3 recent films

From best to worst:

BUCK (2011) - 3-1/2 stars
Documentary directed by Cindy Meehl


A Sundance and SXSW fan favorite, this pleasant doc follows around horse trainer extraordinaire Buck Brannaman (the original 'Horse Whisperer') as he teaches his humane methods of horse training across the West. What makes the movie work is its engaging and pleasant subject: Buck's understated, self-deprecating personality is a joy to spend time with. Amazing, given his beyond-abusive upbringing by his unloving, drunkard of a father, who also trained Buck and his older brother as a trick-roping duo (the brother's absence from this project is the movie's only unanswered question). Buck's ability to deal with the terror he experienced as a child, and grow into this gentle, loving family man is a lesson in the power of the human spirit. In exploring the fraught relationship between father and sons, this movie is a nice companion piece to "Tree of Life"-- without the cosmic pretensions. Sometimes the best-told stories are the simplest ones.


BEGINNERS (2011) - 2-1/2 stars
Directed by Mike Mills ("Thumbsucker" is his only previous credit)
Starring: Ewan McGregor; Christopher Plummer, Melanie Laurent ("Inglourious Basterds")

This movie, by the husband of the more-talented director-artist Miranda July ("You, Me & Everyone We Know" and the upcoming "The Future") is cutesy without being cute; pleased with its own cleverness, but not that clever; and generally more interested in cinematic style over substance. I'm all for "meeting cute," but what was the point of having the actress/love interest pretend not to be able to speak for the first 20 minutes, then suddenly drop the shtick for no reason? Even the trick of having the family dog communicate in subtitles comes across as cloying, as the dog (a veteran actor who I think was Frasier's dog, too) seems to respond to his off-camera trainer more than to his onscreen co-stars. (Buck taught me to look for that!)

It is a shame the director makes such a muddle of his autobiographical story with this nonsense, since it would be a gripping tragi-comedy if played straight: soon after burying his mother, his father comes out of the closet at age 75 and finds out he is dying of cancer. Christopher Plummer is a marvel as the sympathetic septuagenarian. The rest of the cast is fine, too (poor Goran Visnjic ("ER") is quite miscast as the old man's lover, however).

SARAH'S KEY (French 2010) - 1-1/2 stars

Directed by Gilles Paquet-Brenner
Starring Kristen Scott Thomas ("The Horse Whisperer"), Aidan Quinn ("Practical Magic"), and a bunch of French actors I've never heard of before

This is the turkey of the trio, I'm afraid to say. Sad, since I am one of those people who thinks every story about the Holocaust needs to be told, again and again. (I recently watched the 9-and-1/2 hour Holocaust documentary "Shoah" in one day-long sitting!). Just don't tell it in this inept, melodramatic, badly-acted fashion!

The movie begins by following the fortunes of a small Jewish family during the notorious round-up of Parisian Jews in 1942 by the French police, who herd them into an overcrowded Velodrome for a week before transporting them out of the country to their ultimate fate. By far the most-compelling and authentic scenes in the movie (despite the overbearing musical soundtrack telling you how to feel), the movie makes two inexplicable mistakes: 1) it continually switches the story to modern-day Paris to follow an American reporter as she uncovers this story and deals with her own changing life -- which frankly, by comparison to the horrors we are witnessing, comes across as narcissistic in the extreme; and 2) the dramatic conclusion to the 1942 episode with the young heroine Sarah comes much too quickly, stripping the film of any tension it might have built for the remaining running time.

What we are left to suffer through are mundane scenes of the journalist tracking down Sarah's story (all movie journalists are intrepid!) and dealing with her selfish husband and in-laws. It is notable that these flat scenes are mostly spoken in English, because I have a strong suspicion that this French director doesn't have command of this language. How else to explain why the English-speaking scenes are uniformly stilted, unconvincing, and in some cases, downright poorly-acted.
I was surprised to read this movie was based on a novel, rather than true events, since the progression of the young heroine's life after the war is so messy and unfulfilling (as in real life, as opposed to a novelist's imagination). The very lack of detail in Sarah's post-war experiences is supposed to lend mystery to the story, I suppose, showing how a person's life and motivations are ultimately unknowable -- but by having this character speak not a line of dialogue for the last half of the movie seems to me a mistake, dramatically. I know it was a mistake, cinematically.

