Review-a-Palooza!

WALL STREET: MONEY NEVER SLEEPS

As incoherent and wildly over-the-top as this movie can be, I certainly loved it. Crazy Oliver Stone is great Oliver Stone, and here he's delivered an energetic, sometimes bafflingly edited (but in a good way) indictment of these times. Where Wall Street was a warning, Money Never Sleeps is a harsh reflection, and some wry observations about short-sightedness almost come with a shrug of "I told you so". Most of the monologues make their point in the first couple of sentences, then go on babbling nonsensically about some strange metaphor writers Allan Loeb and Stephen Schiff have shoe-horned in. Sylvia Miles reprises her role as a realtor. Just go with it. Have fun. Rodrigo Prieto's cinematography rocks, Craig Armstrong's score is pretty good, and the acting's great! Michael Douglas, Shia LaBeouf, Susan Sarandon, Frank Langella, Carey Mulligan, Josh Brolin: all great, all solid, all believable. Eli Wallach is a madman, but it's awesome and I dig it. It won't be for everybody, but the people who it is for will adore it.


THE AMERICAN

Beautifully shot, subtly directed, mesmerizingly acted. Director Anton Corbijn, cinematographer Martin Ruhe and star George Clooney take all the feeling of loneliness and visualize it. I don't mean just Clooney staring pensively while sitting alone, but the way in which everything is framed, the lingering on a butterfly, the hypnotic entrance of a prostitute, the solitary drives through serene vistas. It's all very beautiful, and (thank the Lord) not without purpose. I'm sure eventually I'll stop being impressed with the subtle ways Clooney humanizes his characters, but that day hasn't come yet. Violante Placido also impresses as the kind-hearted hooker (aren't they always?)...and her looks don't hurt either. What few action sequences there are are genuinely thrilling and cut together clearly! There was a time in the middle where I thought, "This is beautiful, but am I going to care after tonight?" Fortunately, the ending paid off, and I do.


DEAR JOHN

Channing Tatum does a fine job, charismatic and realistic. I like the chemistry between him and Amanda Seyfried. Terry Stacey's cinematography is nice. Otherwise? The film almost plays as a parody of such movies, it's so ridiculous. We get cancer, autism, class distinctions, 9/11, a beachside brawl, a Mysterious Past, coin collecting, a misleading opening monologue, a final scene that does not fit with anything. It's just too much. And not like a Tyler Perry movie, where its camp value is worth its weight in gold, but in a boring, "guess they missed the mark" way. Shame.


NANNY MCPHEE RETURNS

I thought it was just delightful. Never saw the first one, but this movie had me laughing and crying continuously. You can wait for the DVD, but I do recommend picking it up.  My all-time favorite actress, Maggie Smith, has a seemingly trivial role that becomes important as the film progresses, and her last scene absolutely broke my heart. And hey, Maggie Gyllenhaal's English accent is quite convincing! Emma Thompson, of course, is perfection, and Rhys Ifans almost carries off with the film. Great fun!

Ice to See You!

So I'm watching Batman & Robin, in celebration of my just obtaining the full score by Elliot Goldenthal. I know it's an unpopular thing to say, but this is my favorite Batman movie. It keeps me consistently entertained, has the best Batman/Bruce Wayne (the script is not Clooney's fault), and features Alicia Silverstone, who I will always have the hots for. Besides, Akiva Goldsman and Joel Schumacher understood the importance of Alfred better than previous filmmakers. Alfred being my favorite character, this is tres importante to me.

Mind, I also love the Elliot Goldenthal score. Much, much more than Danny Elfman's Batman score. It should have gotten an Oscar nomination, at least over As Good As It Gets.

How can you hate a movie whose first lines are:
ROBIN: "I want a car. Chicks dig the car."
BATMAN: "This is why Superman works alone."

Or a villain whose first three lines are:
"Mercy? I'm afraid that my condition has left me cold to your pleas of mercy."
"In this universe, there is only one absolute: everything freezes."
"You're not sending me to the cooler!"

My God, and the writer has an OSCAR! That is mind-blowing! And Schumacher's reasoning on the Blu-Ray commentary? Because Freeze is a "Nordic, cold figure", so they wanted to make sure the audience "got it". I mean, how the fuck would the audience understand otherwise? His name is only Mr. Freeze!

(Of course, Schumacher frequently insists that this was intended as a kid's movie. Indeed, the reason they chose Poison Ivy and Mr. Freeze is because he asked his six-year-old godson who his favorite Batman villains were. Good taste, kid: Mr. Freeze will always be my favorite.)

