The Dictator

       I really wanted to like this movie.  Sacha Baron Cohen (the genius who brought us ‘Borat’), regardless of what you think of him, is an innovator and an impressive comedic performance artist.  I admire uniqueness and ingenuity and Sacha has that in spades.  I thought ‘Borat’ was one of the most unique and innovative comedies of the past decade.  So as much as I wanted to like this and as promising as the trailers appeared, I thought this was an incredibly weak movie.

I can’t quite put my finger on what I didn’t like as Cohen’s trademark ‘in-your-face’ sense of humor was present throughout, but overall there was something missing.  I even laughed often and sometimes hard, but the film just had an amateurish quality that, while it worked well in the ‘Borat’ documentary format, seemed to fall short in this film.  Maybe my hopes were too high, but several times I found myself looking at the time to see when this thing would end.

The premise was promising and timely;  Sacha plays Admiral General Aladeen of the oil rich North African nation of Wadiya.  The film opens with an amusing tribute; ‘In Loving Memory of Kim Jong Il’.  After that, it hilariously illustrates the extravagant lifestyle and upbringing of an out-of-touch North African dictator.  I was primed for a good movie.  While the jokes were offensive and over the top (just the way I like them), the film did not come together in a satisfying way.

Aladeen is summoned by the United Nations to talk about his nuclear program which Aladeen claims is only for peaceful purposes (Aladeen can never complete that sentence has he always bursts out laughing  before he finishes the claim).  His trusted uncle/advisor Tamir (played by a ‘slumming it’ Ben Kingsley) informs him that he must go address the United Nations or face the repercussions of the world militarily.  Aladeen goes to New York with plans to tell the world how it is. Little does he know that his secretly resentful uncle has made a deal with the oil companies and plans to replace Aladeen with a body double whom he will secretly control.

Aladeen escapes the kidnapping attempt, but not without losing his trademark beard.  He then wanders the streets of New York trying to convince everyone that he is the rightful ruler of Wadiya.  During a New York rally against his rule, he comes across a professional protester named Zoey (played spot on by Anna Faris).  Zoey hilariously exemplifies every stereotype of a left wing fanatic and some of the best scenes take place in her vegan grocery store that provides work and asylum for every political dissident she can find.  Aladeen reluctantly accepts her offer of employment until he can figure out a way to exact his revenge.

The jokes through out the film were insightful and spot on. No one is spared from Cohen’s observations and he skewers everything with his sharp insight.   The soliloquy at the end of the movie that ironically compares the United States system to a North African dictatorship was funny and accurate enough to make me uncomfortable, so artistic job well done.  Overall though, I didn’t feel the laughs were quality and it had the feel of a low rent night club act.  Sacha Baron Cohen is a gifted performance artist, but this one just missed the mark, even though the lampooning of the currently political environment was spot on.

It pains me, but I cannot recommend this film and give it * 1/2 stars  (the half star is for the intelligence and honesty of the lampoon).

Dark Shadows

Let me start off by saying that I was never a fan of the 1960’s cult gothic soap opera.  I really only knew about it through friends and the 5 mins or so I tried to watch before I turned the channel  (remember how we used to ‘turn’ the channel before how we now ‘change’ the channel?).  It's the story of the 18th century vampire Barnabas Collins who awakens in the 1970’s to the drama of the modern Collins family empire.  It was just one of those things I never connected with even though I recognized the faithful devotion of its’ fan base.

This is another Tim Burton/Johnny Depp collaboration and while I have immense respect for both, I am starting to grow weary of Burton’s Goth obsession.  When Edward Scissorhands came out (forgive me for overlooking Beetlejuice), Burton’s style was a new and unique artistic expression.  Now after more than twenty years of the same style and creepy format it has become ponderous.  HIs Goth cartoon style does not lend itself to the suspension of disbelief in character interaction and his gloomy atmospheres and characters that reek of adolescent angst are tired.  That being said, there are some positives I can say about the film.

