Category: Drama

REQUIEM FOR A DREAM (2000) movie review

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Infantile cravings, though innate, can overcome and potentially destroy if unrestrained by maturity and self-control. The hunger pangs of this film by Darren Aronofsky grow beyond craving to obsession. As with any drug, a lingering pleasure, a momentary satistfaction is reached. One exhales only to take in new air, new breath of disappointment in a high as yet again unfelt, unreached. Intake. In. Take. Take. Take. Take in.

Seizing. Seizing again. This film is a seizure-worthy kaleidoscoping journey through addiction and self-destruction.

Four stories intertwine, lifting and falling, hushed then screaming. They emote, but are guarded. They lie so constantly that they can’t decipher truth. Jared Leto, son front and center, dreams of a middle-to-upper class life and believes that selling drugs can get him there. It’s his get-rich-quick scheme. That’s all. His best friend can help him get there, as he’s well connected. His girlfriend, Jennifer Connolly, loves him dearly, but when push comes to shove, will offer her body in exchange for the drug she loves more. Leto’s mother, played by Ellen Burstyn , finds herself possessed with a vision of television fame, which claims her as she tries a simple prescription weight-loss drug to melt away the ever-present desire for food. She is always hungry, and her constant need to feed is quickly replaced with pills. If one works, more must work better. If one hit works, more must be better. Just try a little. But more is never better. Cravings replace longings and turn to obsession in each story. All four end as they came into the world: in fetal position clutching all that they have left and believing the lie that they are going to be okay.

If our lives are our personal requiems, we require many voices. The music crescendos with conflict and slows to harmonious tinkles when peace returns, if peace ever returns.

This film is one of dissonance and hunger. Death, the innevitable outcome. Methods in this case involve meth, heroine, loneliness, pride, and greed. See this film if you are ever tempted by drugs. You’ll hate the idea, the constant craving pains, the need on replay, the ache for more. This film exhausts, distresses. I can’t watch it again. I had to watch some of it in fast forward. No amount of love can replace the gutteral instinct to use. And this film makes drug use of every kind despicable with only one outcome: suffering. Beware: the journey is very real and disturbing. Violence, drug use, sex, nudity – all in the rating and possibly underplayed by the “R.”

HUNGER GAMES (2012) movie review

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Reality TV becomes social political commentary in the 2012 film Hunger Games.  It’s a bruital Truman Show with show hosts, sponsors, and producers ruling like a mythological godhead. Then like in the Gladiatorial arena, the thumb lifts selecting life or death.

No. I haven’t read the books. Now I don’t think I can. I almost walked out of the theater three times. There I sat, knowing conceptually that the games were a Shirley Jackson-esque Lottery ending in murder, but the promise of a “bloodbath” was sure to be fulfilled and suddenly more than I could take. It felt like seeing Clint Eastwood‘s Million Dollar Baby. I knew it was about boxing, but I’d forgotten until I was sitting there in the theater that girls would be punching each other in the face. Certainly, the director handled the carnage in Hunger Games like a Bourne or Bond film with fast hand-held camera shaking around the action followed by a montage of dead children. Dead children. Children murdering children. That’s what this film is about. I’m wrecked, disgusted, befuddled. Why the hype? Why the encouragement? Why will we all take time to see this? From concept to box office, however, this has not been a hard sell. Why?

It released at midnight, and I saw it less than 24 hours later. As I’d hoped, the theater was full of fans, the best and worst crowd to see a movie with because they know what is coming and because they know what is coming. I heard anticipatory sobs before pivotal deaths happened.

Okay. So, it’s brilliant. It’s a could-be post-apocalyptic America. It’s the French Revolution. The commoners must rise up against the aristocracy. Big Brother must not win despite his sci-fi magic dogs and hallucinogenic killer bees. So, the people must fight. Sacrifices will be made. A hero must rise up. The chosen hero is Katniss Everdeen. She will be a symbol of relief and freedom. She cheated the games – a true tribute. I love that she only fights defensively and ever out of mercy. We love her first for breaking small rules, for showing skills with a bow, for loving her sister, for parenting her family, for surviving. We love her would-be boyfriend for loving her, for his beauty. Oh, that Hemsworth family…

Casting is possibly perfect. Woody Harrelson endears himself like he hasn’t since Cheers. His character redeems the story – a true mentor who knows well the special world of the arena, a true coach and friend. I like that his character is messy, honest, crude, and trustworthy.