Recently, we watched Myra Breckinridge. I loved that, too, but not in an ironic sense. It's a genius film that's ahead of its time. Anyway, my roommate pointed out something interesting. Raquel Welch's performance was...familiar to us. Any idea why?:








Some years back, Tim Burton, writer David Ives and songwriter Jim Steinman attempted to make a Batman musical. The Joker was the villain, Catwoman was involved, and Batman was a crybaby. The fools! Don't make a serious Batman musical, adapt Batman & Robin! The score, the production design, the nipples: they demand to have song-and-dance numbers to support! How much fun would that be? Dear God, the Flower Ball alone is a symphony of music, dance, costuming and overacting. Mr. Freeze may be after the diamonds, but this is the real jewel of the film.



What are you waiting for? Go ahead, give it another chance! If you need a little "extra help" to get through it, do it! It's just such a fun fucking movie!

UPDATE: Forgot to mention this. At the same time,  there's something actually beautiful about the film. Call me crazy, but the scenes with Alfred and Mr. Freeze's wife move me. Like, to tears. Is it the manipulative music? Or is it my own love for these characters? Whatever the reason, the scenes are effective. Thought I should mention this, else you might think the movie is just entertainingly bad. No, people, there are some genuine moments in Batman & Robin, courtesy the performances from Clooney, Silverstone, Michael Gough and AH-nuhld.

Up in the Air

Jason Reitman really surprised me with this one. I've read the book, see, and I kind of figured it wouldn't be a straight adaptation, but God! He and co-writer Sheldon Turner certainly do a number on Walter Kirn's source novel, making up characters (Anna Kendrick's Natalie) while building up others (Vera Farmiga's Alex). It was a lot like Paul Thomas Anderson's There Will Be Blood, adapted from Upton Sinclair's Oil!. The main themes and protagonist were all on hand, but expounded on and developed...differently. But effectively.

I like a lot of things about the movie. George Clooney plays Ryan Bingham, a man whose life is the hotels and planes he spends time in on his way to firing people for "pussies". And it took me a while to see it, but it really is one of his more nuanced performances. It surpassed his Michael Clayton, and is at least on par with Bob Barnes and Fred Friendly (2005's Syriana and Good Night and Good Luck, respectively). Seeing him as vulnerable as he is here was a real change, and he did it so subtly. I love the look on his face when he sees his sister's husband-to-be (Danny McBride) ask her to be his co-pilot. Love it. Probably my favorite moment in the movie.

Vera Farmiga is smart, sexy and confident as Alex, who describes herself to Ryan Bingham as "you, but with a vagina." You love her. You must. I certainly fell for her, and so of course I'm rooting for the coupling all throughout. There are sweet moments between her and Clooney that are charmingly understated. Farmiga gives one of the most relatable, believable performances of the year.

The movie threw me for a loop. Its ending...that's a great ending. It left me speechless, sitting in the theater with my friend, until we finally walked back to the car -- silently. I love it when a movie can knock me flat on my ass without my expecting it. And truly, Up in the Air did just that. It got me emotionally involved without me realizing it. I would definitely see it again: for the acting, the writing, the directing, for Rolfe Kent's score, for the cinematography by Eric Steelberg, etc. It's stunning.

And now the negative. From Videohound's picks of best supporting performances, 2009:

"In the hands of 99 out of 100 actresses, Natalie Keener is a shrill, whiny, cliché of a character – a cocky young lady who learns a serious life lesson from the more experienced older man who mentors her. Yawn. We've seen that before. The tough assignment...was to take that character model and make it feel genuine."

This is what Videohound's Turk182 wrote about his pick for Best Supporting Actress, Anna Kendrick in Up in the Air. What's funny is that I completely disagree. Kendrick has certain moments where she shines, reminding me why I like her in Rocket Science and tolerate her in the Twilight movies. But her Natalie Keener is shrill, whiny, and cliched. Some of her dialogue, God help me, sounds like lines written for the middle daughter in Dan in Real Life. As for that breakdown scene midway through the film? Yikes. Talk about overplaying the comedy. She is the least consistent out of all the actors, and there seems to be no throughline for her character. It's all moments. While I didn't hate her, and while I definitely (DEFINITELY) still love the movie, Kendrick's Natalie gets a shake of the head from me.

I will throw my hat into the ring for Amy Morton as Cara, Ryan's sister. Like I always say: if I can find a real-life counterpart to your role, your doing your job perfectly. Morton, who was nominated for a Tony for her work in August: Osage County, plays my aunt beautifully. She's taken over the mother role, yet she is just as vulnerable as anyone else. Exasperated at her brother's aloofness, she nevertheless strives to keep the family together. A small but wonderful bit of actressing.

