Quick Notes on.....

I'll be leaving soon for a week-long vacation (and the blog will probably be quiet), but I wanted to get a few notes in on some recent viewings.

Coming up end of July/beginning of August: I hope to see and write about The Hurt Locker and (500) Days of Summer, two movies I've heard great things about, AND Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.

To Die For (1995)

Gus Van Sant's dark comedy was the critical breakout for Nicole Kidman, and she is very very good. She portrays a vapid, soulless, minor-league newscaster who is willing to do anything (including sleep with and manipulate her high school student) in order to get to the top. The acting in this movie is very good. Kidman is spectacular and I also really loved a young Joaquin Phoenix as a somewhat dim-witted high school student. Fun to watch, but not particularly deep or the kind of movie that stays with you for a long time.

Grade: B

City Lights (1931)

Perhaps Charlie Chaplin's most famous movie, and rightly so. The story of a homeless man (Chaplin's famous "Little Tramp") who falls in love with a blind flower-seller. This is a silent film in the best sense of the word. It relies on physical comedy and the emotions of the actors and very little on the title cards. As you watch Chaplin fight (literally in a hilarious boxing scene) against the powerful forces in society, you are guaranteed a smile on your face. The ending of this movie is simply sublime.

Grade: A

George Washington (2000)

A completely unique film. This movie follows the young and mostly African-American residents of a depressed town in North Carolina. It begins with a series of scenes of these children talking to one another, and their dialogue is funny and poignant. A great dramatic event occurs in the movie, but the movie is not really about the event. Its about children growing up, and facing heartbreak, and the ways their characters are developed as they adjust to the realities of their life. The cinematography is stunning and is able to make beautiful images out of a mostly bleak landscape. This movie is definitely not plot-drive, and can truthfully be described as "slow." I succumbed to its lazy rhythms, and was transfixed by the young characters and their plight. I also loved how it shows the lives of characters we rarely get to see on screen. A haunting and quiet gem.

Grade: A-

Goodbye Solo and the "Neo-Neo Realism"

Goodbye Solo (2009)

Yesterday I saw the best movie I've seen in a theater so far this year- Goodbye Solo. It's by Iranian-American director Ramin Bahrani, whose movie Chop Shop made by top 10 list last year. His past two movies (Chop Shop and Man Push Cart, which I hope to see soon) concerned immigrants living in the shadows of New York City. Goodbye Solo is set in Winston-Salem, NC, where Bahrani grew up, and it tells a similarly naturalistic story. The movie is about Solo, a Senegalese cab driver who begins a relationship with William, a bitter old man who becomes one of his passengers.

Solo is married to a Mexican woman and is a good father to her daughter. He is also friends with Caucasions, African-Americans, and other African immigrants. One of the wonderful things about this movie is how multiculturalism is simply presented as it is lived, and not as a plot point or an easy way to a moral. The movie is deeply moral, I believe, but not moralistic. The viewer is never sure where the movie is going, and there are many scenes and surprise and delight. The last 10 or so minutes are absolutely riveting and beautiful. There are a few clunky plot devices and characters that could use a little fleshing out, but these flaws are overcome by the beauty and simplicity of the filmmaking. They manage to be both sad and hopeful. This movie is just leaving theaters, but should be on DVD before too long. I urge you to check it out.

Grade: A-

In reading other review of Goodbye Solo, I came across an excellent article by A.O. Scott about the "Neo-Neo Realism" in American films. The article concerns the advent of a naturalistic style of American independent filmmaking. These films are not about the quirkiness of their characters, and they are often done without a conventional scores. Examples that I have thoroughly enjoyed included Bahrani's films as well as Wendy and Lucy and Half Nelson. What is so great about many of these movies is that they portray lives of everyday Americans in a dignified way. With each of these films, I felt that I was seeing people who really existed, and people I had never really seen in films before. I'm thrilled at this new trend in American cinema, and I certainly hope it continues.

Top 10 Retrospective: 2005

Runners-Up: Pride and Prejudice, Murderball, The Squid and the Whale

10. Good Night, and Good Luck: George Clooney's stylized, smart, entertaining movie about red-baiting in the 1950s.

9. Match Point: Woody Allen goes abroad (to England), drops the comedy (mostly), and provides a taut, engrossing thriller. This was his best in a decade, and is even fun for people who don't usually like Woody.

8. Nine Lives: Probably the least-seen movie on my list. This film is a loosely interwoven series of vignettes about women and their lives. The great cast includes Robin Wright Penn (in the best section), Glenn Close, Holly Hunter, and Sissy Spacek.

7. A History of Violence: David Cronenberg's violent, gripping, sometimes strange film. It looks at how much we can leave our past actions behind, and how much they remain. Great performances from Viggo Mortenson, Maria Bello, Ed Harris, and William Hurt.



6. Brokeback Mountain: Perhaps slightly overrated but still a landmark film beautifully directed by Ang Lee and containing Heath Ledger's shattering lead performance.

5. The Constant Gardener: A moral drama, a thriller, and engrossing the whole way through. Frenando Meirelles (City of God) is a great director and he gets great performances from Ralph Fiennes and Oscar-winning Rachel Weisz.

4. Crash: Unfairly maligned by some critics (especially after its Best Picture win), I think this is a marvelously put together, dramatized (in a good way) movie that sheds significant light on modern race relations.

3. Cache: In this movie, someone is stalking a French couple's residence. Why? This French movie from director Michael Haneke takes its time answering, and its answers are surprising, political, and troubling.

