Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Roundup Review Vol. 3

Critic's Corner Roundup Review-Vol. 3:

Don't Miss:
- "Clash of the Titans in 3D", PG-13 (3 out of 5 stars)
This movie is a blend of predictable, brainless, filled with reliance on CGI and Real D 3D technology but man, was it ever an entertaining spectacle to take in for a guy like me. And don't jump to conclusions, I'm not an action movie guy. I don't like most war movies, adventure films and I thought "300" was an overrated lump of crap for the most part.
However this movie was done well with worthy actors in epic role, quality CGI graphics, and a storyline that moved towards its final, bloody destination at a hell bent pace from the opening credits to its satisfying end.
Sam Worthington ("Avatar" and "Terminator Salvation"), Liam Neeson and Ralph Fiennes lead the way all bringing respect to some roles that the writing probably wasn't too high-brow.
Was the 3D as good as Avatar? No, but it was still very good and added to the entertainment. As for this new wave of 3D technology being integrated into practically every blockbuster, my take is it has its place in some movies and not others. This is the perfect movie however for the technology to be put to good use and only heighten the quality of entertainment.
So I definitely recommend seeing this one in theatres with 3D rather than on DVD if you get the chance.

- "The Box", R (4 of 5 stars)
This suspenseful thriller has that severe eerie feeling to it that few movies accomplish and carry throughout from start to finish. Directed by Richard Kelly, the creator of cult-classic "Donnie Darko", really knows how to weird the audience out and keep you on edge when he's on top of his game.
Better yet, this is a film adaptation of literary auteur Richard Matheson, whose short stories have been adapted into such films as this and the apocalyptic thriller "I Am Legend."
The plot is simple it seems at first. A couple is presented with a mysterious box at their door step one day and told by a man with a horrific scar on his face named Mr. Steward that if they choose to push the button on the box two things will happen: 1.) They will receive $1 million and 2.) someone in the world, whom they don't know, will die.
The couple of course pushes the button. The twist begins to unravel however when Mr. Steward picks up the box and tells them it will now be re-programmed and given to another couple somewhere, assuring them only that they will surely be someone that THEY DO NOT KNOW.
What I just told you would regularly be a spoiler, but believe me this one takes such a wild ride of twists and turns that there is no way anyone could devise its final destination. James Marsden and Cameron Diaz give surprisingly good performances in a couple roles foreign to their usual regime, but the show is stolen by 2009 Oscar best actor nominee Frank Langella who plays Mr. Steward. It will leave you dazed, confused, and little bit creeped out – but hey, that's the key to a great suspense flick.

- "A Serious Man", R (3.5 of 5 stars)
The Cohen Brothers are the most original, interesting and genius filmmakers around today – period! Someone make me an argument for anybody else and I will find a way to prove you wrong. They're that good.

Serious Man is even a bit of a foreign tale to most viewers, following a college professor in the Midwest and his orthodox Jewish family, but still prevails as a strong, strange triumph. There is nothing else like it, and that can be said of any of this duo's films.

We follow Larry Gopnik (Michael Stuhlbarg) through this tale as his life, family and job seem to be collapsing in all around him as he searches for the answers to the ultimate questions in life: why do bad things happen to good people and what does it all mean? Some have called the Cohen's dark-comedy screenplay a loose, modern day adaptation of the story of Job from the Old Testament.

Another triumph for many Cohen films, this one included, is that they often use many unknown or unrecognizable actors and get great performances out of them. I had never, ever seen Stuhlbarg in any film before in my life and he was fantastic. Also his nemesis Sy Abelman, was played perfectly by another unknown – Fred Melamed. Basically the only recognizable actor in the whole film is Richard Kind, known from his appearances on popular TV shows such as "Frasier", "Seinfeld", and "Curb Your Enthusiasm."

See It:
- "Date Night", PG-13 (3 out of 5 stars)
I love Steve Carell and Tina Fey and they are about as excellent a male-female 1-2-punch in the comedy field these days as any. This may not be a classic comedy when the day is done, but it packs enough quirky laughs and heart to entertain the heck out of most audiences looking for a hilarious, yet still appropriate, romantic comedy (believe me, there are fewer and fewer these days).
A couple gets out of the house and goes to the city for an intimate evening at a high-scale exclusive restaurant, and when they can't get in they choose to steal another couple's reservation. The only problem is the people whose table they took have stolen from the mob and some hitmen are searching for them as they sit and enjoy their $40 salmon and bottle of wine.
James Franco, Mila Kunis, Mark Wahlberg and Ray Liotta co-star.

- "Alice in Wonderland in 3D", PG (2.5 out of 5 stars)
Johnny Depp was great, Helena Bonham Carter was absolutely terrific and virtual unknown Mia Wasikowska was a refreshing Alice. The only things that didn't seem to work was the 3D and choice of Tim Burton's to direct and overhaul the original's style with his doom-and-gloom, just didn't work for me.
Don't get me wrong, I love Tim Burton. "Edward Scissorhands" is one of my all-time favorites, but Burton has his limits as a filmmaker who makes films that all have a general tone and style to them. This one didn't work out that way, and neither did his adaptation of "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" for that matter.
Plus I saw it in 3D and this was one of the films that appeared the 3D was just thrown in after the film had already been made as a marketing tool instead of engineered into the film like that of "Avatar." The 3D was supbar and sometimes a bit out of place. The only exceptions were for the Chessire Cat – that was kind of cool.

- "Whip It", PG-13 (3 of 5 stars)
Ellen Page is great in almost everything she touches these days and that can be said for her lead role in "Whip It" as well. I don't know what to classify this film as. It's kind of a dark comedy, but it's got a lot of soul and heart to it and appears to be shooting for something other than a laugh most of the time.
Page plays a teenage hippie child in Texas whose mother has always enlisted in beauty pageants but is growing to an age where she is looking for something else, something alternative to bide her time with other than school, living her mom's dreams and working at the diner.
She finds an underground all-woman roller derby league in the adjacent town that is drafting new players and takes to her new hobby, getting wrapped up in it. Drew Barrymore, Kristen Wiig, Juliette Lewis and Jimmy Fallon co-star in this movie about finding your passion and fight in life. Barrymore also directed and produced this film as well as taking on a supporting actress role – a first for her.

