Young Adult (2011)
VERDICT:
6/10 Homewrecking Queens
Not my favorite Reitman effort, but damn is it wicked.
Young Adult is about a thirty-something divorcee who spends her nights getting blackout drunk with random one-night stands and her days ghostwriting the final entry in a once-popular series of young adult novels. One day, she receives a mass email from her high school sweetheart announcing the birth of his first child. Instead of sending it to the Trash Bin like a normal person, she takes it as a sign and heads back to her podunk hometown for the first time in forever. When she gets there, she winds up befriending the fat geek she ignored all throughout high school, and soon after begins her conquest to win back her old flame from his new wife and kid.
Remember how warm and fuzzy you felt the last time Jason Reitman and Diablo Cody teamed up for Juno? Even I wanted to get pregnant after that movie. Well imagine Juno grew up and spent the next 20 years drowning her sorrows in reality TV and Maker’s Mark, wishing every day that she’d kept the baby and stuck it out with Paulie Bleeker (who’s now shacked up with some chick in a band.) That’s our young adult, Mavis Gary, and she is a freakin’ mess. For a film making duo that stole our hearts four years ago, I wasn’t expecting them to give ’em back four years later looking like ash trays, but whether you like or loathe this movie is ultimately dependent on what you make of Mavis.
I’ve been racking my brain trying to come up with characters to compare her to, and as much I like to think that Kenny Powers, Regina George, and Travis Bickle are all fitting candidates, Mavis is one-of-a-kind. When we first meet her, there ain’t much to write home about. Depressing, pathetic, washed-up, irresponsible, unhealthy, unapologetic – all wonderful adjectives to sum her up in a nutshell. Not the kind of person you’d like to spend thirteen bucks and 94 minutes on, although there is something amusing about the rose-colored glasses she wears, her morning-after routine that starts with chugging Diet Coke from the liter, and the way she’s so convinced that everyone around her are the ones stuck in a dead-end. The only thing she isn’t cynical about is her own selfish ambitions, yet as much as you can’t root for her in the slightest, I still had a hard time hating her. I just felt bad for her.
Maybe it’s that I never had a high school sweetheart to pine over during my mid-life crisis that I still haven’t reached, and that I don’t have a void in my life that can only be filled with a time machine. The only thing about Mavis I can relate to is that I knew girls like her in college and those were girls I wanted nothing to do with. Her unlikely confidante who comes in the form of Patton Oswalt is an entirely different matter though. Aside from my wholehearted belief that Patton Oswalt is a goddamn genius as both a comedian and human being, he’s perfectly cast and absolutely great as Matt Freehauf, the anti-Mavis from top to bottom. Granted, his character’s circumstances and reasonable outlook on life make him a whole lot easier to feel for and care about, but this story needs Matt and his push-and-pull with Mavis is one of the best things it has going for it. Being a geek, I saw a lot more of myself in Matt than in Mavis, and without him around, this prima donna would have been too much to bear.
Man, I have no idea why Patton Oswalt isn’t in more movies. Someone needs to fix that.
And Charlize Theron is unsurprisingly awesome as Mavis. Look, if you had a recurring role on Arrested Development, you’re already set for life in the awesome department, but that’s beside the point. It’s one thing to look the role of a former prom queen who still probably mentions it on her resume’, it’s another thing to sell it and cut loose as the totally misguided man-eater that Mavis Gary is. Being no stranger to playing a self-destructive gal, Theron throws herself down the spiral and does a bang-up job of keeping Mavis from coming off as a grown-up “plastic.” Still a bit confused as to how a boozehound like Mavis can eat fast food for every meal, barely exercise, and still look like Charlize Theron, but again, beside the point.
Also nice to see Patrick Wilson in a role that doesn’t have him looking like a door-greeter at Abercrombie & Fitch.
But here’s the thing: for 95% of the movie, I dug Mavis Gary as the highly atypical character that she is and could refrain from passing judgment because there’s a lot more going on below the surface than she’d care to have anyone know. But then comes a morning-after heart-to-heart towards the end of the movie between her and Matt’s sister, played by Collette Wolfe. By this time, Mavis’ plans have gone about the way you already think they’ll go, and the chat starts out sweetly enough with Matt’s sister encouraging Mavis to be proud of who she is and what she’s accomplished. This could have been a turning point for both Mavis and the tone of the story as a whole, but instead Mavis responds to Matt’s sister with, “You know what? You’re right! Thanks a mil and go fuck yourself!” The more I keep thinking about the conversation and what I was supposed to take away from it (and from the movie as a whole,) the one thing that keeps coming to mind is, “No, Mavis. You go fuck yourself.” It’s what dropped this movie down from a 7 and still has me borderline pissed off.
I don’t like Mavis Gary as a person, but it works because she’s not looking for my approval. So if there’s one thing I can applaud screenwriter Diablo Cody for, it’s for giving us an antihero to get behind and refusing to sugarcoat her flaws. I feel like we’re all so used to seeing movies centered around people we can root for and connect to because those are the people we want to spend time with, but it’s nice to have some variety from the other end of the spectrum every once in a while, even if we do get stuck with the occasional Greenberg. At the end of the day, I’d rather dislike a protagonist than feel neutral about them, and as much as there is to dislike about Mavis, it was hard not to get invested in her train wreck of an existence.
And if there’s a second thing I can applaud Diablo Cody for, it’s that she’s still a damn good writer. From Matt’s homemade Star Wars whiskey to all the ’90s alt rock references that turn up on everything from T-shirts to mix tapes, I love the way she builds her characters through pop culture references. Makes for a nice complement to the ’90s alt rock soundtrack and it’s just sharp writing to boot, even if the humor’s a bit too bitchy for my taste.
I’ve been thinking a lot about Mavis Gary since I left the theater last weekend and I’ve still got some thinking ahead of me. I can’t kick this nagging feeling that the world doesn’t need people like Mavis to fight the bad fight for us, but hers is nevertheless one of the more complicated and divisive character studies I’ve come across in ages. I almost want to see it again just to help me decide which side of the fence I’m on. Emphasis on “almost.” But whether you walk out of the theater wondering why you went in at all or you just so happen to see yourself in mean old Mavis, you’ll walk out of Young Adult feeling something, and that’s certainly better than nothing. Hell of a conversation topic at the least.
Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol (2011)
VERDICT:
9/10 Tower Heists
The best one yet, the best thrill ride of the year, total insanity.
Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol picks up with the Impossible Missions Force’s top agent Ethan Hunt getting busted out of a Moscow prison so that he break into the Kremlin and steal the launch codes to some nuclear warheads. When things don’t go according to plan and the Kremlin gets blown the hell up, the US is blamed for the attack and the IMF, along with all of its members, are immediately disbanded. With no one else to support him and his ragtag crew, Hunt busts out the gadgets and gets to globetrotting in order to stop a mad scientist before he kicks off a nuclear holocaust.
I think the last time I saw the first Mission: Impossible was when it was still out in theaters, and while I vaguely remember liking it, I was mostly just scarred for life by Emilio’s death-by-elevator scene. Then there was the second one which was both beyond ludicrous and had way too many dove cameos; and most recently was the third which was pretty darn wild despite a story that didn’t make a lick of sense. Given the shaky track record and the fact that I could only see it in IMAX, I feel like I should have been more hesitant going into this one. But what can I say, I was a total sucker for that ass-kicker of a trailer, and sometimes you gotta go for the IMAX. Definitely added an extra something to the 6-minute Dark Knight Rises prologue that played beforehand.
Now, I’ve gotten excited over some action-packed trailers before, and more often than not, that kind of behavior has led to some major letdowns. The sad truth is that it’s easy to cram all the best parts of a movie into a two-minute span and then buffer the finished product with two hours of disappointing fluff, the hard part is taking that two-minute highlight reel and then kicking the audience in the face for two hours like you promised. I shouldn’t have gotten my hopes up, I should know better, but as you can see quite plainly from the poster, the only disappointment you’ll be experiencing is that you didn’t bring a second pair of fresh undies.
Folks, this thing is just nuts, and the man to be thanking is director Brad Bird. Yup, it’s the first live-action movie by the guy who did The Incredibles, and whoever handed him the reigns deserves a big, fat high-thirty. I mean, it really is like watching a live-action Pixar movie. Unless you’re one of those quacks who still thinks Pixar movies are for kids, I can’t think of a better endorsement than that. Everything flows seamlessly from one scene to the next, each new impossible scenario gets injected with an extra 20 cc’s of impossibility just to make things interesting, and it’s so effing awesome to see a movie that keeps one-upping itself without nuking the fridge. There were a lot of moments where this movie could have done just that, and in someone else’s hands it absolutely could have happened, but with Bird behind the wheel, it’s a high-octane blast from start to finish. Have no idea how he got some of the jaw-dropping, hurl-inducing shots he did amidst some seriously epic set pieces either.
Although that’s not to say that the only reason this movie succeeds is because of Bird’s involvement.
Thanks to the likes of Collateral and Tropic Thunder, Tom Cruise has done an impressive job of remaining in my good graces over the years despite my best efforts to write him off. I want him to be the kooky bastard who couch-surfed on Oprah, I want him to be the uber-defensive Scientologist who gave that glib bastard Matt Lauer the 411 on psychology, I want him to be the best beach volleyball player the United States Air Force has ever seen. But then he starts doing all his own death-defying stunts off the tallest building in the word with the same amount of effort it would take me to cannonball off the deep end, and all of that nonsense disappears into the void. Dammit, Tom… He may be pushing 50, but he makes it look good and he’s totally entertaining to watch. Simon Pegg, Paula Patton, and Jeremy Renner are also on-point as Hunt’s team members, but I was just psyched to see the ridiculously underused Josh Holloway get some love for once as a late IMF agent.
And the gadgets here are so, so, so, so boss. To name a few, we’ve got Spider-man gloves, magnet suits, travel-size mask-makers, and even a Beemer straight out of Minority Report to beat the traffic in style. Wasn’t excited about the gadgets going in and wasn’t expecting them to be a selling point, but they’re just endlessly wild to see in action. Certainly helps when they’re not stupid as hell and beyond convenient. Can’t help but wonder how these guys manage to be so outrageously prepared for each mission despite such limited resources and short notice, but apparently the IMF thought of everything before shit went down. Better to not ask questions about these kinds of things. It’s weird considering that one of the reasons Casino Royale was so good was ’cause they got rid of all the gadgets, but then again, Ethan Hunt never got his Gadget Card revoked for para-surfing off a glacial tidal wave.
The one and only thing that I was pretty bummed out about is Michael Nyqvist as our villain of the hour, Kurt Hendricks. The first thing that sucks is that Philip Seymour Hoffman was so freaking good as the bad guy in Mission: Impossible III that Nyqvist was kinda doomed from the start. The second thing that sucks is that Nyqvist doesn’t even get the chance to one-up his predecessor because Hendricks is a shell of a character. In his defense, the dude wants to go War Games all over us so he needs to be taken out, but since he has absolutely no vendetta against or history with Ethan Hunt or the IMF, you don’t really care about him outside of the threat he poses. He’s essentially the finish line and nothing more, and that’s a damn shame considering how fleshed-out all the good guys are. And not that it’s really pertinent, but the third thing that sucks is that Nyqvist’s character got the shaft in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, too! Bizarre how this guy can’t catch a break no matter how big his movies are.
Still, I’ll take the weak villain in light of everything else that flat-out destroys. Also nice to have a story that actually adds up for a change.
After digging Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy for being the antithesis of this movie, I was awfully taken aback by what a time I had with Ghost Protocol. It wasn’t a mindless experience in the least, it’s as fun as they come, and I was breaking out in flop sweats every ten minutes from all the crap Ethan keeps getting himself into and out of. Seriously, I was a mess, thought I was going through menopause or something. The long and short of it is that there aren’t too many franchises out there that manage to kick this much ass by the fourth installment let alone the first. Fourth installments are where franchises go to die and the world doesn’t need another fourquel to clog up an industry that’s already overflowing with unoriginality and unnecessary sequels. But now we’ve got Ghost Protocol, and it is one pants-crapper of an exception.
And the best Gary Oldman villain is…
LIEUTENANT STANSFIELD!
