Entertainment Value: Movies I Saw This Week 8/5/13

(descriptions and information gathered from IMDB.  The opinions rendered below these, however, are mine. Using a 5 star rating system.)

Match Point ** 2005

At a turning point in his life, a former tennis pro falls for a femme-fatal type who happens to be dating his friend and soon-to-be brother-in-law.

Director/Writer

:

 Woody Allen, 

Stars:

 Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Matthew Goode, Emily Mortimer

This is an absolutely brilliantly written and executed pure bummer of a movie. The plot is basically a simplified Great Gatsby without nuance. I'm a lifelong fan of Woody Allen's, and I certainly can't fault his work here, but I also can't understand why he made this movie. 

The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc

** 1999

A young girl receives a vision that drives her to rid France of its oppressors.

Director:

 Luc Besson, 

Writers:

 Andrew Birkin, Luc Besson, 

Stars:

 Rab Affleck, Stéphane Algoud, Milla Jovovich

This is certainly A story, but it's a strangely told one, with a rather cynical root. It presents Her as not a visionary, but just a mad girl. The strangeness is the odd humor amidst extreme and grotesque violence. At moments operatic and others hyper real. It's hard to know where to settle while watching. It's also hard and amazing to watch Milan Jovovich's screechy yet compelling performance. Finally, as you might imagine, the thing doesn't end well.  

Entertainment Value: Movies I Saw This Week 7/29/2013

(descriptions and information gathered from IMDB.  The opinions rendered below these, however, are mine. Using a 5 star rating system.)

Fireflies in the garden** 2008

The Taylor family is devastated by an accident that takes place on the day their matriarch is due to graduate from college -- decades after leaving to raise her children.

Director:

 Dennis Lee, 

Writers:

 Robert Frost (poem), Dennis Lee, 

Stars:

 Ryan Reynolds, Willem Dafoe, Emily Watson , Carrie Anne Moss, Julia Roberts, Hayden Panetitere

This was messy, perhaps because of poor editing, and maybe because of poor, unnuanced dialog and not as compelling as it should have been given the plot. Given, also, an amazing cast. Add in a bizarre idea, depicted more than once, that being cruel to animals is a great way for family members to bond and feel nostalgic, and you end up with a not very good movie. 

Tell Them Willie Boy is Here*** 1969

Based on true events, Tell Them Willie Boy Is Here, tells the story of one of the last Western manhunts, in 1909. Willie Boy, a Native American, kills his girlfriend's father in self defense, and the two go on the run, pursued by a search posse led by Sheriff Christopher Cooper.

Director:

 Abraham Polonsky, 

Writers:

 Harry Lawton (book), Abraham Polonsky, 

Stars:

 Robert Redford, Katharine Ross, Robert Blake

I chose this movie because I'm assisting in the editing of a documentary that incorporates it and the story behind it into its canvas.  I wasn't as impressed as I should have been considering the accolades it received for its director and stars. I was instantly put off, of course, by the fact that non-natives with black wigs and dark pancake makeup were starring as natives. The supporting cast were real natives, of course. I also hated the depiction of Carlotta as an ineffectual whiner. Lots of fun ignorant stuff that you see in abundance in movies between 1950 and 1970.  Barring that, it's certainly an interesting film, and a fascinating historical perspective. Since then, however, as I know from the aforementioned documentary, much more has come to light about who Willie  was and how he died, so the story, as any point in history, stopped and depicted will show, only tells half truths. 

The Avengers****

Nick Fury of S.H.I.E.L.D. assembles a team of superhumans to save the planet from Loki and his army.

Director:

 Joss Whedon 

Writers:

 Joss Whedon (screenplay), Zak Penn (story), 

Stars:

 Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Mark Ruffalo, Jeremy Renner, Samuel L Jackson. 

I must start by saying that I watched this movie on a small screen, so it just wasn't as spectacular visually as it could have been. Given that, however, it was certainly everything it promised to be. Stunning visuals, an intelligent and compelling plot, great and groovy super heroes. Nothing really stuck with me, though, so like a great roller coaster, it was over when it was over. Pure entertainment. Not to be dismissed, not be to reflected upon. 

Entertainment Value: movies I saw this week 7/22/13

(descriptions and information gathered from IMDB.  The opinions rendered below these, however, are mine. Using a 5 star rating system.)