Meek's Cutoff - 4 stars****

Meek's Cutoff (2011)

Directed by Kelly Reichardt

Starring Bruce Greenwood (Mao's Last Dancer; John from Cincinnati); Michele Williams (Blue Valentine); Will Patton; Shirley Henderson (Topsy-Turvy); Paul Dano (There Will Be Blood); Zoe Kazan (Me & Orson Welles)

To inaugurate a new year of movie-reviewing (a tad belatedly, but all I missed was the dreck of another Hollywood summer!), I have chosen this beautiful, thought-provoking film. The synopsis is provided by IMDB: "Settlers traveling through the Oregon desert in 1845 find themselves stranded in harsh conditions." That's the whole movie, right there; but to call it dull & boring misses the mark entirely. Crossing the Oregon Trail was rough! Hot, dangerous, and risky (without a capable guide), the film doesn't sugar-coat their travails (with fresh clothing, clean hair, and all the other accoutrements of a studio-produced film).

From the stunning cinematography and sound effects (the monotonous creak of the wagon wheels, for instance) to the many wordless scenes of the settlers walking through this barren landscape -- I had no idea Oregon had a desert! -- every detail adds to the group's growing sense of desperation. We have to experience that to appreciate not only their predicament, but to understand the 'leap of faith' one character takes that will decide their fate.

I was never a fan of director Kelly Reichardt before (after only seeing one of her previous two films, "Wendy & Lucy," also starring Michele Williams). Perhaps I had to sit through her previous film to appreciate her storytelling rhythms--patient, leisurely, with the silences conveying a character's feelings as much as dialogue (Michele Williams' talents are perfectly-suited to this director, as Wendy was in rather desperate circumstances, too). Bruce Greenwood does a fine job in the only role with any "meat" to it (I'd say bordering on ham, but only because all the other roles are fittingly under-played). Reichardt made a wise choice this time in using only professional actors (I think) in her small cast of nine. I suspect she used some non-pros in Wendy, and the movie suffered for it. The musical soundtrack was also well done: spare, yet edgy.

To those who may feel cheated by the ending-- and I count myself firmly NOT in their company (it was the perfect ending) -- two pieces of advice:

It's not the destination but the journey.

It's an 'art house' movie, what did you expect??

OSCAR Predictions

You can follow who I WANT to win in RED, followed by who I THINK will win in BLUE:


Best Picture
The Social Network
The King's Speech
Best Director
David Fincher
Best Actor
Colin Firth
Best Actress
Natalie Portman

Best Supporting Actor
Christian Bale

Best Supporting Actress
Amy Adams
Hailee Steinfeld

Best Original Screenplay
David Seidler, The King's Speech

Best Adapted Screenplay
Aaron Sorkin, The Social Network

Best Original Score
The Social Network

Best Original Song
"If I Rise" (127 Hours)
"We Belong Together" (Toy Story 3)

Best Animated Feature
Toy Story 3
Best Documentary Feature
Waste Land
Inside Job
Best Foreign Film
Dogtooth (Greece)
In a Better World (Denmark)

"Technical" Awards
Art Direction True Grit Alice In Wonderland
Cinematography True Grit
Costume Design I Am Love The King's Speech
Film Editing Black Swan The King's Speech
Make-Up The Way Back The Wolfman
Sound Editing Inception
Sound Mixing Salt The King's Speech
Visual Effects Inception

TOP TEN FILMS OF 2010

The wait is over! Here is 'The List'! As in past years when I haven't seen enough (or enough good) foreign films to make separate lists, I have combined the two.

