Movie #68 True Grit (2010)

Last year I made it to see 4 films in the theater on Christmas day.  Up in the Air (review #67), Nine, The Road and Sherlock Holmes.  This year I only saw one.  I saw the new Coen Brother movie True Grit.  I am a well know Coen fan.  I did a review of many of their films before I went to the Lebowskifest this year.  Those are all logged in this blog if you are interested.

True Grit is based on a novel by Charles Portis.  There is an earlier film version staring John Wayne, Glenn Campbell and Kim Darby in the lead role as Mattie Ross.  True Grit is Western about a 14 year old girl and it is told from her perspective and voice over. Her father has been murdered and the local law enforcement aren't doing anything about it.  Set in the turn of the 19th century Mattie locates a cockled, cantankerous old Marshal and hires him to capture her fathers killer and return him so that she may see him hang.  They meet up with a Texas Ranger along the way that is looking for the same man but for a different crime.

The original film is the only role that John Wayne won an Oscar for.  It was kind of a lifetime achievement award, but he was good in the film.  This time around Jeff Bridges fills the saddle of the Marshal Rooster Cogburn.  Hailee Steinfeld is Mattie and Matt Damon plays the Texas Ranger LaBoeuf.  Josh Brolin has a very small role as the killer Tom Chaney.

I have seen the first version and liked it, but didn't love it.  it was very much a straight forward Western in the vain of High Noon (review #53) and Stagecoach (review #44).  This time around though the story get the Coen treatment.  One of the elements of a proper Coen treatment is the works of their Director of Photography Roger Deakins.  I loved how this film looked!  The west looked authentic with tiny touches of style thrown in to keep interesting.  I am a sucker for sepia tones I guess.  But then there is a scene where a dark horse is rode at night and it is breath taking.  Then there is the next Coen element, language.  I haven't read the novel, but the Coens have a rich history of colorful and intriguing dialogue.  That was the first thing I noticed in this movie.

Then there are the performances that the Coens get from their actors.  Steinfeld will make my Top 5 Female performances for the year, and that is in a good year for female performances.  The story revolves around her and I think she is in over 90% of the scenes.  She is the driving force behind this movie.  That is a huge task for basically a first feature and I think she totally pulled it off.  Bridges as Cogburn was fun to watch.  It is nice to see him really act, unlike TRON Legacy (review to come).  There is a scene in a court room where he has fantastic lines and he killed it.  It is one of my favorite scenes in the film.  Matt Damon was solid in his role as well.

It wouldn't be a Coen Brother movie if there weren't some great minor characters.  Barry Pepper plays the leader of the bad guys Ned Pepper.  He absolutely stole every scene he was in.  He hasn't been this good since Saving Private Ryan where he played my favorite character in that movie, the Sniper Daniel Jackson.  There was a really off putting role.  A mountain man / doctor dressed in a bear skin.  It was played by Ed Corbin.  He seemed to be acting in a totally different movie.  I could have done without his character.  Thankfully it is only one scene.


There is only one song in the film that I noticed.  It is the hymnal "Leaning on the Everlasting Arms".  It is haunting.  There are also some haunting moments in the film.  The first to come to mind is where a body has been hung from a tree and left there.  It was hung 20 feet off the ground.  When the Marshal and Mattie come upon the corpse he is slightly swaying and has a vulture pecking away at him.  It is not gory or gross, it is just eerie.

I am not sure where True Grit will fall in my top films of the year, but I enjoyed the new version a great deal.  Enough to see it 2 more times in the theater.  Reviews to come.  I give True Grit a 4/5 stars.  Check out the Trailer Park to see for yourself.

Movie #67 Up in the Air

The beauty of isolation...

This blog is about the 2009 film Up In the Air staring George Clooney, Vera Farmiga and Anna Kendrick.  Directed by Jason Reitman of Thank You for Smoking and Juno fame.  Also kind of famous for being Ivan Reitman's son.

I first saw this film on Christmas day 2009.  It was one of 4 movies I saw that day.  I mention that because I was alone and enjoying it.  I remember everyone liking this picture as well did I.  But most people I talked to thought it was really depressing.  It is about a man who travels 300+ days a year to different locations for work.  His job is firing people for companies that don't want to do it themselves.  He enjoys his work and his lifestyle.  He is free from the trappings of life.  People, relationships, mortgages, ect.  In fact he also has a seminar he presents about living alone and it's benefits.

I really connected with Clooney during this movie.  I found it inspirational not depressing.  Now keep in mind that was the first time I saw it.  The most recent time I have seen it 366 days later, after having spent a great deal of that time in a long distance relationship with a wonderful woman I have a little different take.  But first let me explain the rest of the movie. 

Anna Kendrick plays Natalie.  A young up and comer that wants to cut expense by not flying to locations to fire people but do it over the Internet via video chat.  She is cute and a little naive.  She plays the role wonderfully in a supporting performance that one of that years best.  Vera Farmiga is the sultry female road warrior equal to Clooney.  They carry on a very hot, torrid friends -with-benefits relationship through the movie.  Several scenes (my favorite ones of the movie) felt as if they were ripped form the reels of a 1950's pulp thriller where the characters were allowed to say what they were thinking on screen so they had to hid it in the dialogue.  Very sexy stuff.  Clooney doesn't take well to Natalie's idea and as a result they hit the road so she can learn the ropes of what it is exactly that he does. 

Clooney is great as usual.  He is my generations Carey Grant and I have no hesitation in that statement.  Vera lights up the screen and Kendrick couldn't have asked for a better launch for her career.  The film has a few moments where actual victims of the financial crisis do testimonials directly to the camera.  These felt a little too forced to me.  I knew what the film was getting at.  I didn't need to be hit over the head with it.  There are a few twists and turns in the film.  There is also a side plot about Clooney's younger sister getting married that works very well.  So far Jason Reitman hasn't made a movie that totally blew my socks off, but he hasn't made a bad film either.  There is nothing wrong with being the new Ron Howard.

So now how do I feel about my connection with Clooney's character?  I still didn't think the film was depressing.  I don't want to get into spoilers but things change for Clooney towards the end of the picture.  It is left to the viewer to determine if is for the better or not.  I think most people would think that it is, but I disagree.  I fell the changes that he goes through only hurt him and forced him to lead a life he is uncomfortable with.  The impact on me?  It made me appreciate the wonderful things that I have in my life.  My kids, my beautiful girlfriend, my family and my health.  Not bad for a movie about firing people.  I give Up in the Air 4/5 stars.  Check out the Trailer Park to see for yourself.

Movie #66 2012

"Ain't no horrible tragedy gonna happen today" ~ Nate Cox, Walk Hard.

