Moon

Really good science fiction is hard to do. It's hard to write. It's even harder to turn into a film, despite the abundance of computer generated special effects and the fact that we, the audience, seem to take CG totally for granted now. A huge studio budget and fantastical special effects may make a summer blockbuster, but are not a guarantee of even crappy science fiction. Science fiction requires story - one that is plausible or even possible, and that completely suspends your disbelief. Duncan Jones took an itty bitty budget and with the help of two fabulous actors, turned out some damn fine sci-fi in Moon.

Sam Bell (Sam Rockwell) is in the final days of a three year stint alone on the far side of the moon. Literally. Working as a contractor for a private company mining the moon surface for He3, he maintains the rigs, sends reports and talks to his ever too cheerful computer, Gerty (voiced by Kevin Spacey.) A failed satellite means he has only recorded messages from home, and when increasing headaches and some visual hallucinations lead to a serious accident, Sam discovers that there is something wrong on the moon. And he's not alone at all.

Sam Rockwell manages to carry this film with only himself, some sets and the vocal talents of Kevin to help, and manages to carry it quite well. It doesn't take fancy CG to convey a sparse space station, or the creepiness of total isolation. It does take more than a little talent to demonstrate a range of very human emotion when you have no one at all to play against except yourself and all that isolation. And the story is full of things that seems possible, if horribly so.
Enjoy this little gem when you need to be reminded of how lucky you are. Excellent website here.

Hart's War

So my hubby has decided to try Netflix and made a bit of a booboo by putting in his preferences. Anyone who has followed this blog knows that my dear one is not known for his stellar taste in film. Most of his selections for our viewing pleasure failed my personal three point criteria for movies he's allowed to bring home (have you ever heard of it ? does it contain at least one recognizable actor? is it NOT a Western?) That being said I conceded to Hart's War, largely because I recognized Bruce and Colin, although I could not remember ever hearing of the film and despite the fact that it's a WW2 story, which is only slightly better than a Western.

Lt. Tom Hart (Colin Farrell) is a senators son and doing the light duty when a bit of bad luck lands him in the hands of the Germans. The ranking officer at the stalag is Col. McNamara (Bruce Willis) who's disdain for Hart is only slightly less obvious than his hatred of the stalag commandant. When two black aviators arrive at the stalag - officers who happen to be black men - McNamara begins a twisted game of cat and mouse, playing on the racial prejudice of Americans and Germans alike. A white prisoner is murdered, a black man accused and Hart assigned to defend him in a kangaroo court martial. It's unclear just who is the enemy.

Okay. So Bruce is Bruce and this isn't Oscar material. But the story is decently constructed, there are lots of interesting twists and a solid supporting cast. As usual Farrell can act more with a facial expression than most actors can in their dreams. And the subplot - that Americans can be so racist that even in a POW camp complete with evil guards with guns they manage to be haters - is a little sad because it's still so true. All in all, not a bad evenings entertainment. (Thanks, Honey.) Another review here.

The Dry Land

Some stories bear repeating. In fact, people love to retell a tale and this simple fact has spawned the tradition of travelling troubadours, of fairy tales and oral histories, of myths and legends. Some tales are retold in remembrance of great deeds or great heroes; some tales are moral warnings - designed to teach us or at the least arm us against our human failings. We repeat stories because we need to hear them again. The Dry Land is a story you've heard before. It bears repeating.

James (Ryan O'Nan) returns from Iraq to a small town in Texas and not much has changed there. He comes home to his wife (America Ferrara,) his ailing mother (Melissa Leo,) the only work available and beers after with the boys. But James has changed a great deal and as he finds himself less and less able to cope, he becomes more and more obsessed with remembering what happened to him. So he hooks up with an army buddy (Wilmer Valderrama) and heads off to Walter Reed ... and answers he may not want to hear.

It is estimated that about 20% of combat veterans will develop Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Written and directed by Ryan Piers Williams, The Dry Land is a admirable attempt to bring to light their suffering. Ryan O'Nan delivers a powerful, heart wrenching performance as a man in flux - struggling to put into perspective experiences that are unthinkable. The National Alliance for Mental Illness put their seal of approval on this film for it's accuracy in portraying PTSD. I'll admit it was painful to watch (and give a warning to animal lovers that there is a pretty nasty scene involving the butcher of a cow,) but it's a story worth watching. Again.

Website here. More info on PTSD here. Another telling of the tale here.

Whip It

Some movies are just for fun. Really fun movies are those where you know just by watching that the whole damn cast was having the time of their lives making this movie. Would have done it for free. That much fun. Whip It is that kind of movie. I sort of imagine that casting this film was like picking teams for kickball in junior high - with half the females in Hollywood (of a certain age,) bouncing up and down and screaming "Pick me!" This was Drew Barrymore's baby - she produced, directed and played a supporting role. Drew had an awful lot of fun.