2. Capote: Biopics are not my favorite type of movie, but if they could all be like Capote they might be. Instead of showing us Truman Capote's life, this movie details the research and writing of In Cold Blood, the novel about a murder in rural Kansas. Philip Seymour Hoffman is astounding and the movie creates a nuanced, troubling picture of this great writer.

1. Junebug: If someone asked me what type of movies I liked, I might just say "movies like Junebug." Junebug got some attention (and an Oscar nomination) for Amy Adams' terrific performance, but it deserved even more acclaim. It's about a young, urban Chicago couple who go to visit the husband's family in rural North Carolina. A beautiful, funny, and deeply moving film about family. If you haven't seen it, see it. Now.



Oscar Best Pictures Nominees: Crash (winner), Brokeback Mountain, Good Night and Good Luck, Capote, Munich.

Sum-up: A solid year in filmmaking, although not one of the very best of recent years. A varied top 10-list, with an unusually large number of movies that are in some sense "thrillers" (Cache, The Constant Gardener, A History of Violence, Match Point).

2008 Catch-Up: Frost/Nixon, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Tell No One

Even though we're halfway through 2009, I took the Independence Day weekend to make it through a few notable movies from the past year, two Best Picture nominees and a foreign film that had a large degree of success and good reviews in the States. So without further ado, my much overdo thoughts on......

Frost/Nixon

Ron Howard's Frost/Nixon consists of the story of somewhat "lightweight" interviewer David Frost (Michael Sheen) securing, preparing for, and conducting a television interview with the disgraced ex-President (Frank Langella). A lot worked about this film. It moved quickly and did a good job of portraying the two leads. Frost is a man in a bit over his head who finally finds a way to step up to the plate. Nixon was an undeniably smart man who is also extremely self-delusional. Watching their match-up does provide some nice sparks.

Despite the strengths of the film, I kind of left the film thinking I should have felt more. The Queen, a somewhat similar story also starring Michael Sheen and penned by the same screenwriter (Peter Morgan) went deeper into the dynamics of power and tradition than this film does. Frost/Nixon feels fun, and like it wants to be important, but I'm not really sure that it is that important. Michael Sheen does a very nice job as Frost. I'm a little torn on Langella's performance. He does disappear into his character, but at times I felt it was more of a stunt than a true performance. Overall, it's an entertaining film but not a great one, and certainly didn't deserve it's Best Picture nomination.

Grade: B

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

David Fincher's The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is a movie of tremendous technical skill, a fascinating premise, and some great scenes. As you probably know, it tells the story of a man who ages backwards (Brad Pitt) and his love for a woman named Daisy (Cate Blanchett). There are definitely some great sequences in the film. I liked Benjamin's early days, where he was taken care of by Queenie (Taraji P. Henson). I also liked his friendship/love affair with a British matron (Tilda Swinton). The ending of the movie was also engaging. It's also put together beautifully by David Fincher in a way that guides you through the many periods of the 20th-century.

From my intro, you were probably waiting for a "but," and here it is. It's not that emotionally engaging. Part of that has to do with Brad Pitt. While moviegoers enjoyed watching him turn beautiful, he never really dug into the character to the extent where I was truly cared about him as a person. The idea of the story is beautiful and sad, but I never quite connected it to the actual human emotions of the characters. It's also flat-out too long. If you're going to make a 2 hour and 40 minute movie, you need to provide more of an emotional hook for the audience.

Despite my qualms, I do recommend the film. The technical skill is something to marvel at, and I've known people who were quite moved by it. It just didn't quite hit me where it could have.

Grade: B

Tell No One

This French thriller was a very enjoyable movie. It concerns a man whose wife is (apparently) abducted and murdered. Eight years later, he gets video and emails saying she is alive. What is happening? How could she have been identified at the morgue and yet still alive?

The movie follows these plot points (and complicates things much further) as it goes along. It's definitely not a lazy movie. It causes the viewer to think and piece things together as they watch it. If the plot twists are implausible (and they are), it's forgivable because the movie is put together in a sparse and non-sensational way. It could be a model for many American films on how to show suspense without talking down to your audience. A fun movie.

Grade: B+

Classics from Abroad: La Dolce Vita & The Earrings of Madame de....

Classic Foreign Films

While I consider myself a cinema aficionado, I realize I have some holes in my resume. I try to keep up with new films, and I've seen a lot of classic American films, but my viewing of world cinema is lacking a bit. I've recently come upon a great website called They Shoot Pictures, Don't They?, which compiles critics lists to list the top 1,000 films of all time and the top 250 films of the 21st century. In looking at the all-time list, I realize that I have a lot of catching up to do on foreign films. So I hope to plug some of those holes this summer. I start with two classics I was glad to catch up with.....

La Dolce Vita (1960)

Federico Fellini's groundbreaking and provocative movie follows Marcello (Marcello Mastroianni) as he travels around a rapidly changing Rome. This episodic film (broken into more or less seven parts) shows the ways that the traditions of the past are being thrown aside for modern hedonism. The movie is lots of fun to watch, but also has an air of emptiness and sadness. It's a long movie, and I must say that I found some episodes more engaging than others. In almost every segment, however, there is a moment of transcendence where Fellini causes the viewer to think about life and culture and how everything is changing. I don't think this is quite as good as 8 1/2 (regularly cited as a 10-best of all time), but it's definitely worth a look.