- "Big Fan", (2.5 of 5 stars)
Dark? Yes. Self-deprecating? Certainly. An honest work of indie film genius? Almost. Patton Oswalt like you've never seen the pudgy little comedian before playing a sheltered 40-something "loser" who works in a parking authority booth and is an active listener/contributor to NY City sports talk radio stations n vigilant defense of his NY Giants.
This one is dark, smart, a little sad, but really takes you for a ride more than one would expect. An interesting character study for sure, but I just ended up feeling really bad for the guy.
I'll tell you this, if you're gonna start it make sure to finish it because it gets better as it goes and has an excellent conclusion.

- "The Wolfman", (2.5 of 5 stars)
Benicio del Toro can play a lot of roles with a degree of dramatic mastery but can he play a werewolf? The answer is yes, but it's far from his finest performance. For far better del Toro films see "21 Grams", "Traffic", "The Usual Suspects" and "Snatch."
Benicio has some help though with great supporting performances from Anthony Hopkins, Emily Blunt and Hugo Weaving (of the Matrix and Lord of the Rings trilogies).
On top of having a more than decent all-around cast, the special effects improvements to this remake take it to the next level and fortunately do not appear cheesy or cheap. They fit and only enhance the horror and action of the film which is a bit slow in parts.

- "Capitalism: A Love Story", (2.5 of 5 stars)
This Michael Moore film is more akin to his previous film "Sicko", this is one is also far less polarizing than earlier hits "Bowling for Columbine" and "Fahrenheit 9-11." It's focus is on the banks, the mortgage crisis and foreclosures, and the fact that our system of capitalism has so many loopholes in it to keep the rich rich and the poor poor that it is setup to fail the middle class. He makes a compelling argument that you can call socialist or whatever you want, but that doesn't change the fact that he is presenting an argument based off of "some" of the facts.
Obviously if you disagree with the leftish slant Michael Moore puts on his films, commonly neglecting to objectively cover both sides of an issue, then you wouldn't like this one either. But I have to say that Moore is a filmmaker and a talented one at that. He is neither a journalist nor a documenter and shouldn't be treated as one. He makes movies, and so what if they don't balance the issues to make everybody happy.
In most cases that would be like having a "straight pride parade" on the same day as gay pride parade – pointless. He sticks up for the minority and those who are having their backs stomped on in this country – the middle class. So who cares if Moore doesn't make a fair argument for all the fatcats out there? I'm still pretty sure they're doing fine.

Skip It:
- "The Lovely Bones", (1.5 of 5 stars)
Peter Jackson's (yes, that Peter Jackson of Lord of the Rings) adaptation of the heralded novel about the loss of innocence when a young life is taken in a neighborhood park and the fallout in the lives around her is a watered down, butchered film version that should've never been made.
The novel is emotionally taxing, beautifully written and moving – the film has little if any of that and is cut and diced into pieces that cheapen the entire story. Not a good adaptation, at all.
The cast was all great, but it's like they were dealing with material that was the equivalent of having the rug pulled out from under them. Jackson took a risk and failed. Too bad, but true in this instance.

- "Where the Wild Things Are", (2 of 5 stars)
I loved the classic children's book as a kid, and still do, but man this adaptation is full of winy "emo" characters that are more of an annoyance than a joy to watch. Irritating and disappointing are two words I would choose to describe this film.
That aside, Spike Jonze is an amazing director and did some interesting things here with the camera and his style of special effects, sound-editing, etc.
The movie has heart, that's for sure. But maybe too much, because the characters are certainly much more dark and complex than I would've ever expected. It's like the writers decided to have each "wild thing" imply a different emotion that the emotionally unstable child lead character Max has inside him. As genius as that is, it's like finger nails on a chalk board to watch.

- "Law Abiding Citizen", (2 of 5 stars)
Gerard Butler and Jamie Fox have begun to sellout, and this is them joining forces to do it together. It has a couple of interesting twists, and is better than the average action/drama flick that rolls out, but with this type of talent this movie was a disappointment for me.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Top Ten of the 2000's

The Critic
Ty Hampton

The Best of the 2000’s

- The following is my late, but great, list of the Top 10 movies that moved audiences and critics alike, held some weight of importance in our world and made an impact on the craft of film-making in the past decade.

10.) Slumdog Millionaire (2008)
- This epic love story from a far off place was expected to hardly make a splash when making its New York, L.A., and European openings initially. The end result was a nationwide and global phenomenon that won the heart of viewers everywhere and went from indie film underdog to Oscar winning masterpiece.

9.) The Dark Knight (2008)
- For a long time superhero or comic book-based films have been cliché’ and not exactly abounding in critical acclaim. The Dark Knight changed all that. Christopher Nolan’s haunting reinvention of Batman was both shocking, visionary, nostalgic, riveting and unforgettable with standout performances from Aaron Eckhardt, Gary Oldman, Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, Christian Bale, Maggie Gyllenhaal and last, but not least, the late great Heath Ledger.
No one will ever forget Ledger’s iconic performance of the maniacal Joker, and if any living actor ever attempts to take on that role again they will most likely look like fools – that’s how good this guy was.

8.) Hotel Rwanda (2004)
- Africa has problems, everybody knows this nowadays and if you don’t, well, you’re a moron. But most of the world missed the terrible genocide of 1994 where the nation of Rwanda’s majority race (the Hutus), fueled by hate radio (similar to Rush Limbaugh) and a staged government assassination, attempted to wipe the country’s minority people (the Tutsis) off the face of the planet.
The film is set on a family split in race and a hotel owner who takes in and hides refugees who are being pursued by machete wielding civilians fueled with hate. A true story that shows how true human evil reared its ugly head in the middle of that jungle while the rest of the world went along eating their TV dinners and watching Seinfeld thinking the horrors of the holocaust were a long-lost nightmare, incapable of recurring in modern times.
If you missed this one or missed the entire conflict as it happened, I recommend renting this one when you’re in the mood. It’s the kind of important film that everyone should have to see to understand evil and never forget what can happen.