This review will be brief.  I re-watched 2012.  This is the disaster movie with John Cusack.  I first saw this movie at the theater on a date.  On the big screen is was a fun, stupid movie to watch.  All disaster movies have pretty much the same set up and plot points.  You just fill in the blanks with whatever new technology you have available to make it seem more "real".

This film consists of set piece after set piece of the planet earth totally consuming it's self and everything / everyone in it's way.  Except of course for John Cusack and his family which (of course) narrowly escapes death every 15 minutes or so.

The movie is absurd in both its conception and execution.  There is absolutely NO REASON to see this on a small screen.  Every cliche and stereotype is taken to it's furthest reaches then pushed even further. 

Upon my second viewing at home (I just needed something stupid to clear my head) I actually became offended by this movie.  Both for the way it portrayed many of the different nationalities and races in the picture.  Picture a bus filled with a buck toothed Charlie Chan China man, the soft shoeing negro, the Eskimo in full fur coat with a spear in one hand and a clubbed seal in the other, a drunk native American, the fat Russian billionaire dick head, and the heroic white guy American.  That was basically the way people were portrayed in the movie.  The other thing I was offended by was the ending.  ***Spoiler Alert***  The world does not end.  It seems that things weren't as bad as everyone thought they were going to be.  The continent of Africa was almost not affected at all.  They totally went for the happy ending and ruined any sympathy and concern for the hundreds of thousands of people we see die through out the movie.

As far as disaster movies go you can do a lot better.  I guess just because computers will let you depict a tidal wave knocking over the Washington Monument and helicoptering giraffes over Siberia does not a movie make.  I give 2012 a 2/5 stars.  Check out the Trailer Park to see for yourself.

Movie #65 Drag Me to Hell

Another kid friendly movie.

My kids have been getting a lot of props these past few blogs.  Another film I watched with them is the 2009 Sam Raimi horror / comedy Drag Me to Hell.   I first saw this film on a horrible date.  The movie was my only escape for the total disinterest my companion and I shared towards one another.  I remember that the screening I attended was one of my favorite from that year.  The audience was totally into the movie and was screaming and laughing at all the right times and it really made the film that much better.  I love it when the experience of going to a theater plays a positive part in the movie.

But this blog is about the movie and watching it this year with my kids.  I got a free weekend of HBO and other channels from my cable provider and that is the format in which we watched the movie.  I am not a big horror buff and my tween daughters aren't much for scary movies.  I though it would be ok for them to watch this movies because of the way Raimi used comedy to make the horror on screen seem silly and over the top.

I love the Evil Dead trilogy and think that the first film is the best in the series because it it the most pure and true to the genre.  It is almost a perfect movie for what it is going for.  With Drag Me to Hell I feel like Raimi was back on form.  It is not as good as the Evil Dead movies, and it is definitely prettier and the budget was much higher, but the heart and soul are still there.

Drag Me to Hell is about a young woman, Christine played by Alison Lohman, trying to movie up in the bank where she works.  A gypsy woman tries to get an extension on a loan and Christine declines her request.  The gypsy woman the puts a curse on her which will eventually send a demon to "drag her to hell" if she can't break the curse.  In attempts to do this she meets with a fortune teller and a medium who give her guidance and instructions. 

Drag Me is a great example of the subtly and extremeness of well made horror movies.  The only times I think this film mis-steps is when they add too many CGI effects.  For my money the creaky door or the lurking shadows is far more suggestive and therefor scary.

Another point to mention is that this film is yet another example of a finical institution really being the bad guy.  As I said this movie came out in 2009, along with many other movies that depicted the ugly side of capitalism.  The is a wonderful fun movie.  The scares as well as the laughs are there.  We enjoyed it as a family and I consider it a fine bookmark in Sam Raimi's career.  I give Drag Me to Hell 3.5/5 stars.  Check out the Trailer Park to see for your self.

Movie #64 TRON (The First One)

Very DOS.

That is the first though I had when I tried to explain the 1982 Disney movie TRON to him.  He is a tech geek and somehow he had never seen TRON.  I will attempt to explain TRON:  Kevin Flynn was a computer programmer and had a few programs stolen.  The man who stole them is now the head of they company they worked for and Flynn owns an arcade.  He still attempts to hack into the Master Control which is an early imaging of AI.  Allen and Laura are friends of Flynn's and they work at the company.  They come up with a plan to get Flynn into the building so he can find evidence of his wrong doing.  It all goes haywire when Flynn get sent into the actual computer and is forced to literally fight against computer programs.

This is the part of the movie everyone remembers.  It has a very blue and gray motif with lightened highlights.  There is a disc battle that is supposed to be memorable but I found it boring and silly.  There are also motorcycle chases and other action sequences that people of a certain age cherish.  The movie is supposed to show you what it looks like inside a computer.  It is very 90 degrees and boring and lifeless.  Even with humans or "users" as they are called inside the shinny box residing there.

I found this movie mind bottling.  It wasn't good.  The story is a mess.  Almost nothing in it makes much sense.  I though I was remembering it wrong so I re-watched it last week in preparation for TRON Legacy (blog to come).  My kids are excited about the new film and I thought I would give them some back story.  I ended up giving them not much of a story at all. 

I'm sure that the visuals were insane in 1982 but they look cheap now.  Keep in mind that Star Wars had been out for 6 years already and in my opinion it looks WAY better than this.  Jeff Bridges plays Flynn and he is charismatic and fun.  The rest of the cast is filled out with lesser known actors.

TRON never managed to charm me or win me over.  My kids disliked it as well.  My kids have really been showing up a lot in these blogs.  Must be the cold weather.  It felt like Disney spent all their time and money on making a special effects flagship.  Hummmm, I wonder if that will be foreshadowing of TRON Legacy?  If that is the plan that is fine, but you run the risk of exactly what happened to the film.  It looks terrible and ridiculous.  Great effects of sci-fi movies don't rely entirely on the visuals.  There needs to be a story to bond with.  That is why 2001: A Space Odyssey and Alien and Metropolis might look dated, but the are still resonate today.  I give TRON a 2/5 stars.  Check out the Trailer Park to see for yourself.

Movie #63 Corline

I first saw the 2009 animated film Corline in theaters very early in the 3-D movement.  At the time I remember it being very inspired by the animated films of Tim Burton.  Corline is the story of a young girl who's parents love her, but don't pay a lot of attention to her.  In truth both her parents are kind of jerks to her.  They have just moved to a new house and Corline is bored silly.  So she begins to explore her new digs.  She meets a neighborhood boy and befriends him, or as much as any head strong little girl befriends any strange little boy.  She also finds a small door behind some furniture.  This door is a portal to a world similar to her own with a few exceptions.  Her mom in that world (called her other mother) seems to love her and drowned her in affection.  Another difference is her other mother has buttons for eyes.  In fact everyone in this alternate reality has buttons for eyes.  And as you might expect Corline has to choose which world she wants to inhabit.  And the other world is hiding a sinister secret!