Lenny Kravitz steps in as the stunner with heart.Stanley Tucci, as usual, can do no wrong. Wes Bentley‘s facial hair stands alone. I love him. Well done, costuming and make-up.

Even young Josh Hutcherson stands out as a precious Peeta. I believe that he loves her and always has. Lovely. And, Jennifer Lawrence remains the new it girl.

 

Donald Sutherland, as always, gives the cast credibility. I’d cast him as F.D.R. someday, the beloved father and strong politician. These characteristics make Sutherland a viable villain as well. He calmly tends his roses as we figure out that he‘s the thumb calling life or death. He’s the dictator offering a socialist hope while disguising a communist regime. The quintessential line of the film is his. He comments that the only weapon greater than fear is hope. Katniss represents the hope for the common people, those still starving to death in prison camps beyond the gates of the golden city. War will be the inevitable outcome of these Hunger Games, but I hope the war doesn’t manifest off-screen in evermore gratuitous youth violence.

DOWNTON ABBEY – – TV Series (2010-2012)

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Pronounced “Dow’tn,” it’s a place and a people. This castle is the Crawley family home. The proper lines are drawn between the titled and the subordinate, and rarely in film or TV do the twain meet. Here at Downton, however, the lives of the separate sets intersect in all ways proper and improper.

Just give in already. Everyone, from your sister and your co-worker Jim to your friend’s great Aunt Ruby, has been telling you to watch it. This once small show about a large English estate and the hierarchy of its inhabitants has become a delightful pastime, another family to feel for, a set of characters that you don’t have to feel guilty for judging.

Cast perfectly, they all seem normal and somehow more tangible than most period characters. They are real people from a surreal time in history. Each lasting character has proven him or herself flawed in some way or another so we become kindred, drawn in.

We relate, celebrating  triumphs and weeping loss along with each one. Certainly some characters feel less so, almost cartoon, existing as entities completely evil or entirely good. And a few storylines wane exhaustive while others hold us, keep us paying for Netflix, keep us wondering if Matthew and Mary will ever figure it out.

Go ahead. Get sucked into Downton for a little while. You’ll see a different take on historical events like the sinking of the Titanic and WWI. You’ll gain perspective for a culture that we anglofiles already glean from and emulate. We know who we are. We woke up at 4am to watch the wedding. We care about the pomp and propriety. We long for a bit of that in our lives. But, when it comes down to it, we haven’t really decided which side of the estate we can see ourselves on. Would we bear the boredom, the censure, the responsibility of those who stand still to be dressed for dinner? Or, would we wear the worker greys, sweep the soot, and serve the food with snark and sass in each step up those creaky Downton steps.

Oscar Predictions 2012

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Confession: my Oscar picks rarely match the Academy’s choice winners. I can’t help it if I’m a sucker for the underdog. But, loving a loser in this case still means loving a nominee. Second runners up dodge with dignity but remain eternal favorites.

BEST ACTOR nods to Brad Pitt‘s tux,  but George Clooney should take it home for his distraught dad in The Descendants. Gary Oldman is still too creepy despite his beloved Commissioner Gordon in The Dark Knight. In the end, Jean Dujardin will accept in French for his perfect Gene Kelly joi de vivre in The Artist.

SUPPORTING ACTOR? Kenneth Branagh in My Week with Marilyn.

Though The Help will put up a good fight, this Oscar for BEST ACTRESS belongs to Michelle Williams for her Marilyn Monroe. And Jessica Chastain is up for playing my favorite character in The Help, but she should have been nom’d for Tree of Life.

It seems the true battle cry will rise up between the DIRECTORS – all deserving. The Artist Michel Hazanavicius, The Descendants Alexander Payne, Hugo Martin Scorsese, Midnight in Paris Woody Allen, The Tree of Life Terrence Malick.

Malick may not show, Payne may be all show, Allen would dance the jig if he got it, H will bring the dog along, but the night will belong to Scorsese.

