OUT OF THE FURNACE (2013)

December 15, 2013

furnace1 Greetings again from the darkness. Who in the world thought this would be the right time to release this film? Between holiday shopping and the new release schedule chock full of Oscar bait, dropping this hard-edged little film into theatres was box office suicide. And what a shame that is because there is definitely an audience for this exceedingly well acted snapshot of 2008 Rust Belt misery (has quite the holiday ring to it, eh?).

furnace3 The steel mill town of Braddock, Pennsylvania was once thriving, but is now on life support … just like the father of Rodney and Russell Baze. Casey Affleck plays Rodney, the brother who viewed enlisting in the Army as his way out of Braddock. When we meet him, he is about to leave for his 4th tour in the Iraq war. Russell (Christian Bale) is the more grounded, trying to do right brother. Russell dutifully works in the mill while trying to make a life with his girlfriend (Zoe Saldana).

Since life never hands folks in these towns a break, Russell ends up in prison, Rodney’s fourth tour leaves him scarred physically and emotionally, the dad dies, the girlfriend bolts, and the sleazy drug and crime world congregate right on top of the brothers’ heads. Rodney goes deeper into the ugly world of bare-knuckle fighting in an attempt to pay off his gambling debt to a local crime head played by Willem Dafoe (in yet another reptilian role). If you think cockfighting furnace2is merciless, the bare-knuckle fights held in backwoods Appalachian Mountains make that look like child’s play … and no tamales! The film is at its best when the nastiest of all these characters is on screen. Woody Harrelson plays Harlan DeGroat (great character name!), the soulless crime and drug lord of the area, who also runs (and fixes) these brutal fights. Harrelson is at his most menacing here, and even has Dafoe’s character a bit jumpy. Harlan DeGroat has no redeeming values, and admits to having “a problem with everybody”.

The story itself is quite predictable, but Bale, Affleck and Harrelson keep us glued to the screen. Zoe Saldana, Forest Whitaker and Dafoe have moments, but mostly their characters are underwritten here. Sam Shepard adds blue collar royalty as the uncle of the Baze boys. Director Scott Cooper (Crazy Heart) re-wrote Brad Ingelsby’s script, and it suffers from leaving us wanting more in regards to background and makeup of these characters. Still, the strong performances and the excellent score from Dickon Hinchliffe, keep us engaged and make this grimy, hopeless world something we can’t turn away from.

**NOTE: for a prime example of why so many of us consider Christian Bale one of the finest actors working today, check out the way he reacts to his release from prison … breathing fresh air for the first time, nervous energy that goes with freedom, pure joy in seeing his brother.

SEE THIS MOVIE: if you are looking for a movie that absolutely should not be viewed over the holidays, but you get a kick out of hillbilly evil

SKIP THIS MOVIE IF: the family is looking for a light-hearted, feel good flick for group viewing after a day of feasting on the Christmas beast and opening presents.

watch the trailer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ClzRVlMhU2E

8 Comments | Drama, Thriller | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by David Ferguson

THE GREAT BEAUTY (La grande bellezza, Italy, 2013)

December 15, 2013

beauty1 Greetings again from the darkness. This is Italy’s submission to the Academy for Best Foreign Film of 2013. If it wasn’t such a beautiful film to watch, a fun game of spot the Italian director influence could be played. Director Paolo Sorrentino owes much to Fellini and La dolce vita, but this is more than a tribute. Sorrentino shows great style and insight, and his commitment to camera angles, movement, colors, textures and faces are quite something to behold.

Toni Servillo plays Jep Gambardella, a man celebrating his 65th birthday by doing what he does most every night … beauty3partying with his group of intellectual friends. Jep had a successful novel published in his 20’s and has since worked sporadically as a journalist, but has never again focused on his writing. One can’t help but notice the similarities to Marcello Mastroianni in La dolce vita, but Jep is jolted with news that sends him flashing back to his younger years and his one true love.  Especially satisfying are the numerous shots of what makes Rome such an enchanting city.  The historical sites and beautiful sculptures and fountains provide quite the contrast to the startling appearance of the party goers.