He loves Mozart, hates kids, and doesn’t take too kindly to people taking his cocaine or killing his henchmen. Sounds pretty misunderstood to me.
This one was a no-brainer, but Gary Oldman’s the man and there ain’t too many folks who can play crazy like he does. Swell voting, folks!
RESULTS:
– Lt. Stansfield: 18 votes
– Drexl Spivey: 8 votes
– Dracula: 4 votes
– Zorg: 3 votes
– Ivan Korshunov: 1 vote
– Lee Harvey Oswald: 1 vote
– Shelly Runyon: 0 votes (one of the more under-appreciated sonsabitches in recent movie history)
– Other: 1 vote for “Voldemort” (so close…)
And everyone knows he’s British, right?
The Skin I Live In (2011)
VERDICT:
7/10 Personal Prisons
Haven’t crossed my legs this hard since Teeth.
The Skin I Live In is about a brilliant surgeon who develops a genetically enhanced, fire-proof flesh after his wife gets in a car crash that leaves her burned from head to toe. Horrified by the way she looks, she goes ahead and offs herself, leaving the surgeon very, very sad. The test subject for his experiment is a beautiful woman he keeps locked in his house who bears a striking resemblance to his late wife. As his testing comes to an end, he promises her freedom at the risk of her revealing his secret operation to the world. But when the son of his housemaid shows up out of the blue and puts everyone’s lives in jeopardy, the surgeon is forced to take matters into his own hands.
So talk about a change of pace for writer/director Pedro Almodovar. Last time I checked, this is a guy who made a name for himself by celebrating and empowering women in film, not a guy who thought Buffalo Bill was really misunderstood and decided to make a movie to clear his good name. But more than anything – yes, even Antonio – that’s what’s so immediately intriguing about this movie: Pedro Almadovar’s first stab at a horror/thriller. I don’t know what caused this, maybe he was trading emails with Kevin Smith, but for a film maker who’s been all drama, all the time for Godknowshowlong, he pulls this off quite well…eventually.
The reason for that ellipses there is because this starts out pretty darn shaky. I’m all for movies that don’t give you much insight as to what the hell is going on as a way to make you listen up, but this was just odd. By the end of the first Act, you’ll get the basics: Antonio’s a nutjob widower, he’s keeping this mysterious gal prisoner, he shouldn’t be doing that (let alone be splicing together pig and human DNA,) and the housemaid’s in on it, too. It works well in establishing what kind of people we’re dealing with here and it creates a solid foundation for the surplus of reveals that come to light down the road. But then the housemaid’s son shows up and the whole thing turns into a Spanish soap opera. Even with the weak explanation as to why he’s there and why he’s important, nothing about him arriving at the front door in a spandex lion costume struck me as a logical direction to take the story in. Then he gets inside, starts being a lowlife, and kicks off a big to-do filled with sex, violence, and every Spanish soap opera fan’s favorite thing in the world…betrayal! Dios mio!
It’s pretty bizarre, I didn’t know what the hell to make of it.
And then, just as things seem like they’re coming together some ten minutes later, the story suddenly flashbacks to six years prior, seemingly abandoning everything that just happened in the last half-hour so that we can follow along with a brand new set of protagonists we’ve never met. I almost gave up at that point. Was not in the mood to pull a Chungking Express and watch two different movies in the same movie.
The good thing is that it does get better, a lot better actually. I can’t really say much because the reason this movie recovers as well as it does is due entirely due to a turning point that made everyone in the theater react in a chorus of, “Holy-effing-shit.” Don’t bother guessing, there’s no way you’ll get it. The only thing I will say is that it’s at this very moment that things start making sense and the plot begins moving in a direction that you can get behind. In hindsight, I completely understand why Almodovar structured this the way he did, but in real-time, it’s not without its problems. Alright, not saying anything more on the matter, you can thank me later.
But for a genre that’s very much out of his comfort zone, it’s interesting how this still manages to feel like a natural progression for Almodovar. Even though it’s be driven by a lunatic who treats his women like most would treat a pet hamster, a lot of the usual Almodovar themes are here. The woman in question, Vera, is one tough cookie who’s got Antonio wrapped around her finger and you’ll be rooting for her twice as much by the end was you will be at the start. From how many times she gets naked to how many different people get boinked, it’s also an extremely sexual movie that feels as natural as it does aggressive. If you’ve seen an Almodovar movie before, this should all sound pretty familiar, and since these are all aspects that make his movies soar, it’s cool to see them in such a different setting. Also nice to see a director who can put sex at the forefront without making it feel forced or awkward. An unusually difficult thing to find these days, but a lot of credit goes to the cast in that regard as well.
That sexy bastard Antonio Banderas does a fantastic job playing the mad doctor himself, Robert Ledgard. His killer looks and emotionally numb demeanor totally betray what he’s capable of, so when he really starts to get his evil on, it’s mighty sinister when he goes about it with the bedside manner of a process server. Although my one issue with Legdard is that his unusually trustworthy nature is a tad horseshit considering the circumstances. I don’t care how much she looks like your dead wife, dude. You give that girl an inch and you bet your sweet ass she’ll be taking a mile. And on that note, Elena Anaya pretty much steals the show as the girl down the hall, Vera. Helps that she’s got the best character of the lot, but she goes all out and gives a really bold performance that just keeps on commanding the screen. Freaking gorgeous, too.
Man, how does Melanie Griffith let Antonio get away with this stuff? Homey does not leave much to the imagination.
So the structure could use some work, it misses out on a lot of opportunities that could have made for a pretty thrilling ride, and its effectiveness as a whole is dependent on a central gimmick. Then again, boy, is it some gimmick. In a world where people make movies about human centipedes, it takes a lot to shock our sick fascinations these days, so the fact that this one is a lightning bolt to the solar plexus goes an awfully long way. But aside from the one thing in this movie that I keep referring to but can’t talk about, The Skin I Live In is a pretty crazy character study fueled by grief, revenge, sex, and identity with a lot of layers and some serious staying power. Still think I’ll stick to his dramas, but more power to Almodovar for coming up with this sick puppy and making me terrified of stuff that I couldn’t have cared less about beforehand.
Beginners (2011)
VERDICT:
9/10 Late Bloomers
One of those movies that makes you wanna live.