Hugo might just take BEST PIC’s statue home. But I believe that all the feel-good films that fight or first will sit it out while the little, lower budget, love song of a silent film The Artist takes first.

It’s a good year for Oscars and a decent year in film. They open with the red carpet, and the show begins at 4pm, Feb. 26. Download a ballot and cast your votes, or get the Oscar App free this week.

MY WEEK WITH MARILYN (2011) movie review

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Marilyn Monroe
Gaudy. Mystical. She was an icon of whimsy and total sex appeal. All who saw her fell in love. In death, she immortalized. She will never age. Her silver screen images will never prove mortality by promoting Depends ads. She will never gain weight and move to making Jenny Craig commercials, or have children and do that kiddie film just for them. She will ever be the bombshell blonde known for her curves and whispy vibrato.
In this glorious film tribute, illustrious cast on call, Michelle Williams leads the parade exuding the vulnerability of the gauzy star and allowing us to ask the questions. Was Marilyn capable of suicide? Was she the actress she hoped she’d be? Was it all a show, a game to her? Did she know exactly what she was doing? Was her real life as enchanting as she wanted us to believe?  Or, did she absently originate the term ‘dumb blonde‘ by being herself?This film raises another set of questions regarding the philosophy of classical acting versus method. Two schools of thought: I’ll call it Shakespeare Vs Stanislavsky. It’s no shock that Branaugh, known as the world’s favorite Shakespearean film lead, bests a brilliant Sir Lawrence Olivier -bucking the “method.” The whole historical grudge between these two has held in enmity over time. I believe Ryan Gosling to be an undeclared method actor. Michelle Williams is all too familiar with the man Heath Ledger who followed the method and died; many believe he died when he allowed himself to get too much into his character’s life, art, and back-story. Method actors search the resources of their minds to become their characters on and off screen in order to present the most realistic and believable performances possible. Believe it or not, Marilyn fancied herself a method actor. Ah ha! Herein lies the rub? No one claimed to know who Marilyn truly was. Couldn’t someone have saved her? I believe the journals of this film’s lead boy tell a brilliant story with no difinitive answers. But, we like suspense. Spend a week with Marilyn here and decide all for yourself.

PS. (Its “R” rating is akin to The King’s Speech (2010)…for language). Like Marilyn Monroe’s many films, the sensual tease in this film is ever apparent and acute but never acted upon. Visit Scarecrow Video in Seattle and rent one of Marilyn’s films. A few favorites include: How to Marry a Millionaire (1953), Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953), Monkey Business (1952), and River of No Return (1954).

SHERLOCK HOLMES: A Game of Shadows (2011)

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Not the usual second. Seconds usually infer either more of the same or the meanness of second skimmings.

In the case of Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, I see ingenuity, creative freedom, and brilliant new camera work and effects. It maintains the same quick wit, cool chemistry, slow-motion prep scenes, and dry British charm while delivering well-paced action.

To quote Sherlock himself, so overt it’s covert.

This brilliant film stands alone and should be seen again.
The ticket price was worth it to see the war in the woods scene a second time.

DESCENDANTS (2011) movie review

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Descending the spinning vortex of unfinished plans, this film makes you recount the decisions of your life. Why that worry? Why that fear? In the scheme, isn’t it so trivial?
Clooney in the spin, all resting on him, never ducks to miss the blow. He takes it in the teeth again and again but arises victorious albeit beaten. His reward was there all along but he couldn’t see the girls he loved, not really. Impressive and gorgeous performances all around.
Director Alexander Payne lets it all sink in and lets us deal with grief. This film offers perspective. Hawaii in the raw everyday of normalcy still glows alluring and pleasantly paced. In its candor is also a tribute to a strong people. Let us weep and say goodbye. Let us know truth, believe the best, and ever sway along to these redemptions songs.

THE FAMILY MAN (2000) movie review

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Brett Ratner redeemed. He claims that this is his favorite of his films. I know I’ve trash talked him a bit, but I must credit him with best direction of Nick Cage. Sure Nick’s made enough terrible film choices to make you overlook this national treasure, but he’s precious in this one. This is his best character to date. His grinch-turned-Griswold kills me softly and I adore him as a Family Man.