beauty2 Much of the story includes Roman decadence, and it can easily be viewed as the decline of Roman civilization both past and present. See, Jep’s apartment overlooks the famous ruins of The Colosseum. Even moreso, we get a nice conflict between uppity society and the all too important modern and conceptual art crowd. Toss in a few pot shots at the Vatican and Sorrentino seems to be telling us that everyone takes themselves entirely too seriously … even as we belittle and judge others. Whatever his true message, the sensory overload provided here could be a film class in camera style and is quite fun to watch.

watch the trailer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dyt430YkQn0

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Posted by David Ferguson

THE SWIMMER (1968) revisited

December 1, 2013

swimmer1 Greetings again from the darkness. Having first been drawn into this film by watching it on a 13 inch black and white TV in my dorm room, I have long wanted to experience it on a larger, full color screen. With this “dream” finally attained, the film remains a very odd, hypnotic, stylistic 1960’s film. Based on a John Cheever short story published in the “New Yorker”, it works as a dual allegory to: the failed American Dream and one man’s life.

Burt Lancaster stars as Ned Merrill, a long-lost neighbor who shows up one morning to take a swim at the house of some friends. A little conversation leads to the formulation of Ned’s plan to “swim home” through each of the backyard pools in the valley. This is a chlorinated road trip and it’s quite an adventure. Along the way, Ned meets those that are happy to see him and those that aren’t. The former babysitter (Janet Landgard) follows him for part of the trip. He swimmer2also has an extended visit with a former lover (whom he clearly spurned) played by Janice Rule (pictured left) … a visit that starts poorly and goes downhill from there.  Various other interactions occur during his pool crawl, including some face time with a young Joan Rivers (who plays a pool party girl).

As we can tell from the delivery of the dialogue, something isn’t quite right with Ned. He has been “missing” for awhile and he seems to be oblivious to the changes in his life, while everyone else is quite aware. It seems Ned is swimming right through the stages of his life. The movie takes him: from morning to evening, from sunshine to rain, from warm to cold, from energetic to tired, and from healthy to hurt. By the end of his trip, we understand the current state of Ned’s life, even if he prefers to believe his wife and daughter remain part of his idealistic suburban paradise.

Eleanor Perry wrote the screenplay, while her husband Frank Perry (Mommie Dearest) directed. They also collaborated on Diary of a Mad Housewife. A minor bit of trivia notes that Fred was singer Katy Perry’s uncle. Due to creative differences with Lancaster, Mr. Perry left the film before it was completed. Sydney Pollack was brought in to re-shoot the scene with Lancaster and Ms. Rule. It had previously been shot with Barbara Loden. A 24 year old Marvin Hamlisch composed the somewhat heavy-handed score … it was the first of many film scores he would compose.

This is an unusual looking film – very stylistic and impressionistic for the times. It flows more like a play than a traditional movie and the dialogue is more literary than conversational. Lancaster’s performance is exceptional, and it should be noted, he was 52 years old at the time of shooting. If you have seen the movie, you understand why that is so impressive.

watch the trailer:

 

Leave a Comment » | Classics, Drama, Fantasy | Tagged: , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by David Ferguson

THE BOOK THIEF (2013)

December 1, 2013

book thief1 Greetings again from the darkness. You may be familiar with the source material – the huge best selling novel from Markus Zusak. If not, you may be surprised at the “through the eyes” of an illiterate, orphaned child’s perspective of the German home front during WWII. You may be more surprised to learn that it’s narrated by The Grim Reaper (British actor Roger Allam), and includes a Nazi rally, book-burning, bomb shelters, a look at the anti-Jew and anti-Communist movements, the German conscription/military draft and the dangers associated with hiding a Jew in one’s basement (with similarities to “The Diary of Anne Frank”).

book thief2 There is no denying the melodramatic nature of the story and the presentation from director Brian Percival, but this one avoids schmaltz thanks to the remarkable performances of the internationally diverse cast led by the great Geoffrey Rush and Emily Watson, and especially Sophie Nelisse as the incredibly perceptive Liesel who provides the innocence and powers of observation that prove to us (and Death) that good people will do extraordinary things no matter the atrocious conditions. Another young actor to keep an eye on is Nico Liersch, who plays Liesel’s Aryan schoolmate Rudy … a dreamer who imagines himself as Jesse Owens (not a popular view among the Nazi powers that be).

book thief 3 As Liesel’s foster parents, Rush plays a warm-hearted WWI veteran, and Watson plays a cantankerous, grounded woman hiding the emotion she carries for her husband and new daughter. The biggest piece of hiding involves Max, a young Jewish man who is the son of a soldier who once saved the life of Rush’s character. Max and Liesel have a wonderful bond as he teaches her to speak through her eyes and she nurses him back to health by sharing her new found joy of reading.