7.) The Royal Tenenbaums (2001)
- Filmmaker Wes Anderson was one of the true film auteurs that came out of the 2000s and the Tenenbaums was arguably his most poignant and defining work. His vision of the world exposed through his lens into his films is extraordinary, refreshing and artful. Add that to a human story about family and a great cast including Gene Hackman, Ben Stiller, Bill Murray, Owen Wilson, Seth Wilson, and Gwynneth Paltrow and you’ve got a truly unique mix.
If you haven’t seen any Wes Anderson films I recommend you check one out and start with the Royal Tenenbaums. You will not be able to say you’ve seen anything like it in a move ever before, to say the least.

6.) Mystic River (2003)
- Sean Penn is without a doubt one of the most powerful actors of our time. Between his talents and those of Daniel Day-Lewis, it’s practically a draw when it comes to intensity and emersion in their dramatic craft.
Penn has also been a key role to some of the best films of the decade, starring alongside Tim Robbins, Laura Linney, Kevin Bacon and Forest Whitacker in the Clint Eastwood directed “Mystic River.” This was also the first of author Dennis Lehane’s novels to be made into major motion pictures (see fellow great films “Goney Baby Gone” and “Shutter Island”).
A true human crime story about the varied and sometimes tragic paths our lives take, separating us from childhood friends back in the neighborhood to complete strangers and possible hated enemies in adulthood.

5.) Pan’s Labryinth (2006)
- A lot of people probably gazed at my list and couldn’t fathom how I could leave the entire Lord of the Rings trilogy off the list. Some probably did the same for the Matrix. But this is my pick that soars above both series with triumphant film mastery.
Latin filmmaker Guillermo del Toro is another true auteur who has peaked this decade (so much that in fact he was chosen to direct the “Hobbit” film prelude to the Rings series and make the film in his own style).
Because of Pan’s Labryinth, del Toro is now known for his literary flare, eye for realistic special effects, and knack for sensational and memorable creature characters in his films. This film is far more complex than just a creature movie, it has a lot going on and is one foreign language film that I would have just about anyone watch. It blew me away the first time I saw it and I will watch this one time and time again.

4.) There Will Be Blood (2007)
- Daniel Day-Lewis is a iconic character specialist. Many people who have worked with him have commented how if you give him a role he will fully invest himself into it to the point where there is no more Daniel, only his character. A true master in his craft. He’s weird, yes, no doubt. But he’s a genius.
TWBB is not the most “entertaining” film you’ve ever seen, but from its visual appeal to its eerie soundtrack, to Day-Lewis’s utter dominance of the screen – this is one not to miss if you’re a fan of real film like it’s supposed to be.

3.) 21 Grams (2003)
- Mexican filmmaker Alejandro Gonzales Innaritu is better known for his academy award nominated film “Babel”, but his real masterwork was a few years prior when he, Sean Penn, Benicio del Toro and Naomi Watts set out to make an indie film project that would start under the radar and remain their for the most part, despite having two oscar nods in 2003.
If another great performance by Penn wasn’t enough, Benicio came into his own and really competes to steal the show in this one. Rich and original storytelling style, great characters, and an ending that resonates make this a “don’t miss” film.

2.) Little Miss Sunshine (2006)
- A winner of two Oscars and the hearts of audiences everywhere, this dark little indie comedy is the most uplifting and joyful of its genre – ever. A truly original comedy that tackles life, death, struggle, loss, fear, hope and the unconditional love of family. If you haven’t seen this one yet, I don’t know what else to say.

1.) No Country for Old Men (2007)
- Unarguably, hands-down the best movie of the decade by some of the best filmmakers of our time – the Coen brothers. These guys can walk the line between hilarious and gut-wrenchingly tense with ease – that’s power!
The only Coen brothers script not created by the duo, an almost direct adaptation of Cormac McCarthy’s novel, has more than the Coens and more than amazing writing and timeless storytelling – there is some of the best acting performances ever in this film. Tommy Lee Jones, Josh Brolin, and a little known Spaniard by the name of Javier Bardem took this thing to the next level and back. Bardem passes Heath Ledger as the most eerie, terrifying and captivating anti-hero on film for the decade. Comparable in resonance to the Alex character in Clockwork Orange…simply unforgettable.


*Honorable Mention Bubble Films:

11.) Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
- Some people think of only roles like Ace Ventura when the consider Jim Carrey as an actor, overlooking any dramatic abilities he displays. Those people have never seen Eternal Sunshine, or are too ignorant to understand or appreciate it as a truly original film. Carrey is outstanding and completely different than anything that was imagined to come from him. Kate Winslet, as we all know by now, is a top actress in competition with the likes of Meryl Streep on a yearly basis. They alone are on that level together – no one else is even close, and it’s films like this that cement those facts.
French filmmaker Michel Gondry is a visionary with an eye for making the audience look at an entire film from a different angle and then flip us on our heads. Watch for this guy to continue to do great things, he’s an original.

12.) The Departed/Gangs of New York (2006/2002)
- Martin Scorcese is a master mobster. You can not make a better mob-based piece of film than he. The Godfather films, at least 2 and 3, now look like archaic dinosaurs in comparison to a flashy new Scorcese. They are both classics, just two different eras completely. Taking a young talent like Leonardo DiCaprio under his wing as his Deniro for this new era, Scorcese sculpted three masterpieces in four years (add in the “Aviator” at this point) around the same actor. Of course DiCaprio and Scorcese’s help were in numbers; the likes of Day-Lewis, Liam Neeson, Cameron Diaz, Jack Nicholson, Matt Damon, Mark Wahlberg, Marin Sheen, and Alec Baldwin.
Questions anybody? He couldn’t miss with either film, and yet he exceeded my expectations gloriously. And that’s why Martin Scorcese is a GREAT filmmaker.

