The Tree of Life

Hmmm...where to begin with this overtly artistic visual feast. I guess it is what it is. Terrence Malick's film opus to life itself, from beginning to end, is a sight to behold. Unfortunately, that's mostly all there is to behold is the sights. The cinematography is stunning, with each shot meticulously planned and each angle chosen to maximize appeal to the viewer's eyes. It's a film geeks dream, you can almost hear the ohs and ahs as you take it all in. And on that level it succeeds masterfully, but it's elsewhere that it falls short.

The sort of days, weeks, months, in the lives approach to the central characters and their story, if you can call it that, leaves a bit to be desired for the audience. As you watch the beautiful scenes, you feel as though you're waiting for the story to begin. And waiting, and waiting, particularly as we venture back through the development of the world from big bang to dinosaurs to present day. When we do finally get to some semblance of story, it's very vague and sorely lacking in narrative. A father (Brad Pitt) struggles with anger, disciplining his children, and dominating his wife. And the kids struggle with resentment of their father as a result. And other than a present day off shoot, there's little to bring any resolution, closure, or even an ending to it all. 

Unfortunately, an abstract tale about the circle of life is not enough to make an engaging film. Even with all the amazing imagery and masterful direction. It is directed well technically, just not artistically in terms of the art of story telling. The film will be a shoe in to win an Oscar for cinematography, and rightly so with the work put in by Malick and Emmanuel Lubzkei. So, a picture may be worth a thousand words, but a moving picture still needs to arrange those words into an interesting story.

2 out of 5

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Film Details at IMDB

The Artist

I'm sure most have heard of this film by now as we approach the run up to the Academy Awards and the ever present phrase du jour "Oscar Buzz." The Michel Hazanavicius-directed silent film takes the viewer back to the by gone era before "talkies" took over and changed the entertainment landscape. George Valentin (Jean DuJardin) is the dapper star of Hollywood silent films, at the top of his dramatic facial expression game. The only thing that could bring him down is his unhappy wife Doris, but even her low spirits don't seem to affect him. He knows things aren't great, but he loves what he does and it's a pretty great life. And that's enough, isn't it?

Enter the cute ham Peppy Miller (Berenice Bejo), who literally bumps into George outside a premiere of one of his films, an idealic meet-cute. When Peppy weasels her way onto the studio lot and wins a dancing spot in Mr. Valentin's current movie, sparks fly, but alas he's married and cannot act on them. George continues on making his film until a major development shifts the entire fabric of the industry. Films are now able to include voice recordings and the era of talking motion pictures has begun. Production is halted on all silent films at the studios and everyone scrambles to produce fresh new material taking advantage of this new development. This leaves George out in the cold, dropped by his studio just as Peppy is signed on, poised to become a big star. The movie progresses to an emotionally rewarding conclusion as we discover what will become of George, Peppy, and if there will ever be a George and Peppy.

Michel directs what's essentially a period rom-com and successfully updates it just enough to modern tastes. Now, I know some will still have a hard time sitting through a silent film, but those that open their minds will be rewarded with something fresh and charmingly entertaining. Both leads are excellent physical actors and lend exquisite old school feel to the movie aesthetic. Not to mention the brilliant addition of the canine companion for George Valentin. Just when things might get a little too down or a little slow for lack of dialogue, the pup steps in and delivers some much needed levity. I promise you this film is worth the effort to open your mind and fall under its spell.

5 out of 5

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Film Details at IMDB

Tucker and Dale vs. Evil

If you're a Sam Raimi fan you'll enjoy this one. Or at least if you're an early Sam Raimi Evil Dead and Army of Darkness fan. Or if you were entertained by Shaun of the Dead. These movies should give you a pretty good idea of what to expect from this backwoods hillbilly inspired horror-comedy. Tucker (Alan Tudyk) and Dale (Tyler Labine) are just a couple of good 'ol boys heading for their new vacation home when a group of college kids encounters them on the road. Ditching the lesson mom always told to "not judge a book by its cover", the frat boys and sorority girls are creeped out by Tucker and Dale's hillbilly appearance.