The ghost of the boy who lived in the shadows … from H.G. Wells “The Invisible Man” plays a key role as Liesel tries to make sense of a world that delivers a daily dose of relentless danger. As she develops her love and dependence on the written word, it’s clear that to survive in these times, one must have something that provides hope. The unusual story structure with the odd narrator, and a mix of wry humor, keep us connected with the characters and allows the humanity to shine through. Still, I challenge you to watch this without a lump in your throat.

**NOTE: the score is from the great John Williams, who once again excels in complimenting emotional storytelling.

SEE THIS MOVIE IF: the melding of a child’s innocence and strength can be enough to overcome the pain and shame of seeing how the Nazi movement affected so many, at least for a two hour period.

SKIP THIS MOVIE IF: you care not to revisit any of the suffering and caused by WWII (even if it’s within a story of personal strength and survival)

watch the trailer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92EBSmxinus

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Posted by David Ferguson

PHILOMENA (2013)

November 29, 2013

philomena Greetings again from the darkness. Two people telling the same story can make that story sound infinitely different. Two people united in their efforts to solve a mystery can have vastly different reactions to the same situations. Such personality and attitudinal differences are the real core of this story … even more than the true life inspired story of a quest to reunite a mother and child after 50 years.

Peter Mullan’s startling 2002 film The Magdalene Sisters provided us a look into the dark side of Ireland convents in the 1950’s. Here, director Stephen Frears brings us the very personal story of Philomena Lee – one of the unwed teenagers banished to the convent to deliver her baby and work off her debt to the nuns and church, after signing away all future access to her child. It’s a heart-breaking story of the times, of the church, and of a singular woman. Philomena struggles with guilt and regret over 50 years until her daughter arranges a meeting with journalist Martin Sixsmith. This begins their journey to uncover the truth and find Philomena’s son, and provide us with a front row to two distinct ways of viewing the world.

Dame Judi Dench plays Philomena and Steve Coogan (also co-writer and producer) plays Martin, resulting in a very “odd couple” road trip and personality test. Dench is remarkable is her role (surely in the running for an Oscar nom) as the seemingly simple woman who reads romance novels, gets excited about salad bars, is thrilled with mints on her pillow, and has lived a lifetime with a hole in her heart created by having her young son ripped from her world. Coogan is effectively restrained (minus his usual exaggerated comic mannerisms) as the snooty Brit journalist who thinks writing and reading human interest stories are a waste of time. She has maintained her religious faith and faith in people, while he has long ago given up on God and flaunts his cynicism in most every situation.

Director Frears has a widely varied movie career – from The Grifters to High Fidelity to The Queen. He excels in drama with a wry sense of humor.  Some will view the movie as anti-Catholic (replete with cruel nuns) … it is difficult to defend the painful childbirth, isolated mothers, selling of children and lack of assistance in reconciling the parties. Others will view this as a victory of faith over intellect. It’s the world-weary journalist with the $5.00 words who ends up learning a life lesson. It can be a reminder that life is going to throw some difficult situations your way. Your attitude and approach that will determine how you deal with it … and how much emotional pain follows. This is another entry into gray cinema that will generate much debate and discussion … a sure sign of success for a movie!

