GET LOW (2009)

August 22, 2010

 Greetings again from the darkness. I am not familiar with director Aaron Schneider, who apparently has done mostly cinematography work on TV for the past 10 years. He must feel like a lottery winner getting to direct his first feature film and having a cast with Robert Duvall and Sissy Spacek.

This is a very odd film centered on the story of 1930’s Tennessee backwoods recluse Felix Bush, played exceedingly well (no surprise) by Robert Duvall. We learn – slowly – that Felix has been in a self-imposed exile carrying enormous guilt over an incident from 40 years prior. The wonderful thing is that it takes us just about the entire film to discover what caused this guilt and how Felix has dealt with it.

Over that 40 years, the legend of old man Bush has grown with the town people. It is approaching Tall Tale status when he whips up on a local wise-ass on one of his rare visits to town. When Felix realizes that stories have been concocted about him over the years, he heads to local funeral home to arrange a “funeral party” where everyone can come and tell their stories … while he is still alive!  The local mortician is played by Bill Murray and I can best describe his personality as eager opportunist.

While this appears to be a slow moving story, it really isn’t. The real motivation for the party, a reconnection with the past and a cleansing confession all play parts in this fine story. Sissy Spacek plays a painful link to Felix’ past, as well as a key to this latest/last event.

Excellent performances by Duvall, Spacek,  and Bill Cobbs really make this one work. While Bill Murray and Lucas Black hold up their end by supplying a bit of humor and purity, respectively, the story really belongs to Duvall. His ability to convey emotion with a grunt or facial expression is just amazing to watch.

My only real complaint with the film is that it lasted about 2 minutes too long. The perfect ending had occurred and then we are dealt one final, seemingly forced scene. A minor quibble with a film that kept me fully engaged.

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Posted by David Ferguson

THE CONCERT (Fr., 2009)

August 8, 2010

 Greetings again from the darkness. Typically when a film is billed is a “French comedy”, we can expect a farcical good time with self-centered characters who flitter their days away. Director Radhu Mihaileanu delivers something completely different and unexpected.

Two really fine performances drive this film. Aleksei Guskov plays Andrei Filipov, the one time conductor of the Russian Bolshoi orchestra, who lost his beloved job because he employed Jewish musicians during the harshest of Communist days. Nearly three decades later he finds himself as the janitor in the same hall where he once conducted. Because of this, an opportunity presents itself that allows him to seek redemption in his own life, and that of another.

Melanie Laurent, who was so outstanding as the theatre manager with a nasty plan in Inglourious Basterds, plays Anne-Marie Jacquet – a violin virtuoso who Filipov longs to have in his orchestra for a show in Paris. Ms. Laurent displays tremendous screen presence with minimal dialogue. She is quite a talent and I hope she spends more time in the U.S. making movies! The comedy portion of the film occurs as Filipov frantically assembles his orchestra from all over town. They have each gone their separate ways and some no longer even have their own instruments. Of course, none of the musical portion is believable, but as I said, this is a story of redemption.

The film climaxes with a wonderful onstage performance combined with a startling montage that deftly provides the details into the story that’s been skirted for the first 90 minutes. It is a wonderful ending to a decent film that really had the potential to be amazing.

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Posted by David Ferguson

THE OTHER GUYS (2010)

August 8, 2010

 Greetings again from the darkness. Much of Will Ferrell’s box office success has occurred thanks to his collaborations with writer/director Adam McKay. This includes Step Brothers, Talladega Nights, and Anchorman. McKay’s long history at Saturday Night Live is often on display in his movies, but never more than during The Other Guys. While there was some effort put towards a story, the film often has the feel of individual skits.

The first skit revolves around two supercops played by Samuel L Jackson and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. Of course, the kicker is that they really aren’t great cops, but masters of Public Relations. Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg are partners and the titular ‘other guys’. We get minimal background on each but quickly understand that Ferrell’s cop comes from accounting and is obsessed with regulations and safety. Wahlberg was a former rising star until an unfortunate accident involving Derek Jeter snuffed out his promotions.

Obviously, there needs to be a super case that these two solve and it involves a corporate financing scheme with Steve Coogan. The story itself is really unimportant (luckily) and the humor is derived from individual moments between Ferrell and Wahlberg, that same duo and Eva Mendes, or scenes with Michael Keaton.  As a baseball fan, I got a chuckle out of Keaton’s character name – Capt. Gene Mauch.

There are a couple of running gags that work (hot girls are always hitting on Ferrell, Wahlberg’s dancing, Keaton and TLC), and the best visual gag is an extended freeze frame montage set in a pub. It is pure comic genius. On the downside, I was really baffled as to the over-the-top approach taken by Mark Wahlberg. His anger and bitterness were so exaggerated that it has to be considered a spoof of his role in The Departed. However, if you try to view the film as a spoof, it just doesn’t work (outside of Samuel L Jackson).