13.) Requiem for a Dream (2000)
- The only recognizable names in this film when it came out were Jennifer Connors and Ellen Burstyn. The director, Darren Aronofsky, an unknown no-name indie director. The parties involved in this movie have stayed low-profile, despite its genius, other than Aronofsky getting a best director Oscar nod for “The Wrestler.”
Requiem however is a waking nightmare surrounding a group of individuals immersed in drug abuse of different kinds. Basically if you know someone who is thinking about trying hard drugs, show them this movie and they will never think about it again – it horrific, authentic, and absolutely unforgettable. There’s a reason movies like this are not made everyday, because there’s just too much commercial risk in being this kind of honest.
However that’s precisely what the best kind of art is made of.

Sunday, March 7, 2010

2010 Oscar Picks

Ty Hampton
The Critic

-- It’s that time of year again – award season. And there is no greater award ceremony for measuring the quality of films over the past year than the Oscars. This Critics Corner Review Academy Awards special edition is my predictions on who will take home the hardware on March 7th and my runner-up nods.

Best Picture
Predicted Winner: “Up in the Air”
- This was the most charming, intelligent, and insightful film of the year that packed a lot of heart and a terrific ensemble cast performance on top of stylistic direction from “Juno” filmmaker Jason Reitman.
My Runner-Ups: “The Hurt Locker” and “A Serious Man”
- Although “Hurt Locker” was a very well-directed, well-acted realistic glimpse into the daily terror that is modern warfare in the Iraqi dessert, it just didn’t resonate with me like “Up in the Air.”
The Coen brothers’ newest dark comedy “A Serious Man” takes us on a ride through the life of a man on an existential breakdown, struggling to find the truth and meaning in life on the verge of tragedy. A virtually unknown cast and a limited big screen audience that only extended to New York and Los Angeles are the only main hold-ups keeping this film from being yet another big Oscar win for the Coens.

Best Adapted Screenplay
Predicted Winner: “Up in the Air”
- For all the same reasons this wins best picture, it also must win best adapted screenplay as the film’s writing was what separated it from a monumental impact film like “Avatar.”
My Runner-Ups: “District 9” and “An Education”
- Remember these names – Neil Blomkamp and Carey Mulligan. District 9 was director Blomkamp’s first English-language big screen hit with the production backing from none-other-than Lord of the Rings filmmaker Peter Jackson. District 9 was top to bottom – screenplay, shooting, acting – the best true sci-fi “alien” film I have seen in a long, long time (yes, that’s right Avatar – your 3-D and effects were awesome, true, but film-wise you just don’t have the chops).
Mulligan is the standout star of the British film, An Education, as well as a stirring reflection of a young Audrey Hepburn. Her on-screen chemistry alongside Peter Saarsgard as a young 20-something actress playing an 18-year-old girl pursued by an older, cultured man shows a true maturity to Mulligan.

Best Original Screenplay
Predicted Winner: “A Serious Man”
- The Coens are a two-headed genius. Put them together and this screenwriter/director/producer team can spin your head around with talent until you no longer know what’s what. This display of mastery rings true again with their newest dark comedy, A Serious Man.
A complex plot dealing with Jewish-American traditions, superstitions, folklore, and existentialism are at the center of a plot about a man who is at a crossroads in his life – on one side lays imminent crisis, on the other the previously unthought and unknown.
This movie is (to me) foreign, alienating and makes the audience feel down right miserable for the protagonist, but that is exactly what the Coens intended. Putting the view smack-dab in the shoes of a film’s main character and feeling what he feels – attaching some level of emotionality to them – is an honest testament to film writing done with great detail and absolute mastery.

My Runner-Ups: “Hurt Locker” and “Inglourious Basterds”
- The story to the Hurt Locker is both compelling and thrilling, but more than that it is eerily realistic. That sort of authenticity can only be captured by either: a.) somebody who has actually been there (in Iraq) or b.) someone with an extreme obsession for research.
Quentin Tarantino is responsible for some of the wackiest, most creative film created in the modern era and this alternative spin to the classically cliché’ war movie genre is a continuation of his genius. Although I didn’t enjoy it as much as Pulp Fiction or Reservoir Dogs – Inglourious Basterds still probably comfortably slides into the latter spot of my top-three Tarantino films list.

Best Director
Predicted Winner: Kathryn Bigelow “The Hurt Locker.”
- Whenever an indie film has as big a splash as the Hurt Locker has (or see an indie film called “Slumdog Millionaire”) a lot can, and should, be attributed to the director. Directors are the godfather filmmakers behind the scenes, pulling all the right (or wrong) strings to make or break a film. The quarterbacks who win the big game.
Over the years Kathryn Bigelow has had a couple of big screen hits to her name (“Near Dark”, “Point Break”, and “Strange Days”) but the Locker is far and away her most mature and intense work.

My Runner-Ups: Jason Reitman “Up in the Air” and Quentin Tarantino “Inglourious Basterds.”
- Reitman’s formalistic shots that put us into the heart and soul of his characters were a key element to the aesthetic of Up in the Air, my favorite of the best picture nominees. And Tarantinos auteur filmmaker prowess is definitely on display in Basterds, showing why film is still a true venue for not just entertainment, but art. I actually liked Tarantino and Reitman’s work better than Bigelow’s in this category, but I feel like it’s her year and I’d put my money on her table for Oscar night.

Best Actor
Predicted Winner: Jeff Bridges, “Crazy Heart”
- Bridges is a great actor whose Oscar win is far overdue. In Crazy Heart, his performance oozes with soul and the feel of a classic master of the silver screen. All I can say is it’s about time, and if anyone else wins this category it’s an absolute crime.

My Runner-Ups: Jeremy Renner and George Clooney
- Renner and Clooney both had help in their films which demonstrated a great ensemble cast to make their movies great. Still, both leading men dominated in their roles and will be hard-pressed to match that kind of career paramount moment.

Best Supporting Actor
Predicted Winner: Christoph Waltz, “Inglourious Basterds”
- You may not know his name or any other movie he’s ever been in (probably not as he’s an Austrian actor), but Christopher Waltz’s performance as the “Jew Hunter” was in my opinion the best performance of any actor or actress in a leading or supporting role. Unfortunately his was a supporting role, but I liken his legendary villain performance to that of Javier Bardem’s in “No Country for Old Men” a couple of years back.
His maneurisms, voice, rhythm and overall delivery was pitch perfect and down right creepy at times as an embodiment of all the evil the Nazi regime represented. Waltz plays a character you love to hate, but can not take your eyes off of. Bravo!