**NOTE: this is based on Martin Sixsmith’s book “The Lost Child of Philomena Lee”

SEE THIS MOVIE IF: instigating post-viewing debate is one of your movie criteria OR you want to see what could be another Oscar nominated role for Judi Dench

SKIP THIS MOVIE IF: stories inspired by real life heart-break is not your idea of holiday entertainment, no matter how thought-provoking or well-acted.

watch the trailer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4DBPqcp6Hc4

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Posted by David Ferguson

NEBRASKA (2013)

November 24, 2013

nebraska1 Greetings again from the darkness. Director Alexander Payne has proved yet again that he has a remarkable eye for characters, and no need to bury those characters deep in plot. About Schmidt, Sideways, and The Descendants provided us with characters we could laugh with, cry with and feel with. His latest is his first film which he did not write, but it’s clear that he and screenwriter Bob Nelson are similar type people watchers.

What you notice immediately is that this film and its characters move at their own pace. There is no rushing or urgency. They do nebraska2things and say things in due time. Or not. What you also notice is that the camera does the same thing. Filmed in stark black and white, the camera is exceedingly quiet and still … just like the characters and landscape. We can thank Director of Photography Phedon Papamichael, who also worked with Payne on Sideways and The Descendants. Even the score is a bit offbeat. The blending of trumpet and guitar is rare, yet seems to fit just right.

Bruce Dern is 77 years old and in his sixth decade of acting. While I have liked him quite often – and really liked him in The King of Marvin Gardens (1972) – this may be his best performance and best role yet. Dern’s Woody Grant is an alcoholic, nebraska4and hard of hearing, and crotchety, and isolated. More seriously, he seems to be in the early stages of dementia given his insistence on walking to Nebraska to collect his “winnings” from a mass marketing mailing similar to Publishers Clearing House. With minimal dialogue, we “get” Woody. That’s thanks to Dern’s physical performance and ability to emote through simple gestures. We feel his quiet desperation in the search for meaning in a life that is slipping away. He just wants to be somebody before the end.

The delivery mechanism is a road trip shared by Woody and his very patient son David (Will Forte). We sense David looks at the trip as an opportunity to connect for the first time with his dad, and maybe even get some life questions answered along the way. On the trip, other family members join in, including Woody’s other son Ross (Bob Odenkirk), and Woody’s colorful wife Kate (June Squibb). The trip takes them to Woody’s hometown where they cross paths with other family and old friends.

nebraska3 Woody’s insistence that he is about to be a millionaire brings out the “true self” in those whose paths they cross. Many of his old friends are truly happy for him and wish him nothing but the best. Others aren’t so kind. True colors can be hard to watch, especially as shown by Woody’s old partner Ed Pegram (Stacy Keach), and other family members who are just after “their fair share” of the loot. The movie excels in these moments … watching a fiery Kate put these vultures in their place, while defending the husband she has spent the whole time badgering is priceless.

Ms. Squibb delivers the film’s funniest lines, but she also gives a depth to Kate that adds the level of realism. Will Forte is surprisingly effective given his “Saturday Night Live” background, but we never lose sight of Bruce Dern (and his hair). The characters we see are grounded rural midwesterners who live their life from day to day, depending heavily on family and friends. Their interpersonal skills are quite different than what is found in metropolitan areas, and those born and raised in heavily populated areas may struggle to relate.

The film should garner Oscar nomination consideration in multiple categories, and Mr. Dern is probably a shoe-in for a Best Actor nom. So slow down and share this trip from Montana to Nebraska … while I can’t promise a prize of one million dollars, you will definitely be rewarded.

SEE THIS MOVIE IF: you enjoy character driven dramatic comedies based on people you might know (if you know people in the rural midwest)

SKIP THIS MOVIE IF: your sense of humor is more likely to parallel that of Adam Sandler or Will Ferrell than Sideways or About Schmidt.

watch the trailer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UT5tqPojMtg

3 Comments | Comedy, Drama | Tagged: , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by David Ferguson

THE 400 BLOWS (1959, Les quatre cents coups, Fr.)

November 23, 2013

4001 Greetings again from the darkness. Cited as one of the films that begot the French New Wave, this one cuts straight to the nerve if you were ever misunderstood or felt isolated as a kid (and who wasn’t?). Knowing that it’s a semi-autobiographical presentation from director Francois Truffaut makes it all the more poignant. Truffaut was a troubled youth and (like many of us) used his love of cinema as an escape, and to provide hope for his future. His mentor, the famous film theorist Andre Bazim, died just before this (Truffaut’s first) film was released … it bears a dedication to Bazim.