This time I watched Corline with my daughters.  They seemed to like the film, but they like almost anything animated.  I enjoy the films and think it is one of the most imaginative cartoons I have seen in a while.  But it does have some serious flaws.  The story is all over the board.  I found it very difficult to follow even after watching it a second time.  There are "rules" established for the new world and then they are broken as soon as the are set up.  It reminds me now of the new Tron movie (blog to come).  There are dreams and daydreams and reality and pseudo reality and they all blend together too much.  If that was the directors intent it was well done but for me it made it hard to follow.

The basic story was top notch.  It was; sometimes your parents are busy and not nice people, but that doesn't mean that they don't love you.  I found that honesty very refreshing.  The animation was solid.  It did add a few Matrix-like elements that I thought didn't work, but it was way more inspired by Nightmare Before Christmas.  And I mean that in a good way.  I remember the 3-D being weak and not really adding anything to the final product.

It is a mature message for kids.  There isn't anything repulsive about the movie and I didn't hesitate to show it to my tween kids.  I did see this the first time with a friend and I remember him telling me that the scene with the old lady circus performances was not appropriate for kids because one of the women has extremely large breasts.  I didn't find it that offensive or off putting.  That may say more about me than him or the film though.

Over all I give Corline a 3/5 stars.  See for your at the Trailer Park.

Movie #62 Singin in the Rain

A great movie transends generation.

Such is the case with Singin in the Rain.  I started my first blog of this film with a comment about how I can be hesitant about watching movies that my parents grew up with.  My tastes and my parents tastes differ a lot
when it comes to movies but occasionally I find something that is considered a classic and find out my parents
really like it.  Singin in the Rain fits that bill perfectly.  Then there are times when I find a "hidden" classic and introduce my mom or dad to it.  I showed my Mother The Powell and Pressburger "The Red Shoes" and she loved it.  My father was really impressed by Hitchcock's Rear Window.  He is a Hitchcock fan, but had missed that one.

I watched Singin a couple of weekends ago (I know I am behind on blogging) with my daughters.  I showed my 11 year old the first 5 minutes and the Make em Laugh sequence and she demanded to see the rest.  The both really enjoyed it.  It made for a great gloomy winters day all snuggled up on the couch with the kiddos. 

When I asked what they liked about it the 11 year old said "All the singing and dancing".  The 12 year old said she liked seeing the way that people used to attend a movie.  I pointed out that going to the movies used to be a huge deal.  Everyone at the theater was wearing formal attire.  I pointed out the orchestra and grandeur of the event.  Another musical we have done this with is West Side Story.

Now Singin in the Rain has spawned 3 generations and that is if my grandmother hasn't seen it.  Looks like I might be in for a trip to grandmals house and a third blog on this fantastic film.

Movie #61 Exit Through the Gift Shop

Brainwash your Face!

Exit Through the Gift Shop is a interesting documentary about the street art movement.  The director is credited as Banksy.  He is probably the best known street artist around the wall.  His works have appeared at the London Zoo, Disney World, the Israeli West Bank Wall, and he has personally snuck in paintings into several prestigious museums and hung them on the wall.  He generally works with stencils, but has expanded into other mediums.

My favorite parts of this movie are when it is talking about and showing all the different street artists like Bansky, Space Invader and Shepard Fairey (the man who designed the famous Obama "CHANGE" poster).

This doc is presented in a very strange way.  It is told through the tapes of a potentially crazy man who is obsessed with taping every minute of his life.  Through a distant family member he meets Space Invader in France.  The two forge a friendship and Invader begins allowing this man, Thierry Guetta, to tape him and even assist him with his art work.  Thierry later gets introduced to all the other street artists.

The last one he meets is Banksy.  The two hit it off right away and soon Thierry is sort of Banksy's right hand man.  One of the tricks of the film is that all these street artists think that Thierry is collecting footage in order to make the worlds first documentary on street art.  The truth is that Thierry has no intentions of doing anything with the tapes.  He is simply compelled to tape things.

The final act of this film, and it's most controversial, is when Thierry decided to become a street artist himself despite a lack of any real vision or talent.  He kind of just copies all the different works that he has been watching all these other artists create for the past few years.  Thierry then changes his name to Mr. Brainwash and becomes a huge hit around the LA art scene.  His art work starts selling for thousands of dollars.

The reason it is so controversial is that people begin to wonder if Mr Brainwash is basically a creation of Banksy and possibly the entire film is a work of street art.  I love this concept.  This film really makes you ask the question "What is art"?

The film is quite funny too.  Banksy is only seen with his face blacked out and voice modified. In real life no one know what he looks like.  Banksy and his comments about Thierry had me laughing out loud.  It made me wish Banksy would reveal himself and become a more public personality.

There are a few clunky moments in the film, but overall it is very well paced with enough going on to keep you interested for the entire run time.  I highly recommend this picture and would love to hear what others think about it.  There is a great line at the end of the movie by one of the talking heads in it.  He says "I guess the joke is on........I don't know who the joke is on".  In a way that perfectly sums up the entire films and my feeling about it.  I give Exit Through the Gift Shop a 4.5/5 stars.  Check out the Trailer Park to see for yourself.

Movie #59 The Black Swan

Haters gotta hate.

This review is for Darren Aronofsky' s newest film Black Swan.  Why did I start this blog out that way?  Because it seems to me that all the artsy film snobs went into this film looking for one thing and found something entirely different.  They wanted to see a better ballet movie, or they wanted to see more of a thriller or something totally different.  Perhaps the critics wanted to see something closer to Aronofsky's last film The Wrestler.  Both of these films share a hand-held aesthetic that make them comparable and decent companion pieces. 

What the critics did see was a brilliant performance from Natalie Portman that I think makes her a front runner for Best Actress at this years Oscars.  Portraying Nina Sayers Portman brings a delicate, uneasy, insecurity to her performance.  Her metamorphosis in this film is long and grueling.  Portman manages to convey both her physical and emotional deterioration in a way that is sympathetic and empathetic.  Most critics will agree with that.

