has nothing to do with the song, and she just thought the visuals synched up well with the beat of the song. Truthfully, the song that most shows her pluses and her minuses is the "I Want You (She's So Heavy)" sequence. It starts out amazing strong. A terrifiying visual of Uncle Sam reaching out to Max singing "I WANT YOU!" then he gets pulled inside for training and it is the same drill sergent for everyone and they all have very goofy makeup on and I couldn't help but laugh. I mean, it is terrible when you try to make the visuals for a song that she wants to be slow and moving and people start to laugh at it, of course, they could have been laughing at her complete lack of knowledge about what the song is ("I Want To Hold Your Hand"). Then there are her amazing sequences: I AM THE WALRUS. She literally takes us through an LSD trip. Bono starts off normally and then the visuals of his body start lagging behind where he is in real space, then he becomes all negative. It is an awesome trip and a really cool scene.
But for all of the good covers, there are 2 or 3 bad covers or songs that have no use other than to be there. For a great example of a terrible cover is the rendition of "I Want To Hold Your Hand" which she decided to turn into a slow emotional song and it just doesn't work. The other terrible cover is "Mr. Kite" while Eddie Izzard has never disappointed me, I hated this sequence and it just pissed me off. "Dear Prudence" isn't a bad cover, but it is a terrible sequence that just wastes time on a useless character. Pretty much, any time it focuses on Prudence it is useless. Another sequence that was stupid/cliched was the "Hey Jude" sequence which we had been waiting for the entire movie ended up... being just another musical sequence.
The Beatles always had bad taste in movies if their films accurately show what they liked in this film and the worst criticism that I could probably give it is that it is a film that the Beatles would have liked: aka very bright and crazy colors and something to look at while tripping.
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