What transpires over the course of the film builds on this misguided judgement and takes the idea that things are not always what they appear to comedic heights. When bashful Dale tries to approach one of the coeds at a gas station, his pathetic attempt to meet girls ends up looking like a maniac holding a scythe and laughing hysterically. The audience gets to derive most of the comedy from knowing more than the characters do. We know Tucker and Dale are harmless country boys. And we know the college kids think they're sadistic killers, the embodiment of a local legend from 20 years ago. But, neither group of characters knows what the other is up to. We also know it's leading to a confrontation bringing these two groups crashing together. When cutie Allison (Katrina Bowden) falls from a rock ledge when the group decides to go skinny dipping, nearby fisherman Tucker and Dale are the only ones who can help. Her friends have no idea she's fallen, and when they see her being hauled into the boat by two hillbillies they run. But they can't just leave Allison can they? And from there, we have our mistaken identity backwoods showdown.

The movie is a fun little story that plays the comedy horror angle very well. It's a bit gory, but not overly so. A college kid running in fear impales himself on a tree branch - always watch where you're going. You get the idea. Alan Tudyk and Tyler Labine are great in their roles and have an excellent rapport that shows in their buddy-buddy exchanges. It's not high art, but it's funny and decent escapist entertainment for an hour and a half.

3 out of 5

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Film Details at IMDB

The Descendants

The wife and I made it to see this one in the theater a bit back. It's a great dark sort of comedy-drama, although the film is more on the drama side. Matt King (George Clooney) is reeling after a tragic speed boating accident leaves his wife in a coma. King is a lawyer who spends too much time with his work and not enough time with his family. The behavior of his daughters being the prime example of the effects of his absence. 

Alex is a teenager with outlandish behavior and language that would make a sailor blush. She's off at a reform school of sorts when Dad decides he and younger daughter Scottie will make a trip to bring her home. Scottie has issues of her own, lashing out at a neighbor girl at school who's developed earlier than most girls. Matt needs to bring the girls together so he can break the news to them that their mom's prognosis has gone from bad to worse. The doctor's do not believe she will ever recover, and their mom had a legally binding advanced directive in place. Meaning that she will be taken off life support. He needs to prepare them, his broken family, to let their mother go. Matt isn't good at this sort of thing, and he blurts it out to Alex first. He was prepared for a rebellious outburst, but he was not prepared for the bombshell she'd drop on him. It seems that his comatose wife had a secret she was hiding from him. Now, Matt has to sort out his tailspinning life, become a father to his girls, and find a way to say goodbye to a woman he thought he knew.

The film is another "change of life" tale from writer-director Alexander Payne, best known for 2004's Sideways. With the help of Nat Faxon and Jim Rash, Payne has crafted an emotionally raw and compelling drama mixed with his usual darkish comedy. It's heavy at times, but never oppressing. Clooney is fantastic as the father struggling to put things back together after such a life-altering tragedy. If you enjoyed Sideways, Little Miss Sunshine, or Up in the Air, you'll enjoy this character-driven yarn.

4.5 out of 5

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Film Details at IMDB

Margin Call

It's been a while but I'm back. I've still been watching films, but have been spending time on writing a novel. More on that in a later post. Anyways, the film is a timely tale of corporate greed at the beginning of the 2008 United State financial collapse. Young up-and-comers Peter Sullivan (Zachary Quinto) and Seth Bregman (Penn Badgley) survive a department layoff while the senior Eric Dale (Stanley Tucci) is unceremoniously let go. But before Mr. Dale goes quietly into that good night, he slips Peter a flash drive with an ominous warning - "Be Careful."

Peter stays after work into the night pouring over the financial speculation numbers and calculations contained on the drive. And after making some alterations of his own, he discovers a startling situation. If the company continues packaging and selling investments under it's current guidelines and calculations they'll be bankrupt in short order. Worse than that, there's no way out. At least no ethical way out. The rest of the tale walks that rocky edge of business ethics and personal morals as the top brass figures out their only escape is to knowingly sell bad investments that will lead to a market collapse. Do they save themselves? Or take one for the market?

The film is competently directed and written by first-timer J.C. Chandor, but it suffers from a few critical flaws. The catalyst to start the film being one of them. Eric Dale is fired, told his cell phone will be immediately shut off, and escorted to his office to collect his personal belongings and leave. But, the security guard escorting him lets him pass off a flash drive right in front of him? Another major knock revolves around the dialogue of the characters. The F-word flies with such abandon the viewer almost has to chuckle at the ludicrousness of it. I can believe a character or two or three dropping the F-bomb at times, but not every character and in damn near every conversation. When multiple characters keep saying "Fuck me" at every turn it becomes comical, loses all validity as a sign of emotion, and contributes nothing but distraction. And that's perhaps what viewers of the film will be left saying, "Fuck me this could have been better."