Jean-Pierre Leaud plays 12 year old Antoine Doinel, a boy who just can’t get a break at home or school. Labeled a troublemaker (the film title translates “to raise hell” or “to live a wild life”) by a lazy, cruel teacher, and treated as a lost cause and unwanted burden by his tight-sweater-wearing mother (Claire Maurier, over 80 and still acting today) and stepfather (Albert Remy). Antoine’s days are spent reading Balzac, watching movies, and dreaming of escape. A couple of unfortunate incidents spiral out of control and he ends up first in jail, and then in an “observation center” for troubled kids.

4002 The beauty of the filmmaking is evident in most every shot … and there are some amazing extended takes. The overhead scene of the PE teacher “losing” students as they jog through the city is humorous and insightful. The puppet scene in the park is an extraordinary long take of kids’ innocent and mesmerized faces, and the extended shot of Antoine running through the countryside is a cinematic first. Above all of that is the famous ending shot – a zoom in to freeze frame of the young boy caught between land and sea (past and present).

Truffaut and Leaud teamed up for four more projects featuring the same character, Antoine Doinel. In 1962’s Antoine and Colette, he finds first love. 1968 brings Stolen Kisses and true love. 1970’s Bed & Board has Antoine getting married, and finally 1979’s Love on the Run brings divorce and life after a failed marriage. Other than the “7 Up” series, I can’t recall a movie character being tracked in real time for two decades in multiple films.

The French New Wave also included directors such as Jean-Luc Godard, Claude Chabrol, and Jacques Remy (who appears as a policemen in this movie). These filmmakers used realism to tell their stories just after the time when Hollywood was using icons such as James Dean and Marlon Brando to express rebellious youth. This makes for an interesting comparison and fun analysis. Whatever your preference, Truffaut’s first feature is clearly an exciting development for cinematic history.

**NOTE: Francois Truffaut was a huge Alfred Hitchcock fan, and published a book “Hitchcock, Truffaut” in which he interviewed Hitchcock on each of his films, in order.

**NOTE: Francois Truffaut periodically acted in films (including a cameo in The 400 Blows).  His most famous role was when Steven Spielberg (a huge Truffaut fan) cast him in Close Encounters of the Third Kind.

watch a trailer (not the original trailer):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i89oN8v7RdY

The 400 Blows

4 Comments | Drama, World Cinema/Foreign | Tagged: , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by David Ferguson

JFK (1991)

November 22, 2013

jfk1 Greetings again from the darkness. Fifty years to the day after the tragic assassination of President Kennedy seems like the best time for me to finally write something about Oliver Stone’s controversial 1991 film. As a Dallas resident, the hallmark event has never been far removed, either mentally or geographically. I periodically see movies at the Texas Theatre where Oswald was captured. It’s impossible to drive downtown and not regularly pass the Texas School Book Depository and Dealey Plaza. The reminders are always present and maybe that’s a good thing.

When this movie was released, it shook the dust off the story and brought much attention back to the crime that had once seemed so quickly solved. The conspiracy theorists embraced Mr. Stone’s work and even those who knew little of the Warren Report were swept up in the details and accusations. It was so easily accepted as an investigative presentation, and it was a way for the people to finally get what they wanted … the answer to what happened and why.

jfk2 Viewing the film this week again for the first time since 1991, it’s understandable why so many were swept up in the frenzy. This is an expert presentation of a staggering number of theories and details and characters. With a run time well over three hours, the only opportunities for an exhale come during the somewhat lame interactions between New Orleans District Attorney Jim Garrison (Kevin Costner) and his wife (Sissy Spacek). Othewise, it’s a very well written parade of movie stars that is exceptionally photographed and expertly edited. Newsreel footage, reenactments, and dramatizations of events successfully create a mind puzzle. The film grabs you and does not let go … and this is 22 years after release and 50 years after the assassination.

