GREEN ZONE (2010)

March 13, 2010

 Greetings again from the darkness. The trailers and the involvement of director Paul Greengrass and Matt Damon gave me the initial impression this was to be little more than a “Bourne” rip-off. I am happy to report that’s not the case. This is a fantastic story that is a cross between an Iraqi War movie and political thriller.

Matt Damon plays an officer responsible for following the military intel for WMD locales in the early days of the invasion. He gets more frustrated and untrusting as each target comes up empty. When he questions the intel to his superiors, he is “politely” told to follow his orders. At the same time, he is approached by a grizzled CIA veteran played by Brendan Gleeson. The CIA happens to agree with Damon’s character … the intel is faulty and the belief is an ulterior motive is at play by the administration.

Of course, this is not a documentary. It is merely another step in the exploration of what the driving force was for invading Iraq in the first place. Were WMD’s a cover for the pursuit of Saadam? The script is based on a book, and leads us to believe the WMD intel was rigged because that was a great reason to present to our allies and citizens. The disconnect between the administration and the CIA appears evident. A smarmy Greg Kinnear plays an administration official who has much power … and a special forces team reporting directly to him.

The film highlights the blunders and poor decisions made early on in the invasion. Not really sure if they were blunders or if the mission was simply misguided. Either way, this makes for a great story and an intense one to follow. A real statement is made when one of the locals who has been assisting Damon, surprises him and states something along the lines of “You don’t get to decide the fate of my country”. That’s not the exact quote, but it is the key point the film is making.  We also get a replay of President Bush on the deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln proclaiming “Mission Accomplished”.  That gets more painful upon each viewing.

The bad news is that Paul Greengrass is at his shaky camera worst. The first 15 minutes of the film and the climax chase scene to, through and outside the safe house were so bad that I felt queasy. I love well placed hand-held camera work, but this was beyond extreme – it was quite simply over the top and distracts from what should have been a near-classic.

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Posted by David Ferguson

A PROPHET (Fr.,Un Prophete, 2009)

March 13, 2010

 Greetings again from the darkness. This was France’s entry, and one of the odds-on favorites to win Best Foreign Language Film at this year’s Academy Awards (it did not win). Director Jacques Audiard brings us the gritty realism of power within the walls of a prison. We even get a glimpse into how power inside the walls translates into power in the outside world.

Tahan Rahim stars as Malik, a young, shy, weak boy (apparantly) wrongly sentenced for striking a police officer. Malik is quickly abused and taken advantage of by the stronger, seasoned convicts. Ahh, but young Malik is a quick study and is dragged under the control of the powerful Corsican group led by Cesar Luciana (played with fire by Niels Arestrup). He studies Cesar’s process and moves and quickly learns to run his own side businesses by walking a fine line between the various groups in prison.

See, Malik is a French born Arab who becomes a trusted adviser to the Corsican crime boss. Although, the Corsicans call him a dirty Arab and the Arabs don’t trust him because of his affiliation with the Corsicans. What a mess for Malik. But he is quite the opportunist and makes the best of his situation.

Some of the story lines are brutal, while others are quite clever. This adds to the realism and makes this an intense story to follow. Jacques Audiard also directed the fine The Beat that My Heart Skipped and that film also featured Niels Arestoun, who flashes some evil eyes and plays his low key power to the hilt. He is great fun to watch here.

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Posted by David Ferguson

OSCARS Recap (2010)

March 8, 2010

(3-8-10) Greetings again from the darkness.  Yes, I watched every moment of last night’s Academy Awards presentation.  Mostly because that’s what I do every year at this time.  However, this year, there was a bit of anticipation as we had been led to believe that this year’s show would be something unique – a break from the past!

