The Lives of Others

When Pan's Labyrinth lost the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film, I was shocked. After all, that brilliant little Mexican offering had already won several technical awards usually reserved for our domestic product. It was a tough call, I'm sure, but I have to agree with the Academy on this one. The Lives of Others is a gem.

Set in the German Democratic Republic (read East Germany) before the fall of the Berlin Wall, the film follows a time in the life of Capt. Wiesler (Ulrich Muhe,) a respected officer of the Stasi (read Secret Police) whose job it is to know everything about the"lives of others." After being assigned to watch a squeaky clean playwright and his actress girlfriend, Wiesler discovers that this investigation has less to do with politics than with the sexual aspirations of a ranking official for the girl. His dedication to his work becomes further eroded as he watches the couple drawn deeper into the intrigue of revolution, and with his involvement comes a terrible choice. Surrender his career or let them slip to their doom.

The Lives of Others is a splendid examination of the paranoia bred of oppression and the humanizing effect of "becoming involved." This message is terribly relevant today, complete with unregulated surveillance, blacklisting, and torture. Ulrich Muhe is amazing, making Capt. Wiesler a character who will be hard to forget. We need more films about people making moral choices. Don't miss this haunting masterpiece. Great website here.

You Kill Me

I have trouble with what passes for comedy these days, which is why you'll note that I don't review many. As the commercial success of films like Borat confirms, what passes for comedy is - for the most part - stupid, mean spirited and in bad taste. So I have to admit to being positively giddy about this little gem of a film. With a smart screenplay, fine direction and a picture perfect cast - this is my idea of great comedy.

Frank Falenczyk (Sir Ben Kingsley!) is a hit man for a low level crime family out of Buffalo. He is also an alcoholic who's out of control consumption ultimately causes him to miss a crucial job. When he's sent to San Francisco to clean up his act, or else, he enters AA and starts the 12-step process with a vengeance. Are you following here? Just inserting an assassin into the culture of 12-step should have you giggling; he's so earnest at the podium trying to explain how his drinking has interfered with his work while the fellow addicts all nod in empathy. Add the romantic interest of Laurel (Tea Leone!) and his gay sponsor Tom (Luke Wilson!) and you have a delightful tale of redemption... well, of a sort. He really does love his work.

John Dahl artfully directs, but this cast of pros including Bill Pullman and Dennis Farina are so obviously enjoying themselves, how could this go wrong? Tea and Sir Ben, both masters of deadpan delivery, also manage a sweet chemistry. I hope these young writers (Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely) keep this kind of comedy flowing. We could all use this kind of laugh more often.... Check out the website here.

Perfume, the Story of a Murderer

Okay, there's strange and then there's uber-strange. You know I have nothing against a little oddness, being a little odd myownself, but... this film takes off into a whole new realm of weird. I think they were aiming for high brow. They missed. I'm thinking a head or two at Dreamworks must have rolled.

Based on a 20 year old international best seller, Das Parfum by Patrick Suskind, Perfume is the story of Jean-Baptiste Granouille, a child of misfortune born in 18th century Paris with an extraordinary sense of smell. Just being in an 18th century city with a sense of smell at all would be a misfortune, but Granouille (Ben Wishaw) pursues olfactory experience with a relish that leads him to become a happy little serial killer. And that's not even the weird part.

A lavish period piece with fine cinematography (you've got to admire when a visual medium actually conjures up smells for you,) with, get this, Dustin Hoffman and Alan Rickman in supporting roles, now that's got to sound interesting. And although there are moments when the film almost saves itself with some good ol' black humor, I'm afraid the descent, if you'll pardon the pun, into bizarre was too much for me. Check out the equally lavish website, where you can purchase a $700 perfume coffret, here.

Zodiac

David Fincher is not my favorite director. Remember Seven? Probably the slowest serial killer movie ever. You could nap during all the aching cop "what's it all mean?" stuff even with Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman. Well, he's done it again. Zodiac is slow - slow to get started, slow to get to the point, slow to reveal why Jake Gyllenhaal is even there. But look on the bright side. It's also long.

Now you think you know that this film is about the Zodiac killer who terrorized the Bay Area in the late 60's'/early 70's, less with his killings as he wasn't all that prolific, than with his taunting encoded letters to the press. You would be wrong. It's really about Robert Graysmith (Gyllenhaal,) his obsession with the killer and the subsequent bestsellers he wrote about his theories. This story is Graysmith's interpretation of the events, so don't start taking notes.