Grade: A-

The Earrings of Madame de..... (1953)


I had read about this movie and wondered what led to its acclaim, as it plot sounds rather ordinary. It's basically about a spoiled General's wife in France who falls in love with an Italian diplomat, and the usual fallout ensues.

Once I started watching the movie, however, I was absolutely enthralled. Max Ophuls is considered the master of the tracking shot, shots that follow characters for extended time and throughout several locales. Several modern acclaimed tracking shots have been in Goodfellas, Boogie Nights, Magnolia, Children of Men, and Atonement. Almost every shot in this movie is a work of art. The cinematography carries the viewer through the story and lends an air of gracefulness and emotion to every single frame.

The actors in this movie are also remarkable, especially Danielle Darrieux in the title role. She inhabits the soul of a woman falling in love so well that, by the end of the movie, you are so fully entrenched in her struggle that your heart breaks with her. A great film and I hope to see some more movies by Ophuls soon.

Grade: A

Big Oscar News

Whoa.....

Today the Academy announced that they would be expanding the list of Best Picture nominees to 10 each year instead of 5.

There were actually quite a few changes in the Academy's early years. In the Academy's first year (1928), there were only 3 nominees. Then 5 for a few years. Then 10 until 1943. Then 5 from 1943 until now.

So this is obviously a ploy to get more commercially successful films nominated and create more interest in the Academy (The Dark Knight snub from last year).

Here, for example, is the line-up from last year

2008

Nominated:
Slumdog Millionaire
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Milk
The Reader
Frost/Nixon

My guess for the next 5:
The Dark Knight
Wall-E
Doubt
Revolutionary Road
The Wrestler

Hmmm, it would have been a much more diverse list.

And my guesses for 2007

Nominees:
No Country for Old Men
Juno
There Will Be Blood
Atonement
Michael Clayton

My guess for the next 5 (This year was a bit harder, with 2 clear runner-ups and some rather blind guesses).
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Into the Wild
Sweeny Todd-??
American Gangster-??
Ratatouille-??

This year was a bit harder, with 2 clear runner-ups and then some guesses.

Anyway, big news and it will make Oscar predicting quite interesting for 2009.

Top 10 Retrospective: 2006

Runners-Up: Inside Man, Volver, United 93, Children of Men, Jesus Camp,

10. A Prairie Home Companion: Robert Altman's swansong, and a fitting one at that. Beautiful performances and a poignant view of love and loss. Garrison Keillor and Altman prove a winning combination. Bonus points for some great musical numbers.



9. Half Nelson: Ryan Gosling and young Shareeka Epps give remarkable performances as a drug-addicted teacher and the young student who befriends him. What I loved about this movie is how nuanced it's view of the characters are. Gosling may be a drug addict, but he is also a committed teacher.



8. The Queen: A movie about Queen Elizabeth may sound boring, but Helen Mirren, Michael Sheen (as Tony Blair) and director Stephen Frears make it funny, intelligent, and thoughtful. A fascinating look at an intersection of two types of power, and of modern politics with tradition.

7. Borat: If you can stomach the satire, it's absolutely hilarious. I can't remember another movie since this where I laughed (or squirmed) this much.

6. Babel: A multinational cast and crew brings a story of global connections. While not every story is equally great (I found the storyline in Japan interesting but somewhat tangential), the entire movie radiates passion and emotion in its storytelling. There may be times when it goes over the top, but it's affecting and powerful nonetheless.

5. Little Miss Sunshine: The key to a great comedy is great characters, and Little Miss Sunshine delivers. Pushes the quirkiness and zaniness to the max without verging into annoyance.

4. Pan's Labyrinth: Director Guillermo del Toro mixes childhood fantasy with violent political conflict and delivers something quite unique. Blurs the line between fantasy and reality until we're not really sure what to think.



3. Little Children: Probably the most overlooked movie of the year, Oscar nominations for Kate Winslet (Actress) and Jackie Earle Haley (Supporting Actor) aside. A much more humane, less condescending film of suburban alienation than American Beauty. Director Todd Field followed up his masterful In the Bedroom with another movie of quiet power.



2. The Departed: Scorsese's energetic, violent, funny, thoughtful, suspenseful double cat-and-mouse thriller. Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Mark Wahlberg, and Vera Farmiga all turn in great performances. With all this great acting, a great script, and Scorsese back in top form, I can even forgive Jack Nicholson's hammy moments.

1. The Lives of Others: A deeply moving German drama about making moral choices in a totalitarian environment. Suspenseful and always engaging, a great film.


Sum-up:While it provided a wide variety of entertainments, 2006 was certainly not the best of recent years. I thoroughly recommend every movie on this list, but most of them lean more towards the "very good" rather than the "great."

Pete Seeger: The Power of Song

Pete Seeger: The Power of Song

So, based on this documentary and everything else I know about him, I think Pete Seeger is one of the most wonderful people alive and a true American treasure. The movie lovingly follows Seeger's life from childhood to singing with Woody Guthrie, to his time with The Weavers, to his blacklisting, to his revival, to his environmental activism. There's nothing particularly groundbreaking about the style or content of the movie, but it gives a great sense of Pete, his life, and his passion and activism. It's an inspirational story of a man who never let commerce get in the way of his belief and passion.

Grade: B+

Here's a nice version of Pete doing "Guantanamera":

Top 10 Retrospective: 2007

While I have come somewhat recently to movie blogging, that doesn't mean I don't have an extensive collection of movie related lists and documents that I've kept over the years. So, I thought I would periodically look back at some recent years in cinema to give a taste of my favorite films......