She is aided by a stellar cast including Mila Kunis as the up and coming free spirit that play a foil to the perfectionist of Sayers (that is if she is even a real person and not just a figment of Nina's imagination).  Also Vincent Cassell as her fascist and predatory director.  Another great performance comes from Barbra Hershey.  She is Sayers obsessive and resentful stage mother.  She is in total vamp mode.  She has the acting knob turned up to 11 and I loved every insane moment!  The critics are ripping Cassell to bits and I think it is unfair.  This is melodrama and Cassell is filling his part perfectly.  He sets the bar so high for Nina all the while beating her down.  If this were any cheesier I would have expected Rock Hudson's ghost to to have a role.

The quick story is of a ballet company putting on Swan Lake.  The director needs a dancer that can play both the white swan and its beauty and the black swan with all its sultryness.  Nina has the white down perfect, but lacks the confidence and freedom to preform for the black swan.  Along her journey she begins to show signs of an illness that may actually be transforming her into an actual swan. 

Along with melodrama this film is a physiological thriller.    And it had me white knuckling my seat on many occasions.  Does Black Swan have faults?  Yes.  The script is a little weak and Aronofsky attempts to fill in the void with some of his visual flair.  Most of the time it works flawlessly.  When it doesn't, it only draws attention the the times it did.  Wynona Ryder is completely wasted in her small role as the "past her prime" dancer that was once a favorite by Cassell and has now been replaced by Nina.

Black Swan is an extreme film that puts it all out there.  I think that is very brave to have such a bold presentation of such a small personal story.  It falters along the way, but those moments are few and far apart.  I give Black Swan a 4.5/5 stars.  Check out the Trailer Park to see for yourself.

Movie #58 Scott Pilgrim vs. the World

I have been teasing this review for over a month now.

Last weekend I watched Scott Pilgrim vs. the World on DVD with my special lady.  I had already seen this film twice in theaters.  I hoped she would enjoy it and it sounded like she did.

Scott Pilgrim is based on a comic book series by Bryan Lee O'Malley.  It is the story of a slacker in his mid twenties living in Toronto.  He is the bassist of an indy rock band called Sex Ba Bomb. When the movie opens he is dating a Chinese high schooler named Knives Chow.  Much to the chagrin of his band mates.  He later meets (quite literally) the woman of his dreams.  The technicolor haired Ramona.  He begins his pursuit of Romona while stringing Knives along.  There is of course one catch.  In order to date Ramona Scott has to battle and defeat Romona's 7 Evil Ex's.  That is to say a collection of Romona's past 7 lovers.

This film is a fan boy's wet dream.  First off you have the fact that it is based on a comic book.  Then add the director of Shawn of the Dead and Hot Fuzz.  Throw in the near ultimate "manic pixie dream girl" Mary Elizabeth Winstead (no disrespect meant towards Zooey Deschanel).  Include a kick ass indy rock soundtrack, and for good measure structure the entire film in a typical video game format.  Complete with about 100,000 video game references.

I was gaga over this film.  It definitely has it's flaws, but I thought the pacing was perfectly furious.  This film has the best editing of any picture I have seen year.  The segways were inspired.   Conceptionally the film was a masterpiece.  I have seen a lot of movies that have the troupes of video games, but never a movie totally embracing video games to the point of once a character is killed off they disappear and coins drop on the floor.  Then the director (Edgar Wright) and O'Mally had the irreverence to have their characters acknowledge this and pick up the change and even complain that it isn't enough for the bus ride home.

Michael Cera plays the title role of Scott Pilgrim.  He is not far from his wheelhouse with this role.  An insecure, duffus slacker.  Winstead as Romona is good in her portrayal of a complicated character.  The scene stealer in the film is Kieran Culkin as Wallace Wells, Scott gay room mate.  There weren't really any bad performances in the movie and there are a lot of small roles that are critical to the story.

The battle sequences do grow a little repetitive, but I thought they did a decent job of providing a special niche for each ex that set them apart.  Brandon Routh was especially good as ex #3 with his vegan super powers.  Jason Schartzman is the 7th and final ex.  Pay attention and there is a very subtle Q-Bert reference in his battle scene.

This movie was a flow at the box office.  I read online a reviewer that had 10 reasons that no one went to see Scott Pilgrim.  His most interesting point was that "people over 30 don't want to listen to a 20 something sitting around whining about his problems and they can no longer relate to that slacker attitude.  While it is a movie made for the early video game players so today's youth didn't understand the Mario Brothers and Zelda shout outs".  I thought that was a very astute observation.

I have to say I loved this movie.  The kinetic editing, the powerful soundtrack, Romona is sexy as hell and I have a bit of a man crush on Michael Cera.  Like I said earlier this movie has it's fair share of flaws, but it has totally consumed me 3 times now I am looking forward to seeing it again.  This movie along with Inception (review soon to come) might be enough to launch me into Blu Ray.  I give Scott Pilgrim vs. the World  4/5 stars.  Check out the trailer to see for yourself.

Movie #57 Panic Room

This is a postponed review. I watched David Fincher's film Panic Room entirely on my iPhone over the course of a few nights where I couldn't sleep. I sort of forgot about it and never got around to blogging about the film. Then the other day I was sinking my phone up and realized that I hadn't reviewed it yet. So here it goes.

I was motivated to see this film after seeing The Social Network. I realized the Panic Room was the only film in the Fincher cannon that I hadn't seen and one of the few that I didn't own on DVD. Now I see why I skipped it.

This film is about Jodie Foster's character (Meg) buying a new house in NY. The house comes complete with a "panic room". That is to say a room that is 100% secure in case of home invaders.  Moving in with her is her diabetic, early teenage, smart mouthed daughter played by Kristen Stewart. Hummm, a room safe from intruders, what could possibly happen? You guessed it. Someone breaks in. And not just anyone. It is a 3 man job.  Jared Leto was "The brains" (who of course ends up being really stupid),  Forest Whitaker played "the inside man" who worked for the panic room installation company and who is in desperate need of money, and Dwight Yochum as "the wild card" the crazy guy hat you never know what he is going to do.  That is this films biggest flaw.  You have an impenetrable fortress, and a bunch of bumbling robbers.  It seemed implausible.  Then to see these idiots actually make headway in there progress of getting into the room and all the design flaws of the room destroyed any creditability the film might have had.

I feel like giving Jodie Foster a shoulder rub cause she carried this movie on her back. The trio of would-be criminals were the most bumbling, non-believable crooks I can remember.  At least for a group of guys that I was supposed to be fearful of.  Forrest Whitacre plays the compassionate, rational one. Unfortunately his lines land with a thud. I don't blame him mostly. The script is poor top to bottom and he is not helped out much by his accomplices including Dwight Yochum (who I thought was fantastic in Sling Blade). Kristen Stewart seemed really stiff and annoying as the snotty kid.  A typecast that she hasn't really grown out of yet.  I'd like to thank Panic Room for reminding me why I hate Jared Leto.  He is terrible in this.  I have never seen him give a performance I enjoyed.