The  foremost thing that stood out to me is that Burton did a more than admirable job capturing the spirit of the 1970’s.  Everything from the groovy soundtrack to a seaside Maine town that was authentically recreated with signs and storefronts of the time.  Also, judging from the trailers, I expected a much more campy movie, but I thought the film captured an effective level of dark creepiness and suspense befitting a gothic horror story.  Don’t get me wrong, this has Burton’s trademark outlandishness all over it, but it was tempered with some genuine eerie story telling.  Like all his stories, there are always creepy and misunderstood children at the story’s center (obsession from his childhood perhaps).

The premise of the story is that the wealthy 18th century  fishing Baron Barnabus Collins spurns the love of the servant girl Angelique (Eva Green).  This turns out to be a bad move as Angelique is also a practitioner of witchcraft.  In her spurned rage, she places a spell on Barnabus’s true love Victoria (played to delicate perfection by Bella Heathcote) that causes her to leap to her death.  Barnubus attempts to follow her into death by plunging off a cliff only to find that Angelique has cursed him to be a vampire.  Angelique leads a mob of villagers and imprison’s Barnubus in chains and buries him to be cursed forever in darkness.  Standard vampire story, right?

The year is now 1972 and a construction crew stumbles across the buried coffin and releases Barnubus from his centuries of slumber.  Barnabus rises in a world he no longer understands except that Angelique is still alive and trying to destroy what remains of the Collins family.  Family being everything to Barnabus, he reveals himself to the current Collins matriarch Elizabeth (played by the still stunning Michelle Pfeiffer) and pledges to restore the family to it’s former greatness.  His one distraction is that the new governess, Victoria bears an exact resemblance to his lost love centuries ago.  Gothic soap opera stuff, right?

The film goes for the predictable laughs and scenarios of a fish out of water character adapting to the modern world.  Some scenes work while others seem forced and as if he’s channeling Captain Jack Sparrow. The scene where he attacks the TV during a Karen Carpenter song exclaiming “Reveal yourself tiny songstress” was good for a smile, but it grew old quickly.  Also, the product placements like McDonalds and Shell were authentic, but were painfully obvious product placement.

The best thing I can say about this film is that I enjoyed it more than I expected given that I wasn’t a fan of the show, otherwise I have grown fatigued with Tim Burton.  It was paint by the numbers Burton, but somehow kept my interest with it’s Gothic plot.  A film that I won’t long remember, but I don’t feel like I wasted my time either.  

I rate this film ** stars.

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

        Lost in the noise and clamor of the epic Avengers movie this weekend, ‘The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel’ is an incredibly powerful and emotionally gratifying film that will not get the attention it’s due.  Suffering from the combination of a massive box office weekend for ‘The Avengers’ as well as an over 60 target audience, this will be a quiet gem that I hope will be discovered on DVD and not forgotten at Oscar time.

The ensemble cast contains some of the most respected names in British acting:  The incredible and elegant Judi Dench, the fantastically under appreciated Tom Wilkinson, the immensely watchable Bill Nighy, and the charming Maggie Smith.  There are many others of course and everyone involved brings their A-game to this moving and enjoyable film about a group of British retirees trying to make a life for themselves in a far away land.

None of these characters have anything in common other than that they are retiring and are looking for an affordable way to live their retirement.  They all come across a website extolling a retirement paradise in India called ‘The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel’.  Each makes the decision to take the plunge.  They all come together as they arrive at the airport in India.  Of course, it becomes apparent immediately the 3rd world paradise they were promised looked better in a brochure than in reality.

Everyone has their own story and personal baggage they bring with them.  I won’t go into the details of their individual stories as that is the charm of the film.  How they deal with this major life change reveals something about their past and who they are as people.  Everyone reacts differently.  Some positive, some negative, and some right in the middle.  It’s almost as if the culture shock augment who they were in their former lives.  As their stories are revealed to us we see the arcs and patterns of their lives and how all their paths led to this point in time.  It was powerfully executed.

