Hall Pass

Hall Pass

            The war between the Farrley Bros and Judd Apatow, two directors (I consider the Farrley  Bros one) that share a similar approach to comedies, is on.  They both develop their movies the same way; R-rated shock humor (mostly in bad taste), that is underlined with a certain wholesome sweetness to the characters as well as some insightful observations of the human condition.  The winner?  We are.  I love both these directors.  It appears Hall Pass is getting mixed reviews, but if you are a fan of the Farrelly Bros (Something about Mary and, Me, Myself, and Irene), then you know exactly what you are getting.  Personally, it’s my kind of humor.

            The concept is that after 20 years of marriage, 2 wives grant their delusional husbands a week off of marriage to prove that they aren’t missing out on anything.  In other words; a Hall Pass.  One of the great things about being married is that men can convince themselves that they are still studs, if only it weren’t for the wives cramping their style.  Little do they realize, the gradual neutering and domestication that has taken its’ toll on them as time marches on.  Their recollection of their youth becomes clouded as they remember being much more of ladies men than they actually were and the passage into middle age has made the reality even worse.

            Of course, like with most films of the ‘men vs women’ variety, the men come across as the buffoons and the women are portrayed as putting up with their insanity.  Rick (Owen Wilson) plays uncool so well it’s almost cool and Fred (SNL player Jason Sudeikis) plays the affable every man sidekick who can’t figure out why everyone considers him ‘portly’.  Maggie (Jenna Fischer) and Grace (Christina Applegate) play their roles as attractive yet still soccer mommish wives with great perturbed comedic timing.  Of course, they are pursued by impossibly attractive men during the Hall Pass despite their reluctance.

            The rest of the cast is populated by the Farrley Bros trademark use of Felliniesque style  cartoonish characters.  All freakish, yet somehow familiar in our everyday life.  We feel guilty at laughing at these character’s bizarre absurdities, but we can’t keep ourselves from laughing.  We think; ‘that is so wrong’ and then console ourselves that we will feel guilty later for laughing at these people.

The laughs come from seeing these men enter the world of freedom with no idea how square they are.  They are torn whether Applebee’s or the Olive Garden is the best place to meet available young women on a Friday night.  One friend, irritated by their naiveté, tells them that of course Chili’s is the only real place to meet women.  As 9:30pm rolls around they pack it up and vow to try again the next night. 

Again, the goal through-out this movie is shock humor and each gag becomes more outrageous than the last.  Some are so outrageous that I won’t even hint at what they are here. At some point, I wondered how this didn’t get the long defunct NC-17 rating.  Not to contradict myself, but the use of gratuitous nudity or sex gags is somehow not gratuitous in the Farrelly Bros films.  Gratuity is what they go for.

I will say, despite my previous comment about the lopsidedness of the ‘men vs women’ portrayal, each of the players deal with temptation in their own way and each trial, no matter what the outcome, draws us closer to the characters for their innate goodness.

It is hilarious and interesting where the Farrley Bros find so many incredibly attractive women.  Leigh (Nicky Whelan) the Aussie barista is like no barista I have ever seen.  I wondered if that is how she really looks or just how Rick perceives her to look given his tortured monogamous lifestyle.  His children’s babysitter (Alexandra Daddario) also meeting every cliché of a beguiling Lolita siren.

I walked out of this movie in no way thinking it will be a classic or even memorable, but I will say that I laughed continuously and thought that the feel good wholesomeness of the ending was my penance for all the ‘so wrong, but oh so right’ humor that I felt guilty enjoying

I rate this ***



Unknown

Unknown

           Unknown is a classic suspense thriller.  Unfortunately, what makes it classic is that it is filled with all those clichés that at one time were interesting, but after having seen them recycled innumerous times you can’t get past that necessary ‘suspension of disbelief’ that it takes to lose yourself in a film.