Tea Leoni performs flawlessly, creating chemistry, making matronhood and mothering look sexy and appealing. I fall for Jeremy Piven and Don Cheadle along with the rest of the world.

“Oh, you mean this chocolate cake? No. It’s too important to me…”

It’s an inverted “Wonderful Life” story. The glimpse is the gift and the journey of the film. It answers our ever-loving “what-ifs.” Our lives are built on decisions and priorities. Who would we be if we had chosen differently? I don’t know, but “I choose us.”

HUGO (2011) movie review

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HUGO!

I thought this movie would be about a boy who wishes a robot to life and journeys to a magical land.

But, this       is not that movie.

Scorsese changes his tune and shoots a children’s flick? Nope…not really.  He does present a film in true 3D. I usually loathe 3D movies – waiting for the trick – when the bug or sword or shield flies out toward a flinching audience. In this, however, you feel that you are in the movie. Characters float in depth. You almost forget you’re watching a movie, let alone a 3D movie.

In fact, you must curb all expectations and see this film with the mind of a movie lover.

This is a film about filmmaking.

Scorsese croons a love song to his art, singing film in the lyric of filmmaker.

Toward the end, I sat stunned…glued… forgetting completely my 3D glasses. Tears streamed my cheeks as I pondered the opus. This  was an operetta of winding gears, of a singular beam of light hitting a screen, of dreams come to life, of magic.

Movie magic. Storybooks left undusted, are breathed upon and revived!

The characters are lovely, memorable. The train station plays the constant character of permanence, despite cataclysm.

Shift & surge, dream & love, but know that this is not about the people; it’s about the projection. It’s not even about the adventure. Odysseus is safely home, recounting the story to Penelope, and inviting us into the dreaming. Story pages lift and float once more.

Blessed Ben Kingsley, like  the automaton, stands in need of awakening. The boy stands as savior in desperate need of saving.

I rarely talk of my own dreams on this blog. I prefer to cuddle safely in the warm blanket of anonymity. But, in truth and blunt honesty, I dream of being a mother. And, that boy Hugo is the son of my dreams.

DAN IN REAL LIFE (2007) movie review

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On the subject of music in film, I tend to trust the voice of Jack Black‘s character from The Holiday (2006)

Steve Carell remains the “it” man to cast these days. Despite his beloved go-to Michael Scott character role in The Office,

somehow his peculiar, unpretentious likability as DAN in his “Real” Life supersedes Carell’s usual funny man.

Dan is flawed but funny, jealous but loyal, a dad to three daughters. From the first frame, we’re drawn to him. We empathize with his loss before we know the details. We hear bits and pieces throughout, but we don’t need more. The story is rarely told from the father’s perspective. We hear the daddy issues in every story, but this real life tale shows a lovable Dad’s journey from loss to life. This film is perfectly cast, and the family interactions are priceless and quotable: “This corn is like an angel.” “Why do we keep lighthouses? …Cause they’re neat?” “Put it on my tab.” 
Dan’s story is memorable – the stuff comfort films are made of. I give much of the credit for this to the phenomenal Sondre Lerche, who scored this film.

His songs are ingeniously inlaid throughout, singing what Dan’s character cannot speak, revealing his insecurities, his heart’s palpitations, worries, and fears. This was filmmaker Peter Hedges’ brilliant plan: to make his movie with a built-in soundtrack by one artist, like Simon & Garfunkel did for The Graduate. Sondre gathered ideas from the screenplay, wrote and played music while on set with the actors, developed and pitched tunes and lyrics throughout the project, and recorded continually as the film was being made. Check out the “Handmade Music” featurette to watch him in action behind the scenes.

I met Sondre Lerche at Bumbershoot in Seattle a few years ago and asked him about making the film. He said it was both the hardest and most rewarding thing he’d ever done. He said it was fast-paced and high pressure, but that the outcome was a project that he was truly proud of.  He was able to make his on-screen debut as the hired band in the final scene. Even if you’ve seen it before, watch again with Sondre’s music in mind, and “be prepared to be surprised…”