My Runner-Ups: Stanley Tucci in “The Lovely Bones”
Stanley Tucci is one of those truly versatile actors that can play utter opposite characters with each role they take on…and thrive off of that. Tucci seems to get a lead role, but his characters stick with you. No one could play the meticulous neighborhood serial killer Mr. Harvey from this nightmarish tale with such calm and cold-blooded tact than a talent like Tucci and he was, unfortunately, the only redeeming acting performance in the Lovely Bones.

Best Actress
Predicted Winner: Carey Mulligan, “An Education”
- This 24-year-old actress is one to watch for years to come, while I think she deserves top honors for her breakout performance in An Education. The sophistication and class of Audrey Hepburn with an undeniable dash of innocence and youth that is refreshing. Give her the hardware! She deserves it.

My Runner-Up: Meryl Streep “Julia & Julia”
- Whenever Ms. Streep decides to grace the stage these days, you can count her in on an Oscar race. She’s an iconic talent that has set the bar for actresses of this era.

Best Supporting Actress
Predicted Winner: Anna Kendrick “Up in the Air”
- Clooney was great as the lead in Up in the Air, but his performance was magnified by its parity to another great showing at the hands of Anna Kendrick. Also 24 years of age, Kendrick is another true newcomer with her only other recognizable roles being in the Twilight and New Moon films. After seeing Up in the Air, we’ll forgive her for that though.

My Runner-Up: Maggie Gyllenhaal
- Just as Kendrick added to Clooney’s role in their film, I would say the duo of Gyllenhaal and Bridges was right up there as well. Bridges performance over shadows Maggie’s, but that’s her role in the film, and even as it is she plays it with great strength.

Best Art Direction, Best Cinematoraphy, Best Visual Effects
Predicted Winner: “Avatar”
- What can I say, Avatar was the most visually and mechanically stunning film I have probably ever seen…ever. It had a decent storyline but the acting was lacking in some areas. These are why I think it won’t, and shouldn’t, win best picture or any of the other bigger award categories.
Entertainment wise alone though, Avatar was the best of the year. Still that doesn’t speak to the long term quality of the film. Look at some of the best special effects films of all time. They are popular for a decade and then their film tricks begin to look dated and archaic and, let’s face it, the acting and writing is rarely there. Avatar has tendencies toward this same category of film.
Packing wildly entertaining punch after punch, but not enough to be an academy award winning film in any of the major categories.

Best Animated Feature Film
Predicted Winner: “Up”
- This is a romance, a drama, and an adventure film tied into one. Oh yeah, and did I mention it’s an animated film. The best animated film since Wall-E, maybe even better. Either way, far and away takes this category.

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Critic’s Corner Roundup Review -- Pt. 2

The Critic
Ty Hampton

Well, since I liked the way the last Critic’s Corner Roundup Review came out, I’ve decided to keep in the spirit of that format this time around. As a side note you can also look forward to two more upcoming submissions on the CCR: “Top Movies of the Decade (2000-2009)” and “2010 Oscars Preview & Picks.”

So just to recap, this is a couple months of my selective movie viewing broken down into three sections: Don’t Miss; See It (If You’re in the Mood); or Skip It. The films’ respective star rating applies to the genre in which they inhabit
.

Don’t Miss:
Up in the Air, R (dramedy, 4/5 stars)
Charming, intelligent, true and insightful are a few select words I would choose to describe “Juno” and “Thank You for Smoking” filmmaker Jason Reitman’s third major motion picture effort – qualities that are now mainstays of his film catalog.This thing is nominated for 6 Oscars (including best picture) for a reason, and, in fact, for all the reasons opposite of its acclaimed nemesis “Avatar.”

No it didn’t set any box office records and it was made for not even a fraction of its Oscars best picture competitor, but “Up in the Air” has more heart, vulnerability and humanity than any film made in 2009

This movie is about a man who, once content in his lonely and pedestrian life, is now ready and struggling to make a connection with something real. Ryan Bingham (George Clooney) spent only 22 of 365 days at home last year, the most miserable days on the calendar. His real home is spent on the road and in the air traveling from one city to the next as a hired corporate hitman. His firm is contracted by employers faced with mass layoffs and cutbacks, in the currently terrible economy, who wish to let go their workers without any of the guilt. Bingham enters the lives of these sad, newly lost souls and gives them the news, follows his playbook and sets them adrift into their new reality of unemployment.

To Bingham life is about not letting the people and problems and obstacles weigh you down to slow the forward motion of his pursuits, because, as he says, “moving is living.” As 21st century changes begin to take place at the firm, making his traveling efforts futile and replaceable by technology Bingham finds himself at a crossroads where even he needs some more weight, people, and purpose to ground him in life.

Vera Farmiga (“The Departed”), Jason Bateman (“Arrested Development”) and standout newcomer Anna Kendrick add supporting roles that compliment Clooney’s finest big screen performance and take this one to the next level. Reitman’s shot selection and direction with the camera also nailed the themes of isolation in this film, putting the audience firmly into the shallow, lonely existence of the protagonist.

For all its dark moments of film noir, this film also succeeds triumphantly in its authentic clips of actors portraying real people whose lives have just been crushed by the news that they no longer have a job. Shot in a reality-TV/documentary style format for these scenes, you can feel their spirits crumble as many ask “what am I supposed to tell my wife? How am I going to support my family now?” The director later redeems those clips with shots of the same actors saying things like: “If it weren’t for my friends and family, I don’t know what I would’ve done”, “Waking up in the morning and seeing her there in the bed next to me, smelling her, feeling her by me – that’s enough”, and “Looking into my child’s eyes, I know I will be fine” – these real, sincere confessions of human connection hit home like a ton of bricks telling of the real weight, purpose, and meaning that other people contribute to our individual existence in life. Bravo!

Avatar, PG-13 (sci-fi/action, 4.5/5 stars)
James Cameron made a little film called “Titanic” over 12 years ago which went on to set the all-time box office record. That record was dethroned last week by Cameron’s first film since the monumental hit, “Avatar.”