Beginners is about a single, thirty-something graphic designer whose mother passes away, at which point his seventy-something father tells him that he’s gay and is determined to spend his last years being gung-ho about it. Not one to rain on his old man’s parade, the graphic designer openly supports his dad’s new lifestyle. Soon after, his father starts going steady with a younger man, but then he gets diagnosed with cancer and he passes away having lived the life he’d always wanted. Soon after that, the graphic designer hits it off with a French actress at a Halloween party, they start going steady too, but after a long history of sabotaging his relationships thanks to his parents’ shell of a marriage, the graphic designer begins to worry whether he’ll sabotage this one as well or follow in his father’s open-hearted footsteps.
It’s based on writer/director Mike Mills’ relationship with his own late father, and I’m still pretty flabbergasted at how quickly I realized that this was one of the best things I’ve seen all year. From the outset, it might seem like the gay dad aspect is the one thing keeping this from being a pretty run-of-the-mill story about real people with real problems. And even though that’s the very outlook that kept me from bumping this to the top of my Netflix queue for so long, I love movies about real people with real problems, and I feel shame for having taken so long. But in going with the theme of this movie, better late than never.
The big thing that sold me on this in record time is that it’s just plain magical, almost in the way that Amelie is. There’s an undercurrent of sadness in these characters that comes in the form of death, grieving, or broken hearts, but more than anything, they stand as a call to life despite the sorrow. It’s little things, like roller skating through a hotel lobby after getting kicked out of a roller rink, or dressing up as Sigmund Freud at a costume party and getting to a know a beautiful girl by analyzing her on the couch. I don’t know, that might not sound like much in text, but when you see how much these characters get out of everyday pleasures and cutting loose in the most grade school of fashions, you’ll wish you were there with them. When I wasn’t choking up at the parts where you can imagine things would get emotional, I was grinning my face off and just having a grand old time watching these kids in adult’s clothing.
As a writer, Mills gives us personality and authenticity to spare. All of the little routines and habits of these characters don’t feel like creativity in motion, they feel like a journal in motion. It’s personal, it’s funny, and it’s special to see movies that wear its heart on its sleeve like this. And as a director, Mills does an outstanding job of making this his own and using the screen as his canvas. It helps to see it in action, but there’s something very Vonnegut about the way Mills tells this story. There’s a dog who speaks in subtitles, the plot jumps back and forth from past to present so much that you’ll be doubling back to remember there’s two story lines, and McGregor’s character, Oliver, tells us the history of his family by showing us still images of what life looks like now and what life looked like in the ’50s. If you’ve read Breakfast of Champions or Slaughterhouse-Five, you’ll know what I’m talking about, and being Kurt Vonnegut’s #1 fan, I was all about it. It’s unique, it’s out there, and not only does it work wonders from a stylistic standpoint, but it’s an effective, non-preachy approach that speaks volumes about the way people and society has changed over the course of a generation.
And like I said, the gay dad aspect is definitely one of the more attention-grabbing things about this, and the subject of gay rights ends up playing a pretty substantial role as a result. It’s not there’s a political agenda behind it, it’s just a testament to how warped our opinions of homosexuality once were, how far we’ve come, and how it’s not about who you love, but that you love that matters in the long run. I also feel like it’s a lot more common to see stories about kids coming out to their parents rather than vice-versa, and I love how honest Oliver is throughout about how it affects him. There are no screaming matches or flipped lids, instead there’s understanding and feelings that go unspoken until the time is finally right. They’re friends as much as they are family, but what’s most interesting about the dynamic between Oliver and his father is the way one is stifled by his own insecurities and other was stifled by a world that diagnosed homosexuality as a mental illness. Their stories are similar in that they both have the chance at a fresh start, but where they differ is how they tackle the opportunity in front of them. It’s impossible to miss how much these two care about each other and how important they are in each other’s lives, and it’s even more interesting seeing Hal’s influence on Oliver play out in Oliver’s relationship with his main squeeze, Anna.
Not being the son to a gay father, I didn’t really have much going in the way of empathizing through personal experience, but being pretty confident that offspring are in my future, I’d be mighty pleased if my kid and I had a relationship like Oliver and Hal’s. And on that note, I just loved Christopher Plummer in this movie as Hal. It doesn’t hurt that he’s got a contagious smile and never stops showing it off, but being someone who tries to live by the phrase “Get busy living, or get busy dying,” Hal is a man after my own heart. Plummer has always been one of the legends and this is one of his best roles in years that’s totally deserving of the hype. Nothing too flashy, he just brings a whole lot of a humanity to a man you’ll adore spending time with.
And better yet, Ewan McGregor is just as good. Even if his circumstances aren’t relatable, his down-to-Earth performance absolutely is. I’ve always been a huge McGregor fan, so it’s always nice to see him doing his thing and doing it well. And while her only time in the spotlight is through a handful of childhood memories, Mary Page Keller is great as Oliver’s hilarious, deadpan, kid-at-heart mom; the gorgeous Melanie Laurent – who is quickly becoming one of my new favorite actresses – is magnetic and delightful as Oliver’s love interest, Anna; and Arthur, Oliver’s semi-telepathic Jack Russel Terrier, will make you want to run out and buy one. Did anyone else know that they were originally bred as hunting dogs? Interesting, right? Thanks, Mike Mills!
But aside from the Jack Russell Factoids, there’s a lot of wisdom to take away from this movie and there’s something very brave about having the courage to live and having the courage share it with the world at large. As much as it’s about Mills coping with the death of his parents, it’s about what Mills gained from their lives and what we can all gain from them in turn. I hope I’m not belaboring the point, but Beginners is just a wonderful little slice of life that comes from, and goes right to, the heart. Sometimes the only things preventing us from taking life by the reigns is ourselves, and sometimes we need a reminder to of that. Consider this a heads up.
The Way (2011)
VERDICT:
6/10 Accidental Pilgrims
Not without its problems, but it’s hard to get upset over such an inherently “good” movie.
The Way is about an aging father who finds out that his estranged son has died while hiking the Santiago de Compostela pilgrimage trail from the South of France through Spain. He flies over to identify the body and pick up the remains, but instead of heading back on the return flight home, he straps on his son’s hiking equipment and sets out on the trail where his son left off. As he tries to come to terms with his grief, he meets up with a motley crew of hikers along the way who end up becoming his traveling companions. Despite his outspoken desire to walk the trail alone, the fellow pilgrims stick by his side as they all start coming to terms with their own hangups and vices.
