Iron Lady and The Artist

Tis the season to go broke. Not from holiday excesses, but rather from $15 (yes, with Fandango service charges) tickets to see all of Hollywood's potential Oscar horses. This is no reason to cutback, just cause to justify hours of entertainment as culturally merited. Two of the latest: The Iron Lady and The Artist, I would see regardless. Meryl Streep reads the phone book: There. Meryl Streep laughs while others commend her facility with accents: There. Meryl Streep portrays a multifaceted major historic figure of an era that I don't know enough about: There. While I wasn't thoroughly impressed by the narrative technique of The Iron Lady (the flashbacks, the ghost husband, etc) and what it ultimately said or tried to say about a woman trying to "do it all," it was a master class performance from unarguably the greatest living screen actress. Not a false note, just carefully crafted, understood, and delivered in Meryl's signature style, with a slight nod to comedy. Her secret, regardless of the role, seems to be she always appears to be having fun. This serves her in all films ranging from Julie and Julia to The Hours to The Devil Wears Prada to Mamma Mia. She is delighted to take you on this journey and along the way, teach you something about the human condition. This is worth top dollar.

The Artist which was successful in many respects -- creative concept and execution, beautiful to watch and to experience, especially in the majestic Paris Theatre on 58th Street across from the Plaza, about as close to the bygone era film houses it heralds as you can get these days, but ultimately it fell short. I felt Pepi gave him too many chances and his ego was too large. The last five minutes were definitely worth it, but the script could have benefited from some more interrelationship dynamics. One suicide attempt too many I think. That being said, it's shaping up to be quite an exciting season for Oscars. Can't wait for the next outings.

Back in the game for 2012

Clearing the slate for blogging in 2012, by updating what I have seen and possibly enjoyed in 2011. The laundry list includes, but is not limited to:

Harry Potter 7.5 (catharsis)

Horrible Bosses (passable)

Friends with Benefits (I will still maintain that this was enjoyable)

The Future (disappointed, pretentious)

Crazy, Stupid, Love (preposterous elements outweighed the sincerity and solid performances)

The Help (overrated, saccharine version of the better novel)

Glee 3D (yes, I attended this film, as well as the concert on which it is based)

My Idiot Brother (Zoey Deschanel's clothes are adorable. My takeaway)

Contagion (fine)

Ides of March (filmed in my hometown. B plus)

Moneyball (strange pacing)

Footloose (I wish someone had taken this film seriously)

Drive (overhyped, seemed like a film school thesis project)

Mary Martha Marlene or whatever -- I HATED THIS MOVIE!!!

The Skin I Live In -- weird in all the correct awesome ways

Harold and Kumar in 3D - my favorite of the franchise

Young Adult -- spoke to me in a specific moment of my life. Also I saw this while sitting on the floor in the back of a theatre, and I didn't mind. That's how compelled I was.

Eames documentary -- interesting!

Pina in 3D - I wish the person who edited the trailer had edited the film. Nope.

The Descendants - thoughtful and well-paced. Fresh and worthwhile story

The Adventures of Tin Tin - superior animation, blah storyline

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo -- loved

Hugo -- fine in initial idea, grew preachy and didactic

Mission Impossible 4 - I was entertained

Bad Blogger

With Gchat, Facebook, Twitter, and the ever listening ears of my friends, I just haven't felt the need to share my cinema opinions with the blogosphere. Still for my own records, here's a brief summary of some films I've seen over the past few months and what I've thought of them (very briefly).

Win Win - Felt like a film school exercise that managed to attract some excellent actors (Paul Giamatti, Amy Ryan). Not a lot here. But passable.

Scream 4 - Nothing could keep me from seeing this film. Literally nothing. Rabid wolves. Anyway, it was fine.

Water for Elephants -- Actually terrible. Like I walked out of this film. I was so bored and angry. Lack of chemistry. Worst.

Midnight in Paris - Really enjoyed. Felt like an insider knowing all the art references. Wanted to walk right into the movie and live in this beautiful Parisian world of the 20s with Ernest Hemingway.

Super Eight - A blockbuster with a heart and some nice cinematography. Compelling, supernatural, well-acted (Elle and Kyle Chandler, and the little boy -- new find!)

Bad Teacher -- Expectations were all time low, but it was fine. Like a great movie to watch on a plane.

Tree of Life -- WHAT? WAS? THAT? Beautifully shot, but super strange. Once I get my bearings, I will decide if I liked it.

Rango et al and Insomnia Cookies

While I'm proud to report I won my Oscar pool last month, I'm certainly not winning movie blog diligence.

A quick summary of some recent Seens, all of which have merits, and I recommend, if in the appropriate mood:

The Adjustment Bureau -- basic, linear love story thriller...a little light on thrills and not as complex as it hopes to be, but some good chemistry between Damon and Blunt which keeps us engaged. I also just generally am excited to see John Slattery in a suit.