Best of 2007

Runners-Up: Michael Clayton, Knocked Up, Eastern Promises
Most Overrated Movie: Juno. I really really don't like this movie, and I am still dumbfounded as to how much acclaim it got.

10. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly: Beautifully shot and crafted movie of a man in a coma who writes a book using only his eye. Somehow manages to be inspiring rather than depressing.



9. I'm Not There: If not for the one step too avant-garde Richard Gere sequences, this would probably place higher. A meditation on the many facets of Bob Dylan. Cate Blanchett is terrific of course, but Heath Ledger also gives a great performance. Not for all tastes, but I found it fascinating.

8. Lars and the Real Girl: I was surprised at how much I liked this movie. The premise sounds a touch too indie, but the filmmakers make a poignant story about human goodness from the material. Between this performance and Half Nelson, I believe Ryan Gosling can do no wrong.



7. There Will Be Blood: Strange, terrifying, at times confusing, and always fascinating. P.T. Anderson is a great filmmaker and he creates a strange set of characters and landscapes that tie to our own culture. Daniel Day Lewis gives one of the best performances in modern film. The only reason it's not in the top 2 or 3 of my list is because of the misjudged final minutes.

6. Ratatouille: Absolutely charming Pixar film about a rat who can cook. Rat Remy and food critic Anton Ego are two great characters in this film. Probably even more enjoyed by grown-ups then kids.

5. Atonement: One of my favorite books, and the movie didn't disappoint me. Director Joe Wright makes the material fast-paced and creates an emotional pull that lasts through the movie.

4. 4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days: Absolutely riveting Romanian film about a young woman helping her friend secure an illegal abortion in the Communist-era Romania. At every moment, you feel like you are in the room with these characters. A thriller, a political movie, and a movie that raises important moral questions.



3. Once: A small gem of a film and the perfect modern musical. Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova play musicians who connect for a few days.

2. No Country for Old Men: A masterpiece of acting, pacing, cinematography, writing, and everything else under the sun. One of the most intense thrillers I've seen, and gives you a lot to ponder. Easily one of the Coen's best.

1. Into the Wild: Sean Penn directed this true story of the cross-country journey of Christopher McCandless (played by Emile Hirsch), a young college graduate who throws conventional life aside and connects with others on his way to Alaska. A road movie with heart, soul, and conviction.



Sum-Up: I think 2007 was a great year for film, one of the best in a long time. What I really loved is how so many of the year's films really worked to package compelling ideas in very specific directorial visions.

Up Review & Best of Pixar

Up (2009)

In today's cinematic marketplace, is there any better bet than having a good time at a Pixar movie? I don't really think so, and Up is no exception.

The first 15 minutes or so of Up are some of the greatest Pixar moments put to film, rivaled, I think, only by the opening vision of Wall-E. It starts with a delightful opening in the 1930s where Carl meets Ellie. They are two children with a love of adventure and we see them meet cute in an abandoned house full of adventure. It then moves on to a wordless montage that shows their subsequent life together in a beautiful and heartbreaking way. It is truly masterful filmmaking.

After the opening, we are left with Carl Frederickson as a proverbial grumpy old man (nicely voiced by Ed Asner). The rest of the movie, as you probably know, centers on his trip to Paradise Falls with a young boy scout. When they get to Paradise Falls, they are joined by an exotic bird and a talking dog....

I found the movie slowed a bit during their initial moments in Paradise Falls. After the masterpiece of the film's opening moments, it seemed inevitable that things would become a bit more mundane. Indeed, there are moments when Up reverts to standard (if enjoyable) action movie theatrics. By the end, though, we thoroughly care about the characters and are left with at least two more tear-jerking scenes.

Up has been getting some rave reviews, and it is definitely enjoyable with some truly great moments. To me, it doesn't reach the heights of Ratatouille or Wall-E, but few movies do. It's still better than 90% of movies out there, and I continue to commend Pixar for dreaming big and blessing filmgoers with such unique visions.


Grade: B+

Top 5 Pixar Films

The release of Up has led many bloggers to an appraisal of Pixar's canon, so I thought I'd join the group. The only one of the 10 I haven't seen is Cars, and I don't have a desire to. It's been a while since I've seen some of these, but here is my ranking as of now.

Runners-Up:

Good, but I didn't love them: A Bug's Life, The Incredibles
Very good but didn't quite crack the top 5: Finding Nemo, Up

5. Monsters, Inc.: Most underrated? It came out the same year as Shrek, but is so much better. Great premise and great characters.

4. Toy Story: Launched the Pixar empire with an inventive script, great characters, hilarious humor, and honest sentiment. A landmark.

3. Ratatouille: Arguably the most "conventional" Pixar film, but perfectly done. The scene where food critic Anton Ego tastes Remy's dish is one of the best Pixar moments ever.



2. Toy Story 2: Even better than 1. The addition of Jessie also added a much-needed female presence too often missing from Pixar. I can't wait for Toy Story 3 next year.



1. WALL-E: Destined to become an all-time classic. This funny, cerebral, dark film shows how far Pixar pulled animated film.

How about you? What did you think of Up? What's your favorite Pixar?

It's Here- Supporting Actress Smackdown 1992

To regular followers of the blog, you'll notice my plethora of 1992 viewings over the past several weeks. Now, head on over to Stinkylulu's site and check out how other movie fans and I graded the performances....