Now, what makes this movie particularly interesting for yours truly is that I’ve actually been hiking the Compostela pilgrimage trail in one-week stretches for the past few years. As for my progress, I’m almost at the Spanish border and I totally would have reached it by now if it wasn’t for my bum leg two years ago that had me walking like a pirate for most of the trip. Anywho, I don’t know how many people out there have heard of the Compostela pilgrimage trail and I don’t know how the Emilio caught wind of it either, but it’s a trip of a lifetime and a potentially great setting for a character-driven movie.
As to what would compel someone to walk across two countries with 30 lbs. of dirty clothes on their backs, everyone’s got their reasons. My good buddy Fred and I are doing it because it’s there, my parents have a far more personal connection grounded in an undying love for a French town along the way, and every other pilgrim we’ve met on the trail has something else to bring to the table. The same goes for Martin Sheen’s character, Tom. He’s there in the hopes of gaining a understanding of or a connection to the son he hardly knew, and his unlikely friends are there to either lose weight, quit smoking, or overcome a mean case of writer’s block. The nice thing about writer/director Emilio Estevez’s approach is that it very much reflects what it’s like and what it means to walk The Camino. Ask anyone who’s done it and they’ll tell you that half the fun of walking the trail is doing just that, but the other half is who you meet along the way.
And as far as the first half is concerned, the scenery here is gorgeous. It’s the French and Spanish countrysides and it’s even better than the postcards. But what’s odd to me is how so much time is spent in Spain and so little is spent in France. No matter where you start out from on the trail, getting to Spain isn’t exactly a stone’s throw, yet somehow they make it there in record time and take their sweet-ass time reaching the coast. Not that it really matters in relation to the story, but having spent so much time in France and having those memories of the trail to go by, I’m just confused as to why it got so blatantly skipped over. France is awesome, man. What’s not love about gorging on wine and cheese for three meals a day? Regardless, the visual appeal to the Camino will not go unnoticed.
But as much as I appreciate Estevez’s intentions and ambitions in making this movie and how he presents the trail as a character in itself, his script unfortunately needs a lot of work. With the exception of Tom’s gradual progression from reluctant curmudgeon to surrogate father figure, the other three pilgrims don’t really go anywhere. They all open up at some point about what’s really going on beneath the surface, but there isn’t a whole lot of closure to be had by the end of their journeys. On top of that, a good deal of the road blocks along the way end up feeling predictable, forced, and easily avoidable attempts at striking an emotional chord, and that’s just no good. Nor is the soundtrack that makes me think Emilio was a big ol’ fan of Garden State.
Although I wonder whether I’m taking these complaints too seriously since I really don’t think I’m the target audience that Emilio had in mind. As every last attempt at humor fell on deaf ears to my good buddy Fred and I while every forty-something in the theater chuckled away, it was pretty clear that my parents’ generation was a lot more receptive to this than I was. It’s a very safe movie that’s easy on the ears, eyes, and soul, and that’s not a bad thing by any means, it just didn’t leave the kind of impression on me that I think it did for others.
And the cast is fine, though their characters are another story. Yorick van Wageningen is endearing as the guy trying to lose weight thanks to his Dutch outlook on life that boils down to “Feelin’ blue? Smoke a joint,” but he’s one of those people who’s good in small doses; Deborah Kara Unger is decent as the gal trying to kick the habit; and James Nesbitt’s character, the one with writer’s block, is flat-out insufferable when we first shows up on the scene and starts ranting in verse like the world is his stage. He does get better, but people who treat the world as their stage, the ones who just don’t have an OFF button, are some of the most aggravating people this world has to offer. But Martin Sheen’s the man as usual as Tom, even if there’s a serious lack of Emilio here. I don’t think I’ll ever have a complaint about Martin Sheen.
As you can tell, this movie has its shortcomings, but The Way is nevertheless home to a very big heart, one that makes it hard to discredit the things that could have been done better. It’s a story about good people learning to embrace the differences that make them unique and being a crutch to lean on when they need it most. In a lot of ways, that’s also what the trail is about, and at the end of the day, those are the kind of stories we could use more of. Interested to see what the general consensus is from folks who haven’t walked the walk, but it’s a pleasant trip all the same.
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011)
VERDICT:
8/10 Mole Removals
Man, it must suck to be a spy.
Set at the height of the Cold War, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is about a high-ranking member of British intelligence who gets ousted by his peers after a covert operation goes terribly wrong. A year later, a rogue agent receives word that a Soviet spy has penetrated the top tier of MI6 and he’s been feeding British and American secrets to Mother Russia for years. Despite being a potential suspect, the former agency veteran gets pulled out of retirement to finish the investigation his old boss started and find out which of his old colleagues is working for the Kremlin.
Well, folks, word on the street is that this is one tough cookie to try and keep up with. Well, folks, they weren’t kiddin’. In a preventative measure to avoid the sensation of being flat-out dumbfounded by a movie I was very anxious to see, I went ahead and read John le Carré’s source material beforehand. As I finished reading the last page just minutes before the lights went down and turned off my reading light/cell phone so as not to distract anyone from the ridiculous new trailer for The Grey, I felt confident, I felt smart, I felt like I’d just shotgunned a bottle of Ritalin and had the focus of a Zen master. As I soon came to find out, I had made a very wise decision.
So why make it so hard on us? For starters, attempting to cram le Carré’s novel into a 120-page script is like trying to turn a labyrinth into a jigsaw puzzle. Every new sentence and every new detail is just more important as the last, it’s twice as hard to follow as the movie, and there are about 500 different characters with 500 different codenames who all speak in jargon you’ve never heard before because le Carré freaking invented it. This is where the term “mole” originated from, and it makes sense considering that le Carré was at one time a member of British intelligence. Yup, “dense” is the word with this one, so it’s only natural that every line of dialogue and every silent inference serves as vital information in moving things along. Miss something down the road, don’t expect someone to repeat it.