Winter's Bone -- a vehicle for Jennifer Lawrence, a wronged daughter in an Ozark meth lab of a town, violence, tedium, the same blue-tinted lens of the Twilight, didn't do for me holistically. I felt like I was watching a mystery that was never solved, and wasn't all that interesting to begin with. Plus, I had this nagging feeling that the film was a little poverty tourism for some Ivy-educated suburban-born white gal. It does seem that was the case. However, Lawrence, who just landed the lead in the much-anticipated Hunger Games film adaptation, proves herself to be incredibly tough, vulnerable, and compelling.

Never Say Never in 3d - You might say, why would you pay money to see this Justin Vehicle promotional schlock? Well, I challenge the haters to see this movie and not be moved by the story of Bieber, the plucky prodigy of a single teenage mother in Canada, who propelled himself, through social media, sheer talent, and some bizarre haircut to be the reigning teen pop king. Bieber and director John Chu, of Step Up 2/3 seem like a perfect pair. Chu navigates Bieb's short, but impressive life, with a lot of finesse, and quick edits. He is a storyteller who completely understands the phenomenon of his subject. I was charmed and consider myself to be a belieber.

Oscar Shorts -- Live Action and Animated -- Like a shopping trip to H&M, the Oscar shorts can be very hit or miss. This year, I wasn't dazzled by the animated series. I guess the stand-out was Day and Night, which still didn't make a whole ton of sense with that weird radio broadcast section. And while the Madagascar entry was visually sophisticated, the story was haywire. I thought Let's Pollute could have been a bit more clever in its messaging, a little less 1950s PSA in its delivery (spoofs are funny, but you have to add something to make them original). The Lost Thing, which ended up with the big prize, did have a sense of intrigue and wonderment. So I hear that, though I wasn't as smitten as I've been in past years.

However, Live Action was full of fresh perspectives. While I took issue with some aspect of each of them, these were minor quibbles in what was otherwise an honest and dramatic lineup. My favorite was actually God of Love (though I was certain Na Wewe would get it), which was arguably a little self-indulgent, but kind of lovely in a Sabrina the Teenage Witch kind of way.

The Company Men - For starters, I'm a sucker for any Ben Affleck movie. This has been the case since the seventh grade. Good Will Hunting, Armageddon, Shakespeare in Love, Reindeer Games. The time I drove 5 hours to see Gigli at the only showtime at the only theatre in Ohio after it disappeared from the nation's cineplexes after only one week. Ben and I have been through a lot together. Anyway, thankfully the Company Men (like his earlier release this year, The Town) showcases Ben in a mature, thoughtful, conflicted actor-y light. The film focuses on the lives of white-collared execs forced out of their high-powered jobs at a shipping company. It shares a vibe with Up in the Air. I left satisfied, that I had seen some good characters work through their issues, and hopeful that everything within the frame, and possibly in the outside economy might be okay. Escapism.

Rango - Possibly the most bizarre film I've seen of late. Like most animated films, this one seemed geared to the kids, but, in fact, it was some sort of spoof on spaghetti westerns slash Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. I don't imagine the average 10 year old has the patience for a film so ponderous, and potentially rooted in issues of urban sprawl. I couldn't quite wrap my brain around what was happening, and why I was supposed to care, other than be amazed by the stellar animation. I found Rango himself to be flat (narcissistic actor? too close to home?) but I was curious about the world around him. The urban wasteland...what might be across the road...etc But I think why this film didn't soar for me was expectations as to what the conventions of animated films might invoke. I wanted to be delighted. I craved a journey, zany characters, jokes...basically the first ten minutes of Up! meets Toy Story. Instead, I lost the path and started charting the genre references. Difficult.

Just as I was utterly convinced I had become too critical and jaded to like any movie, I caught Scott Pilgrim vs. the World yesterday on On Demand. What a winner! It was genre-bending, cool, quick, cute. Everything you want on your home television. Highly recommended.

Along with...midnight cookie deliveries from Insomnia Cookies (now on the UWS). Yes, the two best words in the English language: warm cookies. And they are delivered! At all hours. Try the S'mores flavor. Incredible.

Blue Valentine, The Fighter, Green Hornet

Hard to link these three films, ranging from the subtle low-budget character drama to the latest comic book explosion-fest. But if you look hard enough, you'll see some intersections. Ambition and the epic journey to reach your potential.

In Blue Valentine, a crushing love/loss story about a couple who grows apart over the course of a five year marriage, ambition seems to be the breaking point for Michelle Williams' character. Without the gritty intensity, this could be the hipster sequel to Knocked Up. Bright and driven, but perhaps depressed and directionless girl, gets pregnant, without support. Decides to bunk up with nearby hapless romantic, who promises to be by her side through the whole ordeal. Unfortunately, after several sweet but unsatisfying years, the reality sets in, and her aspirations loom and threaten her marriage. Meanwhile, her partner seems to be content with status quo. This divide is the breaking point. Blue Valentine is so great at capturing the initial courtship/the honeymoon phase of falling in love, and the bitter dregs of things having fallen apart. It also doesn't flinch from showing the brutal, the skeezy, the uncomfortable. Interestingly, it seems to skew the audience toward sympathizing with him, the family man, trying to keep things together in spite of his personal limitations. But I felt differently, wishing things had turned out better for her, that she hadn't been left without options. I never fell in love with Ryan Gosling's character, I felt for him, that this wasn't to be and he couldn't come to terms with that. He had to be shown the door, and doesn't know what's behind it. This was the life they both fell into.