Judy Davis, Husbands and Wives
Joan Plowright, Enchanted April
Vanessa Redgrave, Howards End
Miranda Richardson, Damage
Marisa Tomei, My Cousin Vinny


I'm very glad to participate in this Smackdown, as 1992 was an awakening year for me in my taste for movies and the Oscars. The 1992 ceremonies (held in 1993) were the first Oscars I can remember watching. As a 12-year-old at the time, I had seen few movies aside from Aladdin that were nominated, but I loved the spirit of competition present in the ceremony. By the next year, I was already watching religiously and had persuaded my parents to let me see the R-rated Schindler's List before the ceremony. A lifetime love (and obsession) began.

Now to the Supporting Actress race. It was definitely a shock when Marisa Tomei won, and there were even rumors of an error in reading her name. What do I think happen? Well, I think Joan Plowright and Vanessa Redgrave appealed to much of the same constituency and split the voters. Miranda Richardson, I think, was never really in the hunt because her movie was probably off-putting to many viewers. So we come to Judy Davis and Marisa Tomei. Judy Davis was terrific, respected, and should have won, BUT she was in a Woody Allen movie in the year of the Soon-Yi scandal. Perhaps the voters weren't quite ready to reward a performance in an Allen film, no matter the level of performance. So they were left with Tomei. A young, breakfout star. Check. A funny and scene-stealing performance. Check. Looks good while accepting the Oscar. Check. A strange choice at the time, but now that we have seen her performances in In the Bedroom, Before the Devil Knows You're Dead, and The Wrestler, it seems the Academy has vindicated itself. As you'll see at the smackdown, it's not my choice but its certainly not a bad one.

Review Round-Up

Here are some quick thoughts on movies I've seen in the past couple weeks....

The Garden (2009)

This documentary follows a 14-acre community garden in South Central L.A. It was created after the L.A. riots, and was lovingly tended mostly by the Latino community. When the man who sold the land to the city wants it back, a backroom deal occurs which sells him back the land at a ridiculously low price. The movie pits the grassroots farmers and their defenders (who come to include numerous Hollywood celebs) against the shady financial dealings of urban politics. The struggle is moving, and it's a consistently interesting documentary. One flaw (which may not be the filmmakers' fault), is that we never really see or understand the man who got the garden in the first place. The movie also glosses over some of the internal politics of running the garden.

Grade: B

Wendy and Lucy (2008)

Filmmaker Kelly Reichardt, who made Old Joy (2006), returns with another minimalist tale of a drifter in the Pacific Northwest. Wendy and Lucy stars Michelle Williams as Wendy, a woman who has left Indiana and is traveling to Alaska with her dog Lucy. We don't get much back story on why she has traveling, but there is definitely the sense that there is more at stake than simply work. Much of the movie concerns Wendy's struggle to find Lucy when she is lost.

When I saw Old Joy, I appreciated the sense of disillusionment with modern America that Reichardt portrayed, but it also was so plotless that it was difficult to fully invest in the film. With Wendy and Lucy, I think Reichardt has really hit her stride as a filmmaker while making her point just as powerfully. The movie definitely won't appeal to those who bore of contemplative movies, but there is a sense of dramatic momentum and character development that I found riveting. Michelle Williams does a superb job in the title role, and all the supporting actors and actresses in small roles portray a true naturalism. The movie also ends with one of the most beautiful scenes I've seen in a long time. This movie was truly a miniature gem, and I can't wait to see what Reichardt will do in the future.

Grade: A-

Howards End (1992)

The last (and best) of my 1992 Supporting Actress screenings. The best movie of the Merchant-Ivory team (A Room With a View, The Remains of the Day). An absolutely superb cast (Anthony Hopkins, Emma Thompson, Vanessa Redgrave, Helena Bonham Carter) plays out E.M. Forster's drama of class conflict in early 20th-century England. The movies follows the intersections of the three families: the upper-class Wilcoxes, the artistic middle-class Schlegels, and the lower-class Basts. Forster's point, I think, is to show the ways that people of disparate ways are or aren't able to connect with one another. Some characters (such as Vanessa Redgrave's Mrs. Wilcox and Emma Thompson's Margaret Schelgel), have a natural sensibility to connection, while others, such as Anthony Hopkins' Henry Wilcox, are unable to see beyond their own circumstances. This movie is pitch-perfect and beautiful in its depiction of a world gone by, and also consistently dramatically compelling. A great film.

The great Vanessa Redgrave was nominated for Supporting Actress in the film. She opens the film in a great wordless title sequence, and appears in several more scenes during the first 45 minutes of the movie. She does a wonderful job at portraying an ethereal woman of great kindness and quiet passion. While she is gone for much of the movie, her presence lives on and continues to play an important role.

Grade: A

More Supporting Actress Screenings: My Cousin Vinny and Enchanted April

In preparation for StinkyLulu's upcoming blogathon http://www.stinkylulu.com/2009/05/supporting-actress-sundays-for-may09.html#links, I watched two more of the nominated movies. If you'd like a view of the nominations, here is a montage put together by Alex from Alex in Movieland, another blogathan participant:



Enchanted April (1992)

Pleasant movie about four very different women in WW1-era England who regain some life while sharing an Italian villa. Frothy, entertaining, and a little poignant at the end. Not incredibly deep and the character arcs are a little thin, but fun to watch.

Joan Plowright was nominated for her role as the middle-aged dowager who (re)opens herself to life and friendship while at the villa. Plowright plays her role well, but it does feel she could do this role in her sleep. On another note, one of the leading roles is played by Miranda Richardson. After being somewhat disappointed by her work in Damage, I was very impressed by her portrayal here.