A Wake in Providence*  1999

Going back home can be hard, particularly when you come from a traditional Italian family, and especially when the girlfriend you bring back is not Italian. But the roof caves in when she's African American. This is the problem that Anthony faces when he brings Alissa from Los Angeles to his boyhood home of Providence, Rhode Island to attend his grandfather's funeral.

Director: Rosario Roveto Jr., Writers: Billy Van Zandt, Jane Milmore, Stars: Vincent Pagano, Adrienne Barbeau 

This is very uneven, overwrought at the beginning then quiet and thoughtful at the center with more of the too-much in the third act.  The unoriginal sound track matches the overdone quality of this movie.  It's too silly with an absolutely preposterous script, utterly predictable, and has nothing smart to say.  

Elizabeth: The Golden Age*** 2007

A mature Queen Elizabeth endures multiple crises late in her reign including court intrigues, an assassination plot, the Spanish Armada, and romantic disappointments.

Director: Shekhar Kapur, Writers:  William Nicholson, Michael Hirst, Stars: Cate Blanchett, Geoffrey Rush, 

A visual spectacle.  That's really all it is.  much of what happens is hard to follow, even if you know the history, but it doesn't matter.  The camera moves way in to the details, and you're looking at a red ring being placed on a finger, a white horse jumping from a ship, a blown off stump of a leg, a black filigreed neck liner.  The camera pulls out and up.  The Queen in her regalia entertaining her suitors, the queen in armor standing on a stormy cliff, the spanish armada, Mary Queen of Scots lays her head on the chopping block, the floor of the throne room tiled to show a map of the world.  Beautiful and stunning, but not emotionally compelling.

 

Entertainment Value: Movies I Saw This Week - July 15th, 2013

(descriptions and information gathered from IMDB.  The opinions rendered below these, however, are mine. Using a 5 star rating system.)

Shaun of the Dead**  2004
A man decides to turn his moribund life around by winning back his ex-girlfriend, reconciling his relationship with his mother, and dealing with an entire community that has returned from the dead to eat the living.

Director: Edgar Wright, Writers: Simon Pegg, Edgar Wright, Stars: Simon Pegg, Kate Ashfield, Nick Frost.

I noticed that SIFF was showing this film and two others that make up a trilogy, so I thought I'd check this one out.  It's very funny, but, you know, it's still a zombie film and its stars (all top rate), still get torn apart and eaten and still turn into zombies.  The fact that it's funny doesn't mitigate the horror and the gore.  In fact it's almost worse, you've got your eyes wider open because you're laughing.


Swimming to Cambodia**** 1987
Spalding Gray tells about his participation in the film, "The Killing Fields" & the background story about the troubles of Cambodia.

Director: Jonathan Demme.  Writer/Star: Spalding Gray

Spalding Gray has acted in a number of films, but is known mostly for his filmed monologues, this being the first of them.  I watched this because I had recently seen The Killing Fields and thought this might be an interesting adjunct.  Funny.  Fantastically performed and written.  The filming doesn't draw attention to itself, but lets you feel as though you are at the theater watching Mr. Gray perform live. Thank Jonathan Demme for that. Mr Gray talks candidly, and thus can be a bit off-putting when he expresses his views about women.  I say this, but must also say that my favorite part is when he describes (after setting us up much earlier in the monologue), what the whores can do with their vaginas in Thailand...

Looper**  2012
In 2074, when the mob wants to get rid of someone, the target is sent 30 years into the past, where a hired gun awaits. Someone like Joe, who one day learns the mob wants to 'close the loop' by transporting back Joe's future self.

Director/Writer: Rian Johnson, Stars: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Bruce Willis, Emily Blunt

Fantastic acting by everyone in this unbearably bleak time travel parable.  This was a great opportunity to play with time, always fun to watch, but I think the main idea behind this script was already presented quite well in the Disney film The Kid also starring Bruce Willis.  In that film, no children are murdered.  Sorry I can't say the same about this one.  To go one step further, a future dystopia with time travel, again starring Bruce Willis and again involving him coming into contact through time travel with his younger self, was 12 Monkeys.  That film was bleak as well, but had heart and a clear belief in the human capacity for good, this one does get there, but not until the very last, (via an extremely unreliable narrator), moment.

Lola Versus****  2012
Dumped by her boyfriend just three weeks before their wedding, Lola enlists her close friends for a series of adventures she hopes will help her come to terms with approaching 30 as a single woman.