RON'S TOP TEN MOVIES FOR 2010

1. The Social Network -- no contest, the #1 movie of the year.

2. The King's Speech (UK) -- an admirable #2.

3. Toy Story 3 -- and I thought I had outgrown animated movies!
>>hey, the Oscars seem to have gotten it right, so far!

4. Un prophete (France 2009)
>>Okay, forget what I said about the Oscars; they completely blew last year's Best Foreign Film award by not giving it to this amazing and gritty film (or the other great film of last year, "The White Ribbon")

5. Black Swan

6. The Kids Are Alright

7. White Material (France 2010)
>>for some reason, even the Cesars (French Academy Awards) ignored this one!

8. True Grit

9. The Fighter

10. Inception


Honorable mention (aka "The Next Five"):

11. Red Riding Trilogy: Part One (UK) -- I don't care that this was a BBC miniseries; on the big screen, this installment was searing (thanks in no small part to the great chemistry between Andrew Garfield and Rebecca Hall).

12. Winter's Bone

13. The American -- I loved the pace of this movie!

14. I Am Love (Italy) -- Tilda Swinton in an Italian melodrama worthy of Visconti!

15. Shutter Island -- Marty & Leo, together again!

A solid list, I think (but there wasn't a lot of competition).

Oscar Snubs: 2011 edition

I promised I wouldn't get upset anymore about the inevitable glaring omissions in the nominations list, but the more I think about this year, I can't help myself. This time, I will go a step further and call out the undeserving nominees who took away the spots earned by the following performances.

But first, a tip of the hat to all the nominations TRUE GRIT received, and to the recognition given Deadwood-alum John Hawkes for his work in WINTER'S BONE. Well done, Academy!

Category -- Snub-ee / should have replaced:

ACTRESS -- Julianne Moore / Nicole Kidman
>>I have already made clear my admiration for Ms. Moore's work in "The Kids Are All Right;" I haven't made public my opinion that the great Nicole Kidman has sabotaged her career as a 'serious' actress through cosmetic surgery. Sitting through the contemptible "Rabbit Hole," I couldn't get two thoughts out of my mind: 1) that's NICOLE KIDMAN sitting in a bowling alley in Yonkers with a bunch of average-looking people; and 2) for as emotional a performance as playing a grieving mother, why isn't the bottom of her face moving? Below her eyes, I saw no expression in her beautiful face. What a shame.

ACTOR -- Mark Wahlberg / Javier Bardem
>>Nothing against Javier (I haven't even seen "Biutiful") but Markie-Mark's subdued performance was the backbone of "The Fighter."

Supp. Actress -- Mila Kunis / Jackie Weaver
>>Raise your hand if you have seen "Animal Kingdom." My point exactly.

Supp. Actor -- Andrew Garfield / Jeremy Renner
>>Solid, but not award-worthy work by Renner in "The Town," a standard crime drama; Garfield's breakthrough performance was vital to the superior "The Social Network."

Two comments about the 'minor awards." How can "Waiting for Superman" not be recognized for Best Documentary? How can "Alice in Wonderland" receive 3 nominations, but NOT one for Best Make-Up!?!

And finally, it has become a tradition with me to go off on a rant against one particular nominee (usually in the Best Original Score category). This year, the Winner Is .... A.R. Rahman !! for "127 Hours."

Last year's deserving winner for "Slumdog Millionaire" merely recycled the music and energy that worked so well in the previous film. For a movie about the isolation and desperation of a hiker trapped by a boulder in the middle of nowhere, it could not have been more inappropriate! As with Danny Boyle's "look-at-me" directing style, it was ostentatious and needlessly distracting. Jai-O!

FFG is Wrong Again!

The Oscar Foreign Film shortlist was announced, and I only got one* prediction right!

Here are the nine films still in the running:

Algeria, Hors la Loi (Outside the Law), Rachid Bouchareb, director

Canada, Incendies, Denis Villeneuve, director

Denmark, In a Better World, Susanne Bier, director

Greece, Dogtooth, Yorgos Lanthimos, director

Japan, Confessions, Tetsuya Nakashima, director

*Mexico, Biutiful, Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, director

South Africa, Life, Above All, Oliver Schmitz, director

Spain, Tambien la Lluvia (Even the Rain), Iciar Bollain, director

Sweden, Simple Simon, Andreas Ohman, director


"The biggest surprise on the list is that Greece’s incest-filled, psychological torture film Dogtooth made the cut."
-- Those crazy Greeks! (I'm sure it won't make the final five by the staid Oscar committee).