So imagine my surprise when the show opened with a musical number from Neil Patrick Harris!  Not taking anything away from Mr. Harris, but this felt oddly familiar to the opening from past years.  Then the co-hosts, Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin, came out for their duo-logue.  Together, they “worked the room” poking and prodding the key nominees.  Some of it worked and some of it didn’t.  The two best jokes came from Mr. Martin.  He linked Precious to his first movie The Jerk, stating they both got their start as poor black kids.  Even better was his exchange with Christoph Waltz who played a Jew hunter in Inglorious Basterds.  Martin congratulated Waltz for the mother lode as he encouraged him to look around the room.  Pretty funny.

There were some terrific moments and some very odd ones … plus a couple of just painful ones.  Kathryn Bigelow became the first woman to win Best Director, and she received it from Barbra Streisand, who always felt she had been slighted for direction of Yentl.  But did they really need to accompany Ms. Bigelow with Helen Reddy‘s “I am Woman”?  The John Hughes tribute was very well done, but it begged the question of why now and why him?  So many Hollywood legends have passed away and they have traditionally been recognized with only a photo or two during a montage on the show.  Personally, I like this idea very much, but question why Mr. Hughes is worthy, while so many others have not been.  The standing ovation for Lauren Bacall and Roger Corman seemed to underscore my point.  Hollywood types long to acknowledge the greats among themselves.  Too bad they weren’t allowed onstage.

The Horror Film clips were most welcome, but again it seemed odd, as the Academy historically ignores this genre (Silence of the Lambs, The Exorcist are two exceptions).  Speaking of horror, how about the “Kanye West-type” moment during the Documentary Short presentation?  The producer jumped on stage and interrupted the director’s thank you speech with a wild, raucous, rambling mess of words.  My guess is there is more to this story.

I did find it funny that during Mo’Nique‘s acceptance speech, a quick cut to Samuel L. Jackson in the audience perfectly captured his rolling of the eyes.  Much less funny was the less-than-entertaining interpretative dance number for the Original Score nominations.  Not sure I am smart enough to connect the 1980’s robot dance moves with the musical score of Up. Maybe I was alone in this disconnect?  Can’t let it go without making sure everyone knows Sandra Bullock won her first Oscar the day after she was awarded the Razzie for her work in All About Steve.  She becomes the first to win Best and Worst in the same year.

My Oscar predictions were very solid (especially in the key categories), but not perfect.

Correct predictions: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Original Screenplay, Adapted Screenplay, Animated Film, Score and Song.

Incorrect predictions: Foreign Language Film (this was a shocker), Cinematographer, Costume, both Shorts

So, another year in the books.  Don’t worry, next year’s show will be much different from this years.  If you believe that, you will also believe that James Cameron is really upset for not winning one of the top two awards for Avatar. My guess is that he is quite satisfied in knowing that it is approaching $3 BILLION in worldwide box office.  Wow!

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Posted by David Ferguson

ALICE IN WONDERLAND (2010)

March 6, 2010

(3-6-10) 

 Greetings again from the darkness. A sequel?? How dare they? When I first heard that Tim Burton was taking on Lewis Carroll’s story, I was very excited. What better director to take on this most peculiar work than the man who brought us Edward Scissorhands, Sleepy Hollow, Beetlejuice, Batman Returns and others? The man is a visual genius. But a sequel??

Early in the film, we find an almost 20-year-old Alice being proposed to in front of a large crowd of Victorian high society types. She spots a rabbit in the bushes and excuses herself, chases the rabbit, and quickly falls down the rabbit hole. The wild ride begins.

Mr. Burton’s visual feast takes Alice (Mia Wasikowska) through many of the situations we (and she) are familiar with. The main difference is this is her “return” trip to Wonderland and she is no longer a little girl. She is told her destiny is to defeat the Jabberwocky so that the evil Red Queen’s ruling power can be assumed by her sister, the good white queen. This destiny takes Alice through many sites and characters we don’t often see.