Director:  Daryl Wein, Writers:  Daryl Wein, Zoe Lister Jones, Stars: Greta Gerwig, Joel Kinnaman, Zoe Lister Jones, Bill Pullman, Debra Winger.

I watched this because I loved Frances Ha at SIFF this year.  I was glad to see that Greta Gerwig is not just playing herself in these movies, though I imagine they are versions of herself.  In Frances Ha, she is truly still a child who hasn't yet filled out her grown up body.  She's also struggling with her connection to her best friend.  In Lola Versus, she's her own age - just about to turn 30 - and struggling with boyfriend connection.  I loved the arc in both of these films.  They are satisfying and moving and feel very real.  The writing is definitely a big part of this movie, but, I think it's this lovely actress's chops that really pulls it off.  A very enjoyable story that stays with you.

The Crash Reel*** 2013
Fifteen years of verite footage show the epic rivalry between half-pipe legends Shaun White and Kevin Pearce, childhood friends who become number one and two in the world leading up to the Vancouver Winter Olympics, pushing one another to ever more dangerous tricks, until Kevin crashes on a Park City half-pipe, barely surviving. As Kevin recovers from his injury, Shaun wins Gold. Now all Kevin wants to do is get on his snowboard again, even though medics and family fear this could kill him.

Director: Lucy Walker, Stars: Kevin Pearce, Shaun White

This is a very well produced documentary, exploring family, addiction and the drive for personal best.  It's a strong and interesting piece.

Entertainment Value: Movies I Saw This Week - July 8th, 2013

(descriptions and information gathered from IMDB.  The opinions rendered below these, however, are mine. Using a 5 star rating system.)

The Lone Ranger**** 2013
Native American warrior Tonto recounts the untold tales that transformed John Reid, a man of the law, into a legend of justice.
Director: Gore Verbinski, Writers: Justin Haythe, Ted Elliott Stars: Johnny Depp, Armie Hammer, William Fichtner, Tom Wilkinson
This was a total treat.  With Johnny Depp in the role, Tonto takes the front seat in this one (in case you didn't already know).  That's a good thing, here.  His underplayed, overdressed style perfectly matches the odd, slightly mystical humor of this movie.  The action is over the top, as well it should be and it matches the train-heavy silver-mining plot very well.  Filling in the cracks are the many homages - a soundtrack that loves Ennio Morricone's "Once Upon a Time in the West", a frame device and American Indian perspective brought forward from "Little Big Man", numerous John Ford references including the location shooting in Monument Valley, and, of course, the characters and horses from the 1949 radio serial.  Great bad guys, both hideous and lowly, and evil and powerful, round it out.

A fun romp, though prepare the sensitive ones for lots of violence.

The Out List***  2013
Activist and actor, politician and provocateur, drag queen and athlete all share personal stories that set them apart and tie them together, revealing a poignant, familiar journey to find themselves and secure a place in modern society.
Director: Timothy Greenfield-Sanders, Stars: Ellen Degeneres, Neil Patrick Harris, Cynthia Nixon
This ends up being a tear jerker, even though it is nothing but talking heads.  It's all about who the heads are and what they're saying.  An important historical perspective in time captured.  Not so long from now, this will be truly history.

Beyond** 2012
A detective teams with a tabloid psychic to track down a missing child.
Director: Josef Rusnak, Writer:  Gregory Gieras, Stars: Jon Voight, Teri Polo, Ben Crowley
This one reads like a TV pilot, but it's one I'd watch.  Tight pacing, intriguing plot, seasoned actors, all contribute to the enjoyability of the story, but it's still, finally, a forgettable one.


Dare to Dream: the Story of the U.S Women's Soccer Team***. 2007
Documentary chronicling the rise of U.S. women's soccer. Mia Hamm, Julie Foudy, and other players of note are profiled.
Writer: Ouisie Shapiro, Stars: April Henrichs, Babe Didrikson Zaharias, Billie Jean King
This is a great opportunity to watch some absolutely amazing moments in women's soccer.  It was hard, however, to avoid noticing that after all the successes of the women's team in the world, compared to no success at all on the men's side, there's still hugely more support for the men's professional league in America. Ugh.  The main reason this movie is so important, is that it's one of the few opportunities to actually see women play soccer.  Am I whining here?  Yep.