"The shortlist will be winnowed down to the five nominees by specially invited committees in New York and Los Angeles. They will spend Friday, January 21, through Sunday, January 23, viewing three films each day and then casting their ballots."
-- Now that's my idea of a great weekend!

The SEVEN best actresses of 2010

January 11, 2011 --

Yes, I said SEVEN! If the Academy wanted to shake things up, they should have increased the big four nominations by at least one each, instead of their stupid idea to up the Best Picture nominees to ten!

With all due respect to Nicole Kidman (Rabbit Hole) and Michele Williams (Blue Valentine), whose movies I have yet to see, here are, without question, the Seven Best Lead Performances by an Actress in 2010:

Annette Bening* & Julianne Moore, The Kids are All Right -- These two actresses are equally essential to the movie: I cannot imagine either would be as phenomenal if they didn't have the other. Both deserve recognition in the Lead Actress category.

Sally Hawkins, Made In Dagenham -- with every movie she stars in (too few, sadly), Sally Hawkins surprises me with her talent. Her face is so expressive, her acting so genuine, she is a true joy to watch.

Isabelle Huppert, White Material -- this French treasure never fails to deliver a compelling, fearless performance (she chooses her material very well). Here she plays a French plantation owner in an unnamed African country in the midst of a civil war, trying to hold her family's life together amid the chaos. You can't take your eyes off of her, as usual.

Jennifer Lawrence*, Winter's Bone -- the next three actresses all gave breakthough performances, none more surprising than this young actress (unknown, by me). Playing a mature teen (made head of her disadvantaged household by default) in the hellish backwoods of the Ozarks, she shows a grit and determination to hold her family together at all costs (I sense a theme here!)

Natalie Portman*, Black Swan -- nothing less than a tour-de-force performance, NP inhabits the paper-thin body (and fragile mind) a ballet dancer -- complete with all the rigors of toe-shoes, sore muscles and feet, and back-stabbing colleagues. You never once think she's an actor pretending to be a dancer. It is a transformation worthy of DeNiro!

Hailee Steinfeld, True Grit -- don't believe the bullshit tactic by the studio (Paramount) to increase their chances of a nomination by promoting her as a "supporting" actress. She is literally in every scene of the movie! It doesn't matter that she is young and unknown, the movie is about her character Mattie Ross as much as Winter's Bone is about Ree, and Hailee's performance is not only the equal to Jeff Bridges' Rooster Cogburn, she carries the movie. Don't take my word for it, either: the directors agree with me.

* I predict only three of the above-mentioned seven will actually receive a Best Actress Oscar nomination. It wouldn't be the Oscars if they didn't slight somebody in every category, would it?.

Fearless Oscar predictions

January 7, 2011 --

One of my New Year's resolutions is to do things early. So expect my annual Top Ten List on MLK's Birthday! And why should I wait for the Academy Award nominations to be announced? (January 25th, 7:30 a.m. Central). I will charge ahead with my predictions for who gets nominated -- in the Best Foreign-Language Film category.

This is easier than it sounds, now that the Academy has started announcing a "short list" for nominations in the Foreign Film and Documentary Feature category. Now, instead of waiting until nomination morning to be outraged by the Academy's unexplicable slights, we can be outraged two weeks in advance. For example, this year's short-list for Best Documentary does not include the well-received "Marwencol," "Sweetgrass," or "Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work." !

Who can forget the outrage that accompanied the foreign film short-list for 2008, when Romania's "Four Months, Three Weeks, Two Days" was excluded. The Outrage! It took me awhile to accept the fact that the whole system is rigged: each country can only submit one entry, so much of what gets chosen is dependent on favoritism, politics, etc. (like the World Cup selection). So this year, don't expect to see these foreign favorites nominated: I Am Love (Italy), White Material (France) or any of the "Dragon Tattoo" movies (released in 2009, but I'm sure Sweden could have nominated one). Instead, they have pinned their hopes on a movie called "Simple Simon." Go figure.