Bliss (Ellen Page) is seventeen and being a good girl for Momma (Marcia Gay-Harding,) doing the teen pageant circuit, getting good grades, working at the local BBQ joint. But a sneaky night out with her bestie finds her at the Austin roller derby and Bliss is smitten by the whole idea. On a dare she lies about her age and tries out for the Hurl Scouts, and emerges as Babe Ruthless who must gain the respect of her team, the trust of her coach and the eye of the fella while hiding who she really is from everybody. By now you know where this is going.... to the Championship or the Blue Bonnet Pageant? Lose the Boy or her best friend? Live her mothers dream or her own?

Predictable? You betcha. But ooodles and gobs of fun. Page is that rare young actress who can appear both worldly and cluelessly naive at the same time. And who else is on roller skates? Drew, of course, and Eve and Kristen Wiig AND Juliette Lewis! The coach - Andrew Wilson (the other brother of Owen and Luke!) Can you say cat fights? Can you say FOOD fights? Can you say FUN!? I knew you could. Website here.

An Education

So sometimes a film will sit in my queue forever and by the time it pops up in the mailbox, I've quite forgotten why I stuck it in line in the first place. An Education was a little sleeper that sort of shocked everyone by getting a trio of Oscar nominations including Best Picture a couple of years ago despite the fact that almost no one had apparently seen it. No one went to see it because nothing blows up in it. That said, I loved it. Want to watch a smartly written, smoothly acted period piece that perfectly captures 1961 (albeit in Europe,) from the clothes to the cars to the feminist angst? This is your film.

Jenny (Carey Mulligan) is 16 and like all 16 year olds before and since - itching to get on with her life. Her father (Alfred Molina) dreams that she will attend Oxford where she might catch herself a suitable husband to assure her future, and all things bend to this singular goal. Bored with the drudgery of school and the simplicity of the average adolescent boy, Jenny finds herself enamored with the sophisticated David (Peter Sarsgaard,) a MUCH older rogue who gives her a ride home one rainy day. David is the bearer of a different life - of clubs, concerts and art galleries - all the things she's been waiting for. To stay the course or leap, to gain the education of books or of life? What 16 year old is up to that decision?

Carey Mulligan was nominated for Best Actress deservedly. Her Jenny is whip smart and yet sooo naive - it was a brilliant balancing act. Sarsgaard was deliciously slimy. And then you have Molina AND Emma Thompson in fine supporting roles. Director Lone Scherfig perfectly captures the era. But the real star of this film was Nick Hornby's screenplay. I can't remember when I've enjoyed dialogue this much. See the fine website here.

The Kids are All Right

All the rage at Sundance, nominated for Best Picture and Best Actress, said actress being the wonderful Annette Bening, with Julianne Moore AND Mark Ruffalo, so somehow I was expecting something. Hmmmm. Fairly early on in The Kids Are All Right one of our 'excellent at the communicating' lesbians attempts to explain a bit of pornography that one of the kids has discovered in Mom's sock drawer. Kid asks mom why not watch woman on woman stuff? Mom's reply: those films usually have two straight women pretending... and it lacks authenticity. BINGO!

Synopsis: Jules (Julianne Moore) and Nic (Annette Bening) are raising their two kids in suburban marital bliss when younger male child decides that he needs to discover his biological father and talks older female child into making that happen. Enter bio-dad (Mark Ruffalo) to disrupt marital bliss. He's an honorable bohemian and there is much good advice, and food and wine and all is peachy right until he beds one of the lesbians. That about covers it.

I'm not at all offended by a film normalizing same sex marriage and parenting. I am offended by said film using two straight actors with zero chemistry (zip) to play one dimensional gay stereotypes. That said I also find it vaguely offending that there is a great deal of sweaty adulterous heterosexual sex in a film that is supposed to be about a committed gay couple and their kids. And that the heterosexual guy is ultimately portrayed as the heavy, when pretty much everyone is behaving abysmally. Why, oh why, did this film get so much attention?
I guess because no one makes films about real gay people leading real lives. Skip this and watch Brokeback Mountain. Website here.

Black Swan

I usually don't read stuff written about a film before I write my little review, but I saw Black Swan in the theatre and that was quite a while ago. So I checked out the synopsis on the website... and then I checked out a couple of other sources, and I have to tell you that a lot has been written about this film and most of it is... well, misleading? at best. This isn't a psycho-thriller... it isn't a story about a dangerous friendship... or rivalry in the world of ballet. Black Swan is about mental illness and the descent into psychosis. That the protagonist just happens to be a ballerina contributes significantly to the surreal nature of that psychosis, to be sure. Oh, and sex. It's definitely a movie about sex.