Overall, this one has the laughs you would expect but is certainly not at the class of Anchorman. Comedy remains one of the most difficult film genres, and McKay remains one of our best hopes.

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Posted by David Ferguson

THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT (2010)

August 5, 2010

 Greetings again from the darkness. Laurel Canyon and High Art are two of director Lisa Cholodenko’s previous best films. She seems to have a knack for exploring interpersonal relationships and observing human emotions. Here she co-wrote a very good and insightful script with Stuart Blumberg.

The story centers around a married lesbian couple played by Annette Bening and Julianne Moore. They play the moms’ to Mia Wasikowska (Alice in Wonderland) and Josh Hutcherson (Bridge to Terabitha). Turns out, each of the ladies gave birth to these kids with help of the same sperm donor. The kids decide they want to meet the donor dad and it turns out he is uber-cool Mark Ruffalo: owner of an organic garden and restaurant, rider of awesome motorcycle, wearer of stylistic leather jacket, and master of hippie-type language that connects with teenagers. In other words, he is a parents’ worst nightmare.

The story examines real life issues such as marriage, family life, mid-life crisis and self-fulfillment. It wraps those things brilliantly around an unconventional family, each with recognizable personality types.

The weakness in the film is two-fold. An important storyline develops between Ruffalo and one of the moms that just seemed out of place to me. The point was made, but could have been made in a much more realistic way. Worse though is the performances of two wonderful actresses – Annette Bening and Julianne Moore. With a couple of exceptions, I thought they were both over-the-top in just about every scene. They were almost caricatures of their character types. My gut feeling is that one or both will receive Oscar nods because of the “risky” roles, but the histrionics should not be rewarded.

Interesting tidbit: daughters of Steven Spielberg, David Mamet and Michael Eisner all have roles in the film. Wow … that’s some parental firepower in Hollywood! This one is worth seeing for the script and for Ruffalo’s best performance, but it’s really not as funny as it tries to be. Probably would have worked better as a straight drama.

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Posted by David Ferguson

DINNER FOR SCHMUCKS (2010)

July 31, 2010

 Greetings again from the darkness. I fully expected this to be an all-out raunch-com in the vein of The Hangover, and I was absolutely mistaken. The film only slips into slapstick and physical punchyness at the lowest part of the actual dinner. The rest of the movie is pretty basic and set somewhere near real life.

Often, real life situations bring the most humor. Sadly, that’s not the case here. Most of this one is just plain boring. There are some very talented people associated and they all do a fine job. It’s just that the pieces don’t make up an enticing whole. The film basically rides on the shoulders of the talented Steve Carell as Barry. Barry is a genuinely nice guy whose wife left him for his boss (Zach Galfianakis), and his hobby is making intricate displays of dressed up dead mice … his “mouseterpieces”, he calls them.

Paul Rudd plays Tim, another genuinely nice guy trying very hard to make it in the business world. He has the right car and a great apartment and a beautiful girlfriend (Stephanie Szostack) who doesn’t think it’s time for them to be married. Tim seizes an opportunity at work to go for a promotion. This gets him invited to his boss’s monthly dinner party where all the managers bring a guest with extraordinary skills … the titular schmucks. The point is to have a good laugh at the expense of the idiots. Obviously Tim runs into Barry and the guest list is complete.

Tim explains to his girlfriend that there is a “me you don’t know” who has to do things in order to get ahead at work. I really wanted to see more of THAT guy! Instead, we are subjected to another film that just doesn’t know how to take advantage of Paul Rudd’s talent. He is a funny guy and you would never know it here.

If not for Steve Carell and an outlandish performance by Jemaine Clement (Flight of the Conchords) as an “artist”, this film would be totally flat. Instead, there are a few laughs and an underlying theme about the sweetness of some people. It tries to ask the question, who are the real schmucks? Director Jay Roach is responsible for the Austin Powers and the Meet the Parents franchises. He obviously knows humor. He takes this one from a French film directed by Francis Veber called The Dinner Game. In that film, we never actually get to the dinner. In this one, the film sinks to its lowest point during the dinner. Lesson learned. Best part? Hearing the Beatles during the opening and closing credits.

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Posted by David Ferguson

THE SORCERER’S APPRENTICE (2010)

July 15, 2010

 Greetings again from the darkness. Well, it’s the best kind of Nic Cage role … very little dialogue and plenty of scenes with him not included. Lots of special effects. Has some similarities to movies like National Treasure (another Jon Turtletaub directorial effort) and The Shadow. Can you tell I am struggling to find the positives?