Johnny Depp is cast as her friend the Mad Hatter and delivers yet another unique, full-bodied performance.  His “mad” look is achieved through a bird’s nest of red hair, giant yellow saucer-sized eyes and make-up that would make Lady Gaga jealous. The Red Queen, who captures the Hatter, is played wonderfully by Mr. Burton’s wife, Helena Bonham Carter. She has marvelous voice inflections and is as quick with an “off with their heads” as she is a “I need a pig”. Her sister, the White Queen, is played oddly but beautifully by Anne Hathaway. The sibling rivalry is a hoot.

We are treated to voice work from three of the best ever: Christopher Lee, Michael Gough and Alan Rickman. Unfortunately, Mr. Lee and Mr. Gough have VERY limited lines, but it was nice of them to contribute. Also contributing are Stephen Fry, Michael Sheen, Timothy Spall and Matt Lucas.

Once I adjusted to the fact that this was not a re-imagining of the original works, but rather more of a sequel or next step, the film worked fine for me. What I did miss was the amazing word play of the great Lewis Carroll. Of course, anyone who actually understood his writings will probably be a bit bored with this version. Luckily, that affects very few!

Mr. Burton’s visuals are successful and will probably appeal to most ages. The 3-D seems to have been an after-thought and is most effective with the really cool Cheshire cat. The youngest kids will struggle to follow the Mad Hatter’s accent-heavy dialogue, but the pictures and characters (Tweedle-Dee and Dum) should be enough to keep them entertained.

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Posted by David Ferguson

BROOKLYN’S FINEST (2009)

March 6, 2010

(3-5-10) 

 Greetings again from the darkness. Ever since Training Day became a hit, director Antoine Fuqua has been one of the director’s that escape harsh criticism from the Hollywood elite. He is a master of intense moments in time, but I believe many of his movies lack continuity to the point where the story seems to come second to adrenaline rushes. Brooklyn’s Finest is no exception.

The film follows the unconnected stories of three cops. Richard Gere is the stereotypical veteran cop who is one week from retirement, and begins the film with a gun in his mouth. Ethan Hawke is the desperate young cop whose family just keeps growing (his wife Lili Taylor is pregnant with twins) and he longs to provide better living arrangements. Don Cheadle is the undercover cop who, if he hasn’t already crossed the line, is dangerously close.

The best scenes are with Cheadle and Wesley Snipes, who plays a just released from prison hardened criminal. Their dialogue rings true for an undercover cop trying to play both sides and hold on to what’s “right”. If not for Ellen Barkin‘s histrionics, the worst scenes would be watching Richard Gere show off his full repertoire of three different facial expressions. Poor Ethan Hawke looks like no one let him eat or shower for 2 months prior to filming. The boy looks sad.

Even though we know it’s coming, the final act where the three stories intersect is pretty interesting and make for a satisfying shoot-em-up ending. Brace yourself for some hardcore street violence and language and a meandering soundtrack.  The film seems to funnel to the point that there is a very fine line between right and wrong for those in law enforcement.  I prefer to cling to the belief that this is a serious exaggeration.

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Posted by David Ferguson

OSCAR PREDICTIONS (2010)

March 2, 2010

(3-2-10) Greetings again from the darkness.  As the great writer Stephen King said, people who “love” movies tend to “like” watching the Academy Awards presentations; and people who love watching the Oscars, tend to like watching movies.  Well, as usual, I am a bit different.  Of course, I LOVE movies … but watching the Oscars is an annual tradition for me – one that I can’t imagine skipping. 

My attraction to the event goes back to my childhood when this gathering of Hollywood’s elite presented a rare glimpse into the world of glamour and celebrity.   These days we know WAY TOO MUCH about most actors and the industry of celebrity has somehow eclipsed the art of moviemaking.  Even though much of the TV presentation is now committed to the ridiculous red carpet interviews centering around fashion, there remains something magical about watching the actors as real people (or as close as they get).

Below, I have recapped the main categories and offered up my predictions as well as my preferences.  I have resisted the urge to comment if my true preference did not even receive a nomination!  In reality, I expect very few surprises in the main categories, but then again …

BEST PICTURE – While I am not a fan of going back to the days of TEN nominations, I do understand the reasoning.