And I know why. Avatar is the single most visually stunning film ever made – period! No debate, no question. The combination of green-screen special effects, animation over live action actors, IMAX definition film and the successful implementation of 3-D technology in theaters nationwide.

Jake (Sam Worthington) is a paraplegic war veteran who is hired on by an American company whose mission is to mine a valuable natural resource solely found on the distant planet Pandora. The wounded soldier is taken on as his newly deceased twin brother was part of the project and, due to his genetics, the advanced Avatar technology that allows humans to walk amongst the 10-foot-tall blue humanoid natives (Na’vi) will work with his body.

The humans and the natives clash over the planet’s environment as the Na’vi are connected to all living things on Pandora – plants, trees, the spirits of their elders, and winged creatures who inhabit the mountains who are suspended floating in the planet’s atmosphere. Jake is chosen to be the human ambassador to their culture and learn the way of the natives in an attempt to bring peace and understanding to a situation that is everyday merging closer and closer to inevitable war.

The story (however thickly coated in a “green and anti-war” message – not that that’s such a bad thing) is good enough to propel the action and ongoing visual spectacle that make Avatar a great film. However, the writing and acting in the film are not its highpoints, just passable. This is evident of the absence of any Oscar writing or acting nods – about the only categories Avatar isn’t nominated in.

Still, there’s a reason why people are saying they haven’t seen a film with such a widespread monumental impact since Star Wars rocked the world in the 70’s. It does evoke that wondrous childlike feeling in any viewer who buys into the magic of Pandora.

So if you haven’t gone out to the theater to see this one yet, rush out DO IT NOW! Pay the extra $3-$4 for the 3-D glasses…it’s definitely worth it. If you have an IMAX theater near you, spare no expense. Because this is a true unadultered film experience designed to be taken in full form on the big screen. Once it’s on home release I feel Avatar will undoubtedly lose some of that luster.

Up, PG (animated, 5/5 stars)
If you haven’t noticed by now, the film animation company Pixar are the chieftains of what they do. You know that feeling you got when you watched “Wall-E” two years back, a sensation of this was an animated picture that I was both entertained by and took something away from emotionally?

“Up” treads that same territory of the unexpected animated film that creeps up on us and effects us on a human level.

The film begins with wonderfully pieced together 10-minute montage of meeting of Carl Fredrickson and his beloved wife as neighbor kids with a love for exploration of their imaginations, to their young puppy love that only grew ten-fold through their lives into aged beauty, and to finally the eventual death of Carl’s wife at age 78. The eleventh minute of the movie picks up with the heartbroken elderly man looking for answers to where he should turn next in life.

A construction company building high-rise condos next door is tirelessly attempting to convince him to sell the lot, pick up, and move from the house he lived his whole life with his beautiful partner and relocate to an old person’s home. Carl’s spirit of exploration in undying however, and he remembers a promise he made to his wife that they would one day move to South American and build a house upon mountainside near a mystical waterfall – and Carl promises to himself to see that he makes good on that shared dream for his wife.

Tying thousands of balloons to his home, Carl takes flight into the atmosphere in his very own home…steering towards their dream location. The only problem is a persistent neighbor kid boyscout attempting to gain community service hour credits from Carl, amongst repeated refusal, had stowed away on his porch in protest and now unwillingly joins Mr. Fredrickson on his adventurous journey into the unknown.

This animated adventure does not feature a cast packed with celebrity voices or any expensive special effects, but it succeeds with amazing writing, solid animation, and the biggest heart of any film of 2009. With the Oscars best picture field expanded from 5 to 10 films this year, Up deservingly snagged a spot in the lineup and is all but a shoe-in for best animated picture.

The Hurt Locker, R (drama, 4/5 stars)
Avatar is a war movie set in an imaginary world, with imaginary creatures and imaginary circumstances. “The Hurt Locker” on the other hand is not. The Oscar best picture nominee is set in modern times in Iraq under real circumstances that our troops face everyday staring into the eye of mortality.

The Locker is a specialized tactic bomb squad unit deployed in Iraq with an emphasis on disarming insurgent IEDS, roadside and suicide bombs that threaten human life on an hourly basis in the war-torn nation. This means that every member of the unit has a target on his head if not at the gun of an insurgent, at the diminishing destruction that each explosive they come into contact with potentially packs. To say the least, these brave American men have the most dangerous job in the world.

The film follows the soldiers through a year’s deployment in the country, picking up the day their unit’s leader (Guy Pearce) is blown to bits in the line of duty. The new unit lead (Jeremy Renner) comes in with the nerve of a superhuman and a rush-induced lust for the constant danger his job provides him.

The casted actors in this film are hardly recognizable. The director, Kathryn Bigelow, not exactly a household name. Special effects? Not really. The quality of acting, writing, and shot direction however you ask? Superbly impressive, without debate.

The film is eerily realistic and psychologically shocking. With the second highest amount of Oscar nods to Avatar, the best picture/director races, at the very least will most likely come down to the teams of Hurt Locker/Bigelow vs. Avatar/Cameron. Unlike Avatar though (which had an undeniably huge impact on film this year), the Locker is the quality of film the Academy have traditionally rewarded as it has the entire package – beginning with a serious screenplay writing and acting performance foundation while finishing with a dash of societal importance that raises questions respectfully, opens minds and invokes debate.


The Invention of Lying, PG-13 (comedy, 4/5 stars)
Ricky Gervais, the portly British mastermind who created the hit show The Office, has done it again – and almost solely by himself. Gervais produced, co-directed and co-wrote this witty, dark, complex (yet still romantic) comedy in which he plays the film’s protagonist. Basically, Gervais is beginning to carve out his place as the limey English-version of Woody Allen.

A film noir plot wrapped in a romantic comedy’s sliming black dress that questions reality, spirituality, and the heart of sexuality. No doubt, this film will offend and piss off many who view it. That is a reaction to one of two things: Either the movie was falsely advertised and not what they wished to get from it, or it challenged things they deem unquestionable in life which angers their delicate sensibility – to which I say, too bad.