Nina (Natalie Portman) is a talented ballerina striving for her first starring role. She's a cliche of sorts, dedicated to the point of having no life at all, living at home with her overbearing mother, childlike, naive and very, very needy. When her slightly sleazy director offers her the role of the Swan Queen, he maintains that he doubts she can handle the part of the Black Swan; she's far too virginal to play a seductress. To make matters worse, a new girl has joined the troupe, a sexpot named Lily (Mila Kunis) who seems interested in the starring role herself. As Nina is urged to explore her sexuality and to push her limits farther and farther, things start going ... odd. Is Lily out to destroy her or seduce her? What's with that rash? And can she really embody the guile and cunning of the Black Swan? Perfectly.

Natalie Portman portrays the fragile Nina perfectly indeed and earned every inch of that Oscar for Best Actress. Despite the fact that this story is deeply sexual, writer/director Darren Aronofsky (The Wrestler) manages to keep things hot without letting it slip toward porn via clever camera angles and minimal nudity (the infamous lesbian scene is mostly implied.) But more importantly the onset of a psychotic break from reality is really pretty accurate. Little hallucinations gradually lead to bigger and bigger delusions until Nina (and the audience) is not sure what is real and what is not. And like most people with mental illness, Nina is primarily dangerous only to herself. For that, I applaud Mr. Aronofsky. I will try to forgive him the prerequisite overbearing mother archetype. And whether you enjoy ballet or not, the final dance is quite possibly one of the most breathtaking scenes on film. Period. Website here.

Stone

Robert De Niro is surely one of the greatest actors of his generation (think Taxi Driver and Raging Bull and forgive him the paycheck for Little Fockers.) Edward Norton may be one of the most gifted actors of his generation (think Primal Fear and American History X and forgive him the paycheck of The Incredible Hulk.) So why hadn't I heard of a film with them both? My guess is that this indie film was royally screwed on distribution, because if you want to watch two great actors do what they do best - you're going to love Stone.

"Stone" Creeson (Norton) is a fast talking low life doing time for arson to cover up the murder of his grandparents and when he comes up for parole he has to convince hard-case parole officer Jack Mabry (De Niro) that he's a changed man. He enlists the considerable talents of his wife Lucetta (Milla Jovovich) to the cause of breaking Jack down. But Jack and Stone have more in common than a lust for Lucetta, and as events unfold, the true nature of each man comes into question. In the end, redemption is in the eye of the beholder....

Norton creates a stunning portrait in Stone - and how his character emerges is brilliant and heart wrenching. De Niro is in top form (just when I thought he was destined to follow Nicholson and Pacino down the comedic road to the seventh level of acting hell.) But the real surprise was Milla Jovovich who held her own here and then some. Who knew that thirteen years after the band aid costume and orange hair of The Fifth Element, she'd become an actress? Sad that this film got lost in the process... see the website here. Interesting footnote here.

127 Hours

There are films that will change you. There are films that will entertain you or educate you or amuse, to be sure, and a great many that will cure your insomnia. But occasionally a film is made that has the power to do more - a film that sort of lifts us out of the ordinary and makes us very, very aware of what it means to be human. Danny Boyle is the kind of director who tries to make those kinds of films. Last year he earned an Oscar for Slumdog Millionaire. This year he offers 127 Hours.

This is the accounting of five days in the life of Aron Ralston - a rugged self sufficient sort of fella - who in 2003 took off for a weekend of fun in the canyons of Utah and staggered out 127 hours later missing his arm. Perhaps you remember the headlines? Not only did Aron endure the elements, dehydration and blood loss, he cut off his arm that was trapped by a fallen boulder, rappelled down a cliff face and walked eight miles to be rescued. Just try to make this stuff up.

So how do you make a feature film around one guy? You get James Franco. Ninety four minutes of essentially one guy? Yep. James Franco. Of course he was nominated. This guy may be a complete douche for all I know, and there are rumors to that effect, but he sure can act. So he gives us an Aron that is all that and a bag of chips - so cocksure of himself that he takes off without telling a soul - and then shows us what real life, and mortality, brings to us all. It's a freak accident. And then denial. And then fear. And then survival. It's an amazing true story of the human spirit. Did it seem long? From the standpoint of chewing off my fingernails, maybe a little. But it wasn't slow. Was it grisly? Briefly and appropriately. Did it change me?
I think I'm a little more appreciative today, a little less hurried. And I'll NEVER give my kid a knockoff Leatherman for Christmas.... website here.