Grade: B

My Cousin Vinny (1992)

This movie has the mark of many late-1980s/early-1990s comedies: lazy directing, by the book cinematography, and a predictable plot. It follows Joe Pesci as a novice lawyer who goes down to Alabama to help out a cousin wrongly accused of a crime. Marisa Tomei joins him as his working-class, very New York girlfriend. The movie is fairly entertaining and the final courtroom scenes are quite funny.

At the time Tomei won the Oscar, many were appalled. Looking back, though, Tomei really does give a great performance. Perhaps her later performances in In the Bedroom and The Wrestler are influencing me, but I see the same fierce intelligence and empathy in this same role. While it is a broadly written role, Tomei rarely overplays it.

Grade: C+

Woody Allen's Squabbling Spouses

Husbands and Wives (1992)

The next screening for my participation in StinkyLulu's Supporting Actress blogathon (http://www.stinkylulu.com/2009/05/supporting-actress-sundays-for-may09.html#links) is Woody Allen's Husbands and Wives, a scathing account of marital discord among four middle-aged characters. I consider this movie to be his finest of the 1990s. The movie begins when Jack and Sally (Sydney Pollack and Judy Davis) announce to their friends Gabe and Judy (Allen and Farrow) that they are divorcing. This announcement, and the subsequent fallout, involves both Jack and Sally finding new partners and Gabe and Judy turning an intense eye on their own relationship. The movie is filmed in documentary-style, and the emotions it touches are often raw. It pokes and prods at the myriad of ways that relationships can go sour, and how they come to define a person's identity.

The entire central foursome does an excellent job, with the two actresses showing the most range and emotion. Judy Davis, who was nominated for Supporting Actress, does an extremely fine job of playing the prickly, intellectual, easily wounded Sally. She has several bravura and scathingly hilarious scenes in which she steals the movie. Allen excels at writing supporting female parts that allow for actress to shine (Penelope Cruz in Vicky Cristina Barcelona, Dianne Wiest in Bullets Over Broadway). The movie can probably be technically considered a comedy, but probably the darkest "comedy" Allen has made. The emotions are rough and certain scenes are almost unbearably intimate.

Allen is probably the modern director who most puts himself on the screen, or at least portrays a similar persona in many roles. In Husbands and Wives, released just after the Soon-Yi affair was uncovered and he and Farrow broke up, this makes for some uncomfortable moments. Allen portrays Farrow's character as passive aggressive and conniving. He also portrays himself as a man who has a 20-year-old in love with him, yet refuses to consummate the relationship. In the end, the blame for the marital problems are placed at Judy's feet. A bit of alternate reality for Woody? Then again, Allen includes a scene where the young woman played by Juliette Lewis (his young student) criticizes his character's views of women and men in a novel. So Allen is self-aware enough to recognize his own flaws.

All in all, Husbands and Wives is essential viewing for any Allen fan.

Grade: A-

Michael Moore & Sicko (2007)

Sicko (2007)

Documentarian/provocateur Michael Moore brings his trademark style to the American health care system. Like most of Moore's documentaries, it is in turns revelatory, moving, and annoying. Like almost all his films, it is easy to critique ways that he could make it better.

The most powerful portions of the movie are the stories of the ways that the American HMO system screws Americans. The audio footage of Nixon enthusiastically endorsing a system that treats fewer patients is particularly chilling. It's hard to watch stories of patients refused treatment or given the run-around by the system and not feel shocked and appalled. Technically it's probably nothing I didn't know or suspect, but Moore picks some great subjects. This is the best stuff.

Where Moore falters is in showing the systems of other countries: Canada, England, France, and Cuba. As someone who agrees with him about universal health care, there is no doubt that I would prefer a Canadian or European system of universal care. I do question, however, whether showing rich British and French system and all they can afford is really the best way of making his point. What's the point, that people can be rich even with high taxes?? Not revolutionary. It would have been more interesting to see how the poor and working-class are treated in these countries, because I think this would show the importance of a universal system in a more poignant way. It would also have been interesting to see problems that universal systems have endured and how they solved these problems.

I did find Moore's visit to Cuba with 9/11 rescue workers who had been denied care very moving. The fact that a person can get a medicine for about $.05 in Cuba that would cost $120 in the US is appalling. It's hard not to be moved by people being treated with dignity.

So, Moore continues his pattern of documentaries. He preaches to the choir (including me) and we agree with him. He throws in enough questionable material for his detractors to criticize him. I'm hoping that one of these days he matures as a film maker and realizes that sometimes nuance can beat out the obvious.

Grade: B-

Supporting Actress Blogathon & Review of Damage

I'm thrilled at the chance to participate in an upcoming blogathon at StinkyLulu's site (http://www.stinkylulu.com/2009/05/supporting-actress-sundays-for-may09.html#links). I'm a long-time fan of his supporting actress blogathons, where he and guests look back at nominated Supporting Actress performances and critique them. I am even more excited to participate in 1992's blogathon, the year when Marisa Tomei beat 4 British thespians and spawned an urban legend that the wrong name was read (http://www.snopes.com/movies/actors/tomei.asp).

So, in the next few weeks look for reviews of the following films that contain 1992 nominated supporting actress performances:

-Damage (Miranda Richardson)
-Enchanted April (Joan Plowright)
-Howards End (Vanessa Redgrave)
-Husbands and Wives (Judy Davis)
-My Cousin Vinny (Marisa Tomei)

and my first screening was......