I haven't seen a short list yet, so I am making my choices based on the original list of 65 movies (including first time submissions from Ethiopia and Greenland!). Truthfully, I only chose movies I have heard of, so there may be some dark horses to emerge, but here goes:

Kawasaki's Rose (Czech) - since this is the only one of the 65 I have actually seen, I have to include it.
Of Gods and Men (France) - it's about monks. Good reviews.
Biutiful (Mexico) - actually a Mexico-Spain co-production, but it has a big name star and director behind it.
The Edge (Russia) - know nothing about it, but it has a Golden Globe nomination.
"Uncle Boonmee ..." (Thailand) - big winner at Cannes; I will spare you the actual Thai title and director's name.

That leaves Romania out in the cold -- again! But if one of these gets dropped, I would add Florian Serban's "If I Want to Whistle, I Whistle" (an award winner at Berlin). Other dark horses are:
- Denmark's Globe-nominated "In a Better World."
- Greece's experimental "Dogtooth"
- Turkey's "Bal" (Honey), also at Berlin.

Greece vs. Turkey: now that would be as brutal as a World Cup match!

Where Was I?

December 26, 2010 --

Oh yes, I'm supposed to be reviewing movies on this site.

LOVE & OTHER DRUGS
Dir: Edward Zwick

What a disappointing mess of a movie. Is it a comedy? an 'Up In The Air' wannabe? a disease-of-the-week melodrama? or just an ill-conceived mish-mash of all of the above? I vote for Nos. 2 & 4: what begins as a story of an off-putting, cocky salesman morphs into a clunky Parkinson's disease awareness movie, then reverts to lame Viagra jokes for what passes for slapstick. Forget Ivan Reitman: this director can't even rip-off Judd Apatow effectively! Case in point: the Jonah Hill-role (i.e., the fat, horny sidekick) goes not to Jonah Hill, but to a fatter, un-funnier nobody named Josh Gad. Who?

Anne Hathaway does what she can to salvage this mess, but her talents deserve better.

You Will Meet A Tall, Dark Stranger
Dir: Woody Allen

I must confess a soft spot for Woody's London phase. No, he hasn't broken any new ground with Match Point and Scoop, but the change in locale has broadened his perspective somewhat. In his latest, he still relies on a tired premise: the mid-life crisis of a well-past mid-life Anthony Hopkins (a great actor wasted!) and the repercussions visited on his wife and adult daughter (a radiant Naomi Watts).

Woody's alter ego this time is Naomi's writer-husband, and unconvincing Josh Brolin, who begins an unconvincing affair with his neighbor, the much-younger Freida Pinto. (Why would she give up her life for this untalented schlub? This could only happen in Woody's world.) Naomi has the film's most genuine moments of vulnerability and regret, opposite her boss, played by Antonio Banderas.

The only message of the film (that I can gather) is that everyone is delusional, so you might as well delude yourself into being happy. For an existentialist like Woody, I consider that an optimistic outlook!

Best Films of the Summer!

August 31st --

Yes, the summer is officially OVER!

Time to recap the movie season, and I have to say, it was a GOOD summer at the movies! (A statement I rarely make).

Here are my Top Seven movies of the summer:

1. INCEPTION
2. TOY STORY 3
3. THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT
4. SALT
5. WINTER'S BONE
6. IRON MAN 2
7. ROBIN HOOD

I know what you're thinking: "Winter's Bone? WTF? That doesn't sound like a summer movie!" Trust me: another Sundance darling, it is this year's Frozen River -- a gritty, unsentimental look at 'rural' America (as seen through the lens of a indie filmmaker, that is). Sure, that has proven to be a recipe for disaster (just look at the misbegotten Junebug or the ouevre of David Gordon Green). I've never been to the Missouri Ozarks, so I cannot vouch for Winter's Bone's authenticity, but this film adheres to its vision from the start -- in the same way last year's Gone Baby Gone brought you into the heart of South Boston. It just feels right. Newcomer Jennifer Lawrence deserves the lion's share of the credit for carrying the movie with her lead performance.

Speaking of indie filmmakers, Lisa Cholodenko defies all expectations with her latest: The Kids Are All Right. As a lesbian raising a family with her partner in real life, one would expect her to make an affirmative, totally-positive portrait of this new nuclear family: two lesbians raising well-adjusted teens who are the product of an anonymous sperm-donor. One would be wrong! Instead, she gives us a warts-and-all look at confused teens whose relationship with their parents is exactly like a 'traditional' family's, i.e., dysfunctional. The fault lines between a couple (the excellent duo of Annette Bening and Julianne Moore, the two bravest actresses working today!) who have settled into a comfortable (boring) marriage are also exposed when the teens decide to invite the sperm donor into their lives.