You know it's a rough movie when Fincher can't pull it out of the gutter.  Although he tries.  He took the CGI visuals and the extended tracking shots that were used so well in a movie like Fight Club and hit us over the face with them. Maybe this movie was the ground work for Benjamin Button.  A movie I still contest to be better than most gave it credit for.

I think one of the problems was that Fincher used all these bells and whistles when the script didn't call for it. This year I have seen Buried and 127 Hours. Both films are about tight situations and how a person copes with that. There is an immediacy to that. By adding all the visual stunts, it constantly kept me at arms reach. This movie could have been about the paranoia of individuality and staking out on your own. Instead it was a silly romp and quasi-thriller content to pacify it's audience instead of challenge them.

I would love to see a $500,000 version of this film made by some film student. Someone without the resources Fincher has.  I think the same creative malaise that has ruined Tim Burtons movies as of late caught up with Fincher.  With all that being said it might be a surprise to announce that I didn't hate the movie.  And compared to a lot of other "thrillers" out there Panic Room managed to entertain. It is frustrating to see a film like this and know what it could have been.  But I do not judge based on the "what ifs".  I judge based on what was presented. Therefore Panic Room gets a 2.5/5 stars. Slightly below average but not unwatchable. Check out the Trailer Park to see for yourself. 

Movie #56 Singin in the Rain

There seems to be a natural aversion built into the human psyche to anything that your parents thought was cool.  That is what I am blaming my stubbornness when it comes to seeing classic movies from the 50's.  It is either that or a feeling that these movies have been built up too much.  Movies like Singin in the Rain, Vertigo, On the Waterfront and Some Like it Hot are all movies that I waited far too long to watch.  I think a good deal of it has to do with not wanting to be let down.  I am glad to say that in none of those cases was I ever let and with many of them my expectations were far surpassed.  Singin in the Rain was one of those films.

If you are unaware of the plot for Singin, it goes like this:
Set in Hollywood in the late 20's, right on the preface of the introduction of movies with sound and vocals (talkies) Don Lockwood and Lina Lamont (played perfectly by Gene Kelly and Jean Hagen) are silent movie stars at the height of their popularity.  There is only one problem, movies are adding soundtracks and Lina has the voice of a castrated Jersey chihuahua.  Don on the other hand is a wonderful singer and dancer.  Don, who solely for publicity purposes, is alleged to be romantically involved with Lina has meet a woman he quickly falls in love with.  Debbie Reynolds plays the love interest (Kathy Seldon).  Kathy has a beautiful / young face and singing voice to match.  The plan is to have the unknown Kathy dub over superstar Lina's voice.  Hy-jinx ensue. 

Singin is rightful considered one of the best movies about the movies.  There are so many great things to talk about in this movie.  First off would be the singing and dancing by all parties.  Donald O'Connor play Cosmo Brown, Don's best friend and sidekick.  He is amazing to watch.  His dance move rivals and I would say sometime surpasses Gene Kelly's.  Next is the acting.  There is a realization from the page to the screen that you rarely see now a days.  I felt like the script had came to life.  It is silly and touching.  It is a romantic comedy before that became a dirty word. 

One of the things that I never realized was how many of the songs from this movie are in my common knowledge.  Obviously there is the title song, Singin in the Rain.  I think most people would recognize the song and scene even out of context.  Then there is Make 'em Laugh, Good Morning, Fit as a Fiddle and You were Meant for Me.  It was fun to see the root of all of these songs I have been singing most of my life and never knew where they came from.

Another thing that I found interesting was the way the Hollywood was dealing with the introduction of sound into their pictures.  It reminded me a great deal of how Hollywood of today is coping with the introduction of the new 3-D technology.  Example: In Singin, it appears that every studio is running around like crazy trying to adapt this new technology to their current productions.  Don and Lina were filming a silent swashbuckling movie called The Dueling Caviler when The Jazz Singer premiered.  The studio then insisted that the sword fighting film be a talkie.  Remind you of anything?  Maybe Avatar blowing the roof off the box office and Hollywood scrambling to post-convert all their films to 3-D?

I want to mention the sets and costumes.  Really the entire production staging.  The directors Stanly Donen and Gene Kelly himself must have been well versed in traditional studio settings.  Singin has both homages to those silent pictures as well as using some of the same techniques of capturing a mood or location all while being shot entirely on the lot.  Some of the sets and action-esque sequences were stunning.

You really can't talk this movie up too much.  Which is a little ironic that I didn't see this films sooner because I was afraid that it wouldn't live up to it's hype and here I am saying that it is underrated.  It is pretty obvious that I loved this film.  i now consider it to be among the greatest American movies of all time.  It gets a 5/5stars from me.  I will link the Singin in the Rain dance sequence in the Trailer Park. 

Movie #55 Marwencol

What a great surprise.  I went last Thursday to a showing of a documentary called Marwencol at the Indianapolis Museum of Art.  The theater was about half filled with art lovers and film enthusiasts.  I brought a friend along who lives in that area.  There were more like two surprises.  The first being at how much I loved this movie (which I will explain in a few minutes).  The other being after the screening of the film, the curator of the museum announced that they would be Skyping in Jeff Malmberg (the director of the film) for a surprise Q&A session.  How cool is that!?!  This is a movie that I think will stand a good chance to be nominated for Best Documentary Feature and I got to talk to the director and ask him some questions.

Marwencol is the story of a man, Mark Hogancamp, who was assaulted and suffered serious brain trauma. As a method of therapy he began building a 1/16 scale WWII Belgium village in his back yard called "Marwencol". The town is complete with a tavern, a church and dolls that resemble people in his life. The man then creates these elaborate scenarios and meticulously stages the dolls in these scenes. He then photographs the sets.  He has taken hundreds of pictures of his dolls in Marwencol.  His photos attract the attention of some artists and he gets a showing in a New York museum.

There is a surprising plot twist in the film about 2/3 the way through. While this is an interesting development I didn't find it necessary nor do I think it added much of anything to the main character or the film as a whole.  The film was shot almost entirely digital and it shows.  I thought at first that the production value was going to be really low, but it either improved after the first five minutes or I got so wrapped up in the story that I stopped caring about the look of the film.

The doc is funny, touching, dramatic, and heartfelt. There were times where I was laughing aloud when he was talking about setting up Marwencol, then there were times where I was disturbed when it appeared  that Mark was having difficulty segregating the real, harsh world from his safe imaginary world.  Towards the end of the film Mark begins to subvert his live and his dolls life.  It turns into a Synecdoche, NY.  It truly took my breath away. 