PREDICTION: The Hurt Locker – not many of us saw this during its theatrical, but it is an incredibly intense viewing experience.

PREFERENCE: An Education– no chance of a win, but it was my favorite film of 2009

BEST DIRECTOR

PREDICTION: Kathryn Bigelow – the former Mrs. James Cameron seems to be a shoe-in after winning the Director’s Guild Award for The Hurt Locker

PREFERENCE: James Cameron – Realizing Avatar didn’t require traditional directing, this industry changing film should bring a reward to its creative force (in my opinion)

BEST ACTOR

PREDICTION and PREFERENCE: Jeff Bridges (Crazy Heart) – great performance by a great actor who, unbelievably, has never walked away with an Oscar.  This will be his first.

BEST ACTRESS

PREDICTION: Sandra Bullock (The Blind Side).  Sometimes an actor steps outside of the type of role they are best known for and the industry overreacts.  Try and imagine Ms. Bullock playing ANY role that Meryl Streep has ever played.

PREFERENCE:  Meryl Streep (Julie & Julia).  I am not a huge fan of this film, but Ms. Streep’s performance was so much deeper than an impersonation of Julia Child.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

PREDICTION and PREFERENCE: Christoph Waltz.  This may be the only recognition that Inglourious Basterds gets all evening, though I hope it takes a writing award as well.  Mr. Waltz was tremendous and is very deserving.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

PREDICTION and PREFERENCE: Mo’Nique.  Her performance in Precious terrified me.  This is the one sure bet for the evening.

ANIMATED FEATURE

PREDICTION and PREFERENCE: Up.  One of the rare animated features that deserved (and received) a Best Picture nomination.  There is some sentiment for Fantastic Mr. Fox, but Up has a tremendous story and terrific presentation.

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

PREDICTION and PREFERENCE: The White Ribbon.  Unfortunately, I did not get to see a couple of this year’s nominations, but this German entry would be deserving most years.

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY (my favorite category)

PREDICTION: Mark Boal (The Hurt Locker)

PREFERENCE: Quentin Tarantino (Inglourious Basterds).  Not just deserving, but watching him give a speech always livens up any event!

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

PREDICTION: Geoffrey Flethcher (Precious).

PREFERENCE: Nick Hornby (An Education)

CINEMATOGRAPHY

PREDICTION: Avatar

PREFERENCE: The Hurt Locker

COSTUME DESIGN

PREDICTION: Nine

PREFERENCE: The Young Victoria

ANIMATED SHORT FILM (see my comments on the blog)

PREDICTION: A Matter of Loaf and Death

PREFERENCE: Granny O’Grimm’s Sleeping Beauty

LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM (see my comments on the blog)

PREDICTION: The Door

PREFERENCE: Instead of Abracadabra

ORIGINAL SCORE

PREDICTION: Avatar

PREFERENCE: Up

ORIGINAL SONG

PREDICTION and PREFERENCE: “The Weary Kind” (Crazy Heart).  Gotta love T Bone Burnett!

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Posted by David Ferguson

THE GHOST WRITER (2010)

February 26, 2010

(2-26-10)

 Greetings again from the darkness. It’s not very often we get new releases from Martin Scorcese (Shutter Island) and Roman Polanski within a week of each other. And both are thrillers. And both stories are immersed in water. And both have lead characters who might not be what they seem. Heck both films have PLENTY of characters who might not be what they seem!

Say what you will about Mr. Polanski as a human being, but he is a craftsmen when it comes to film. Rosemary’s Baby, The Tenant and Chinatown are all classics. Here he works with the source material from Robert Harris’ novel. The story is centered around the process of an ex-British Prime Minister writing his memoirs through the use of a ghost writer. Oh yeah, this ex-Prime Minister is accused of being overly friendly with the U.S. and may have even committed war crimes? Sound familiar? Yes, Adam Lang, played convincingly by Pierce Brosnan, has numerous similarities to Tony Blair.