But what’s great about it is that you’ll want to listen closer and you’ll find yourself drawing one conclusion after the next without anyone in the film or the theater having to spell it out for you. From the outset it sounds daunting, but you can do it, just not every day that movies let use our brains. What’s also great about it is how Tomas Alfredson’s approach as a director complements le Carré’s strengths as a writer. I was expecting a lot of talking and a lot of stuff being thrown at me all at once, but what I got was something far more quiet, controlled, and perfectly fitting. When people do talk, they don’t beat around the bush and updates are always given on a need-to-know basis, which is a fine way to keep conversations at a bare minimum and a fine way to keep the audience from tuning anything out. When major revelations come to light, they’re stripped of the usual bells and whistles and are instead done very matter-of-factly, as though it was only a matter of time.
It’s very unusual to see a movie like this that continually cuts from one scene to the next without idle banter or banter at all and relies so heavily on implications over actions, but it’s a brilliant way to do things and only makes the finished product stand out that much more from what we’re used to seeing from the genre. On top of that, it’s just damn pretty to look. From the imagery, to the outfits; from the settings, to scenery – all of it does wonders to make the profession look as cool and grim as it absolutely is. The only downside is that when you have this many characters at your disposal, the spotlight isn’t always shared evenly. Like I said, undertaking this movie and doing the novel justice was a tall order to begin with, but when everyone is a suspect and some major characters start falling by the wayside, you notice it. There are also certain details and character intricacies that get left out, but the plot is more or less verbatim and the gripes end there. Also not sure if you’d notice any of this if you’re going in blind.
And as for the cast, what did you expect? This is England’s Greatest Hits right here and I don’t see why the names on that poster wouldn’t make someone want to drop what they’re doing and cancel all appointments for the next two hours. I’ve already written my love letter to Colin Firth thanks to A Single Man, so I’ll just say that my adoration of him has only grown since this past weekend as one of the head intelligence officers, Bill Haydon; Tom Hardy continues his global conquest of badassery in a great turn as scalp hunter, Ricki Tarr; this is the first time I’ve really liked Mark Strong in a movie, so he gets a shout-out as former agent Jim Prideaux; and the legendary Gary Oldman is fantastic as our guy George Smiley. Keeping with the tone of the film and the performances of those around him, Oldman is very understated, very unassuming, and it’s very impressive how well he pulls it off for a guy who’s usually playing the tweaked-out madman. I don’t know if there’s an Oscar in it for him, but being that he’s one of the best actors we’ve got and this is only more evidence of that simple fact, I’d be nothing but ecstatic to see him get it. There are also a ton of other actors here who all great in their respective roles, but for the sake of not rambling any further than I already have, I’m leaving it at that.
As I’ve hopefully conveyed, this is a movie that I thoroughly enjoyed. The sad thing about this movie is that I can already sense the outcries from people who didn’t like it because they thought it was boring, slow or that there wasn’t enough action to balance out all the talking. Not being one of those people, I think that sucks, but it’s also an understandable complaint considering the things we’ve been conditioned to expect from spy movies. For instance, when I go see Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol later this month, I won’t be dropping 13 bucks with the hopes of watching Ethan Hunt push paper for two hours. See, thanks to Jason Bourne, James Bond, and Mr. & Mrs. Smith, the life of the spy has been glamorized and then some by the powers that be in Hollywood who can turn a much easier profit with car chases and firefights than desk jockeys speaking in code. And that’s fine, it’s not like those movies suffer for putting pleasure before business, but if there’s anything we learned from The Good Shepherd, it’s that life as a spy is as unglamorous as they come. It’s dirty work that these characters have to perform on their friends and colleagues, and it’s not always as happy as some movies would like us to believe. There’s definitely entertainment to be had, although it’s far more an exercise in authenticity than escapism, and what you ultimately get out of it is dependent on what you put in.
Yes, you will have to pay very close attention to if you want to understand what’s unfolding before you, but why should that be a detractor? After all, there is no shortage whatsoever of movies and film makers that are more than happy to spoon-feed you a tale so you won’t have to worry about getting confused along the way. I don’t know about you, but it’s just nice to see a grown-up movie about grown-up things that doesn’t underestimate its audience for a change and challenges us to play along. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is a patient movie in practice that requires patience in turn, and whether that sounds like sheer fun or sheer torture, it was utterly enthralling watching the pieces come together and I had no idea where the time had gone once they’d all fallen into place. If you’re looking for an adrenaline rush, look somewhere else, but by the same token, that’s exactly why I liked it. Sure helps to do your homework though.
And in the battle between ‘Fight Club’ and ‘Se7en,’ the victor is…
FIGHT CLUB!
Gotta say I’d have gone with the minority on this one, but can’t say I don’t get it either. It’s Tyler Durden, enough said.
Still, I didn’t lose sleep after the first time I saw Fight Club…
RESULTS:
– Fight Club: 14 votes
– Se7en: 11 votes
Crazy, Stupid, Love. (2011)
VERDICT:
8/10 Soul Mates
The best date movie of the year. Suck it, New Year’s Eve.
Crazy, Stupid, Love. is about a married couple that separates after the wife sleeps her co-worker and the husband doesn’t even attempt to salvage their relationship. So the husband moves out, tries to meet women at a local bar, but only gets that much more depressed when he realizes that he has absolutely no game. In an act of good faith, a local ladies’ man takes it upon himself to teach the sad, sad husband in the ways of womanizing so that he can get out of his funk, learn to respect himself for the first time in ages, and make his wife rue the day she ever went behind his back. The more they start hanging out and the more women the husband shuffles through his revolving door of smooth-talking and love-making, the more he comes to acknowledge the role he played in his crumbling marriage and that the only thing he truly wants is to win back his wife.
I know, sounds awfully lovey-dovey, but I’m tellin’ ya’, I couldn’t have been more pleasantly surprised by how far from a chick flick this ended up being. Then again, despite its all-star cast, despite that it’s directed by the two guys who did I Love You Phillip Morris, and despite that Ryan Gosling is in it, this was a movie I’d never planned on seeing. But when I showed up to Moneyball ten minutes late on opening night, it was either go for the back-up plan or be That Guy who stands right in front of everyone who’s just trying to get their Brad Pitt on. As far as back-up plans are concerned, I don’t even think this was Option C, but I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: it pays to be the good boyfriend.