Dev Patel (of Slumdog Millionaire fame) plays Sonny Kapoor, the entrepreneurial owner of the hotel, who is trying to resurrect his father’s dream of returning a once glorious hotel to life.  He is the black sheep son of an otherwise successful Indian family.  The hotel has charm, but it definitely has more problems than amenities.  He is desperate to make it a success as it’s the only way he feels he can gain independence from his mother and marry the woman he really wants and not the one arranged for him.  Dev gives a comedically manic performance as an owner who is barely one step above a fast talking con man.

The joy of this film is seeing how all these people, who have lived their entire lives in England, adapt and come to love their new adopted home land (most of them at least).  They evolve from people who dwell on their past and heartaches to ones that look with anticipation to the future.  It doesn’t idealize Indian life, rather it shows that by looking at something with a different perspective, it allows one to see ones self more clearly and honestly.  They come to grips with the heartaches of their lives and learn to let it go.  Instead of viewing this retirement place as the end of their lives, it becomes an exciting new adventure for them.  As Sonny keeps telling them: “Everything is all right in the end, so if it isn’t all right, it isn’t the end”.   It’s a great line and one that resonates throughout the film.

It is an absolute pleasure to see these actors in play.  Each actor is in varsity form and at the top of their craft. They show that despite their character’s worries in the film, they are still relevant and forces with which to be reckoned.  The film is story driven and it’s success or failure depends on the actor’s ability to connect with the audience.  For those that know me I will say something that will surprise you, but I felt that, as much as I loved ‘The Avengers’, this was the superior film.  ‘The Avengers’ was a fantastic visceral thrill ride and I loved every minute of it, but ‘The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel’ is a film that had a much stronger emotional impact.  It takes a look deep into the hearts of people that could, or possibly will be, any of us as we near the twilights of our lives.  It shows that no matter what the age, we never lose the ability to  change and grow.  People and situations will always come into our lives and have the ability to profoundly touch us.  There is no end in our personal stories, just the starting of new chapters.

I rate this film **** stars

The Avengers

Glorious!!  It’s the only word I can use to describe this unapologetic summer blockbuster.  As a childhood comic fan, I have a smug sense of revenge in that something that was looked upon with ridicule and aloofness by the mainstream throughout my childhood is now the most respected form of box office revenue and power.  Every year the topics about movies revolve around which superhero movie will be released and which big name will be starring in it.  Just a little more than a decade ago all superhero movies were B-movies (remember Dolph Ludgren as The Punisher or Roger Coreman’s never released Fantastic Four?).  Now Super Hero movies are almost guaranteed box office gold with scripts and talent to match their immense budgets.  These performances  even command and demand the respect of the Academy Awards (R.I.P. Heath Ledger).

The Avengers is an unprecedented epic and I don’t use that term gratuitously.  The Avengers is the culmination of five Marvel films over the last four years.  The 2008 ‘Iron Man’, followed by ‘The Hulk’, ‘Iron Man II’, ‘Thor’, and finally last summer’s ‘Captain America’ were all pieces of the puzzle that culminated in all of them gathering in this ensemble film called ‘The Avengers’.  Each film, like the comic book, had it’s own story and flavor and brought its’ unique magic to this film that is greater than even its’ impressive parts.   If you are even a partial comic or film fan, you have been eagerly building your anticipation for this film and The Avengers delivers on everything it promises.

Joss Wheldon was a surprise choice to direct this film given it’s size and scope.  He was best known for the ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ TV series, but he turned out to be a perfect choice and has just put his career into the A-list.  Wheldon manages to have an ensemble cast where each hero shares an equal burden of the story while managing to retain their uniqueness from their own film vehicles.  Not an easy feat.  Each character is given their time in the spotlight, but even after 2.5 hours, we are still wanting more.  The film deftly balances comedy in with the action and drama without ever spilling over into campiness. The action scenes are frequent and intense and yet blissfully free of jerking camera motions that all action films seem to use these days.  There is not a scene that is wasted and every moment has a meaning that is vital to the story.