The basic story involves Merlin’s three assistants (Balthazar, Horvath and Veronica) and their struggles after Merlin is killed by the evilest of all evil, Morganna (Alice Krige). Of course, that murder happened hundreds of years ago and poor Balthazar has been on a global search for the only sorcerer’s apprentice who can save the world in case Morganna is released.

Since Veronica (Monica Bellucci) sacrificed herself to capture Morganna, it is really important to Balthazar (Cage) that he find this apprentice who can also help revive Veronica, who is his one true love. The bad guy is Horvath (played well by Alfred Molina). He is on a mission to release Morganna so she can destroy the world and choose him as her assistant. Yeah, I know, lots of details that don’t really matter.

The reluctant apprentice is played by Jay Baruchel. Or someone playing Jay Baruchel. Can’t really tell since every role he takes is EXACTLY the same character. At least here he plays a physics prodigy. Yeah, right.

Next to Molina, the most fun is had when Toby Kebbell (RocknRolla) is on screen. He is a real hoot and these two play well off each other. The other attempt at humor is a weak homage to the Disney classic Fantasia, replete with moving mops, etc. No surprise, the sequence comes up well short of the original and Baruchel just doesn’t have the physical skills to pull it off.

I assume this movie is aimed at 10 year olds and I am just not sure they will understand the story, though I feel confident the big special effects and cool car chase will be enough for a few oohs and ahhs. Those over 10 … enter at your own risk.

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Posted by David Ferguson

CYRUS (2010)

July 4, 2010

 Greetings again from the darkness. Trying to come up with the best way to describe this one. It seems to be billed and marketed as a comedy, but it’s very dark and only funny in a few places. The drama is pretty weak at times and uncomfortable all of the time. The comedy really stems from the mano y mano of John C Reilly and Jonah Hill. Marisa Tomei is a not so innocent bystander.  The film just doesn’t lend itself to a particular label.

If you have seen the preview, you know the basic story. John C Reilly is a socially inept oaf who gets dragged to a party and makes a fool of himself. Marisa Tomei views him as something of a lost puppy and takes him under her wing. The big reveal occurs when Tomei’s grown son (Hill) shows up at an inopportune time. Yes, he lives with her and they have a very unique and close relationship.

Brothers Jay and Mark Duplass (writer and director) are known as part of the mumblecore movement – they subscribe to the less rehearsal and minimal script school of film-making. Luckily for them, Hill and Reilly take to this beautifully. Their scenes together are very good at creating an inner turmoil and utter frustration. Luckily for the audience, Reilly’s character has two scenes where he can unleash the lines that the viewers are all thinking! It makes for a nice release of tension.

Hill creates Cyrus as the epitome of a “sneaky little devil”. OK, he’s not so little, but the rest fits. His acts of subversion are well thought out and pure acts of passive aggressiveness. These three characters make for quite the odd little group, but there is surely some insight into single parenthood, loneliness and over-protective parenting. Don’t expect a slapstick comedy in the Judd Apatow mold … this one is a bit creepy and dark.  John Malkovich played the role in Con Air, but Jonah Hill is the real Cyrus the Virus.

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Posted by David Ferguson

KNIGHT AND DAY (2010)

June 29, 2010

Greetings again from the darkness. I really liked director James Mangold‘s two most recent films – Walk the Line, and 3:10 to Yuma. Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz both have great smiles and look really good in swim attire. Paul Dano (There Will Be Blood, Little Miss Sunshine) is well cast as an off-center nerdy scientist. That’s the end of all the positive comments I have for this film.

The negative comments are for just about everything else in this summer “blockbuster”. It is billed as an Action-Comedy. There is plenty of action, though much of it is so far-fetched and ludicrous. There is almost no comedy. The rapid fire banter between Cruise and Diaz would have been much more effective had it been well written, instead of just fast paced.  Even the music is distracting.  Hall & Oates and Christopher Cross are painful enough, but they really should have let the composer watch the film before creating the score.

A quality action movie needs a real force coming from the bad guy. Here, the filmmakers instead provide us with a “is he a good guy or a bad guy” story line with Cruise. Anyone surprised at the real answer? Because of that, we don’t have anyone to root against. Some generic Spainish arms dealer played by Jordi Molla (Blow) and the government agent played generically by Peter Saarsgard. Generic is not a word you want associated with your movie.

This is Cruise and Diaz together for the first time since the far-superior Vanilla Sky. They both deserve better than this slop, though I feel confident they had a good time with the globe-trotting to Spain, Austria, Jamaica and a few U.S. stops in between. The fun they had filming did not translate into fun for me as a viewer. In fact, as they were driving away, I kept hoping for an ending like Thelma and Louise.