Ewan McGregor plays the nameless ghost, actually a replacement for the original ghost, who died under suspicious circumstances. Polanski channels Hitchcock by making every character either a suspect or, at a minimum, suspicious. The use of water, rain, stark surroundings, cozy double-edged dialogue, and even a note passed in a key moment all evoke the master of suspense and thrills.

Olivia Williams is Brosnan’s tormented wife who remains oddly loyal and involved despite full acknowledgment of his mistress-assistant (another horrible performance from Kim Cattrall). Timothy Hutton is solid in his role as Brosnan’s attorney, and James Belushi does much with the small role of publisher. Ninety-something year old Eli Wallach is very cool and spirited in his short scene, and Tom Wilkinson adds another powerful turn to his sterling resume.

All of these people could be the “who” in who-dunnit; however, we aren’t even sure what the crime is. Or how many crimes have been committed. The only thing that keeps this one from being an instant classic is the lack of a truly complex web of intrigue. Don’t get me wrong, it will keep you glued for the entire time, but I would have enjoyed a few more clues and dead-ends and real investigative work, rather than the stumbling curiosity of a ghost writer. Still, the story is strong enough and the acting is fine enough to make this one worth seeing. Need to also mention the score … a fabulous score is a necessity in a thriller, and this one is top notch.

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Posted by David Ferguson

OSCAR NOMINATED SHORTS – Live action and Animated (2009)

February 25, 2010

(2-25-10) Greetings again from the darkness.  For the past few years, the Magnolia Theatre in Uptown Dallas has allowed a limited engagement for the Oscar nominated short films, both live action and short.  This has become an annual event for me … one that I really enjoy.  Short films are a different kind of art from feature films.  The characters and story must materialize quickly and, in the best ones, strike a chord with the viewer within the first two minutes.  An additional benefit of getting to see these nominated shorts is that it provides a connection when the winners are announced.  It’s unfortunate more people don’t get to see these.

 The 2009 nominees do not provide the overall strength of the past couple of years, but there are some moments of brilliance nonetheless.  Although, I will soon be posting my Oscar predictions and preferences, you will also see below that I have given you which of the shorts I consider to be the best of 2009.  I have broken these out by category – Animation and Live Action.

 ANIMATION

French Roast (France) – you have to enjoy watching the French poke a bit of fun at themselves.  Here a snooty businessman sits in a café all high and mighty until he realizes he has lost his wallet.  There is some humor and a couple of nice moments, but overall, this one was a little lame.

 Granny O’Grimm’s Sleeping Beauty(Ireland) – this one is my favorite of the animated group.  It features wonderful voice acting for the off-center grandmother who frightens the heck out of her grandchild with her bedtime story “loosely” based on Sleeping Beauty.  The grandmother seems to bring quite a bit of emotional baggage to her storytelling and it had me laughing out loud.

 The Lady and the Reaper (Spain) – the weakest of the entries, although one of the better premises.  An older woman is ready to join her deceased husband, but the medical staff, including the braggadocios doctor, really do serious battle with the frustrated reaper.

A Matter of Loaf and Death (UK) – another strong entry based on the Wallace and Gromit characters (previous Oscar winners).  Here Wallace falls for the wrong woman and Gromit frantically tries to save him.

Logorama (Argentina) – maybe the most creative of the entries and certainly makes a social statement based on the brand name world we live in.  Just about every major product or company logo makes an appearance here as Ronald McDonald goes on a crime spree.

LIVE ACTION

Kavi (India/USA) – Kavi is a young boy serving as a work slave with his parents.  Kavi dreams of playing cricket with the rich boys who get to go to school.  There is a statement at the end of the film that says 23 million people are working as slaves throughout the world.  This is a glimpse into the daily heartache of those poor souls.

 The New Tenants (Denmark/USA) – this one plays out like a cross between Tarantino and Polanski, complete with violence and emotional distress.  A gay couple discovers that the previous tenant was brutally murdered.  This leads to a very odd day and an even stranger ending.