Damage (1992)

I found Damage, Louis Malle's very serious and dramatic depiction of an erotic affair between a young woman and her fiance's father, fairly ridiculous in many ways. Little is given in the way of character development and, when it is given, it often feels patently false. The first hour consists of repeated scenes of Jeremy Irons and Juliette Binoche sneaking around and having trysts in various locales. The sex scenes are ludicrous and the characters' motivations and actions rarely believable. Jeremy Irons, who can be a great actor, also seems wooden and emotionless throughout the movie.

In my opinion the best part of the movie was Juliette Binoche, a great French actress (I love her later work in Blue, The English Patient, and Cache). While her character is drawn with broad sketches, she hints at layers underneath. I think the movie would have been much more interesting if it had been told from her perspective rather than Irons', but as in most films, male desire and psychology is given greater precedence.

Miranda Richardson was nominated for a role in which she was supremely miscast, the wife of Jeremy Irons. She plays the mother of 29-year-old actor Rupert Graves when she was (wait for it....) all of 34 years old. I could never buy that she was actually his mother. Nevertheless, she does her best with the role and has probably the movie's most emotional moment in a later scene.

I must admit that the movie was somewhat entertaining in a laughable way, but I don't recommend spending two hours of your time watching it.

Grade: C-

The Mysteries of Charlie Kaufman

Synecdoche, New York (2008)

I saw Synecdoche, New York over a week ago, and I've been pondering it and avoiding reviewing it ever since. It's definitely that kind of movie.

SNY (I can't handle trying to spell it every time I type it) is the directorial debut of Charlie Kaufman, the crazed genius writer behind such films as Adaptation, Being John Malkovich, and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Malkovich is probably in my top-20 movies ever, and Eternal Sunshine in my Top 10, so you can definitely call me a Kaufman fan.

SNY follows Philip Seymour Hoffman as Caden Cotard, a stage director who has some personal loss with the breakup of his marriage, a few health problems, and then wins a genius grant. This takes up perhaps the first 1/2 hour of the movie and is fairly easy to follow. When he gets his grant, he decides to create a recreation of the minutiae of his life. He builds a set of his world and casts people in the parts of his life. The movie continually probes deeper into his production so that you continually have to question what you are watching. It's also pitched somewhere between crazy things happening with real-life logic and a sort of dream logic. It's much more impenetrable and I think personal than any of Kaufman's other movies.

So its interesting and difficult to follow and sometimes frustrating, but what is Kaufman trying to say? I'm not quite sure. I think he is imagining the ego of an artist's gaze taken to the extreme. Could any of us take a recreation of our life over and over and never ending? At the end, Hoffman's character seems to make a choice to leave this examination of his life for another path, which spins the movie in a whole new direction. He's also playing with dreams and reality. The viewer is constantly reeling because we're not sure how to take all the new information. It's not a one-sentence hook like Malkovich (a portal enters the brain of John Malkovich) or Sunshine (a company erases memories).

Hoffman is joined by some of the best current actresses in this film. Catherine Keener as his wife, Michelle Williams as Catherine Keener (sort of), Samantha Morton as a love interest, Emily Watson as Samantha Morton, Dianne Wiest as an actress and mentor, etc. The cast keeps things lively and interesting all along.

This is perhaps the hardest movie to grade that I've seen in quite some time. It's by turns fascinating and frustrating, emotionally compelling and off-putting. I decided to give it a B+, for a fascinating idea that will take some time to figure out. However I end up feeling about the movie (and I have a feeling I will want to revisit it soon), kudos to Charlie Kaufman for having the courage to create such a personal vision that will likely be loathed by many who see it. If you like Kaufman's other movies, and don't mind a movie that doesn't "make sense," definitely see it and let me know what you think.

Grade: B+

Clockers/ The Best of Spike Lee

Clockers (1995)

I checked out Clockers after finishing Richard Price's novel of the same name. Price was one of the lead writers on The Wire, my favorite show of all time by a large margin. His book covered many of the same complexities of the cop/drug dealer world as the show. As excited as I was by the book and by much of Lee's work, I couldn't wait to check out the movie.

Unfortunately, I found it to be one of Lee's weakest movies. The novel is a sprawling 700 pages. The movie follows Rocco, a New York City cop investigating a murder, and Strike, a young drug dealer under the sway of a drug kingpin who is involved with the murder. In order to condense the plot, the characters complexities are greatly reduced and several are turned into caricatures. Lee tries to put so much into this movie. The same material would have been covered in 6 or 7 episodes of The Wire and, thus, given the viewers a much deeper understanding of the characters. Nevertheless, Lee does prove an able director. There are some beautiful camera shots, and Mekhi Phifer is excellent as the young dealer. Nevertheless, on the whole it felt a little sketched in and incomplete. Perhaps The Wire has ruined other cop movies for me.

Grade: C+

The Best of Spike Lee

While Clockers was somewhat disappointing, I do usually admire (and sometimes love) Spike Lee as a director. While his ambition can get the better of him, at his best he is an expert and providing electric, thought-provoking entertainment. Here are my "Top 5" Lee movies. If you haven't seen any of them, I recommend checking them out right away.

1. Do the Right Thing (1989): 20 years later, and Lee's tale of racial dynamics and unrest in Brookyn still packs a thought-provoking wallop. He provides a vibrant mix of actors and characters and serves up no easy answers. The fact that this movie was denied a Best Picture nomination (the year that Driving Miss Daisy won) ranks as one of the most egregious Oscar mistakes of all time.