2.5 out of 5

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Film Details at IMDB

The Ides of March

Hey Hollywood, are you listening? Make more movies like this. Well-acted, written, and directed. And most importantly, original. I know it's not a "proven" commodity like a sequel, a re-make, or a comic-based motion picture. But as we've seen through the past year of schluck (Green Lantern anyone?), nothing is proven. It still has to be made well, entertaining, and most importantly engaging. And what's engaging about stories that have been done before, often multiple times. /end rant.

Stephen (Ryan Gosling) and Paul (Philip Seymour Hoffman) are campaign managers working to get Governor Mike Morris (George Clooney) elected to the office of United States President. The campaign is hinging on the ever important primary in Ohio, a crucial cog to winning the nomination of the Democratic Party. Stephen is the younger, media savvy political mastermind that puts fear into their democratic competition. So much so, that he is approached by the other candidate's campaign manager, Tom (Paul Giamatti), to jump ship and join their campaign. Stephen agrees to meet with Tom, but turns him down. When Stephen confesses this breach of trust to the uber-loyal Paul, the stability of the campaign is thrown into chaos. And they cannot afford chaos, so Stephen is ultimately fired. What no one knows, however, is that Stephen holds one last card in this political game. A card that will change the direction of the campaign depending on whether he decides to play it.

This stripped-down, bare bones political thriller accomplishes what innumerable big budget action thrillers have failed to - it's engaging from the opening to the credits. It builds tension from little more than dialogue and circumstances. A ringing cell phone and an idling truck are both used to expertly create tension and suspense. It's a shining example of less is more. George Clooney's directing and the writing of Clooney, Grant Heslov, and Beau Willimon take center stage in this film based on Willimon's play. It's classic filmmaking at it's best, the way movies should look, feel, and entertain.

5 out of 5

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Film Details at IMDB

Initial D - The Complete Series

If you're into anime and you're into cars, this is your series. I ripped through all 4 stages of Initial D in quick order through Netflix instant viewing. Thankfully, Netflix has the Funimation version of the series as I've read the Tokyo Pop dubbing is atrocious. My viewing of this series is a little behind the times, but I'd never thought of viewing anime until I found a whole slew of it available to stream.

Initial D the anime is based of the manga of the same name by Shuichi Shigeno, and follows the rise to street racing infamy of Takumi Fujiwara and his "Eight-six." Takumi is a high schooler who's been delivering tofu for his father's shop driving through the mountains of Akina in the Gunma Prefecture of Japan. The Akina Pass is legendary for it's numerous and tight curves heading downhill to town. Unbeknownst to Takumi, he's developed unreal driving skills making his tofu delivery runs as fast as he can in the early morning hours before school. When his driving skills are discovered by his friends, Fujiwara is pulled into the fast-paced world of downhill drifting. Following some initial resistance to racing, Takumi eventually discovers he has a god-given knack for driving and decides to pursue racing full bore.

Through all 4 stages of Initial D, we're treated to the progression of Takumi's driving skills and legend as he beats competitor after competitor in his undermatched and outdated eight-six. The Toyota Sprinter AE86 Trueno, the Corolla GT-S in the states, is a mid-1980s rear-wheel-drive hatchback with a 4 cylinder engine putting out a diminutive 112hp. The car is outclassed in virtually every race as it faces much newer and more powerful vehicles like RX7s, Lancer Evolutions, WRXs, and S2000s.

But this constant challenge in every conflict is what makes the series compelling. The audience learns, along with Takumi, that it's most often the driver that matters and not the car. Fujiwara's battles in each episode provide a new lesson in racing and another opportunity for his driving skills to improve, all during a fast-paced street race that's a blast to watch. That being said, the series does have it's faults. It can get dialogue heavy and repetitive at times, but that's a result of it's manga-based source material more than the anime creators. Explaining some of the racing theories for the audience requires dialogue to be integral even during the races. Another gripe is the character of Itsuki, who's an over-the-top comic character found in quite a few anime there to create comedy. Unfortunately, the character comes of as an annoying spas, but luckily his role in the series diminishes as Takumi joins Project D. The series also attempts to include some social commentary early on to create conflict for Takumi outside of racing. His burgeoning romance with fellow high-schooler Natsuki takes a serious turn when Takumi discovers she's involved in enjo kosai, a controversial practice where young girls take money or gifts in exchange for providing companionship to older businessmen. Other than this and a few other subplots though, the series fires on all cylinders and give the viewer a high octane and intelligent look into mountain street racing in Japan. Sort of the anti-Fast and the Furious for gearheads.

4 out of 5

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Details at IMDB