"Every jackass thinks he knows what war is, especially those who haven't been in one."
I can't say I was all that interested in Flags of Our Fathers, but I keep hearing that Letters from Iwo Jima is great, and I figured since they're "companion pieces" I might as well watch them in order. And since the latter comes out on DVD in a couple weeks, it seemed like a good time to check this one out.
They way Flags was promoted, it seemed like a fairly run-of-the-mill war movie. And it certainly has its share of brutal battle sequences. But it's really about survivor's guilt, and the contrast between the public face of heroism and the reality of war. The main characters were in the famous photograph raising the flag at Iwo Jima, and are given a hero's welcome. They are used for a promotional campaign for war bonds and treated like celebrities, but the men who died get no fanfare at all.
I really like Clint Eastwood as a director. He's not Martin Scorsese, but he gets good performances out of actors and doesn't let anything get in the way of the story. A few parts were derivative of Saving Private Ryan, but I guess if you're going to borrow from someone for a war movie, that's a good choice, and occasionally he makes his points forcefully when subtlety might do better (a shot of blood-red sauce poured on an ice cream mold of soldiers lingered a tad too long, for example).
Another odd thing about the promotion for this movie was that I don't think I ever knew who was in it. Not that it has an all-star cast, but Ryan Phillipe certainly has some fans. I'm not one of them, but this is easily the best I've ever seen him. Adam Beach, who played a similar role in Windtalkers, which I hated, was actually good here.
The only major problem I had was that the structure of the movie was a little too complex. The timeline bounced between the battle, the PR effort after the fact, and the recent past with a man assembling the stories. I don't see what the more recent timeline brought to the table that couldn't have been accomplished as a sort of epilogue, which would've simplified the rest of the story.
Otherwise, it was a pretty enjoyable film, and I'm looking forward to Letters from Iwo Jima.
Tuesday, May 8, 2007
Flags of Our Fathers
Sunday, April 29, 2007
The Good Shepherd
The Good Shepherd tells the story of the early days of the CIA through the eyes of a young man who enters the intelligence game and rises to a position of power at the agency's inception. But interesting subject matter, an all-star cast, and Robert De Niro behind the camera can't quite rescue it from mediocrity.
There are some good moments as far as the agency goes. My favorite, from Robert De Niro's character as they created the CIA, "I see this as America's eyes and ears. I don't want it to become its heart and soul." But all the efforts to bring in those nice little scenes about the CIA seem tacked on, never really fitting with the narrative.
Matt Damon gives a good performance in a difficult role. By his nature, Edward Wilson is serious, closely guarded, secretive, which doesn't give an actor much to work with. That's not completely unfamiliar territory for Damon, who previously played it close to the vest in Rounders, but The Good Shepherd definitely takes it to another level. The supporting players, Angelina Jolie, Alec Baldwin De Niro, William Hurt, Joe Pesci, and others, all perform admirably as well.
But what really drags the movie down is its length. Three hours is a long time to hold your interest in a Lord of the Rings type epic, but to spend almost as much time for a film with considerably less action and considerably more moments of moody silence is asking a lot for an audience. Trimming it down to a little over two hours, and eliminating some of the tangential elements could've resulted in a pretty good movie, but instead we're left with some nice moments and nice performances, but as a whole, nothing of note.
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
The Science of Sleep
Michel Gondry makes a hell of a music video, and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind was great. Human Nature, not so much, but even though The Science of Sleep didn't necessarily look like my cup of tea, I thought I'd give it a shot.
Gael Garcia Bernal (Y Tu Mama Tambien) stars as Stephane, a man with a has a vivid imagination and the line between his dreams and reality is blurred more than a little. This provides plenty of opportunity for Gondry to exercise his skill with trippy visuals, with lots of cool stop-motion animation. Plot-wise, it's the usual story... boy meets girl, boy learns how to suspend clouds made of cotton in the air by playing the piano, boy gives girl a one second time machine, girl goes with him on imaginary ski vacation. This would be where they lost me.
It's well-acted, visually interesting, but it was a little too weird and didn't really have a plot in the traditional sense. I'm sure someone a little more comfortable with art house film would scoff at me, but my initial impression from the trailers that I wouldn't care for it was right on.