National Board of Review

And now the National Board of Review chimes in with its Top Ten...well, Top Eleven really. The NBR gives a Best Picture prize in addition to their Ten of the Year, which is bizarre, but I guess they can do what they want, right?

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

Jason Reitman/Sheldon Turner, Up in the Air

Great novel. I hope their adaptation does it justice. It helps that I have a lot of faith in Reitman, who is two-for-two as far as I'm concerned.

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

Ethan Coen/Joel Coen, A Serious Man

Yes! Keep those awards rolling in! A Serious Man is surely the best Coen Brothers movie since The Big Lebowski, maybe ever.

SPOTLIGHT AWARD FOR DIRECTORIAL DEBUT

Duncan Jones, Moon

Oren Moverman, The Messenger

Marc Webb, (500) Days of Summer

Jeez, do I really need to see The Messenger? The world seems to demand it. Congrats, of course, to Jones and Webb. I've met Webb, a well-spoken and down-to-earth kind of guy, so more power to him!

BREAKTHROUGH ACTOR

Jeremy Renner, The Hurt Locker

Amen to that.

BREAKTHROUGH ACTRESS

Gabourey Sidibe, Precious

As expected. She's going to sweep these, I bet. It's like when Directorial Debut awards in 2007 were exclusively Ben Affleck/Sarah Polley; this category is going to be Sidibe/Carey Mulligan.

BEST ENSEMBLE

It's Complicated

Well. Way to get me even more excited, NBR.

BEST DIRECTOR

Clint Eastwood, Invictus

Cool, cool. I mean, perfectly harmless. The movie's not out yet, so I really can't judge.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Woody Harrelson, The Messenger

Curious: they misspelled Zombieland. Is this movie going to come to Tally? Or will I have to catch it in SoFla over Christmas?

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Anna Kendrick, Up in the Air

And yet, all I can do is think of her in New Moon. I know what sins against cinema I'm committing in admitting that.

BEST ACTOR

George Clooney, Up in the Air

Morgan Freeman, Invictus

As far as actors go, this is probably the safest tie ever. Still: I need to see the films.

BEST ACTRESS

Carey Mulligan, An Education

I don't know if she's my pick (not yet), but I will whole-heartedly support any award thrown at her.

BEST FILM
Up in the Air
In limited release tomorrow. Limited does not mean my city, though. Poop.

TOP TEN

(500) Days of Summer

An Education

The Hurt Locker

Inglourious Basterds

Invictus

The Messenger

A Serious Man

Star Trek
Up

Where the Wild Things Are

OK, so I haven't seen Invictus or The Messenger. But otherwise....pretty cool Top Ten. Star Trek was on mine until Fantastic Mr. Fox came into my life. Inglourious Basterds, A Serious Man and (500) Days of Summer are on mine (so far). Where the Wild Things Are and An Education came pretty close in mine. The Hurt Locker is a solid film. The odd man out here is Up, which I like OK. I mean, you know, it's decent, kinda, I guess. This is big for The Messenger though, which looks like it may be the little indie that could for this year. Precious, meanwhile, is M.I.A. How curious.

Pros/Cons: Fantastic Mr. Fox, State of Play

FANTASTIC MR. FOX

Pros: Clever/funny screenplay, stellar voice work, great score (Alexandre Desplat) and soundtrack, a funny and catchy original song that actually progresses the plot, great production design/costumes

Cons: Too short

Comments: George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Michael Gambon and Wally Wolodarsky (as opossum Kylie) are the true stand-outs. For the first time since The Royal Tenenbaums, Wes Anderson's oddly anachronistic touches fit naturally. I have to see this again.


STATE OF PLAY

Pros: Great chemistry between Russell Crowe and Rachel McAdams, majority of actors bring their A-game, suspenseful and thrilling without resorting to car chases, actually had me at the edge of my seat, Robin Wright Penn

Cons: Final "twist" trifle annoying and out of nowhere, Helen Mirren plays one note, intrusive score, story needs more room to breathe

Comments: I feel like there was so much that wound up on the cutting-room floor, especially for poor Jeff Daniels. When is that guy going to get a break? I do think Russell Crowe is one of the most consistently watchable actors working today. I would have liked to see this done with Ed Norton in the Ben Affleck role, though. That would have been interesting.

Dear Jesus, This Looks Schweet!

Prepare for what is surely a cliche by now. Ready? 3...2...1...

THIS LOOKS....FANTASTIC!!!

Seriously, though: way to sky-rocket up my anticipated list, Mr. Fox (especially with The Wolf Man out).