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Clint Eastwood is a master storyteller. His direction, particularly as of late with such films as “Million Dollar Baby” and “Mystic River” and, (from what I’ve heard but haven’t seen yet) “Changeling” offer an insight into storytelling lost in many contemporary directors. He does it again in “Gran Torino.“ Playing war vet Walt Kowalski, an embittered old man whose wife recently died and who has a poor relationship with his two sons and their families and living in the middle of the cultural melting pot of Detroit, MI, next door to a family of Hmong people (typically from Laos, Thailand, and Cambodia) with whom he shows obvious disdain, Kowalski is pursued spiritually by an ambitious young priest and is forced to confront his past demons toward his own salvation. After the teenaged son of the Hmong family, Thao, attempts to steal his prized possession — a 1972 Gran Torino — during a gang initiation, Kowalski’s determination to teach the boy that he is ultimately responsible for his choices and essentially takes him under his wing and, in doing so, grows close to the entire family and makes choices himself that transform him from bitter old man to, in my opinion, hero. As is the case with many Eastwood-directed/produced films, character development is central and this film follows suit. Despite the moments of humorous dialogue, this film is an intense drama and elicited much emotion from me (while giving Mr_Movie_Maven ample opportunity to chuckle at my repeated requests for the kleenex box.) I didn’t like Kowalski’s character in the beginning of the film — I assume the audience isn’t supposed to — however his own personal growth is both beautiful and subtle and the film succeeds despite the amateur acting of much of the cast who had never acted before. What could have easily been a routine film about a grumpy old racist war vet was elevated by Eastwood’s portrayal of the character and the subtle nuances he brings to his performance coupled with his directorial prowess. Oh, and the car is SWEET!!
I put off writing this for a while because I wasn’t sure exactly what to write. Even now, after thinking about it for a couple of weeks I am still a bit out of sorts. The prequel to “The DaVinci Code” (which I loved AND read the book), A&D was cinematically less satisfying. I’m not sure if it’s because I have not yet read the book or if the adaptation was not as compelling as DaVinci. To me, the film felt more akin to “National Treasure.” I’m also not sure if the casting may have been off a bit. Ewan McGregor was completely unconvincing in his role to me as was Armin Mueller-Stahl and these are two normally fabulous actors. Then again it could have been Ron Howard’s direction; however, he, also, is usually spot-on. While an entertaining film as a whole, I did walk away a bit disappointed and thinking about plot holes and such. I definitely need to read the book. It’s interesting to read other reviews on this film. It appears viewers either love it or hate it - there’s not much middle ground.
And yet another Asian horror remake, along the lines of “The Ring“, “The Grudge” and “Shutter“; however, I enjoyed this one, based on the original “A Tale of Two Sisters.” Espousing the prototypical psychological thriller genre, the movie revolves around Anna (Emily Browning) who returns home to her father (David Strathairn), her sister Alex (Arielle Kebbel), and soon-to-be evil stepmother (Elizabeth Banks) following a stint in a mental hospital after a suicide attempt following the death of her mother. Having not seen the original, I can only offer my opinion on this film. Ghosts, flashbacks, murders, and the ever-imposing persona of Banks’ character combined to raise this film well above my original expectations. And I jumped…I like that! Oh, and watch closely, listen closely, ignore the minor plot holes, and enjoy the ride.
Oh those blue eyes of Daniel Craig…wow. I’m not particularly a fan of him as James Bond but in “Defiance” he was amazing as one of the three Jewish Bielski brothers (the other two played by Liev Schreiber and Jamie Bell) who, during WWII, rescued several Jews, maintained a forest-based camp in German-occupied Belarussia, and taught them to protect themselves through hard work and trust. Directed by Academy Award winner Edward Zwick, this film effectively balances the horrors of war with the triumph of the human spirit and illustrates how the will to survive can overcome anything. There is definitely no glamorization of war, moments of heavy-hitting action and some intensely violent scenes but these are offset by the superb acting, direction and character development. Highly recommended. Bring some tissue.
Recommended by our local Hollywood Video buddies, Mr_Movie_Maven and I rented “Passengers” (2008) starring Anne Hathaway, Patrick Wilson, Dianne Wiest, and David Morse. To be honest, I never heard about it before and the plot was interesting. Counselor Hathaway works with plane crash survivors to overcome their emotions. Sounds simple enough, right? But that’s only the beginning. The film itself has been tagged as belonging in several genres; however, it is more drama/suspense with a little bit of romance. There is considerable character development during the majority of the film, leading some to dub the film as slow but the direction and pace in which the plot traversed was necessary for its climax which is a little twisty in this era of “let’s put a surprise twist into the movie.” Face it, since “The Sixth Sense” there has been a run of movies which try to surprise the audience at the end and, in my opinion, none have measured up. I enjoyed it. Yes, I figured out the end early. Yes, it is flawed; however, it is also entertaining - which is the purpose of watching a movie, isn’t it?