If you are of the faint of heart, do not pass go and do not collect $200. However, if you can approach the film objectively and expect more than a fart-joke out of your comedies then give this one a try.

Gervais’ lead character lives in a world where no one can ever say or think anything that is not the known truth. People spew brutally honest thoughts out of their mouths at each other on the street and the whole world spins miserably in its bastion of “truth.” Gervais is a “pig-nosed loser” as the ladies call him, making quite clear that they will “not sleep with a pig-nosed loser because they don’t want to have little pig-nosed loser babies.”

As a “poor” writer, we pick up the story on the day that Gervais is to be fired from his job where the most successful authors write complete historical non-fiction based on only chronological fact. Gervais is not one of the successful authors.

However, with his mother in her last seconds on her deathbed saying she doesn’t want to die and doesn’t want to go into “nothingness” yet, Gervais gets the spark in his brain to tell her that it doesn’t all end when you die. He says this, not because it’s a truth in his world, but because he desperately was grasping for anything to comfort his dying mother. Overheard by her doctors, their interest is piqued as no one had ever heard of anything like this before. Now that the door to lying (or enlightenment – in his world) is open, Gervais must explain to the rest of society what happens when a person dies and that there is more.

The first lie is invented yet Gervais remains the only man who can pull off such a feat, which obviously propels him to the forefront of the author world and helps him with his women struggles.

This is hands-down the smartest comedy of the year. Smarter (and bolder) than “Up in the Air” and “Whatever Works” (see next review down). Some will say ‘Ty, but what about The Hangover?’ No, not even close. I know, I know – The Hangover was hilarious but it was 2009’s “Old School” of “Wedding Crashers”, neither of which fall in the “smart comedy” category or challenge the conventions of the genre.

Although it’s not a complete one-man-show: Jennifer Garner, Jonah Hill, Louis C.K., Jeffrey Tambor, Rob Lowe and Tina Fey all contribute their fair share of laughs.
However, the most impressive thing about this film is that although it comes on more sour than sweet from the get-go, if you give it (and Gervais) a chance throughout the piece it has more heart than you could ever imagine and ends up on the sweeter side of the spectrum.


See It:
Whatever Works, PG-13 (comedy, 3.5/5 stars)
Woody Allen behind the camera wrote and directed this one as usual, but instead he picked the absolute perfect person to play the protagonist spot usually filled by himself – Larry David (the co-creator of “Seinfeld” and star of “Curb Your Enthusiasm”).
Neither man are the most easily likable person for the masses or easiest to understand, but man do they ever corner the market on stimulating humor driven by the eccentric misery of a genius.
David plays a lonely, germophobic widower who believes in the philosophy that, as long as you’re not hurting anybody, we should all squeeze the little bit of happiness we can out of things in life … in other words – “whatever works.”

This offbeat comedy is wackier than it is dark, fun and rebellious but still attains a classic film feel. If you like the work of Allen or David, see this one. If not, rent it if you’re in the mood for some different humor.

Men Who Stare At Goats, R (comedy, 3/5 stars)
For whatever reason, the Cloon-dog has stepped it up a notch in recent years. His roles in 2007’s “Michael Clayton”, 2008’s “Burn After Reading”, and “Up in the Air” have been unarguably some of, if not, the best work of his career. Top five territory at least. I didn’t like the Oceans series, found “O Brother Where Art Thou” to be irritating, and any of his earlier romantic comedies were vomit-inducing.

George Clooney was once a mystery to me. Women have always liked him, but did they really like his acting? Now, I’m afraid to say – I’m on board. His lead role in “Men Who Stare At Goats” is yet another reason why.

Clooney plays one of an elite group of U.S. soldiers who were trained as part of the New Earth Army – a squad of psychic spies who tapped into the essence in the world around them with zen-like ability to gain the upper hand in the realm of top secret military intelligence. Hilarious supporting performances from Jeff Bridges and Kevin Spacey, a decent effort from Ewan McGregor, made this an even more enjoyable ride.

Inglourious Basterds, R (drama, 3/5 stars)
Quentin Tarantino’s adaptation of the 1978 film “Inglorious Bastards” is a wide break from the original plot, and as you can imagine – quite Quentin-ized. Although it is a remake, Tarantino certainly made it his own providing his trademark legendary dialogue sequences, memorable character performances played by virtual unknowns, and a whoppingly good time with blood, violence and debauchery.

However amongst the backdrop of the Basterds, this sort of behavior is not only acceptable but anything less would be pussy-footing it. The film, nearly completely fictional, is centered around a squad of Jewish-American soldiers led by Lt. Aldo Raine (Brad Pitt) deep into Nazi territories with one mission and one mission only – to bring their leader as many Nazi soldier’s scalps as they can before they drop dead in the line of duty.

So as you can see, if Tarantino was going to pick any somewhat historically based group of people to plot to brutally massacre and scalp on film and have everybody be okay with it – I’d say the Nazis are a perfect pick. No one will have sympathy for them and they shouldn’t. For once, Tarantino’s love of gore, blood and excessive violence – is justified.

As is accustom with all Tarantino films, the movie has split plotlines that jump around and intermingle in the end, introduced to us by separate chapters. The opening chapter gives us our first glimpse of the “Jew Hunter”, aka Col. Hans Landa, of whose job it is to round up all the hidden Jews in France with his detective like esteem and have them exterminated with brute force. Roshanah, another primary character, escapes the Hunter as the entirety of her family is brutally murdered by his squadron hiding in the basement of a Jewish sympathizing neighbor.

Characters such as Landa, Roshanah, Bridget VonHammersmark, and Basterds members Donny “The Bear Jew” Donowitz and Sgt. Hugo Stiglitz are the stuff of genius that fruitfully sprout from the borderline insane mind of the writer/director film auteur. Additionally, each actor/actress who played these stunning characters and gave them their film essence is unknown to American audiences either from being an unknown or a star from other countries (here France, Germany, Austria).