Marwencol will easily make my Top 10 films of the year.  I give Marwencol a 4.5/5 stars.  Check out the Trailer Park to see for yourself.

The Tree of Life Trailer HD

A story about 1 family juxtaposed against the creation of the universe.
Malick is God.

After a 3.5 hour drive in a blizzard I'm at the theater ready to see Black Swan. I hope Darren Aronofsky appreciates what I had to go through to see his film.

Just finished watching Scott Pilgrim vs. the World on DVD with my special lady friend. Now I have to review it.

127 Hours blew my mind! It might end up being my lengthiest review to date.

At the theater now for 127 Hours. Review soon to come.

Marwencol was AMAZING! I will blog about it and the other films of the weekend Monday.

At the Indianapolis Museum of Art for a showing of Marwencol.

Movie #54 House of Games

This is an earmuffs edition of my reviews. I thought that would be fitting considering I am reviewing David Fucking Mamet's first film as a director; House of Games. For those of you that don't know who Mamet is, he is largely known as a playwright.  He has however ventured into films as both a screen writer and director. His 1992 film Glenngary Glenn Ross is one of my all time favorite movies.

Mamet is part of a book detailing different writing and directing styles. He is all about the words. To him actors are props. I have read that Mamet once told a very prominent actor that was trained in the method style of acting to "Stand up straight and read your fucking lines. No one can understand your mumbling. I wrote a brilliant script and you are fucking it all up."

House of Games is a con man movie. It stars Lindsay Crouse (Mamet's real world wife at the time of filming) as a therapist who gets involved with a group of con men by chance (or was it planed?). Mamet's theory of acting is quite evident here. Crouse displays all the grace and eloquence of a chainsaw. The first 20 minutes of this film is about as subtle as a baseball bat to the face. There are a few exchanges between therapist and patient that felt like I was watching bad high school actors.

If I had to describe this film in one word it would be "pulp". Mamet writes what Elmore Leonard is too embarrassed to write.  Accented with profanity the dialogue is course and raw.  If this film had been made 30 years earlier Barbara Stanwyck and Sterling Hayden would have played the lead roles.  It's not noir because even though it has some of the characteristics as a noir would, House of Games is too slick.  The conflict is muted due to the con that is being pulled.  The stakes are absent.

House of Games can not avoid the trappings of a typical con movie.  The viewers are instantly put on alert to watch for the con.  I fell for the first con hook line and sinker.  This really made me watch for the next one so that I wouldn't be the sucker.  To my disappointment I caught on the the second and much larger con right away.  I wondered how long it would take before they started to revel the con to the main character.  It was so obvious to me that I began to think that the con WAS going to be on me.  I thought that the film makers were making a conscious decision to make the con easily recognizable to lure its viewers in and then con them out at the ending.  I was wrong.  The big con can be spotted 100 miles away.

The end of this film is ludicrous.  The actions of the main character was never explained nor were we given any inclination that this person would be capable of performing such an act.  Sorry for the secrecy, but this is an earmuff edition of the blog, not a spoiler one.


The acting in this thing was terrible.  Crouse gave line reading after line reading.  Joe Mantegna was the same way.  He plays the lead con man.  I actually thought that the film might have been trying to make a statement about the current condition of acting in films.  Now I just think it was bad.  I love Mamet and if he ever read this I am sure he would send a couple of hard pipe hitting muther fuckers to rip my arms off, but I thought even the script was bad.  It was hackneyed and cliche.  Calling women "broads" and "babe", the peripheral banter in the poker game, the "tough-as-nails" chick lines seemed pigeonholed in and artificial. 


This might sound like a review of a bad movie, but some how it worked for me.  I had a good time watching it and I am glad I have seen it.  I don't think I will be going back to it anytime soon, but it is a decent flick overall.  I give House of Games a 3/5 star rating.  Check out the Trailer Park to see for yourself.

Rumor: George Lucas May Digitally Recreate Dead Actors You Love In A Movie You’ll Probably Hate The Playlist

Rumor: George Lucas May Digitally Recreate Dead Actors You Love In A Movie You’ll Probably Hate The Playlist

Movie #53 High Noon

A lot of critics like to wax poetic about the golden age of cinema.  The noirs, the musicals, the slap stick comedies, the war movies and the westerns were all born in this era.  You are kind of considered a traitor if you don't like these classics.  It is like an exclusive club consisting of those that have seen John Ford and Preston Sturges films.  And to see them is to love them.  Matter of fact, I would wager that many people claim to have seen all these old movies and really haven't.  Because they know that there is not many people that can call their bluff.  All the while they look down their noses at those that freely admit to not having seen "the classics".  I must admit that I have done it that as well.  "You haven't seen Red River!?!" Not stating that I only saw the film for the first time this year.

A side effect of this type of golden idol worship is that sometimes films that don't really deserve it get lumped into this pantheon of cinema.  Clearly there are movies like Citizen Kane and Casablanca, Sunset Boulevard and Sullivan's Travels deserve all their credit and more.  But there are films that weren't that revolutionary, nor did they contain legendary performances that get praised to the roof tops undeservedly.  High Noon is one of these films.

That is not to say that High Noon is a bad movie.  It certainly is not.  I was entertained throughout.  I just wasn't blown away.  The plot of High Noon is Garry Cooper plays a newly married (to an all time beauty, Grace Kelly) and recently retired sheriff when a gang of heels that he helped put away comes back to town to seek revenge.  He tries to round up a posse to help him out and the towns people turn their back on him.

The most interesting thing about this film is that it plays out in real time.  This really adds a sense of urgency to the characters actions.  Cooper only has 90 minutes to figure out how he is going to handle the situation.  The passage of time is handled in a little clunky manor by simply showing clocks all over town.  The film is sorting hitting you over the head with it as if it were shouting "SEE WHAT TIME IT IS?!? HE BETTER HURRY UP! THERE IS ONLY X AMOUNT OF MINUTES LEFT!"  I wish the director would have been a little more creative of subtle in his execution of this gimmick. 

The director in question is Fred Zinnemann.  Recognize the name?  I blogged about his 1973 film Day of the Jackal last week.  Here he is solid with a few interesting setup's and shots.  But for the most part this is a color-by-numbers western.  Grace Kelly is solid as his Quaker bride, Loyd Bridges seems a little out of place in this movie as the sheriffs replacement.  There is a Hispanic former love interest sub plot with that character played by Katy Jurado.  I have never heard of her, but she was adequate.

That seems like the best way to sum up this film.  Adequate.  I think it has survived on it's star, director and story.  The film doesn't offer up much new in what was a solid genre for it's time.  There is one other note of interest.  The theme song was really bizarre.  It seemed totally out of place and like it was recorded in someones basement.  I will give High Noon a 3/5 stars and say that it is a good watch for a rainy or snowy Sunday evening.  Check out the Trailer Park to see for yourself.