Now don’t mistake that praise for believability. While Stone’s approach has been attacked from all sides, he did publish an annotated script “proving” his details. Still, his blending of theories is staggering: the military, the CIA, the FBI, LBJ, the Mafia, the pro- and anti-Castro types, the Russians, and even a likely corrupt businessman. The latter is Clay Shaw, played with evil enjoyment by Tommy Lee Jones in a role worthy of a movie unto itself.

jfk3 In Stone’s version, Garrison is the voice of truth. He’s the guy that doesn’t buy off on the Warren Report. In fact, this movie version of Garrison represents us as the viewer … the citizens who want to believe our government, but are too rational to accept things spoon fed to us. This isn’t so much a courtroom drama or investigative report, it’s more like a data dump. Stone is delivering all of the little doubts in one fell swoop. In other words, with all of these possibilities and unexplained events, how could it not be a conspiracy? Was it a coup d’etat with LBJ waiting in the wings? That makes sense if you believe defense contractors were unwilling to sit quietly as JFK pulled out of Vietnam. Was Oswald a patsy as he claimed? That argument can certainly be supported. More than one gunman? 5.6 seconds, a tree in the eye line, and smoke from the grassy knoll can lead to that conclusion. The movie serves as our emotional outburst at not knowing why this happened and who was responsible. We like our mysteries solved and this one apparently never will be.

Roger Ebert once said that facts are for print and emotions are for film. Oliver Stone seems to excel at the latter. He gives us permission to be paranoid. He takes extreme dramatic license with two extended soliloquies: Donald Sutherland as “X” (Fletcher Prouty) and Kevin Costner as Garrison in the courtroom. Neither of these events are probable, in fact the courtroom scene is borne from numerous Garrison speeches, quotes and book passages over the years.

This 50th anniversary has brought at least three new JFK inspired films: Parkland, Killing Kennedy, and Letters To Jackie. Three very different approaches to the man and the event that changed the world … it changed our perceptions and our expectations. Oliver Stone’s film gave us permission to do so out loud.

**NOTE: on the anniversary of this event, it’s important to remember that Officer JD Tippett was also brutally gunned down that day by Oswald

**NOTE: the real Jim Garrison appears in the movie as Earl Warren (yes, of the Warren Commission)

**NOTE: Unitended humor occurs with a sweaty John Candy saying “Daddy-O” and when Kevin Bacon says “People GOT to know”

 

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Posted by David Ferguson

DALLAS BUYERS CLUB (2013)

November 11, 2013

dallas1 Greetings again from the darkness. It’s not unusual for an actor or actress to alter their physical appearance for a movie role. Sometimes those changes become the story: Robert DeNiro in Raging Bull, Christian Bale in The Machinist and Charlize Theron in Monster are a few that come to mind. Regardless of the transformation or make-up, what really matters is the performance and the character. Just ask Eddie Murphy (Norbit) or Gwyneth Paltrow (Shallow Hal). In Dallas Buyers Club, we actually get two incredible transformations that lead to two stunning performances.

dallas2 Matthew McConaughey and Jared Leto each lost approximately 40 pounds for their respective roles as Ron Woodroof, the redneck, three-way loving, alcoholic, drug-addicted electrician/rodeo cowboy; and Rayon, the sensitive, street-savvy, would-be transsexual so desperate for a kind word. Their physical appearance will startle you more than once, but is quite effective in getting across the struggles of those infected with HIV virus in the 1980’s. The number of victims impacted exploded and the medical profession was ill-equipped to properly treat the patients.

This is based on a true story and a real life guy (Woodroof) who became a most unlikely beacon of hope for AIDS patients. Woodroof fought the medical industry, Pharmaceutical companies and the government (FDA, DEA, IRS). It’s impossible to miss the message and accusations that most of these had a single goal of increasing profits, rather than dallas3curing the disease. And that’s where the story lags a bit. Michael O’Neill and Dennis O’Hare are the faces of greed and bureaucracy, while Jennifer Garner, Leto, and Griffin Dunne represent the side with a heart (though Ms. Garner is clearly out of her class here). Woodroof seems to be a guy who just doesn’t want to die, sees a business opportunity, and even learns a little bit about humanity along the way.