My only complaints with this film (why it doesn’t make my don’t miss list) are that Brad Pitt’s performance was hokey and really just kind of bad. I mean the guy can act, I know, I’ve seen it. But, I sort of despised his role in this one. Really, to me, the only casting mistake.
Then you have the fact that this was the type of movie with great performances, great cinematography and style, but Tarantino’s rapid-fire wit and dialogue was difficult to follow with about 50 percent of it or more being in subtitles.

This is crucial, because with Tarantino films it’s all about the little eccentricities and details as the true action only comes and goes in bursts.
Basically, if you’re not in the mood and right mindset for this movie – it’s going to bore you. I had to watch it in three separate attempts, and when I finished I was happy I had stuck it through, but man it was kind of brutal at times because I wasn’t prepared for that kind of movie experience.

Invictus, PG-13 (drama 2.5/5 stars)
The story of Nelson Mandela is a moving one, without a doubt. Add the acting talents of Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon with the directoral genius of Clint Eastwood and you have an best picture front-runner right? Nope, actually not even close. This one missed, I’m not sure how … but it did.

Was the story inspiring? Yes. Was it riveting? No. Well acted? Not really, with consideration. The cinematography was beautifully done, but seemed a bit overdone. Simplicity is better sometimes. Ask the makers of “The Hurt Locker.”

Sure Freeman looked a lot like Mandela, but I didn’t take much away from the film about the history of this iconic character. Damon beefed up to play a rugby team captain but his acting talents were nowhere near their best. And Clint is going to want to hide this one behind his other directing triumphs “Mystic River”, “Million Dollar Baby”, “Gran Torino” and “The Changeling.”
The hardest thing about this film for me, was that a good 80 percent of it was concentrated on the sport of rugby, instead of South Africa’s race relations, Mandela’s plight in prison, etc. Keep in mind that rugby, for all intensive purposes, is quite a “foreign” game to the masses of the American audience. It definitely missed with me.

I say rent this movie at best. A better sports-related drama this year was definitely “The Blind Side”, but that’s another debate.

Paranormal Activity (horror, 2.5/5 stars)
This independent horror film, shot in the spirit of “The Blair Witch Project”, was made for $11,000 and brought in over $22 million at the box office in its first nationwide release weekend. There is something to be said for horror movies that effectively market themselves to the teen market and provide a few moments that make people’s butts leave their seats in the theater. “Paranormal Activity” accomplished both of those feats.

However, I rented this one and watched it with all the lights turned out. It’s a creepy enough concept for the first hour, but the last 20 minutes or so of the movie really took it up a notch for me. By the end, I nodded my head and said “okay, not bad” – which mind you is very hard to do with most of the middle-of-the-run horror crap that is shoveled out these days.

The films centers around a young couple who have just moved in together and, apparently, are being haunted by someone or something. Turns out the girl has been haunted in spurts from a very young age and didn’t tell her guy. He, however, thinks this is a great opportunity to document the paranormal happenings, having an air of “oh well this is no big deal, ha-ha, snarf-snarf, I’m a cliché’ guy who doesn’t take anything seriously.” Problem is, the demon pursuing his girlfriend, is playing for keeps.

They set up a night-vision camera in the corner of their room to run at night and capture any evidence of the nocturnal visits and a few blips a creaking door are all that happens at first. Then footprints and smashed picture frames and old family photos that were lost forever and somehow magically reappeared start showing up. Then the demon turns violent and I won’t spoil the rest. But I will tell you the film is done in a real enough fashion that the ending is genuinely thrilling and mildly terrifying.

Worth a Redbox rental – check it out if you’re in the mood.


Skip It:
Moon, R (sci-fi/drama, 2.5/5 stars)
I love Sam Rockwell as an actor, I really do. And he was fine in this. But overall I felt the plot moved far too slowly and only gimmicked “2001: A Space Odyssey” about a ridiculous 12-13 times throughout. If you’re going to rip off a movie’s plot, try and not pick a classic, and much less, a Kubrick film – because let me tell you something, you will NEVER beat Stanley. You can’t, you won’t, so don’t even try.

The plot revolves around Rockwell who is the sole miner of a valuable resource harvested from the dark side of moon and shipped back to Earth in decade shifts. Rockwell however rudely finds out when his shift reliever comes that the man is a spitting image of himself and that he, is going nowhere. In fact they are both human clones of the man who invented the moon-mine procedure and technology. Of course there is a vindictive talking ship with a monotone voice who knows of Rockwell’s fateful predicament the entire time and what must happen as he can not return to Earth alive.

You know this one wasn’t half bad, and if I’m being to harsh on it let me know (shoot me a message to tyjhampton@gmail.com), but when I watched this one I just wasn’t digging it.

It Might Get Loud, PG-13 (documentary, 1.5/5 stars)
What happens you ask when legendary rock-n-roll guitar greats from groups like Led Zepellin, U2 and the White Stripes meet up and collaborate? They recap old hazy meaningless stories and get together to sing a country song in the finale? What the hell happened here? Awkward.

The intro to the documentary and the individual bits on the musicians’ techniques and place in rock history was somewhat interesting to a fan (like myself), but over half the movie was spent watching the three-headed monster sit around a coffee table with their guitars and attempt to hold real discussions and then fail to jam together.

Unless you are an uber fan here, skip this one.

Pandorum, R (sci-fi/horror, 2/5stars)
A giant lost ship in outer space where space sickness has turned some of the tenants into cannibalistic sub-human creatures. The sci-fi horror thriller is thrilling, it is entertaining for a majority of the ride but it’s plot ends at the sentence above.

Dennis Quaid is not great as the lead (as usual, in my opinion) and none of the other actors in the film are worthy of mention. A plot twist is haphazardly thrown in at the end, adding some dignity and depth in its final moments – but for me it was not enough. If you want a quazi-scary action-packed movie without a real story and sci-fi channel quality special effects (that is NOT a compliment) this is the movie for you. Personally, I don’t regret watching it but probably wouldn’t do so again.

Echelon Conspiracy, PG-13 (drama, .5/5 stars)
Wow, did the makers of this film even see the blockbuster movie “Eagle Eye” over a year before this clunker was produced? And say they did, did they then say ‘hey, lets gather up some decent actors in an attempt to sink their careers and make a watered down, techie-er, hokier remake that misses really on all cylinders.