The Amazing Spiderman****  2012
Peter Parker finds a clue that might help him understand why his parents disappeared when he was young. His path puts him on a collision course with Dr. Curt Connors, his father's former partner.
Director: Marc Webb, Writers: James Vanderbilt, Alvin Sargent, Stars: Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Rhys Ifans
I wouldn't have watched this, except for Emma Stone, who really can do no wrong.  It's worth it, as a matter of fact, just for Emma Stone's performance, and the writing that created her character.  The set up is really great and fun.  The first half of the movie, then, is fantastic.  Aside from a really amazing sequence wherein cars and buses are suspended off a bridge by "webbing", the action portion of the film is nothing new.  If you like things falling off of big buildings, and giant lizards and the like, it'll work for you.  The very ending, with the tiny tiny smile on Emma Stone's face, again, makes the whole thing worth it.

Entertainment Value: Movies I Saw This Week - July 1st, 2013

(descriptions and information gathered from IMDB.  The opinions rendered below these, however, are mine. Using a 5 star rating system.)

Phantoms**  1998
150 dead and 350 missing in the tiny mountain town of Snowfield, Colorado. And that's only the beginning...
Director: Joe Chappelle, Writer: Dean Koontz, Stars: Peter O'Toole, Rose McGowan, Joanna Going
I wonder why it is that great horror novels make such terrible movies?  I read Dean Koontz and Stephen King voraciously and enjoy them utterly.  This book was really good.  Really really scary.  The movie, meh.  Gross.  The dialog was laughable.  The characters undeveloped and over acted.  The monster, nothing.  The screenplay was also by Koontz, so that's not it.  I guess this stuff just doesn't translate well.  It relies so much on the imagination of the partaker.  That is, of course, often removed in film.  It doesn't have to be, though.  I think the ones that work are the ones that really consider what is scary about the story and present that in a visual way, rather than just regurgitating each piece of action from the book.  Hitchcock did this well, of course, and I can think of some of the scariest scenes in movies (the ripples in the water glass in Jurassic Park),  and tell you it's not what you saw, it's what you didn't see…


Just Like Heaven****  2005
A lonely landscape architect (Ruffalo) falls for the spirit of beautiful woman (Witherspoon) who used to live in his new apartment.
Director: Mark Waters, Writers: Peter Tolan, Leslie Dixon, Stars: Reese Witherspoon, Mark Ruffalo
I'm a total sucker for romantic comedies with a mystical magical element.  As such, I've seen a million of 'em, so I know from where I speak.  This one is a gem and gets all the elements right. It's very romantic with great comic moments.  It has a fabulous supporting cast.  The bad best friend is just the right amount of bad. The climactic moment is exciting and fun.  The romantic ending has just the right amount of yes and no. Extremely formulaic, yes, but like I always say, so is Haiku. It's what you do within the structure that matters, and this one pulls it off.

Chronicle***  2012
Whilst attending a party, three high school friends gain superpowers after making an incredible discovery underground. Soon, though, they find their lives spinning out of control and their bond tested as they embrace their darker sides.
Director: Josh Trank, Writer: Max Landis, Stars:  Dane DeHaan, Alex Russell, Michael B. Jordan
This one has stuck with me for awhile.  After The Blair Witch Project, I knew that the artifice of using a camcorder held by one or more of the characters, though irritating, actually can make a movie more compelling and seem more real.  Still, I wasn't sure about this one.  It does work, though, and pulls you in to the story pretty well.  As with all of these types of films, you do find yourself occasionally distracted by whether or not the shot is a legitimate one, or if the filmmakers went a little too far setting up the premise of how one of the characters could possible have shot it.  The ending, in particular, sets off these alarms, but these alarms going off in your head actually seem to add to the implied tension.  It's a good story, and it's scary and odd.  Worth watching.

Pitch Perfect***  2012
Beca, a freshman at Barden University, is cajoled into joining The Bellas, her school's all-girls singing group. Injecting some much needed energy into their repertoire, The Bellas take on their male rivals in a campus competition.
Director:  Jason Moore, Writers: Kay Cannon, Mickey Rapkin, Stars: Anna Kendrick, Brittany Snow, Anna Camp

I hated this movie almost all the way through, finding it insipid and overly reliant on its stars' previous reputations among the teen audience.  I loved it by the end.  Not much else to say.