            I will say that I find Liam Neeson one of the most dependable and classic actors in films.  He can play all types of roles and always delivers.  And, despite my misgivings about this film, he delivers the solid performance he was hired for. He plays the traumatized Dr. Martin Harris, an American physician whose wife accompanies him on a bio-technology conference in Berlin.  Upon checking into a hotel, Dr Harris realizes he left a briefcase at the airport.  In the cab ride back to the airport, a horrible accident puts him into a coma from which he wakes up four days later.  He finds that despite imperfect recall of who he is and his life, no one else knows him…including his wife.  He finds that another man (Adian Quinn) has stepped into his life as Dr. Martin Harris.  No one, including his wife and friends, realize he is who he says.  He sets out to remember what happened and how his life was taken from him.

            This film is one of those twist and turn plot movies where as soon as we figure out what is happening another curve ball is thrown.  It was done in formulaic fashion.  I don’t think this next comment is a plot spoiler as I think you can derive this from the trailer, but this is a conspiracy movie.  I guess what kept going through my mind in every scene was how impossible the conspiracy was.  So many precise events had to happen in an exact Machiavellian sequence that it would be impossible for anyone or any agency to plot that exactly.  Any small variable or variance would cause the whole plan to collapse.  Then there were the DaVinci style trail of clues and secret codes he had to crack to lead himself to the truth.  The leaps he makes in logic were improbable at best.  Somehow, after a traumatic head injury, he figures out that a series of numbers in the back of a book he possessed really spelled out something in Latin which he deduced was a passcode to a computer file.  That is some Mensa level deduction. 

            Then of course the clichés:  Amnesia, something everyone who gets in an accident comes down with. The cab driver who rescues him is an impossibly beautiful illegal immigrant (Diane Kruger, remember her as the German starlet in ‘Inglorious Basterds?) named Gina.  Aren’t all illegal immigrant cab drivers runway models? They didn’t even try to frump her up.  She was stunning.  Then somehow Dr. Harris is a Daytona 500 level driver as he goes through lengthy car chases in a city he has never been in.  I have to tell you, that every time I go five miles over the speed limit in a construction zone, I get pulled over.  Apparently, in Germany, it’s possible to have extended car chases that destroys property, causes numerous car pile-ups, and demolishes infrastructure and public transportation and not a siren is heard.  The cliché that really caught my attention is when he was looking for a name in a phone book at a phone booth.  He finds the name and tears out the page.  This may not seem like a big deal to people my age or older, but when was the last time you saw a phone booth let alone a phone book in a phone booth?  The phone book page tear is so 1990’s and before. 

            Despite all my complaints, this was a good popcorn movie.  It’s like getting a favorite meal at a chain restaurant.  You enjoy it, but you’re not going to call anyone up and say; “You won’t believe the ‘Italian Pasta Trio’ I had at The Olive Garden tonight”.  Frank Langella, much like Liam Neeson, always brings a level of class and credibility to any movie.  January Jones, as Liam’s wife, delivers a solid, if uninspired, performance as his confused and conflicted wife. 

            Maybe I’m jaded because I’ve seen so many movies, but there was nothing that I haven’t seen before.  If you have an afternoon to kill and there is nothing else on, it will make a good matinee.  Otherwise, wait for the DVD.

I rate this: **

           



2011 Oscar Predictions and Results



The results are in and it wasn't my best year:  I was 4 for 6

Okay everyone,

It's Feb 13th and I am making my offical prediction for the 2011 Oscars.

In 2009 I was 4 for 5 (I still think Mickey Rourke was robbed)
In 2010 I was 5 for 5

I predict Best Picture, Actor, Actress, Supporting Actor, and Supporting Actress.  I always cop out and don't try to predict the Director.  Too hard for me. I've decided to step up like a big boy and add that to my list of predictions this year.  I am entitled to make modifictations up until the night before the Oscars, but I will notate any changes in a colored font.  I'm changing some on Friday 25 Feb at 8am.  Changes in Green

My Predictions:

Best Picture:     (Picked it) The King's Speech;  I thought it was going to be The Social Network, but the heat seems to be with this movie.