I missed this in the theatre and being a big Clive Owen fan, Mr_Movie_Maven and I rented it this week (I just had surgery so we rented a LOT of movies.) While the story had a unique and intelligent premise, the acting, in my opinion (and despite a nice cast) was lacking (even from Mr. Owen who seemed to force his lines a little bit too much.) The direction by Tom Tykwer (of “Run Lola Run” fame which, by the way, is a fabulous movie) was above average, particularly the scene that occurs in New York’s Guggenheim Museum. That the film had an intelligent premise was not, at least for me, enough to meet my expectations. I found the plot a bit too convoluted and didn’t really care enough for the characters to be too concerned about their fates; however, on the other hand, I didn’t dislike it.
Since I’m having surgery next week, Mr_Movie_Maven and I continued our week o’movies with “Terminator Salvation” - the 4th installment in the franchise. (According to imdb.com, “Terminator 5” is in the works already with McG (”We are Marshall” and “Charlie’s Angels - Full Throttle“) slated to direct again. (Can you say overkill???) Anyway, I went into the film with low expectations after reading reviews which alluded to the special effects as being the only redeeming quality but have to say I was pleasantly surprised, particularly with Sam Worthington (Marcus.) Now, I LOVE Christian Bale but Worthington sure gave him a run for his money in all respects. Whew, the man is hot and he can act!!! Back to the movie, great special effects, so-so prequel/sequel storyline, nondescript acting that was, at times, a bit too melodramatic, and good sound editing. Oh, and a CGI “cameo” of Arnold Schwarzenegger. And as I have not seen “Terminator 3 - Rise of the Machines” (yes, I know, shame on me) I didn’t get “lost” during the film as there is a little synopsis at the beginning to fill in some of the blanks. I wouldn’t recommend seeing this film without seeing, at least, the original “Terminator.“
Since I’m having surgery next week, Mr_Movie_Maven and I have been going to the movies a lot since I’ll be out of commission for a while. Today we saw “Drag Me To Hell” (2009) a spoofish film that combined elements from several other horror films into a poorly acted film with so-so special effects, not too many jump moments for me, but with a good, almost requisite twist ending. There were many, many laugh moments; however, this was not surprising given that Sam Raimi and his son Ivan wrote the film while Sam directed it. Alison Lohman and Justin Long (the PC guy) had absolutely no chemistry whatsoever and I didn’t really care what happened to the other characters - except the cute kitten. Compounding the problem were the noisy teenagers in the back of the theatre who wouldn’t shut up. I swear, I am getting sick of going to the movies anymore because of the rudeness of most of the movie-goers in our lone theatre. I’m surprised that the reviews were so high as I was a bit disappointed.
Still on my post-Oscar kick, I rented “The Wrestler” (2008) with Mickey Rourke and Marisa Tomei last night. Despite Darren Aronofsky being one of my favorite directors I was initially not that thrilled to see this film but am glad I did. A lot of people claim this film was slow and boring but it is a character study of Rourke’s and Tomei’s characters which almost parallel each other. They are both “past their prime” and doing whatever they can to survive. In order to fully develop a character, time is necessary and this film is long compared to most (much like “The Reader” - without the requisite time, neither film would have been as good.) If you are looking for an action film, despite some action wrestling scenes within, then I wouldn’t recommend it. If you are looking for a well-acted drama with some true emotion, then by all means see this. Rourke’s parallels to his own character Randy “The Ram” Robinson were plentiful as well and both were able to make the comeback they wanted so much. Another complaint is the ending. Without giving anything away I will offer one word: perfect. Rourke’s botched plastic surgery takes away much of his earlier aesthetic appeal (such as in “9 1/2 Weeks“) yet his acting has only improved. The scenes between he and his daughter (Evan Rachel Wood) were so realistic and paralleled many aspects of my personal life that I was close to tears several times. While I wanted to hate his character because of the close connection, I couldn’t help rooting for him as well. And I do have to say, for a man of 57 he is in some phenomenal shape!! I read that he trained for 2 solid years for this role: a role that the studio allegedly wanted Nicolas Cage to play but that Aronofsky wanted to go to Rourke. I’m glad it did. That I haven’t seen “Milk” yet, I can’t make any comparisons between Rourke and Sean Penn, but even though he did not win the Oscar, Rourke definitely deserved the nomination, as did Tomei.
Star Trek (2009) was one of the most fun movies I’ve seen in a long, long time. The actors were impeccably cast, the dialogue was fantastic and hilarious, the special effects were awesome, and the music just brought the whole package together. It was great seeing Leonard Nimoy reprise his role as “Spock Prime” in this film, but, boy, is he looking old. As a formerly huge Trekkie from my jr. high/high school years (only the original series though…anything after that I am not interested in), the story and use of the “original” characters made the film for me. I didn’t realize Winona Ryder was in the film. Look for her…she has an interesting part. While there were a few anachronisms and incongruities which irritated me a bit (although most of them were rectified at the end except the Romulans still looked too Maori for me, Chekov’s hair was too curly, and I didn’t like the ***SPOILER*** Uhura and Spock “thing”), I still found the film a truly enjoyable experience. Beware, however, it is a bit long (126 mins.) so don’t drink to much while watching it.
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