NRA’s New Poster Child?

Franco

The American hit theaters this past week amid to tepid reviews. Most dissenters labeled it boring or pretentious. I must disagree.

The plot follows Clooney as Jack, a veteran of the hit man world who’s messed up and now has to go in hiding in a quaint European town (ala In Bruges). There he must wait and ponder his midlife crisis.

Imagine The Professional without romanticizing hit men and directed by Jim Jarmusch but without his absurdist’s wit. What you’d get is a very quiet slow-moving, beautiful divisive film. The American is such a film. Minimalism is the name of the game here. Clooney, the camera work, and most of the cast and crew all abide by its laws. There’s nothing fancy or showy about anything in the whole movie. The focus is on facial expressions which manifest from inner turmoil. All characters in this film have fallen into professions that alienate them from society. Clooney is a hit man, Clara a prostitute and Father Benedetto a priest. Each are hiding secrets and are willing but not able to move on from them.

That is what this film is truly about. It’s not a spy thriller as we have been lead to believe by the trailers. But then again, you can’t market a film like this to a wide audience without being deceptive. The American wouldn’t even have gotten a wide release were it not for Clooney’s star power.

I’m happy it did get a wide release. This way it reached some people that it wouldn’t have had it only gone to the indie theaters in the big cities. That’s important to me since this film will be life-changing for someone out there. They will watch this film and view cinema as an art form instead of solely escapist entertainment. The more of those people out there the fewer Pirates of the Caribbean sequels we’ll get.

…But the Parents Took Them to School

What I got out of The Kids Are All Right was who needs men? They are nothing but trouble and only think with their dicks. Unless if they are nerdy and full of doubt. No just kidding. I got a lot out of this fantastic sex dramedy. The movie follows a family consisting of two moms, a teenage daughter and son. The kids are curious to know who their father is so they track down their sperm donor dad inevitably hooking him into their lives which disrupts the whole family dynamic. From this summary, you can tell this movie could’ve been full of really bad stereotypes and pop-culture references. I’m talking The Ugly Truth or I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry bad.

Good thing The Kids was depicted with an air of truthy awareness (the writer director is in a lesbian marriage) that leaves no character under developed. The script did a great job in blending the farcical comedy with messed-up real world drama. Big ups have to go to the cast whom acted superbly notably the 3 adults who steal the movie, Annette Bening, Julianne Moore, and Mark Ruffalo. This might be the latter’s best work. The movie’s success falls on his shoulders as the catalyst of every emotion conveyed by the characters.

The Kids Are All Right is in theaters now. I dare you to dislike this movie.

Franco

Scott Pilgrim Vs. The Expendables

Whenever I watch a movie/stand-up and hear a clever line I feel I could’ve come up with it. I can’t enjoy its quality because I’m thinking “Great. I’ll never be able to make that one lest I am accused of Mencia-ing it.” This, however, was not the case when I caught Edgar Wright’s Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World. It’s safe to say that I haven’t seen any movie quite like Scott. It was visually inventive almost to a fault. Wright is a master of using editing and pace to compliment comedy outside the punchlines themselves.  The script was by the numbers but you don’t buy a ticket for a movie about hipster doofuses fighting each other over blue-haired manic pixies for the emotional catharsis or social commentary (which you might find upon further viewings). Oh, and Michael Cera didn’t play himself. It’s okay to watch this in the theaters.

Its box office impact is floundering. Scott needs your help. This movie is the most visually thrilling theater experience I’ve had of 2010. Not bad for a year containing How to Train your Dragon and Inception and The Good The Bad The Weird.

Franco

In My Top 3 of 2010 (so far)

Franco

This poster is weird but don’t let it fool you. There’s nothing weird about this movie unless you think great is weird. I guess  nowadays great movie is kinda weird.

The film follows an Australian crime family coming to terms with the end of their careers. Armed robbery is no longer a viable means to make a living. The pay isn’t worth the risk. They are dinosaurs among woolly mammoths. The protagonist is a teenager who by extenuating circumstances is forced to reconnect with his seedy uncles and creepy grandmother. The feces hits the fan and he finds himself in the grips of Detective Guy Pearce’s prickly mustache. He’s stuck between loyalty to his estranged family and a possible happy ending. There’s nothing original about the script but believe me, it won’t matter.

Writer/Director David Michod keeps a consistent edge-of-your-seat pacing (think No Country For Old Men) through letting scenes build up without a payoff. This type of cinematic blue-balling  climaxes at the right moments leaving you gripping your pillow tight, errrr… armrest. Michod should also be praised on how well he writes and directs his actors. This film was superbly acted having me empathize in one way or another with all its characters. It has been a while since I saw a movie in theaters where I could say that pacing and character development were the two standouts.