Best Actor:       (Picked it )Colin Firth for The King's Speech... it's about time Colin.  We can finally forget about Bridget Jone's Diary.

Best Actress:    (Picked it) Natalie Portman for Black Swan.  I would have liked to say Annette Benning, but I think it will be Natalie

Best Supporting Actor:  (Picked it) Christian Bale for the Fighter.  It could just as easily be Geoffery Rush for the King's Speech, but "Please, please, please let it be Christian Bale".  I know he is a hot headed overbearing actor, but he was so good in that movie.

Best Supporting Actress:  (Missed it, but Melissa Leo did a great job. I'm holding no grudges)  Hailee Stienfeld for True Grit is now my pick, don't ask me why, but that's my gut feeling.  Helena Bohnam Carter  for the King's Speech.  Please don't let it be Hailee Steinfeld.  I hate when kids get Oscars.

Best Director:  (Missed it, should have stuck with my first choice) David Arfonsky for Black Swan; if it were anyone other than the Acadenmy chosing I would pick Tom Hooper, but something tells me Black Swan.   Tom Hooper  for The King's Speech

Biutiful

         Biutiful

         Okay, before I get to the actual review, let me just say that I think Javier Bardem is one of the coolest actors today.  He was cool as a psychotic killer in ‘No Country for Old Men”, he was cool as a seducer in “Vicky, Cristina, Barcelona” and he’s just an all around cool guy.  The camera loves this guy.  Antonio Banderas (and Penelope Cruz of course) is the last Spaniard to make it big in the American cinema, but I think Javier has it all over Antonio.  He doesn’t have Antonio’s pretty boy good-looks, rather he has a rugged unique face.  He has a facial intensity that you just can’t turn away from…did I mention I think he’s cool? He radiates cool and hipness.

            Now the movie:  I’m going to alienate most people with this line… this is a sub-titled movie.  Any one left?

            I wish I could say you were wrong on this one.  “Biutiful” is a movie that fits every stereotype that Americans have about sub-titled movies.  Europeans chide Americans for their need to have feel good endings to their movies, but there is the other side of the coin.  European cinema is sometimes obsessed in creating the most tragic films they are able.  Each director measures his/her artistic ability by trying to “out tragedy” other films.  Well director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu wins.  He has created the most tragic film ever created.  Poverty? Check. Yelling, screaming, and crying? Check. depressed bi-polar wife? Check. Selling his soul for money job? Check. Tragic death? Check.  Mass tragic death? Check.  What more could make this possibly more depressing?  Oh yeah, the lead character is dying from cancer and has 3 months to live which will leave his two young children homeless!  Check.

            I tried to find some other reviews to get a sense what this movie was about.  I couldn’t find many and the ones I did find all seemed to have a different opinion on what the movie was about.  Here goes my version… This movie follows the life of a man named Uxbal.  He makes his meager living in the fringes of Spain’s underworld off of illegal immigrant labor.  Having discovered he has 3 months to live he seeks a path of redemption as his life collapse around him.  He fights to come to grips with the life he has led. The film is circular and ends where it starts. 

            Uxbal is not inherently evil.  He loves his two children, even if he has a bit of a temper with them.  Despite the fact that his ex-wife’s bi-polar promiscuous ways disgust him, he still loves her.  For all intents and purpose, his cut from selling illegal immigrant labor makes him a slave trader, but he still cares for the people he works with and tries to help where he can.  One Chinese immigrant even babysits his children.  Uxbal’s primary concern when he learns he is dying is to tie up all the loose ends of his life and leave his children provided for.  His parents died when he was young and he barely remembers them.  He is heartbroken that the same fate will befall his children.