This is where Hollywood takes over: the donor looks NOTHING LIKE David Crosby!! (a Melissa Etheridge reference, in case you don't know). Played to perfection by Mark Ruffalo, he is a cocky charmer, "pleased with himself" (as one of the moms comments). But he is as confused as the rest of the family as to the role he is supposed to play in this family dynamic.


SPOILER ALERT (in RED):
It was uncomfortable watching one of the Mom's fall into a heterosexual relationship with him. Together with another scene I won't reveal, it left this hetero viewer with the uneasy impression that lesbians can switch teams with ease.

That aside, it is ultimately a much bolder statement to make that this same-sex marriage is just like all other marriages -- a minefield of shifting emotions that survive or fail on the commitment of two people. (He says confidently, having never been married).

I won't dwell on the 3 obvious blockbusters on my list, other than to say Angelina Jolie stands alone among actresses who could pull off a role like SALT. Originally written for Tom Cruise, I can't even think of a male actor working today (other than Daniel Day Lewis) who could have brought the ambiguity required to make this somewhat preposterous story believable. I, for one, was genuinely convinced that the filmmakers pulled the rug out from under its audience midway through this Bourne-like juggernaut of a movie. But just how preposterous is this story of a network of Russian spies living ordinary lives in America? (It wins the award for topicality, hands down).

Nobody can pull the rug out from under an audience like Christopher Nolan , director of the summer's most-talked about movie: INCEPTION. I feel like I am the last blogger to weigh-in on this movie (according to A.O. Scott's New York Times story, I am). Let me come down firmly on the side of the film's supporters, for while the movie falls short of the mind-blowing thrill of The (original) Matrix, the intricate puzzle Nolan creates is always gripping to watch. Marvel at, really, for it is a tour de force of storytelling (that has always been his strong suit).

SPOILER ALERT (in RED): Sure, this particular story left me with more questions than answers (Did they really need SIX people to enter that guy's head? How was that one dude able to change his appearance? And what's with all the snow? -- I lost track of whose dream we were in at that point). Questions aside, the show-stopping set-piece of the film is a half-hour sequence that deftly intercuts between three separate dreams (maybe four). Time slows down as you go down each level, so each sequence runs at a different speed. As you watch a 20-minute sequence on one level, the top level dream is only running for 2 seconds. Nolan's gift is that the viewer never gets lost: as the action escalates on two separate levels of storytelling, Nolan repeatedly returns to a van slowly falling backwards over a bridge into a river, thus grounding the audience in a sort of 'present.' Needless to say, it is the longest two seconds in film history. But it is brilliant!

I'm glad I am not the only person to recognize the film's similarities with DiCaprio's previous release, Martin Scorsese's Shutter Island (I just cannot articulate it as well as A.O. Scott: "In both films Mr. DiCaprio plays a troubled professional with a shaky grip on reality and an unresolved, guilt-tinged relationship with his vanished and beloved wife.") That wife is played stunningly in each film by Michele Williams and Marian Cotillard, respectively. The plot twist in Scorsese's film was a tad obvious -- especially to anyone who remembers the silent German classic The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (and I know film buff Scorsese certainly does!).

Nolan, on the other hand, introduces a subtle feeling of doubt before the big finale, but the possibility that is implanted (incepted?) in the viewer's brain by Cotillard's character in no way diminishes the impact of the final shot. Not since Andrei Tarkovsky's Stalker (1979) has a last shot packed such a wallop (Scorsese may be the only film buff to catch that obscure reference!). In Stalker, that was because after 2 hours and 40 minutes of watching nothing happen, suddenly something happens!

Inception is a mere 2 hours and 22 minutes, and the satisfying final twist has its own logic to it: like Nolan's true 'masterpiece,' Memento, the movie couldn't end any other way. I don't see that as a cop-out, or a contrivance, as much as a payoff -- a reward for going along this far down the director's rabbit hole.