Sunday, April 8, 2007
Hollywoodland
This really could've been a great movie with a fascinating subject. Superman, the Man of Steel, dead from a gunshot to the head. An actor, the hero of children everywhere, apparently kills himself. A once strong and handsome struggling actor becomes an aging, out of shape, typecast has-been. But because his death was mysterious, Hollywoodland ditches what could've been a fascinating biography and makes it mostly a sub-par detective story.
Adrien Brody plays a private detective hired by George Reeves' mother to prove that her son didn't commit suicide. All the normal detective stuff happens, but I found myself far more interested in Reeves' life than his death. Brody's character spends a lot of time looking into Reeves, but also has issues with his son, and a second case involving a strange client who is convinced his wife is cheating on him. Neither served more than to make a fairly insignificant point about Brody's character and we could have done without both.
Most of the attention for this film was put on Ben Affleck and his performance. He does an able job, but those that heaped praise (and a Golden Globe nomination) on him missed an important element of his performance. He was mostly playing himself. He does have personal similarities to George Reeves (reported troubles with alcohol, and he certainly seemed uncomfortable in that Daredevil costume), but I mean more in a general sense. Affleck has been pretty good in some roles in the past, and they're all pretty similar. He does that sort of charismatic, funny, but kind of a jerk role perfectly. Not to say that he's a charismatic funny jerk, but his voice and his face and his mannerisms lend themselves to him playing those parts naturally. Any time he tries to do something different (Gigli, Daredevil), it tends not to work out too well.
I guess that's a roundabout way of saying I think he doesn't have any range as an actor, and that he should stick to what he's good at. But here, he was doing some of his best work. The movie's split between the investigation Reeves' death and flashbacks to Reeves' life, and virtually every good scene is in t he past. Probably the best scene in the film is some footage of Affleck right near the end. Diane Lane and Bob Hoskins also deliver good performances in the flashback sequences.
I don't know why the same seedy underbelly of 40's and 50's Hollywood is always so interesting, but I really did like the setting. Is it just combining 50's nostalgia with classic movies and television and giving it a film noir veneer? Or is it more of a dramatized version of the tabloids, how people love to see the rich and famous fall? In any case, all the elements you're used to seeing are there: the gold diggers, the paparazzi, the wannabe actors looking for a break, and of course the evil studio boss.
The one highlight for me in the Adrien Brody section of the movie was the bit part of his girlfriend/assistant, played by Caroline Dhavernas from Wonderfalls. I really loved that show, and it's always nice to see her. I don't like the blonde hair but she's still adorable, and was pretty good despite a fairly bland part.
I'd recommend Hollywoodland to a fan of Superman or to a Ben Affleck fan (if there are any), but that's about it. I liked quite a few parts, but the film as a whole was disappointing.
Monday, April 2, 2007
For Your Consideration
Christopher Guest, probably still best known to most as Count Rugen, the six fingered man from The Princess Bride, seems to be able to reunite the same cast for an improv comedy every couple of years. And it always seems to focus on people in a very particular world, whose passions tend to come off as a little bit sad. Nothing against any of these pursuits, but to put so much energy into community theatre (Waiting For Guffman) or dog shows (Best in Show) always struck me as somewhat pitiful. Now, with For Your Consideration, we move into genuinely pathetic territory. And the results are mixed.
Home for Purim (fake official website) is a low budget film about a Jewish family celebrating what I gather is a relatively minor holiday. It stars Victor Allen Miller (Harry Shearer), an actor mostly memorable for his role in a hot dog suit for a series of commercials, and Marilyn Hack (Catherine O'Hara), one of those "whatever happened to..." actors with one memorable role in the 80s. Things get out of hand, though, when the film starts to generate Oscar buzz. Actors become desperate to relaunch their careers, the studio wants to rework the story to better capitalize on the early good word, and the press apparently has nothing better to do than to pick up on the hype and magnify it.
Catherine O'Hara gives a great performance as Hack, doing a great job portraying her downward spiral. I always enjoy Parker Posey's work, and I thought she looked fantastic in it (particularly in a couple scenes where she's wearing glasses... she's working the sexy librarian look). John Michael Higgins (link provided because nobody seems to know this guy by name) is relegated to a bit part here, but it's one of the funniest in the movie ("I am one-eighth mighty Chocktaw"). And Fred Willard is always hilarious in these movies.