I suppose one could say that the Avengers is a sequel to five different movies.  All the actors, save one, have returned to reprise their roles.  Mark Ruffalo is the third actor to take on the role of Dr Bruce Banner aka The Hulk.  This time I think they finally got it right as Ruffalo’s Banner ends up being one of the most interesting characters in the film and brings something darker to the role that neither Eric Bana or Edward Norton ever did  (that’s saying something given that those two are known for their dark roles).  Banner is mild mannered and low key in his nerdiness (is that a word?), but just underneath his calm exterior you can sense the darkness that resides within him.  It’s a perfectly understated and reserved performance that plays off nicely against Robert Downey Jr.’s over the top Tony Stark.

Now, the story itself:  We’ve been seeing hints of The Cosmic Cube (now identified as the Tesserac) in the last several films.  We know it is a mysterious object that contains potentially unlimited energy.  Director Nick Fury of the spy agency S.H.I.E.L.D  (played to cool perfection by Samuel L Jackson) keeps the source in a hidden fortified government facility.  The Cube is too powerful to keep hidden for long and attracts the attention of Loki,  Thor’s mischievous Norse brother.   Loki sees the Cube as a way to establish himself as ruler of Earth and make himself the King which he felt Thor robbed him of in Aesgard.  Recognizing the threat to the world, Nick Fury activates the dormant Avengers Initiative.  It’s the government’s plan to assemble the world’s superheroes into an elite fighting force.  

The problem is that with superheroes comes super egos and trying to get all these different personality types to work as a unit is near impossible.  Each is different and unique and used to going it alone.  Wheldon’s genius is that he does not sacrifice any of the character’s individuality in an effort to make them work as a team.  As the action mounts and the danger escalates, the Earth’s mightiest heroes band together and begin to work as a team.  You cheer for them as a group even more than you did for them in their individual films.  Hats off again to Wheldon for putting together this symphony of character interplay.

The two heroes without powers; Black Widow and Hawkeye (played by Scarlett Johansson and Jeremy Renner) were given equal time and respect and held their own in the storyline as well as the battle scenes.  Johanssan brings a dangerous beauty to the role of the Russian super spy Black Widow.  She is both sexy and lethal.  Renner was underutilized, but did a more than competent job in breathing life into a stale hero.  The two had a mysterious past that was hinted at and I wish could have been more fully explored, but hey, the film was already 2.5 hours and you have to leave the audience wanting more.  I thought Renner’s interpretation Hawkeye was much more interesting the comic book character ever was.

Chris Evans hit a perfect note as the All American square jawed  out-of-time super soldier Captain America.  The Captain is the epitome of a good soldier, but that doesn't mean he follows orders blindly. Despite being 70 years out of date, he ends up being the unofficial leader of the team.  No easy accomplishment as power wise, he is dwarfed by the likes of Thor, The Hulk, and Iron Man (respectively?).  Tony Stark's trademark sarcastic rants are still a joy to watch and Chris Hemsworth manages to keep Thor's Shakespearean quality even in the modern high tech surroundings.

No good super hero movie can thrive without an epic villain.  Tom Hiddleston gives us a diabolical and conniving Loki whose performance is almost on par with legendary film villain Hannibal Lector (played by Anthony Hopkins in ‘Silence of the Lambs’, who ironically also plays Loki’s father Odin in ‘Thor’ [small universe]).  Loki is more evil and cunning than his portrayal in ‘Thor’.  Gone is any trace of inner conflict or turmoil, which I actually enjoyed in the first film.  As Loki himself states at the beginning of the ‘The Avengers’ “I am burdened with glorious purpose”.  Much like Hannibal Lector, no matter what chaos is going on around him, you always get the feeling that it is exactly how Loki planned it.  I hope to see more of Hiddleston in other roles as I feel he is a great actor.