So what was it about this movie that made me go from “Girl, you owe me,” to “I’ll never doubt you again,” over the course of two hours? The short answer: the script and the cast. But since short answers are for the weak, let’s start with the script and save this cast of thousands for later.
For starters, there’s a lot going on in this script. Julianne Moore splits up with Steve Carell and starts breaking off a piece of her co-worker Kevin Bacon; Steve Carell drinks away his sorrows like the sad bastard he is, becomes the pet project of Ryan Gosling, and starts knocking boots with everything in sight until his heart gets the better of him; Ryan Gosling falls ass over elbows for Emma Stone, so much so that he starts going cold turkey on the whole “Let’s see if I can bang every girl in the tri-state area” feat; Emma Stone develops a Jones for Gosling but can’t act on her emotions ’cause she’s stuck in an awkward relationship with Josh Groban; and Steve Carell’s son is in love with the teenage babysitter, but the teenage babysitter is in love with Steve Carell. Man, it’s been three months since I saw this movie, I deserve a high thirty for remembering all that.
Oh yes, love is in the air, and in lesser hands, an audience could suffocate from it. In situations like these, it’s not uncommon for certain plot lines to feel unnecessary and certain characters to fall by the wayside, but everything’s so interconnected and only becomes so much more so as the story progresses that everyone ends up feel like a main character instead of pleasant diversions. That in itself is pretty darn impressive, but what makes this borderline great is the way it starts with this romcom formula you’ve seen a million times before and takes it in a different direction every time you’re about to guess what’s gonna happen. It’s nothing nuts like Ryan Gosling being born a woman or Kevin Bacon actually being made of bacon, it just keeps throwing curve balls down the pipe that each add a healthy dose of honesty and originality to the mix. The moral of the story is that you need to fight for the people you love and you’re never gonna get there if you wait for love to come knockin’, and while that’s not the most uncharted territory in the history of morals, it’s more about how you go about getting there than it is finally reaching it with this one.
Although there is something a bit backwards about how Carell convinces himself that sleeping around at a wholesale rate is a morally sound way to make his ex fall back in love with him. But on second thought, there’s a reason it’s not called Sane, Smart, Love. Many of the characters here don’t always think about the big picture before they head down a certain road, and as a result, there are many a time that road ends up being a cul-de-sac. The reason it works rather than pitfalls into a cliched mess that might as well be called Valentine’s Day 2: Now With More Ashton is because everyone’s heart is in the right place even if their heads are runnin’ on fumes. They go to some pretty bold lengths to put themselves out there, but there was never a moment where I was rolling my eyes or laughing at the wrong places because no one in their right mind would ever get themselves into the fixes that these love fools can’t seem to get out of. And come on, I think we’ve all done some pretty dumbass things in pursuit of the opposite sex.
Anyway, swell script, now onto the cast.
You know the last movie I liked that Steve Carell starred in? Little Miss Sunshine. 2006. Now that Michael Scott’s in Denver and Dinner for Schmucks is still in existence, Carell was due for this. No, there’s not much separating his turn as the initially hopeless yet totally endearing Carl Weaver from the likes of Andy the virgin or real-life Dan, but who cares? That’s Carell at the top of his game and I love it when he takes a break from his “awkward to the max” shtick to play the everyman – a shtick that happens to suit him like a suit. And because life is always better with bonuses, the rest of the cast is just as wonderful. The great Julianne Moore is fantastic as Carl’s ex-wife Emily; Emma Stone continues to be one of the most awesome women in Hollywood as the apple of Gosling’s eye, Hannah; Marisa Tomei is a rip as the first of Carl’s many flings; Kevin Bacon isn’t around all that much but he’s good as the home-wrecking sonofabitch David Lindhagen; and newcomers Analeigh Tipton and Jonah Bobo absolutely hold their own and then some as Carl’s teen babysitter and Carl’s son, respectively. Yup, they all rock, every last one of ’em.
And then there’s Gosling.
Now, I know all you Drive fans out there are gonna hate me for this and are probably already starting a petition to have my Man Card burned with fire, but in a year where Ryan Gosling made the universe his bitch without even trying, this was the high point. Just as he became an overnight badass by staring down thugs with his scorpion-emblazoned Members Only jacket, the comedy game comes easy to Gosling and it’s something that’s been waiting to come out since he started cuttin’ some rug in Half Nelson. Considering that every other well-known actor he’s working alongside with here has at least some experience with making people laugh on-screen, it’s pretty crazy how he steals the show like a total boss and consistently delivers some of the funniest lines to boot. It’s not like the guy needed to do a comedy or needed to lighten up his image before he got pigeonholed as the quasi-sociopath who booted that hitman’s skull in, but more power to him for taking the initiative, stepping out of his comfort zone, and delivering the goods as usual. Good lord, what can’t Gosling do?
Kids, if you’ve ever been in a relationship, then you probably know full well the struggle that comes with deciding on what movie to watch. For all you love birds out there, you can go ahead and stop cycling through the Netflix Instant queue for the umpteenth time because this sucker’s a gift from snuggle heaven. For everyone else, Crazy, Stupid, Love. stands tall as a surprisingly funny and uber refreshing spin on a genre that’s gotten awfully comfortable with settling for the same old crap. Even if you’re not looking to put the moves on anyone, it’s most definitely worth a watch. One of those times where you can tell there’s not a soul involved in this movie isn’t clearly having a blast being involved in this movie, and it sure is nice to sit back and be part of the fun.
Coriolanus (2011)
VERDICT:
9/10 Lonely Dragons
Shakespeare’s never been so badass.
Coriolanus is about a legendary general of a city called Rome – a man who has continually placed himself on the front lines to defend his homeland and whose so-called “pride” has made him an enemy of the people who grovel for democracy. After achieving victory once more against the Volscian army that threatens his city’s safety, the general is urged to run for consul of the Senate. Despite his hesitations, he heeds the advice of those around him and extends the bare minimum of efforts to win the favor of the citizens he so despises. When they deny him their support, the general finds himself exiled from the city he once protected, and with no place left to call home, turns to the Volscians to seek vengeance on those who shunned him.