However, I felt like there were about 45 minutes of good material in the main story, but so many plot elements and characters that were just filler. Jennifer Coolidge's ditzy producer who's only job is to write checks, the two writers, Ricky Gervais' studio executive character, whatever Ed Begley Jr. was supposed to be (makeup artist, maybe?)... they all just seemed to fill in time. Each had a funny moment or two, but not a big enough laugh that they managed to actually feel worthwhile.
It's not a bad movie, it just suffers compared to previous outings Best in Show and even A Mighty Wind, so I know they can do better.
Thursday, March 22, 2007
Comedians of Comedy: Live at the El Rey
In 2005, Comedy Central had a little documentary series about some alternative comedians on tour. They aired it around 2am on Friday nights with more or less no promotion. The series was called The Comedians of Comedy, and featured Patton Oswalt (King of Queens), Brian Posehn (Just Shoot Me, Mr. Show), Zach Galifianakis (Late World with Zach, Tru Calling), and Maria Bamford (who I know from nothing but stand-up). But don't judge these guys based on their work on some TV shows that are kinda weak. A few people pointed the show out to me and said I might enjoy it, and I'm glad they did. It was an interesting look at life on the road, mixed with funny and often innovative comedy, and I became an instant fan of all four performers.
As I looked around for what else they've done, I discovered that the whole Comedians of Comedy thing was a movie first, at the time only available on Netflix. So I checked it out, and it was also very cool. And more recently, I saw that Netflix had a concert film, Live at the El Rey, which arrived over the weekend.
Zach Galifianakis was absent for this one, no behind the scenes stuff, a mildly amusing Bob Odenkirk cameo at the beginning, and some un-funny guy named Blaine Capatch served as the host. And I've hunted down enough performances of Bamford, Oswalt, and Posehn that I'd heard some of the material before. But it was still very very funny, which is the entire point of comedy, so for me it was a winner.
Just now poking around, while the Comedy Central show doesn't seem to be available, the original Comedians of Comedy film plus Live at the El Rey are available in one DVD set, which I'll probably be picking up at some point.
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
From Netflix: Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny
Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny was released in late 2006 to a resounding yawn from just about everyone, including me. To put this in perspective, I own the DVD of their hilarious HBO series, I bought their debut album, and even saw them in concert. But somewhere along the line, I lost interest in what they were doing next. Maybe it's that the joke that they're a couple of wannabes playing to empty crowds doesn't really work when Jack Black's starring in King Kong and Nacho Libre, or maybe there's only so much mileage you can squeeze out of the Tenacious D concept, I don't know. But after letting it come and go in theatres, I thought it was at least worth a viewing.
In the end, though, it was about what I expected. Nearly all the songs were new, and not as good as their old stuff. I thought they might recycle more of the songs from the show that didn't make it on the first album (Sasquatch, Jesus Ranch), but the only classic D song that made it in was The History of Tenacious D (which was nice to hear, but I didn't especially like their performance this time). They had some funny moments and Jack Black and Kyle Gass are comfortable in the roles and do all they can, but there just isn't much to work with.
The one thing this really had going for it (besides that poster... pretty cool, huh?) was star power. John C. Reilly reprises his role from the TV series as the Sasquatch, Tim Robbins has probably the best part in the movie as a cripple, Ben Stiller, Amy Poehler, Meat Loaf, Dave Grohl, Fred Armison, and the great Ronnie James Dio all make appearances. And on top of that, the deleted scenes include cameos from David Koechner, David Krumholtz, and Jason Segel.
But like I said, not much to work with. If you're unfamiliar with the D, which I guess is hard to do now, I'd recommend the TV series over The Pick of Destiny any day. But for everyone else, I'd only recommend this to the most hard core of Tenacious D fanatics.
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
From Netflix: Grizzly Man
For the first time in a while, there was no TV I wanted to watch last night. I've given up on The Black Donnellys, both because I wasn't that interested and because the ratings have been shaky at best, so even if I grew into it, I think it'll just get cancelled. And I had already seen The Riches pilot online. But that gives me a chance to catch up on some movies. Which brings us to...
Grizzly Man. A 2005 documentary from directer Warner Herzog that details the story of Timothy Treadwell, a man who abandons his life to live in the wild in Alaska among the grizzly bears to protect them from poachers.