Marwencol | OFFICIAL trailer US (2010) ComicCon SXSW Silverdocs IFF Boston

I am going to go see this on Thursday at the Indianapolis Art Museum. See you there?

Movie #52 T2

I haven't even made mention that I have eclipsed the half a century mark on my reviews.  52 movies in 96 days watched and reviewed.  I received High Noon in the mail today via Netflix.  I am looking forward to catching up with a western I have heard about most of my life.  I became even more excited when I realized that it was directed by the same man that directed Day of the Jackal.

But alas that is not the film that I am reviewing now.  I couldn't quite talk my kids into watching another western with gold ole dad.  So instead I got them hook on this tiny little 1991 merchant ivory picture called T2: Judgment Day.  How did I get them interested?  I told them it was by the same guy that directed Avatar.  See, that movie is good for something.

This film still plays.  Yes, the special effect aren't so special anymore.  But this was made in a time when James Cameron did rely entirely on CGI to tell an interesting story.  I can remember at the time watching T2 and being blown away.  Watching it now with a few thousand more films under my belt I was blown away for totally different reasons.

First off if you haven't seen T2 here is my brief synopsis:  A man sends a robot back from the future to protect his younger self from a different time traveling robot.  This man (John Connor) is the lead in a rebellion against the robots which have taken over the world.  In order to defeat the evil robot the boy and the terminator must free the kids mother from a mental institution so she may assist in the butt kicking. 

I am not going to comment on the acting other than to say that Edward Furlong as the young John Connor was solid and I would be amiss if I didn't mention the thespian talents of Arnold Schwarzenegger.  The action takes center stage here and it is a big freaking stage!  This film is known for about a dozen particular action sequences.  There is the semi-truck vs dirt bike vs overpass, there is the liquid nitrogen, there is the Skynet lab destruction, ect.

Watching it this time I noticed a lot of similarities between this film and the Star Wars trilogy.  The original trilogy.  I am sure there are a few shots that are staged as almost perfect comparisons.  Surely I can't be the only geek that noticed T2 and Empire had the same shots and themes?  I am going to Google the crap out of this after this blog.  If I find anything I will attack links or photos.

This movie really does have it all.  Cool CGI, great action, solid story (for a time traveling movie anyway) cool catch phrases, guns, nuclear apocalypse, you name it.  It does have a little harsher language that what might have been approiate for my tween daughters, but I am sure it is nothing that they haven't heard out on the play ground or in the locker rooms.  Blockbuster geeks complain that artsy critics can't enjoy a fun moive.  I think T2 proves them wrong.  This is a fun movie that is smart and well constructed.  Us artsy/fartsy types wish all summer blockbuster were made with this type of gusto.  I give T2 4/5 stars.

Checkout The Trailer Park to see for yourself.

Movie #51 Shampoo

The more things change...

After watching Shampoo the other night I read up a little about it.  The AFI (American Film Institute) has it ranked as one of the 50 funniest movies of all time.  I found myself laughing at it a fair amount, but not nearly enough to make it one of the funniest movies ever.  The humor reminded me a lot of another 70's movie Harold and Maude.  The comedy comes for places of discomfort.

I guess I shouldn't be surprised.  Both Harold and Maude and Shampoo were directed by Hal Ashby.  At least in title anyway.  According to the book Raging Bulls and Easy Riders Ashby is credited as the director but everyone knows that Warren Beatty was really the man putting the show together.  The book goes on to discuss how this was a passion project for Beatty.  Not only did he basically direct, he also basically wrote it although Robert Towne was giving top writing credit.  It is known that the premise was Beatty's idea entirely.

Shampoo is a time capsule of a movie.  It is about a male hairdresser who is sleeping with every woman he makes contact with.  The film opens with him having sex with a married woman.  He has to leave her post coitus to visit his "girlfriend"(Goldie Hawn).  Beatty wants to start his own salon so the married woman suggests he talks to her banker husband.  At this time we find out that the husband has a mistress (the beautiful Julie Christie {who Beatty was dating in real life at the time of filming}).  We also find out that Beatty is screwing her too.  In one scene Beatty goes to the married woman's home to wait for her.  While he is waiting he has sex with her late teenage daughter.  This is a late sixties movie for sure.

The performances are all top notch.  This film has all of these actors at the top of their games.  Beatty is one of the most honest male actors I can think of.  I made a comment on my Stagecoach review that John Wayne never told a lie on screen.  Beatty is right up there with him.  The script is close to perfect as well.  Again I shouldn't be surprised.  Towne had writing credits on many of the most influential films of the 60' and 70's.

Another thing of note about the film is the soundtrack.  Hal Ashby was a hippie and there is no other way to say it.  This film has 2 Beatles songs, The Beach Boys, Jefferson Airplane, Jimi Hendrix, Carrol King and The Monkees.  Today the rights for that soundtrack would be in the 10 of millions of dollars.  If there is one complaint I have it is that the films backdrop is LA during the Nixon presidential race of '68 against Herbert Humphrey.  I think this was meant to help symbolize a shift in the political contentiousness that was happening at the time.  It seamed a little tacked on to me.  Beatty is well know for his political opinions. 

The movie is playful and touching.  It never talks down to it's viewers and it knows what it is doing.  This is a very well though out and well constructed film.  No surprise.  Beatty has a reputation for being a perfectionist.  I enjoyed this film and I give it a 3.5/5 stars.  Check out The Trailer Park and see for yourself.

Banksy's Exit Through The Gift Shop

This looks really amazing. December 14th it is available on Netflix streaming. Review to come soon after that!

Check out the Trailer Park for all the reviews trailers!

Movie #50 Valhalla Rising

"You need a name.  And you only have one eye".

That is the funniest moment in Valhalla Rising.  Matter of fact it is the one funny line in the movie.  Valhalla Rising is a 2010 film about an one eyed, mute slave.  His owners are Vikings that are being threatened by the Christian crusades.   One Eye escapes his slave masters and they all pay for the inhumane treatment they levied towards him. 

Valhalla Rising is a bloody, gory movie at times.  One Eye is an animal.  He shows no regard for human life.  He is a loner with the exception of a young boy that follows him.  The boy becomes his voice.  Not that One Eye has that much to say.  When propositioned with joining the crusades he agrees more or less.  The Christians ask where he is from and the boy says "He is from Hell".  The boy explains that hell is on the other side of the ocean.

While on their quest to make it to Jerusalem the crusaders, the boy and One Eye get lost in a mist and end up in North America where they clash with the natives and each other.