2. Malcolm X (1992): Lee's soaring biopic of Malcolm X is important filmmaking that is never boring, a frequent fault of screen biographies. Denzel Washington losing the Best Actor Oscar ranks as another awful oversight.

3. 25th Hour (2002): This is a great film that I think was unjustly ignored by many critics. This movie follows Monty Brogan (Edward Norton), a drug dealer in his last night in New York before going to prison. Lee produces an elegiac and mournful movie. While this movie mostly addresses race only tangentially, its most powerful scene involves Norton's tirade against his city. Its a great scene, one that shows Norton's profane rage and (ultimately) love for his city.



4. Get on the Bus (1996): Lee's movie of a group of men traveling across the county to the Million Man March allows him to explore the complexity of black males and their relationship to one another and America. Fascinating stuff.

5. Inside Man (2006): Hugely entertaining heist film. Lee lets loose and provides two hours of clever fun, along with some social commentary (but not too much). The great cast is led by Denzel Washington, Clive Owen, Jodie Foster, and Christopher Plummer.

Runners-Up: Crooklyn, He Got Game, Summer of Sam

Volver and The Times of Harvey Milk

Volver (2006)
*Second Viewing


In terms of quality, I would place this about smackdab in the middle of Almdovar's body of work, which means it's pretty darn good. All About My Mother and Talk to Her are two of my all-time favorites, and Volver doesn't quite live up to them. Penelope Cruz is magnificent as an earthy, tough, working-class Spanish mother who takes things (from cleaning up bodies to starting her own restaurant) into her own hands. This movie is truly a celebration (like many of Almodovar's films) of the strength and resilence of women. It's impressive that Almodovar can create a movie that includes death, incest, and cancer and yet still seem very fun to watch.

Grade: B+

The Times of Harvey Milk (1984)

If you've seen Milk, this documentary doesn't add a whole lot of new information, although you will be impressed at how much Sean Penn, James Franco, and Josh Brolin look like their characters. The best parts were hearing from a few on Milk's political allies and seeing the actual footage. And, of course, Milk's story continues to be both tragic and inspiring.

Grade: B

Best Performances of 2008: The Leads

Now for my favorite lead roles of the year. These roles are on screen enough to make or break a movie. If they're bad, they can ruin an experience and, if they're good, it's much easier to overlook a movie's flaws. Here are the performances that made mediocre movies enjoyable, good movies more compelling, or were essential elements in great movies.

Actor

Colin Farrell, In Bruges: So beneath the bad-boy antics lies a great actor. This movie was fun if not spectacular, but Farrell had the best moments and owned his screentime in a hilarious yet somehow poignant performance. His two essential monologues (one where you find out his original crime, and his final monologue, are great.



Leonardo DiCaprio, Revolutionary Road: Plays his tricky character with the right mix of charm, guilt, and lost dreams. Plays his entirely believable character arc very well. After The Aviator, The Departed, and this, can we finally call this former Tiger Beat cover model one of our most consistently good actors?

Richard Jenkins, The Visitor: Great to see this character actor (perhaps best known for his role on Six Feet Under) get to be the star of the show. He gives a beautiful performance as an emotionally closed economics professor opening himself to all kinds of life's pains and joys. Bonus points for 2008: very funny in Burn After Reading.



Sean Penn, Milk: Penn takes Harvey Milk and, without imitation or obvious stereotyping, makes a three-dimensional character out of him. There are many ways this performance could have gone wrong, but Penn does everything right. The best performance by one of my very favorite actors.

Mickey Rourke, The Wrestler: Perfectly cast as a washed-up wrestler looking for redemption. A physically and emotionally demanding role. I'm not sure if this role will cause a resurgence in his career, or if this performance is a "one-trick pony" (like Randy the Ram), but nevertheless this performance will continue to be remembered and celebrated.

My favorite performance: Sean Penn
Runner-Up performance: Mickey Rourke

Actress

Anne Hathaway, Rachel Getting Married: Gives a complex performance as the force of nature sister whose visit to her sister's wedding throws the family into turmoil. Hathaway never makes the cheap easy choices that would gain obvious sympathy points, yet by the end of the movie the audience cares more about Kym precisely because of her brokenness and complexity.

Sally Hawkins, Happy-Go-Lucky: Has the incredibly difficult role of playing a character who is not only the main character, but also a sort of living treatise of the movie's philosophy. Director Mike Leigh allows his actors to improvise much of their roles, and Hawkins does an astonishing job. Poppy, the irrepressibly happy elementary school teacher, is one of the most memorable characters of recent years.



Melissa Leo, Frozen River: I was no superfan of this fairly predictable indie movie, but Leo captured my attention every second she was on screen. A powerhouse as a tough as nails working-class mom willing to fight for her piece of the pie.

Meryl Streep, Doubt: While at times her performance as Sister Aloysisus threatened to descend into caricature (and, OK, maybe the ending did), Streep expertly fleshes out her character to provide both humor and real emotion. Another great performance by (in my mind) one of the two greatest modern actresses. The other one being....

Kate Winslet, Revolutionary Road: To my mind, Winslet's performance here was a touch more accomplished than her excellent award-winning role in The Reader. I would have put both in my top 5, but I decided to limit myself to one appearance per actor. Watching Winslet as April Wheeler is spellbinding. There's not a moment where Winslet is not truly living the dark emotions of her character.

My favorite performance: Sally Hawkins
Runner-Up: Kate Winslet