There have been numerous other projects that deal with AIDS, including: Philadelphia with Tom Hanks and the recent documentary How to Survive a Plague. This may be the first with a protagonist who is distinctly unlikeable, despite his passion and strong survival instincts. McConaughey doesn’t shy away from the homophobic personality and cruel manner of speech that Woodroof possesses. We never doubt his frustration at those controlling the big picture, but we never really see him connect with those his brash tactics help.

dallas4 McConaughey is on a dream run as an actor right now, and it certainly wouldn’t be surprising to see him garner an Oscar nomination. But it would be a mistake to chalk that up to his losing so much weight – he really delivers a character that we won’t soon forget. And let’s not overlook Mr. Leto, who has been away from acting for 4 years touring with his band. He is a remarkable talent and a true screen presence. Compare this role to his Mark David Chapman in Chapter 27. It’s not just the range of weight, but moreso the range in acting that so impresses.

Also worth noting here is the outstanding cinematography of Yves Belanger. This movie is shot in a way that brings out the intimacy of the moment, while not losing the big picture. Director Jean-Marc Vallee (The Young Victoria) and co-writers Craig Borten and Melisa Wallack work together for a solid foundation, but it’s McConaughey and Leto that we will most remember … and of course, the pics of the great Marc Bolan on the wall.

**NOTE: for you baseball fans, that is in fact slugger Adam Dunn as a bartender.  He was also an investor in the film.

SEE THIS MOVIE IF: you want to see two of the best and most startling acting performances of the year OR you want a glimpse at the confusion and panic that the AIDS epidemic brought to the mid 1980’s.

SKIP THIS MOVIE IF: you are looking for an elegant treatment of AIDS … this one will make your skin crawl.

watch the trailer:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fvMPU0WaPcc

4 Comments | Drama | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by David Ferguson

LAST VEGAS (2013)

November 9, 2013

last vegas1 Greetings again from the darkness. I’ve been writing about “Gray Cinema” for the past few years and the understandable desire of Hollywood to capitalize on the aging population. Take that trend and mix it with new-age buddy pictures like The Hangover and Bridesmaids, and you can at least imagine what director Jon Turteltaub (the National Treasure movies) and writer Dan Fogelman (the very entertaining Crazy Stupid Love) were attempting to create.

The film’s poster recalls the glory days of the Rat Pack, so taking this foursome of sixty-something year old childhood buddies to Las Vegas presents many possibilities. There is no shortage of enthusiasm from the four leads: Michael Douglas as Billy, the smooth-talking lifelong bachelor who proposed to his thirty-ish girlfriend at a funeral; Morgan Freeman as Archie, suffocating in a cocoon of family over-protection; Robert Deniro as Paddy, the isolated widow wallowing in grief for the past year; and Kevin Kline as Sam, the stir-crazy Florida stereotype bored with 4:00 dinner parties and his marriage.

last vegas2 These top notch actors give it all they have, but there is just no rescuing such fluff and lack of substance. The script is frustrating throughout and just gives no credit to an audience that might appreciate even a gag or story line that wasn’t obvious from the opening credits. Mary Steenburgen‘s character provides a brief respite, but the developments are so absurd that neither her character or the story line can be taken seriously.

Toss in a bar fight, bikini contest, mandatory viagra jokes, a world class Casino penthouse, an inconceivable party that would be shut down by fire code, and a wasted cameo from 50 Cent … and you get a lame, flat, mostly unfunny story that barely skims the surface of an endless stream of possibly interesting topics.  It’s certainly not at the level of The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel … or even Space Cowboys.

I’ll end by stating that I am a huge fan of Gray Cinema, but my request is that some effort go into the script and production so that viewers are provided with an entertaining and intelligent and respectful experience. There is no need to dwell on the bits of culture that have passed them by or the physical ailments that plague their activities. Luckily, the stellar cast prevents this one from flopping to the level that the script deserves.

SEE THIS MOVIE IF: you can appreciate the novelty of a cast of leading men all in their sixties and seventies OR you get a kick out of knowing the punchline of every joke before it actually happens

SKIP THIS MOVIE IF: you expect a certain level of “smarts” in movies … even comedies.

watch the trailer:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IMnr-R7BkkU

 

2 Comments | Comedy, Drama | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by David Ferguson

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