Animal Kingdom is the type of drama Hollywood should be releasing on the regular. US studios have the capital and the brains to consistently come out with intelligent adult films that speak to us on multiple levels. Vote with your dollar. Go watch it.

Franco

Revenge is a Dish Best Served with Pasta

Franco

1964’s A Fistful of Dollars (the first of “The Man With No Name” trilogy) directed by Sergio Leone is credited with revamping the stale Western genre and kicking off a sub-genre single handedly: the spaghetti western. The film stars Clint Eastwood (in his breakout role) as a drifter who stumbles upon a town made up almost entirely of two warring gangs fighting for control. Being a cheeky monkey the man with no name plays both sides against each other for his own personal gain. You don’t have to be an Oxford grad to see conflict on the horizon.

It’s the best remake of Akira Kurosawa‘s  classic Yojimbo which was set in a rural town full of warring samurai (there have been many sub-par remakes since i.e. Last Man Standing). Fistful is not as great a picture as Kurosawa’s (few are) take but its intention is another. Sergio Leone added life back into westerns when most films of the genre were playing it safe with conventional approaches and executions. Leone’s films were breaths of fresh air with their schizophrenic editing, grandiose scores, unpredictable violence  and most importantly, slow-building tension.

Don’t expect a masterpiece but if you are a fan of westerns and can overlook low-budget continuity errors then by all means have fun watching A Fistful of Dollars.

Too Soon?

Franco

It’s been roughly only three years since its release but it seems that David Fincher‘s Zodiac has already gotten the shaft. Why so few people have watched this enthralling epic procedural is beyond me. Maybe its because people expected a balls-to-the-wall thriller/horror flick. What they got instead was one of the smartest crispest looking films of the decade. With few instances of violence and zero scenes of car chases and explosions this film finds a way to keep the viewer enthralled for 2.5 hours plus. For instances, the third act has very little happening save for the anxiety that the scenes ooze. Every minute up to it is a slow burn that earns its climax. Not much happens but you feel like you are in that room. Who would’ve thought that following journalists and police officers could be captivating cinema?

The secret is with the meticulous attention to detail. Every aspect of a newsroom in the 70’s to a police station in the 80’s seems painstakingly authentic engrossing the viewer in the process.  Fincher, being the modern day Kubrick that he is, has been criticized in the past for getting bogged down in the visual details while neglecting character development and story. But what people seem to not understand is that character and plot is only one way to tell a story. Visuals, such as cinematography and editing, are another. Fincher knows his strengths and how to manipulate the audience into feeling his work in the intended manner (Mr. Cameron, THIS is how you use CGI to enhance storytelling). This time around it culminates into Zodiac; his best film to date.

A Lost Paradise

Franco

The average moviegoer may have never heard of Ernst Lubitsch and it is a shame. But if you are an aspiring self-respecting cinephile like myself you’ve got to do your homework. The man who would greatly influence one of old Hollywood’s greatest legends, I’m looking at you Billy Wilder, has got some major game himself. Mr. Lubitsch started making silent films but migrated to Hollywood and successfully switched to talkies revolutionizing mainstream cinema while bringing a certain flair and joie de vivre to the screen. With a little help from technology I skyrocketed 1932’s Trouble in Paradise to the top of my queue. I had heard the name but didn’t know much else. The film follows two romantically entangled thieves working the upper-crust of Depression era Europe. One such job has them swindling a Parisian widow whom the dude falls for. A hilarious love triangle ensues. From the first scene I knew I was in for something special. No shot is wasted under Lubitsch because every aspect of this film is there to further the story or character development. That’s always a good sign of a good movie. What makes this a great movie is that Lubitsch doesn’t get over indulgent in his providing his auteur’s touch. Every decision is even-handed enhancing the pacing and lets the actors work the story and snappy dialogue to near perfection.

What makes this different than a lot of old-timey black and white films of the yesteryear is that it was produced before the Hays Code so you know it is way 1930’s racy and full of sinful innuendo.  Due to the puritan leaning of the Hays Code Trouble in Paradise was rarely screened or available for viewing until the late 60’s when society wised up a little. Lucky for us Criterion has released it and is now available for our enjoyment. If you want funny adult situations that ooze wry sophistication and can get over the b/w then this forgotten gem is for you.

The Usual Plot Twists

Franco

Spoiler Free!!