Valhalla Rising is directed by Nicolas Winding Refn.  One of my favorite working directors.  His films aren't always the best, but you know you can count on his to show you something you have never seen before.  Last year he introduced the world to Tom Hardy in the title role in the film Bronson.  The world should be thankful.  He is also the director of the Pusher Trilogy.  A uneven yet sometime brilliant series of films about the pros and cons of drug dealing.

I said Refn provides things you have never seen before.  Valhalla Rising does not disappoint when it come to originality.  But it is not without some clear influences.  The most obvious to me is Terrence Malick's The New World.  Others would be the fictional works of Werner Herzog.

One Eye is played by Mads Mikkelsen.  In my not so humble opinion he is my generations Klaus Kinski.  He is a mad man.  He is electric and unstable.  The comparison between Mads and Refn to Kinski and Herzog is not a difficult one to make.  Refn can really pull brilliant performances out of actors.  Hardy as Bronson was my #1 male performance of last year.

I was expecting a bloody violent picture through out.  It is painful to watch some of the scenes but not always because what is on screen.  The film has a Michael Heeke feel to it as well.  I was not however expecting an anti-Christian message or an anti-American message either.  And the film pulled no punches or was in no way trying to hide it's opinions.

As a whole Valhalla Rising is a challenging view.  There are long stretches of no dialogue.  There is a lot of shots of people in nature not really doing much.  There is madness in the air of this movie and Refn brings it front and center.  It can wear on a person after a bit though.  Refn is not for beginners.  I give Valhalla Rising a 4/5 stars.  Largely for Mads performance and the first 30 minutes of the film.  Check out the link below for the trailer and a new feature click the link to view the DVD at Amazon.com.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WcFOSfaCNec

Guest Blogger!!! You Can't See Them All

I read on Facebook the other day that a friend of mine saw and enjoyed the new Christina Aguilera vehicle, "Burlesque".  I sent her a message asking if she thought I would enjoy it.  In response to that she sent me a full review of the movie.  I thought it was very well written so I got her permission and Jennifer will now become my first ever Guest Blogger!

My guess is to answer your question - no, you won't be very impressed.

The dancing was really good. And any numbers performed by Christina Aguilera (Ally) completely showed off her vocal skills and made me love her voice that much more. She's an awesome singer and that carried her through the movie. Her voice also overshadowed her dance skills, which are less impressive than her vocals and her not-so-great acting skills. I do think her acting could be developed, but she really is a singer first. There were a few songs performed by by Cher (Tess), but were just okay and not fantastic. She's seen her better singing and performing years in her 50s and 60s. Her acting, was normal Cher in my opinion. It was just okay; not impressive and felt forced. Sean, Tess's best friend, played by Stanley Tucci, and Jack, the bartender, played by Eric Dane were the comic relief through the movie. Eric had a little bit of physical comedy towards the end of the movie that had some similarity to Jim Carey style comedy. And Stanley Tucci just does well in the supportive comedian actor role.

The plot was disconnected and had too many sub-plots inner-laced into it. A country girl from Iowa wants to make it big. She leaves Iowa, moves to L.A., finds an apartment, then looks for a job that includes singing and dancing. She ends up at Burlesque and gets turned down by the owner to dance, so she basically takes it upon herself to replace the current "bad" waitress, the same day she walked in. Within 48 hours, she develops a mother-daughter relationship with Cher's character. Within Burlesque, she's the enemy of the star of the show, of course, and is the apple of the engaged bartender's eye. And then there's also another story line of financial problems for the club. I'm sure I'm missing another theme in there too. It's just too many plots and unfortunately, they're all diverting attention from the main attraction of the movie, Christina Aguilera. After two hours nearly of dancing and singing, all problems are resolved and of course, Christina's character fixed nearly all of them.

However, I went for the main attraction, Christina.  And I left feeling inspired to plug in more to my own talents and to start going to see Vegas Shows, the Rockettes live, and possibly see a show at the ShadowBox in Newport, KY.


And that, my friend, is Burlesque, in my opinion.


Wonderful review Jen!  I love it that the film inspired you to further your interest in musical theater.  Thank you for allowing me to post your review.  Check out the link below for the trailer.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p2r_8l1c2nQ

Movie #49 La Femme Nikita

Luc Besson is an interesting man.  He is the director of The Professional (Leon), and The Fifth Element.  Leon is in my Top 100 movies of all time.  When I type these blogs from home I am facing posters of Bonnie and Clyde and Leon is that tells you anything.  Besson's first film to garnish a lot of attention was 1990's La Femme Nikita.  The movie is about a French female street thug / cop killer.  She is sentenced to death then given a chance to live if she dedicates herself to a secret government program that will turn her into a covert assassin.  She obliges them receives her training then is released into the world.  She meets a man, then has to balance home life with her dirty little secret.

Nikita is played by Anne Parillaud.  She has an Amelie meets Juliet Lewis quality about her.  Innocent and playful one moment and insane and emotionless the next.  The rest of the cast is rounded out by solid French actors.  I guess I mention that the film is entirely in French.  The is a great cameo by Jean Reno as "The Cleaner".

Besson stages action in a way that is recognizable and unique.  I can't really describe it.  The camera isn't stationary, but it is not all over the place either.  There are quick cuts, but you always know where you are in the action.  I think back to the shoot out in the beginning of Leon.  Where he is lurking in the shadows.  You don't know where he is, but you know where you are and that intensifies the action.  His camera movements can be flashy, but they are in service of the story.  Technically he is a very good director.

Watching this movie now 20 after it's release it feels a little dated.  Not so much the wardrobe or settings (although they both have a just post Madonna feel) it is more a sense of detachment that was a common theme in movies around that time period.  The late 80's and early 90's were really a low point for creativity in Hollywood.  That was post the resurgence of the studios and computer enhancement, but prior to the uprising of the independent film movement.    I suppose one could say that films like this helped usher in the indy's.

If you are a fan of hitman movies this is a must.  It is not the first, or the best female assassin movies, but it is a major player in the genre.  If you are a fan of Besson's then you have probably seen this film already.  If not then you should. If neither of these things interest you then you won't be missing out by skipping this film.  I will say that if you are not a fan of Besson, check out Leon.  It might change your mind.  I give Le Femme Nikita a 3/5 stars.  Check out the link below for the trailer.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=167URLa-On0

Paul Thomas Anderson Looks To Adapt Thomas Pychon’s ‘Inherent Vice’ With Robert Downey Jr. The Playlist

This could be freaking awesome!

Paul Thomas Anderson Looks To Adapt Thomas Pychon’s ‘Inherent Vice’ With Robert Downey Jr. The Playlist