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Posted by David Ferguson

TOY STORY 3 (2010)

June 21, 2010

  Greetings again from the darkness. Has there ever been a bad Pixar movie? Nope. And as many really good movies they have created, there are now two truly great ones: Toy Story and Toy Story 3. The first one (released 15 years ago) transformed the way animation is made and set the standard for kids’ movies that parents can also enjoy. This third installment takes animated story telling to the next level.

Of course all the great voices are back: Woody (Tom Hanks), Buzz (Tim Allen), Jessie (Joan Cusack), Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head (Don Rickles, Estelle Harris), Rex (Wallace Shawn), Hamm (John Ratzenberger) and Sarge (R Lee Ermey). Imagine assembling that cast and then adding two fabulous new characters: Lotsa Huggin’ Bear (Ned Beatty), Ken (Michael Keaton); expanding Jodi Benson’s Barbi to a key role, and re-vamping Slinky-dog with Blake Clark taking over for his deceased friend, the fabulous Jim Varney. This is major star power and an over-abundance of talent!

Then again, we have all seen stellar casts fall flat without a worthy script. Fear not as Pixar legend John Lasseter (Exec Producer here) has passed the reins again to director Lee Unkrich (Toy Story 2, Finding Nemo, Monsters, Inc.). This story is brilliant and engaging. I challenge anyone from age 5 to 95 to avoid being drawn in to the themes of separation, friendship, loyalty, and power.

There are some laugh outloud moments along with the usual wise cracks from Buzz and Potato head. This time we are also treated to some darker moments with Lotsa, a power-hungry stuffed bear, and his band of misfits that include a giant baby doll and Chuckles, the creepiest clown this side of Poltergeist, and especially the frightening/funny monkey working security.

Some Pixar touches include the voice of Andy is provided by the grown up voice actor who did Andy in the first, a couple of glimpses of the evil kid Sid (first Toy Story) who has grown up to be a garbage man (same shirt) and the re-use of Randy Newman’s classic song “You’ve Got a Friend in Me”. Too many other “little” moments to mention, but this is pure film genius and should not be missed.

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Posted by David Ferguson

PLEASE GIVE (2010)

June 6, 2010

 Greetings again from the darkness. If not for a friend’s recommendation, I probably would have avoided this one on the basis of writer/director Nicole Holofcener‘s last film, Friends with Money. I found that to be a miserable film filled with miserable people. This one, on the other hand, is a wonderful film filled with miserable people!

OK, that is a slight simplification, but it is an extremely well written story that showcases the imperfections of people, social situations and society as a whole. Sometimes it seems the harder we try, the worse things turn out. Such is the life of Catherine Keener‘s character. She and her husband (Oliver Platt) run a furniture resale shop. Kind of a Ghost of Furniture Past.  She carries around this enormous burden because they stock the store by buying cheap from grandchildren stuck with death’s aftermath … and then reselling to arrogant metrosexual types who live for kitsch and cool. Keener spends her time trying to scrape off the guilt by doling out money and doggie bags to the homeless.

There are many interesting characters in the film and that adds to the fun. Rebecca Hall (uptight Vicky from Vicky Cristina Barcelona) plays the dutiful granddaughter taking care of her 90 plus year old monster granny played colorfully by Ann Morgan Guilbert. Many will remember Ms. Guilbert as Dick Van Dyke’s neighbor in the early 60’s sitcom. Her key job in the film is to get on with dying so that Keener and Platt can take over her apartment and expand – the ultimate dream for a NYC resident. Hall’s character is the budded flower – the one just waiting to bloom as soon as the sun comes out (granny dies).

The mean-spiritedness of the grandmother is matched only by the vile spewing from Amanda Peet, Hall’s less than caring and untrustworthy sister who is obsessed with tanning … and the girl who “stole” her boyfriend. Peet’s character often just says what she is thinking which adds dimension to most conversations! There are some terrific scenes and moments and characters in the film, but the best written scene is the dinner party. Keener and Platt invite Hall, Peet and Guilbert over in a guilt-easing attempt to be civil while waiting for Granny to kick the bucket. The scene takes on an entirely new life when Keener/Platt’s daughter makes an appearance. Sarah Steele plays Abby as a smart, insightful teenager. Oh, and she is also mad at the world and bitter about her complexion and slightly pudgy build (which makes finding the right jeans a quest). The whole scene is one uncomfortable statement or moment after another. Beautiful to watch.

I could go on and on about the intricacies of the characters and their relationships with each other and outsiders, but what matters is that the film is well written and well executed. It is not some sappy, save the world rom-com, but rather a character study of what goes on in real life and in real moments. Plenty of humor, but also plenty of truth. Amazing how often those two go hand in hand.

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Posted by David Ferguson

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