Now I adore Jake Gyllenhaal, but he's wasted here. As are Mark Ruffalo, and Robert Downey, Jr. (who's starting to do the Jack Nicholson thing and only portray himself - as in eternally stoned and cynical.) I'll throw them a bone to say that the Zodiac saga leaves much to be desired in and of itself - what makes it interesting is what's missing - an ending. The film gives us one, if you want one bad enough you'll find it. Even if it's false. (The official website slowed my computer to a crawl, but if you want to, try it here.)

Fracture

Fracture is one of the smarter crime dramas I've watched in awhile, but let's give credit where it's due and I will never tire of Anthony Hopkins. What is it about this guy that makes him so thoroughly... creepy? No other actor comes to mind that can make the hair on the back of my neck stand up while sitting shackled in a chair. As his most terrifying scenes in Silence of the Lambs were spent sparring with Clarice in that position, his best work in this film is toying with Ryan Gosling. Hopkins has the chilling smile and dead eyes of the psychopath down cold. duh.

Ted Crawford (Hopkins) shoots his cheating wife in the head. Willie Beachum (Gosling) is the smug, up and coming prosecutor who wrongly assumes that nailing Crawford for attempted murder (wifey is a cabbage) will be the last slam dunk of his DA career before he's off to a lucrative position in a major law firm. But Crawford is a fracture engineer and way smarter than you or Mr. Fancypants DA and he's going to get away with it... and Willie is going to have to make the tough choice of that big money job or letting the bastard walk.

Gosling is going to be around for awhile. He more than handles sharing the screen with Sir Anthony and that's saying a bunch. Director Gregory Hoblit (Primal Fear) builds the game and the tension between his players nicely. Anthony Hopkins is ... creepy. You may figure this one out before the hapless hero, but not ten minutes into it, so it's entertaining to the end. Check out the above average website here.

End of the Spear

Sometimes a film is terrific because it tells a good story. No famous faces, no fancy effects - just a good story. This is such a film. What makes it actually even more terrific is that this film was produced by an independent company called Every Tribe Entertainment. Their byline: "We are storytellers. Every Tribe Entertainment creates films that address globally relevant issues in order to incite a positive impact on the world." How cool is that?

I'll tell you how cool. End of the Spear is a true story about an indigenous tribe in Ecuador that nearly drove themselves to extinction by the routine practice of revenge killings. He gave you a funny look - skewer him... that sort of thing. So this group of missionaries - families - decide to try to make contact, and show them another way. What follows is a story of amazing folly, tragedy, courage and human compassion. We can save the debate on the right of everyman to his own culture no matter how perverse for another day. This is a story about people caring about the lives and well being of other people.

You won't know any of the actors, although Louie Leonardo in a loincloth is hard to forget. The cinematography of this beautiful portion of the Amazon is top notch. But most of all, this is a well told story. Stay for the credits and meet the real people behind the story. Website here.

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang

Sometimes you just have to revisit an old favorite, and tonight I loaded up the old DVD player with this little sleeper from 2005, to share with a friend and love all over again. I readily admit that Robert Downey, Jr. is an actor that I'd love to hate for being the poster child of the inequalities of our justice system ( if he were a poor black boy from LA he'd be doing life for all those little indiscretions,) but he's just so damn talented. But I digress.

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang is a gleeful little bit of film noir, cheesy detective novel fun, complete with that annoying voice over narration - only this annoying voice over is Downey doing his best deadpan, mile a minute stream of consciousness. Harry Lockhart (Downey) is a two-bit crook who falls into a Hollywood screen test complete with detective training from real PI Perry van Shrike (Val Kilmer.) Van Shrike is slick, tough as nails and very, very gay. Enter lovely damsel in distress Harmony (Michelle Monaghan,) Harry's high school crush, add a reappearing dead girl, and let the mayhem begin.

This is the sort of comedy to relish - with great memorable lines and every hackneyed trick in the book. Harry backtracks and talks to the audience constantly so we're all in on the joke, the story is told in labeled vignettes. The humor is black and there's lots of moments that might offend, but it's all done with such evil glee and the boys are having SO much fun. If you make it past the peeing on the corpse scene without laughing out loud, check your pulse. Visit the equally cheesy website here.