This film can be enjoyed by all audiences and Wheldon gives enough under the radar presents to leave the fanboy base with an unfounded sense of smug superiority. The questions that comic nerds argued about endlessly as kids are addressed here, like “Who is stronger; Thor or The Hulk?” or “Could Captain America’s shield survive a blow from Thor’s hammer?”   intellectual nirvana for the fanboy population.  I was worried that the film could not live up to the hype, but it did and in many ways surpassed it.  All future superhero movies will be measured by this one.  It’s an exciting film for people of all ages and all levels of understanding of the superhero world.  A great accomplishment that was worth the four year wait.

I rate this film **** stars

The Five Year Engagement

       I’ve said often that I’m not a fan of chick flicks.  I approached ‘The Five Year Engagement’ with some trepidation as that is what it appeared to be in the credits.  I saw that Judd Apatow produced this (creator of ‘Knocked up’ and ‘Forgetting Sarah Marshall’) film and that a lot of the actors from those films were in this one.  I decided to give it a chance.  I probably won’t admit this in public, but this was definitely a chick flick that I enjoyed.  The thing that saves most Apatow movies from being  chick flicks is their over the top guy humor.  This one has it’s moments of superficial humor, but it has a much more depth and honesty in examining the modern day love affair.

Tom (Jason Segal) meets Violet (Emily Blunt) at a costume party and one year later he proposes as he knows Violet is the love of his life.  With every intention of getting married, life keeps throwing Tom and Violet a series of curve balls that keeps them pushing off the wedding date.  This is a story of the times we live in as love exists, but so does life.  Both Tom and Violet have lives, but how do you make a life work together when your lives begin to travel down different paths?  Violet has a successful academic career while Tom is an up and coming chef in San Francisco.  In modern day relationships, men are expected to acquiesce to the woman’s wishes and Tom gives up his chef career to pursue Violet’s job at the University of Michigan.   It’s a 2 year appointment and they agree to come back to San Francisco afterwards to pick up Tom’s career where it left off.

Tom puts on a good face, but as his dreams are far from realized in Ann Arbor compared  to San Francisco, he becomes resentful of Violet’s success and of his own hourly wage existence.  I know this sounds heavy, but the laughs are genuine and frequent and I was actually touched by the level of love and caring between Tom and Violet as they begin to panic as they realize their lives are heading down different paths.  What compounds their frustration is that Tom’s simpleton and embarrassing best friend and Violet’s English tart of a sister (Chris Pratt and Allison Brie) find unlikely love at Tom and Violet’s engagement party and seem to have marital bliss.  One note of complaint:  I want to see a romance movie where the best friends aren't 'quirky' or 'zany'.  The cliche gets a little tiresome after seeing it every time.

Unlike most films of this genre, 'The Five Year Engagement' doesn’t rely on conflict for its’ laughs or false depth.  In fact, Tom and Violet do everything in their power to avoid conflict and that is some of the problem.  They care for each other, they communicate, and they genuinely want only the best, but what do you do when your paths in lives diverge in a way that even the person you love can’t make you happy?  The inevitable break-up is not one of anger and yelling, rather of sorrow and failure.  

Tom goes back to San Francisco and as new relationships who seem better suited to their lifestyle enter both their lives, their thoughts always return back to each other  Both seem to grow professionally and personally in their new relationships, but they never capture the magic of what they had with each other.  I won’t go into how the story is resolved, but I just thought that the film handled the very difficult and modern problem of making a life work together in a mature and insightful way.  The film was at it’s best when it didn’t provide easy answers.

As I read back over this, I feel I am over looking that this was a comedy and a funny one at that.  It was just a comedy with some depth and maybe that’s why I‘m focusing so much on that aspect.  It’s a great date movie if for nothing else than to spark some conversation if you are planning on going down the marriage route.

I will give this movie a tenuous 3 stars.  Not Apatow’s best, but definitely the most honest.  Extra points for a cool Van Morrison soundtrack as well.

*** stars