It’s adapted from the play of the same name by good old Bill Shakespeare, and it truly pains me to say that until I’d heard about this movie, I never knew such a play existed. Now, my relationship with Shakespeare is one of love and hate. I loved Macbeth, I hated most everything else. Okay, maybe “hate’s” a little strong, but let’s just say I’m not a fan. It’s not that I don’t think he was a good writer or have lost sleep wondering whether it was he or some ghostwriting aristocrat who quilled all those classics, it’s actually that I was an English major. Most people tend to go with “I wish I’d studied abroad,” but my one regret from the four years I spent in college is that I didn’t look into the wonderful world of American Studies and thus prevented myself from having to spend half of my requirement courses with Shakespeare, Milton, and that creepy bastard Marlowe. I know there are many who would disagree with me, but one man can only be forced to read Hamlet so many times before snapping. Not even gonna start with his “comedies…”
So when this started up and everyone on-screen started speaking in Old English, I had to fight the urge to yell “Fuck this!” and storm off into Arthur Christmas. But the more I stuck with it, the more I listened, and the less of a chore it became to break down what was being said, I eventually realized that I was watching something exceptional. Partly it’s the cast, partly it’s the modern-day setting, but wouldn’t you know, mostly it’s Shakespeare.
The titular general in the spotlight is one Gaius Marcius, who takes on the surname of Coriolanus after single-handedly defeating an army of Volscians at their home city of Corioles. That’s right, everyone else pussies out after their first helping of lead salad, so he dusts that dirt off his shoulder, goes in guns blazing, and offs an entire battalion by himself as a way to rally the troops. He’s a mama’s boy, he’s a family man in the loosest sense of the word, but when it comes to putting down the opposition, he’s the guy you want at the gates. In short, he’s a lot like Patton. He’s a stubborn asshole who doesn’t apologize for his principles, and when he’s forced to betray those very principles to beg for the approval of the ungrateful masses, that’s when things get interesting. But put him on a battlefield and he’ll shut those hungry commoners right up.
It’s a fascinating perspective to drive a story from because you want to root for him as much as you want to root against him. You want to see him crowned for the battle scars he’s earned so that others could live, but there’s no denying he’d make a shit politician. You want him to exact his revenge on those damn Romans, but it’s mighty hard to justify the means when his family’s on the hit list. A lot of people throw a lot of labels at Coriolanus in an effort to pin down his strengths and flaws as a soldier, a leader, and a person, but not one really gets it because he’s constantly evolving at a pace he can’t even follow…with the sole exception of his mother. There are no good guys and bad guys here, just people blinded by ambitions that aren’t always their own. In other words, people who could really afford to read Macbeth.
Now, I’m of the mindset that Ralph Fiennes was robbed blind when he didn’t get an Oscar for his stone cold turn as Amon Goeth almost 20 years ago. Not to say that Tommy Lee Jones didn’t kick ass in The Fugitive, but Goeth was evil in a way I’ve never seen on film. The man’s had a hell of a career since, but this is the first time in a long time where he’s in his element. From the second he marches on screen and silences a riot by using his inside voice, you will fear Coriolanus as everyone else fears Coriolanus, and you will listen as though you’re right there in the picket line with your heart in your mouth. Coriolanus was tailor-made for Ralph Fiennes, and the same goes two-fold for Vanessa Redgrave as his mother, Volumnia. I am not kidding in the effing least: at 74-years-old and with the half the amount of screen-time as Fiennes, Vanessa Redgrave wears the pants towers over this movie with a honed ferocity like you will not believe. I seriously need to do my homework when it comes to her career, because she’s the veteran here and she makes it known with ease.
If this qualifies for awards season (and I hope it does,) I think they’ve both got a damn strong chance at some wins.
The tragically under-appreciated and always phenomenal Brian Cox is just that as Coriolanus’ chief advisor, Menenius; and then there’s Gerard Butler, and I am so outrageously happy for Gerard Butler. For the past five years, I can only assume that Gerard Butler’s agent has been the homeless guy behind the local In-N-Out Burger who gave happened to give him a lucky tip about 300 and then convinced him that ass-awful romcoms were the way of the future. With the track record of a one-legged race horse, I don’t know how Gerry got landed this gig as Coriolanus’ mortal enemy Tullus Aufilius, but he’s fantastic and it’s absolutely no surprise. For someone who rose to overnight fame for making every man on Earth feel like Augustus Gloop, Sr., it’s about time this movie happened to him.
My only minuscule complaint about is that Shakespeare’s words don’t sound quite as smooth coming out of the mouth of Jessica Chastain as Coriolanus’ wife. She does a fine job and this is by no means a low point in the most epic year of her life as an actress, but whereas everyone else speaks like it’s common practice, she speaks like she’s on a stage. I know, it’s pretty damn tough to make Old English sound like New English, but I guess that’s as much a compliment to the rest of the cast as it is a hangup over Chastain.
Given the world that we now live in, one rife with civil unrest and mired in wars, the pertinence of Coriolanus also resonates just as profoundly as it did the real-life Gaius Marcius was still kicking. Whether it’s the uprisings in Egypt or those wildly confused Occupiers, Coriolanus is as universal and timeless a figure as they come, and as are those who want to him fall. While it never would have happened without Shakespeare, screenwriter John Logan still gets a whole bunch of credit for adapting this in such a masterful and timely manner. From the cast to the crew, you can tell there’s a real respect for the source material, and when you have that going for you on a set, it really comes through on all fronts in the end.
The last time a movie gave me such a fond appreciation for Shakespeare was when Kenneth Branagh took on Henry V, and while I’m not gonna be the guy to say this adaptation trumps one of the all-time greats, it’s surely up there with the best of ’em. I wish one of my old teachers had introduced me to this play when they were trying to get me to like Shakespeare, because Coriolanus knocked me flat on my ass. Then again, I believe Ralph Fiennes could read Everyone Poops to me in Pig Latin and it would be my new favorite book by page two. It’s just such an unbelievably compelling, intense, and brilliant character study about the fickle natures of power and loyalty that’s only made better by some of the best characters and performances I’ve seen all year. I really can’t say enough about what an accomplishment this movie is, and if you’re not into Shakespeare, trust me, you’ll see the light.
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