The Valley of Elah*** 2007
A retired military investigator works with a police detective to uncover the truth behind his son's disappearance following his return from a tour of duty in Iraq.
Director:  Paul Haggis, Writers: Paul Haggis, Mark Boal, Stars: Tommy Lee Jones, Charlize Theron, Jason Patrick, Susan Sarandon
This is an amazing anti-war story brilliantly told and acted. Charlize Theron's character goes on some very interesting and compelling journeys and Tommy Lee Jone's gut wrenching transformation from rah rah military to horrified honesty about what war turns people into is a sight to behold.  Some of the sights we have to behold, however, are just a bit too much, in my opinion.  It ends up hitting the nail a little too hard. Still a very good film.

Entertainment Value: Movies I Saw This Week - June 24, 2013

(descriptions and information gathered from IMDB.  The opinions rendered below these, however, are mine. Using a 5 star rating system.)

Cache**** - 2005
France
A married couple is terrorized by a series of surveillance videotapes left on their front porch.
Director and Writer: Michael Haneke, Stars: Daniel Auteuil, Juliette Binoche
Very cool and intriguing, with an enigmatic ending.  Haneke crosses the line a bit in this film, involving his viewers as more than just audience members.  He apparently has a reputation for breaking the rules.  I haven't seen his other films, but in this one, I'd say it works.  Watch the last scene carefully as the credits roll…


They Live* - 1988
USA
A drifter discovers a pair of sunglasses that allow him to wake up to the fact that aliens have taken over the Earth.
Director and Writer: John Carpenter, (from the story, "Eight O'Clock in the Morning", by Ray Nelson) Stars: Roddy Piper, Keith David, Meg Foster.
A truly terrible movie.  Poor, hammy acting with schlocky dialog and scene structure.  I have to blame John Carpenter.  I think he was looking to make a somewhat goofy movie, but he really just made a very bad one.  I've seen many of the actors in other movies, and they were strong and capable.  I've seen many John Carpenter films, on the same kind of budgets and they were fantastic.  What gives?  I watched this movie because it was referenced in Zizek's "A Perverts Guide to Ideology", which I loved.  The scenes shown in that movie, made it look great. It certainly has a great premise.  Ah well.


Leon: The Professional** - 1995
USA
A professional assassin rescues a teenage girl whose parents were killed in a police raid.
Director and Writer: Luc Besson  Stars: Jean Reno, Gary Oldman, Natalie Portman
There are things to like about this film, despite its hyper-violence and downer ending.  Natalie Portman's performance is exquisite, especially when you note that she was 11 when it was filmed.  Jean Reno chooses an interesting characterization of a brilliant killer and a dim-witted man.  The story keeps you apprehensive and involved.  I felt Gary Oldman's performance was quirky and unpredictable.  This is often true of his performances, I find, but in this case, it drew way too much attention and threw the balance of the movie way off.  Child death and a very creepy sexual undertone between Jean Reno's and Natalie Portman's characters makes this a difficult film to watch.

Black Swan***** - 2010
USA
A ballet dancer wins the lead in "Swan Lake" and is perfect for the role of the delicate White Swan - Princess Odette - but slowly loses her mind as she becomes more and more like Odile, the Black Swan.
Director: Darren Aronofsky, Writers: Mark Heyman, Andres Heinz, Stars: Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis, Vincent Cassel, Barbara Hershey, Winona Ryder
I found this to be an absolutely gorgeous film.  Where oblique camera angles and stylized set pieces have often gotten in the way for me in other Aronofsky films, they worked perfectly here.  Symbols abound.  Blackness and whiteness, loss of innocence.  Queens and Kings, Princesses and Princes rising up and dying.  Truly amazing.  I'm quite shocked the film didn't win an Oscar for art direction, but there you have it.  My favorite scene is Nina dancing the Black Swan part and slowly sprouting huge black wings. It gave me a sense, for a moment, of how a ballet dancer may perceive herself while fully giving herself to a role. Just stunning.  Natalie Portman won an Oscar (and a Golden Globe), for her performance and it was well deserved. All the performances are wrenching and awesome.  Barbara Hershey as Nina's broken mother, is particularly strong.  This is certainly a difficult film, as far as content, as it depicts insanity.  It's hard to say whether it's an accurate depiction, how could we know, but it is a depiction, and as deeply wrought and powerful as it can be.