The film is partly made of interviews of Treadwell's friends, family, and acquaintances, as well as a bear expert or two, but mostly consists of footage shot by Treadwell (or his girlfriend) of him living in the wild with all the animals he encountered.
But this is not a heartwarming story. Treadwell and his girlfriend were killed by a bear in 2003, and the film is largely an exporation of his death, the circumstances that lead to it, and the question of what drove him to this life to begin with.
The discussion of his death is obviously a little disturbing, but Treadwell the man is pretty fascinating. He's weird, feminine, not the kind of guy you'd expect to be living outdoors, but talkative, and even when he's being incredibly strange he's very interesting. Plus, he shot some pretty amazing footage of the wildlife. One of the more interesting documentaries I've seen.
Friday, February 23, 2007
Netflix Fix: Hellboy Animated
Sword of Storms
An animated feature that aired on the Cartoon Network sometime last year based on the Hellboy movie, which was based on the Dark Horse comic book. And just to make it confusing, they're apparently making a comic based on this movie (and future ones... I guess there's one due out soon). In the past seven or eight years with all the comic book adaptations, I thought Hellboy was one of the few best (Batman Begins and Sin City being the best). So I figured I'd give this a shot.
Ron Perlman, Selma Blair, and Doug Jones (Abe Sapien) reprise their movie roles as voice actors, and they threw in Peri Gilpin... for some reason. The story sees Hellboy teleported into a world of Japanese demons while Abe, Liz, and Peri Gilpin's Kate try to bring him back. And the plot was basically unimportant, it was mostly an excuse to have a bunch of action scenes.
And that worked pretty well. The animation was pretty good, the characters were very stylized and the backgrounds were very nice throughout. It's not the greatest thing you'll ever see, but I was entertained, and will be checking out the next one on the Cartoon Network (assuming I remember).
Monday, February 19, 2007
Netflix Fix - The Illusionist
The Illusionist
Excellent acting, some very cool visuals, mediocre dialogue and plot. That pretty much sums it up, I think.
It's probably unfair, but The Illusionist can't help but be compared with The Prestige. Both were set, I think, in the late 19th century, both revolved around magicians performing apparently impossible tricks, and they were released within a month or two of each other. It seems completely random that I saw The Prestige in the theater, but waited until the DVD came out to catch The Illusionist, especially given that Edward Norton and Paul Giamatti are two of my favorite actors, and that Jessica Biel is one of the best looking women on the planet. But I think I chose wisely. Not a knock against The Illusionist, really, but The Prestige was one of my favorite films of the year. The Illusionist was a decent way to spend a couple hours. Worth seeing, wouldn't want to see it again.
Saturday, February 10, 2007
Netflix Fix
Idiocracy
A few years back, Mike Judge made a brilliant comedy, and the studio cut the hell out of it and didn't promote it at all, and nobody saw it in the theaters. Then on DVD and TV, it became a cult classic. Maybe beyond a cult classic. Because everyone knows Office Space.
So a few years pass and he makes another comedy. It gets even less promotion, plays in a few dozen theaters for like a week, then disappears. Even people like me who obsess over upcoming movies blinked and missed it. Now, Idiocracy isn't Office Space, that's really an unfair comparison. But the first act is just as good. The rest? Not terrible. Not that good either.
If you haven't heard of it, the premise is that Luke Wilson, average Joe, is frozen, Futurama style, for 500 years. While he sleeps away the years, stupid people out-reproduce smart people at such an alarming rate that by the time he wakes up, he is the smartest man on earth.
It's a brilliant idea, and the setup is hilarious and makes you think. But once he's in the future... I mean, where do you go from there? He's surrounded by morons, and they do really stupid things. There are plenty of jokes, and they work to varying degrees, but it never comes close to reaching the heights of the beginning.
But it's definitely worth viewing. Luke Wilson is his usual nice but unremarkable self. Maya Rudolph (SNL) is ok as the love interest. Dax Shepard (Punk'd) and Terry Crews (Everybody Hates Chris) are kind of annoying, since they're playing morons. A personal favorite of mine, Stephen Root (Office Space, Newsradio), has a great cameo, though. If everyone played morons with the zeal he brought to his bit part, the movie, I think, would've worked better. But Stephen Root is just that much better than almost every other actor out there. I think I have a nonsexual mancrush on him.
