New Reviews of Movies for You
Sgt. Angle Reporting for duty!
Throughout my daily 12-hour workouts hardcore weight-lifting and gun-toting, I’ve lately become so well-endowed with muscular strength that I’ve passed up multiple opportunities for viewing terrible great films. With the idea of catch-up in mind, as well as the thought that I have not contributed to your reasoning when choosing the next expensive feature to spend your own hard-earned money on, here is a set of reviews of films I have watched in the last two weeks, in chronological order. There’s no reason to drown ourselves in the Christmas spirit, you all know the greatest holiday films of all time, so don’t complain to me about not spreading the words of Jesus Christ this week — you’ll get enough of that in about three days.
Oh those eyes.…
1. Up in the Air — George Clooney travels the country firing people until a young, naive newcomer causes a ripple in the current state of things. Anna Kendrick plays the young hotshot, a very cute, sexy young woman who is on her way to big things in Hollywood and the world. Also, Vera Farmiga plays a fellow traveler who starts a love affair via occasional rendezvous with Clooney’s character. The film is paced well, shot well, and acted beautifully, from a refined and often surprising script by Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner. “Up in the Air,” I award thee Four out of Five Rifles.
2. The Blind Side — Based on a true story, Sandra Bullock is an aggressive, successful mother, who takes in a struggling, very large black teenager off the street, and helps the protective boy overcome a lack of education to become a professional NFL player. The movie plays out exactly as it sounds like it would, exactly as the trailer leads you to believe: syrupy, melodramatic, not quite as dark as it could be, and just on the safe side of “cheesy”. A few words to writer/director John Lee Hancock: stick with writing, let someone else direct. “The Blind Side,” I award thee Two out of Five Rifles.
Ahhh, Heaven.
3. The Lovely Bones — Based on the best-selling, stunningly easy to read despite the subject novel by Alice Sebold, Peter Jackson takes up directing reigns for the story of Susie Salmon, a 14-year-old girl, as she is murdered and watches her family deal with grief from her vantage point in Heaven. Unlike the book, the adaptation takes place over one year rather than 20. Also, the thrills are amped up, and the creepy killer/neighbor, Mr. Harvey, is brought center-stage, having more encounters with Susie’s father, played by a clueless Mark Wahlberg (actually fits the character, this time around). Like Jackson’s King Kong update, The Lovely Bones wades through thick melodrama and clunky vignettes rather than being driven by an aggressive plot. Music isn’t so great, either, and even the visuals of the afterlife are more cartoon than acid-trip-real. “The Lovely Bones,” I award thee Two and a Barrel out of Five Rifles (thanks to Stanley Tucci).
His way or no way.
4. Avatar — The Big Kahuna, James Cameron’s latest epic, which supposedly will change the way films are made and viewed, not only “raises the bar, it throws the bar away.” Well, the bar is definitely higher. Not only does Cameron apply so many visual effects you absolutely wonder how certain things can’t be real (why aren’t there floating mountains?), but he uses them properly and only when needed. The story leaves something to be desired, but overall, the adventure, fun, and excitement felt are real emotions, stuck in a 3D image on a screen that makes you feel like the Na’vi: larger than life. Cameron once said that he hoped Avatar would bring people back into the theater, the place where movies are meant to be seen. For Avatar, this is not only a hopeful outcome, but the only outcome. “Avatar,” I award the Four out of Five Rifles.