Back when I was in middle school I used to get asked all the time what my favorite this and that was and for movies I always had a few that were ready to come out in my back pocket. One of them was The Usual Suspects (1995) directed by Bryan Singer. Back then I wasn’t a discerning nerd and easily fell prey to plot twists and faux suspense. I’m sad to announce that I recently saw this movie again after years and was sorely disappointed.

Friends, this movie is not like a fine wine. It has not aged well at all. It is a time capsule of the 80’s hangover which was the 90’s. The score is monumentally cheesy and so is the acting especially the investigation scenes. You could see traces of the over actor that Kevin Spacey would become although the script gives very few of the actors much to work with. The standouts are Gabriel Byrne’s brooding, man on the edge performance and Benicio Del Toro’s cartoonish impression of a gay Latin hard-as-nails heist man. This leads me to the script. Apparently it won an Oscar. So that’s cool except it doesn’t mean much since they gave one to Kevin Spacey for his performance too (remember this was the year Nicolas Cage won Best Actor and Braveheart won best picture!)

It wasn’t all bad. The cinematography was pretty good. Singer is a craftsman and knows how to use the camera to create tension. The editing was also a plus in most cases. The narrative was unreliable and nonlinear. In light of these obstacles the editors did a good job in capturing the right tone (despite the kitschy score) and I felt grounded in what was happening on screen. When I wasn’t it was because I was busy thinking the script should’ve done a better job in developing the characters in order for some one to care about what happens to them.

Anyways, don’t get me wrong. I kinda sorta still like this movie but can you believe some ass gave this flick four stars? It’s fallen drastically in my estimation. Maybe it has in that guys opinion too.

Hey, I Watched A Good Movie

Nic

I always get excited when I like a movie (duh, who doesn’t), but I especially get excited because it seems so rare these days.

I finally caught Watchmen, and was really happy I did. I had heard a lot of people complaining about it (critics, comic book nerds, and Franco of course). Since I am not any of those people, I came in with no expectation either way.

I totally dug it. Great writing, great cinematography, great inclusion of glowing blue genitalia. Go at it with an open mind and you will probably enjoy it. If you still don’t like it, well you weren’t really doing anything anyways, right?

Review – Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans

Franco

Nicolas Cage is back! Was he ever here? It doesn’t matter.

Director Werner Herzog pulls in the overzealous actor’s reigns and directs him to near perfection. Nicolas Cage spits hot fire in the role of Terrance McDonagh, a seriously corrupt detective in post-Katrina New Orleans working on a case of a slain Senegalese family in the projects while doing everything in his power to remain on the force.

The plot is secondary to the character study of the one-man circus bestowed upon the public by Nicolas Cage. He doesn’t do his usual Nicolas Cage acting tricks. He goes over top but it comes from within Terrance (his character) spurn by the environment he created for himself. Despite Terrance being the epitome of the unreliable narrator we get flashes of his moral code which leaves us surprised every time we find ourselves rooting for him.

The direction of the plot worked very well despite pacing problems surrounding the boy witness. The tone was erratic but for the most part it works in mirroring Terrance’s downward spiral. The selection of the musical tracks and its placement were jarring but were well calculated. The aftermath of Katrina left New Orleans feeling and behaving like the Wild West. This is evident in many lowlife facets of society that the film chooses to explore. Such as the corrupt police force (everyone knows of Terrance’s shady activities but it’s no matter), the shoddy architecture (police station especially), the blatant street violence, overt prostitution, illegal gambling. It was an interesting choice to have Terrance’s seedy lifestyle follow him and confront him at his desk in the police office. It’s all the more interesting that no one seems to notice and/or care.

Eva Mendes looked the part but was a bit outclassed by Cage in every scene. She went for the simple-minded, wide-eyed girl but couldn’t sell keep up with Cage’s . Although her part was poorly written, another actress could’ve done something more with the material. Jennifer Coolidge did very well as the sympathetic alcoholic step-mother without vying for our pity. She embodied the character’s hardships and we innately felt compassion for her situation. It was nice to see Michael Shannon play the pushover. Herzog could’ve given that part to any extra but he brought a different layer to his character’s dilemma. I cannot wait to see the Shannon/Herzog collaboration in the upcoming “My Son, My Son What Have Ye Done.”

The tying up of the loose ends resonated with me. The conclusion worked by not having a Hollywood ending where the corrupt leading man gets his comeuppance. Bad Lieutenant is not a cautionary tale as much as the story of a man bouncing back from the edge of the abyss. Terrance’s, Cage’s and New Orleans fate are one in the same. Especially after that Super Bowl win!

If you enjoy ridiculous nontraditional filmmaking where you cannot guess what will happen next then Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans is your brand of crack.

Franco