The Town

Ben Affleck. Well, he has those sort of classic old Hollywood good looks doesn't he? And he and Matt Damon were so darn cute accepting that Oscar for Good Will Hunting. And then.... welllll, things kinda went down hill to the tune of ... wince... Pearl Harbor. But then 2007 and Gone Baby Gone comes around and YAY, it seems Ben is back writing and belongs in the Directors chair after all and we can forgive all those tedious movies and be glad he found his true calling and we'll just let Casey be the actor in the family. Apparently wishful thinking. Cuz Ben not only co-wrote the screenplay and directed The Town. He acts in it.

The Town refers to Charlestown, a neighborhood of Boston notorious for producing thieves... and most specifically the sort who specialize in bank robbery and the like. Affleck plays Doug MacRay, the leader of a gang of loyal thugs who, like their daddies a fore them, rob banks. Pursuing some loose ends after a not so perfect job, Doug falls for the bank manager, but of course his buddies need him for the BIG SCORE. Car chases and shootouts ensue. yadda yadda yadda.

Despite the decent Boston accents that everyone handles acceptably - despite great character actors Pete Postelwaite and Chris Cooper in tiny underutilized roles - despite the fact that somehow Jeremy Renner managed to snaggle a nomination for Best Supporting (ensuring that he will continue to be typecast as a sociopath ad infinitum,) this is a predictable heist movie with extraneous amounts of foul language and unnecessary violence making up for anything close to character development. By the time the inevitable happens, I couldn't care less who was going to make it out alive. See the self congratulatory website here.

Winter's Bone

So you know that joke, "I hear banjo music - paddle faster?" Then you remember how totally skeeved out we all were when we saw Deliverance... quite possibly the most terrifying film I can remember back then because it was so... real. And raw. And even though a lot of that film was sort of ridiculous, the people it represented were real people who live off the ordinary map of suburban Americana. The people who live in poverty and who eek out an existence by whatever means available; back then it was bootlegging and edging toward the farming of marijuana and now it's come all the way to cooking meth. And those people will still creep you out in Winter's Bone.

So enter the world of Ree Dolly (Jennifer Lawrence) who is 17 and the closest thing to a responsible adult to her two younger siblings and her mom. Apparently Mom has just abdicated, and Dad is wanted by the law and missing. Just to make life interesting is the fact that Dad put the family home up for his bond, and if he doesn't turn up the family will be summarily evicted. So Ree mans up and heads into the woods and into a world where what and who you know will keep you alive or feed you to the pigs.

Nominated for Best Picture, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor (John Hawkes) and Best Adapted Screenplay this is a film with amazing chops made on a shoestring with a virtually unknown director (guarantee Debra Granik won't stay unknown for long and she should have been nominated as well.) Lawrence and Hawkes are both crazy good and I was fascinated by the careful relationship that they create. This is just a great little film; both real and raw and sure to creep you out and break your heart. Because people really do live like this. Website here.

The Social Network

I admit it - I'm on Facebook. I started to keep in touch with my kids and don't consider myself a devotee; although I do check in daily and post occasionally and have... a few.... friends. Got back in touch with a few folks from high school, still keep up with the kids and have actually made some real live friends, as in the kind you genuinely care about, all on Facebook. So I was naturally curious to see the story behind the phenomenon. As stories go - The Social Network is entertaining; even fascinating from the perspective of how fast technology moves in our modern age. But as movies go, I have to say this is a one trick pony at best.

Not that Jesse Eisenberg doesn't work his butt off in a stilted, humorless genius kind of way. Mark Zuckerberg himself called the performance "interesting" in a stilted, humorless kind of way on SNL. Not that Justin Timberlake doesn't make you just hate on Sean Parker or that Andrew Garfield doesn't make you all squishy sad for poor undervalued Eduardo Saverin. The truth is that none of these people have anything that might be called a personality. Maybe that's true in real life, but it's certainly true in this movie. So aside from the events and their consequences, that Zuckerberg made an obscene amount of money in what may or may not have been a morally repugnant way, there isn't much in the way of movie. Which makes it kinda like Facebook.

I will go on the record as a lone wolf on this one; everyone else on the planet seems to think this film is Oscar worthy, it's won like a gazillion awards including Best Picture at the Globes, yadda, yadda, yadda. If you don't know the story, it's worth a viewing just to see what all the fuss is about. But I'm pretty sure you know the story, and the producers of this film are so sure about that that they don't even bother with a synopsis on the website. If you're looking for something about, I don't know, people with messy things like emotions, relationships or a conscience - look elsewhere.