5. Crazy Heart — A genuine surprise of pleasure, Crazy Heart’s summary does not bode well for optimists: A washed up country star hooked on alcohol fights to hold onto his dignity despite falling through the cracks of stardom. Basically, Jeff Bridges smokes and drinks his way through tiny pub shows in southern US. He fights with his agent over offers to simply write songs for a former protege, and falls in love with Maggie Gyllenhaal. When the rival pop-country star Tommy Sweet (Colin Farrell) reconnects with “Bad Blake,” things take a turn for the worse as Bad struggles to swallow his pride and taste the sweetness of success. I’m spending a lot of space here describing the story, because at first glance the movie looks all but 1/4 depressing, and it’s truly not. I’m not a big country music fan, though I do love my hats and my bull-riding girls, and the music in Crazy Heart, written and produced by T Bone Burnett (O Brother, Where Art Thou? Soundtrack), is compiled of original tunes that are at once catchy, and again more meaningful because we actually SEE the stories behind the music unfolding before our eyes. Also, Bridges and Farrell sure can sing.
Jeff Bridges said to director Scott Cooper one day that even he believes this film to represent his own finest acting performance ever. This from the star of The Last Picture Show and The Big Lebowski. He just may be right. “Crazy Heart,” I award thee Four out of Five Rifles — and a shot in the air salute to Bridges.
The growth on Mandela’s back was too much to bear.
6. Invictus — The standard for Clint Eastwood has fallen from near-perfection (Letters From Iwo Jima) to acceptable greatness with his latest, about Nelson Mandela’s strategy of using the South African rugby team to bring blacks and whites together so soon after Apartheid ended. Morgan Freeman seems born to play the role of Nelson Mandela, not only because of similar looks but also because he easily carries that calm demeanor and stable sensibility, a common sense logic applied to even the toughest of situations. Matt Damon carries his weight in this film of giants (Eastwood, Freeman), tossing and grabbing on the rugby field like a man used to grappling with other men. While the movie slips into preaching once every few scenes, the simple metaphors combine nicely with the rugby scenes for both excitement and a common sense understanding of the events on screen — as if Mandela himself were recalling the story to our very ears and eyes. “Invictus,” I award thee Three out of Five Rifles.
7. An Education — Surprisingly twice as good as I expected, this 1961 set piece is based on a book, but the script was written by Nick Hornby, the writer of the books High Fidelity and About a Boy. Jenny is a teen girl on the verge of becoming a woman and being accepted into Oxford. She’s got the strength to stand up to authority, but her inner child and naivete seems to come into its’ own when she meets David (Peter Sarsgaard), a socialite who focuses on the fun rather than the work, and takes Jenny under his wing. While Alfred Molina remains reliably emotional as Jenny’s father, it’s Carey Mulligan’s (Jenny) movie, here, and you’ll do good to pay attention to this young one. She radiates comfort, ease, as if she just walked off the street and in front of the camera as if she knew it was there all along. The movie itself lags a bit in the middle, and at a certain point, because of traditional filmmaking style, we know what’s coming, but thanks to amazing acting we’re treated to a few surprises and moments of honest reactions. “An Education,” I award thee Four Rifles.
I suppose that, in honor of Christmas, you must be treated to a holiday movie review. The film I’ve chosen has nothing in common with the holidays — at first glance — except the title. “Three Kings” was released in 1999 and starred George Clooney, Ice Cube, Mark Wahlberg, and Spike Jonze (yes, the director). Directed by David O’Russell, Three Kings takes place in Kuwait during the first Iraq War. The US forces are readying to pull out their troops after the cease-fire has been declared. Four soldiers are determined to take the opportunity to swipe some of Saddam’s gold from one of his bunkers. In the process, people are killed, and civilians beg to be saved from the oppressive government that will be left in place when the US forces leave.
Three Kings is, I believe, the quintessential war film of the late 20th century. The action is not overbearing, but in your face and relevant. The characters shine because, for all their faults and cracks, they are whole. They arc, they change, and motivations adapt based on each new situation thrown at them. Lastly, the spirit of the movie changes from war film to heist film to straight drama as our “three kings,” the American soldiers, decide to change the course of things to come for even a small group of people.
Go out now, and then, buy a ticket to one of the movies above. Watch it, and write back below with what you thought. Let’s see how many rifles you’re willing to give for some of your favorites of the last month.
Until next time.
Sgt. Angle.