I liked so much about this film's intimate character study, and some truly lovely scenes -- the tap dancing in front of the store front, the interior design of the veteran's nursing home room. Both Ryan and Michelle are excellent. I only wish the script had offered Ryan a bit more nuance. But I think it knew what it was after, and was successful at meeting its own potential.

The Fighter is another small/big film, backed by great performances, and relationships. Again, about a family torn apart by failed dreams. A couple (Amy Adams and Mark Wahlberg) that triumph through sticking by each other during the battle uphill. I enjoyed it. Give Christian Bale an Oscar. Moving on...

The Green Hornet is a straightforward action picture. I almost can imagine the conversation that took place during its inception: some dorky guys sitting around (Seth Rogan and his buds) saying, "Wouldn't it be cool if...?!! And he had an Asian side-kick?! Who made killer cars with weapons?! And also cappuccinos?! And Cameron Diaz was in it! But we never know what her deal is? But she's hot! And there are men in suits with accents!" Well, that's what they got. And it's fine. Maybe a little tedious. Derivative. Forced. But, fine.

How could I hate a movie with such beautiful cappuccinos?!

True Grit and Tangled

These films should actually never be side-by-side. Or SHOULD THEY? Let's look at the FREAKISH SIMILARITIES:

Both are remakes of classic stories (True Grit is an old school Western, Tangled is based on the Rapunzel fairy tale), spun with contemporary sensibilities (Coen brothers their signature hilarious quick-paced dialogue, meanwhile Rapunzel looks like Blake Lively), featuring precocious adolescent girls with long hair, danger, hijinks, outlaws, restoring order to the family unit (Daughter avenging her father's untimely death, Daughter returning to be with her Father and Mother). At the end of each film, precocious adolescent girls have some limb or hair follicle severed in a surprising manner. Walk off into some wide-angled sunset. Or some other stark lighting choice.

Overall, I would say True Grit is the superior film. It's just sort of charming and straight-forward, in the efficient Western kind of way, where there is one central conflict and it's clear that once that has been solved, the film will conclude. However, that does limit the Coens a little, known for their sort of off-beat tangents where random characters appear to sort of sidetrack the protagonists (see: Fargo, No Country, O Brother). That being said, they do weasel in some of their quirky charm in the form of amusing banter, unusual for a Western (where characters usually speak in bruting one-word sentences a la Clint Eastwood). Much appreciated. My only complaint is the epilogue, which doesn't add, or really even coalesce with the rest of the film, either thematically or structurally. I could go on a little bit of a rant about this, but I'd rather end my movie monologuing on a positive, which is this is a fine film which will fare well during the upcoming season.

Namaste!

And on a coffee-related note, the only game in town, besides the well-trodden Starbucks, is a Christian-owned coffee shop where the wireless password is Jesus1. You could probably skip that. Get a Sbux Via in cinammon spice. Not too bad to (not) brew at home.

Somewhere and The Tourist

Oscar Season Movie Rundown Continued...though I strongly suspect that neither Somewhere and The Tourist are strong front-runners

Somewhere is the latest from one of my fave directors Sofia Coppola (Lost in Translation, Marie Antoinette), who seems to have developed a niche in loneliness and urban isolation. Not to mention beautiful colors, shots, and rockin scores. Also in resusitating the careers of aging hipsters (first Bill Murray, and now Stephen Dorf) as well as promoting those of aspiring up-and-comers (ScarJo, and now Elle Fanning -- just fantastic). There's a lot to like about this film visually and audibally (sp?). It's like one long love letter/music video to the movie star life of the inhabitants of Chateau Marmont. However, as far as the story, there is a lot of waiting, hoping through limited dialogue and loooonng shots (at times, while actually watching paint dry. Like actually, we watch latex paint dry for what feels like seven years). While I appreciate the need for variation (not all films are/should be as ADD as a Michael Bay epic, or feature as many jump cuts as some Guy Ritchie piece), at times this was trying to my patience. Further, I felt Coppola was lifting a lot of scenes from Lost in Translation (the movie star press junket sequence where the star, overwhelmed by the light bulbs, comes off like a moron, as well as unsollicited hotel room call girls), which is a more efficient film. Maybe the Academy will recognize Coppola for the good work she has done in the past and will likely continue to do. However, I don't think this is the finest feather in her cap. A solid iTunes rental and a good source of some great music.

The Tourist -- in spite of this film's bizarre Golden Globe noms, I doubt we'll hear more from it come late January. Two very attractive people. Like really. Maybe the most attractive people. In a spy flick. Which is sort of fine, entertaining, lots of pretty outfits, gadgets, Venice. I mean, it makes some sense. The plot. Well, until the end. But it's serviceable. Okay, you know what, I will recommend it. You can see this movie. That's fine. You aren't hurting anyone. Really, you are just proving Darwin's Survival of the Fittest theory. Pretty people.