Miracle Fish (Australia) – an eight year old boy is mad at the world because his mother disappoints him on his birthday.  Turns out someone else was mad at the world on the same day and when these two worlds collide, it’s not pretty. 

The Door (Ireland) – based on the very personal aftermath of the Chernobyl accident, this dark and dreary story brings to light what happens when a government doesn’t openly communicate with its citizens.

Instead of Abracadabra (Sweden) – offbeat story is my favorite of the live action shorts.  It has a little Napolean Dynamite in the form of a 25-year-old wannabe-magician who still lives at home.  His parents have become less tolerant, but his magic show proves to be quite a surprise at his dad’s 60th birthday party.

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Posted by David Ferguson

THE WHITE RIBBON (2009)

February 21, 2010

(2-20-10)

 Greetings again from the darkness. There have been many films with troubled communities: The Village, Wicker Man, Children of the Corn, and Stepford Wives to name a few. None of these compare to the pre-World War I rural German village that director Michael Haneke plops us into.

Haneke is the master of keeping the viewer guessing and never really allowing us a clean solution to the mysteries he presents. Did you figure out what motivated the cruelty from the boys in Funny Games? Did you ever really figure out who or why the family was being videotaped in Cache? The same holds true here.  Haneke seems to be obsessed with evil and ambiguity … two very intriguing subjects for film.

The story is told by the voice-over from the school teacher many years later. We only see the village and the residents as “things” happen – through the recollections of the teacher. Haneke presents many suspects, but no answers to all of the “accidents” and foul play that occurs. We witness only the aftermath and the distrust of the close community.

The film is up for Best Foreign Film and the stark, bleak, black & white look will put you on edge and create a feeling of discomfort, even in the somewhat happiest moments of the film. No doubt it will frustrate those who need a clean wrap-up, but those who enjoy discussion and debate will need an extra cup of coffee afterward to go through all the what-ifs.

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Posted by David Ferguson

SHUTTER ISLAND (2010)

February 20, 2010

(2-19-10)

 Greetings again from the darkness. Ahh yes, the psychological thriller is my favorite movie genre. Not sure what that says about me. There are so few good ones, at least since Alfred Hitchcock passed on. Director Martin Scorsese often includes some psychological warfare in his films, but with Shutter Island, he leaps feet first into the world of the criminally insane.

This is a very difficult film to comment on because it is crucial that the viewer watch with a clean slate … in other words, don’t let someone toss out some spoilers if you plan to see the film. All I will say regarding the story is that it’s fun to watch and my brain was working non-stop the whole time (that’s a good thing!).  Scorcese uses many different camera angles, close-ups and bright red to go with they island storm.  The film has some of the style of his Cape Fear, but even more darkness to the story, as here, EVERY character is a bit off center.

Scorsese has, as usual, assembled an excellent cast. Leonardo DiCaprio takes the lead as Teddy. His partner is played by Mark Ruffalo and they “investigate” the disappearance of a patient from Shutter Island – a treatment center for the criminally insane. This is no vacation island and at the center is a civil war fort that houses the worst of the worst. The creepy place is run by Ben Kingsley and Max von Sydow, who could both make afternoon English Tea seem downright ominous.

The cast is so strong that Emily Mortimer and Patricia Clarkson are basically limited to one scene each and Jackie Earle Haley continues his resurgence with a wicked one on one scene with Leo. Michelle Williams makes her appearances via flashbacks, visions and sweaty, late night dreams. By the end of the film, her ugly yellow dress was itself a frightening prop.

To cap off the mental and emotional turmoil, Scorsese adds an unusual score that at first seems overbearing at odd times, but later reveals itself to have been “right” all along. My favorite shot of the film is at the very beginning when the ferry first breaks through the fog. Funny enough, it was ME in a fog for the next 2 hours!

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Posted by David Ferguson

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