            The movie follows Uxbal on this journey; however, tragedy starts to pile on his already collapsing life.  Instead of tying up loose ends, the entire fabric of his life starts to unravel.  Each tragedy is bigger than the previous one.  How much tragedy can a dying man take?  The answer?  Quite a lot apparently.  If his life story wasn’t tragic enough the movie explores the life of some of the Chinese and African illegal immigrants.  Their lives are tragic too.

            This was the longest 2 hours 18 minutes that I can remember.  The movie just wouldn’t end no matter how much I wanted it to.  Every year there is always that one foreign film that the Oscars nominate.  I think pretentious people say they like these types of films to try and make themselves seem sophisticated.  I know this is very judgmental of me, but I can think of no other reason this film would be nominated.  Sure taste is subjective, but I really don’t see how anyone can ‘enjoy’ this film.  I lose patience with cliché happy endings in movies as much as any hi-brow pretentious cinemaphile, but come on, Alejandro … Lighten up!

            I’ve known a few Spaniards in my travels and they’ve all seemed extremely cool.  Almost without exception.  Maybe it’s something in the water.  I just wish their films would follow suit.

I rate this:  zero stars 

I highly recommend you don’t see this film.

Cedar Rapids

Cedar Rapids

          After all the serious Oscar movies, it is nice just to see a fun movie.  That’s what Cedar Rapids is… fun and funny.  The Director, Miguel Arteta, has a love of small towns and the people who inhabit them.  Most of his films take place in small town America.  ‘Youth in Revolt’ and ‘The Good Girl’ were dark movies with just a slight comedic edge and explored the psyche of small town America.  Cedar Rapids is a full-fledged comedy, however; that doesn’t mean that there aren’t profound insights to be found.

            Miguel Artega pokes, prods, and makes fun of all the typical things we make fun of about small town America.  No joke or stereotype is too cliché, but you can tell he does it with love and affection.  Neither the Director nor the script looks down upon these characters.  They are fully fleshed out human beings.  You can tell Miguel loves the naiveté and genuineness displayed by these characters.  There’s something gratifying about their lack of worldliness.

            Tim Lippe (Ed Helms in his first starring role) is an insurance salesman who has never left his small town of Brown Valley, Wisconsin.  In fact, he is so sheltered that, at the age of 34, has just started to have sex and the woman just happens to be his newly divorced former 6^th grade teacher (played hilariously by Sigourney Weaver).  Life is going  great for Tim until the Agency’s star spokesman and Tim’s hero, Roger Lemke (Reno:911’s Thomas Lennon playing the slickster perfectly), dies in an embarrassing auto-erotic asphyxiation accident (is there any other kind).  The Agency’s boss, Bill Krogstad (played by the fantastic character actor, Stephen Root [I can’t wait until he’s a household name]) is in a panic.  Roger Lemke was always the Agency’s representative at the annual ASMI convention in Cedar Rapids and has brought home the prestigious ‘2 Star Diamond’ award for the last 4 years.  Krogstad has reservations about Lippe, but decides to send him anyway.  His send off speech to him; “Tim, when you where 16 yrs old, I thought that here was a kid who was going to go places and then somehow, you just didn’t… don’t let me down”. 

            Miguel Arteta takes much delight showing Lippe’s wide-eyed wonder as he leaves his town for the first time and goes to the most debaucherous sin city of the mid-west; Cedar Rapids, IA.  Lippe even finds the airport security line to be exciting.  He is giddy as he checks into his hotel that has an atrium and small triangle indoor pool.  Every step of the way he calls his girlfriend/teacher to extol the virtues of the big city.  He notes the chlorine-perfumed atrium, the crystal blue hotel pool and fake potted palm trees that are everywhere.  He excitedly exclaims; “I feel like I’m in Barbados’.  The smallest things that we all take for granted delight Lippe to no end.  He finds everything "Awesome".  When the flight attendant gives him a second bag of honey roasted peanuts..."Super Awesome"

            It is here we meet the rest of the cast.  His roommate is Ronald Wilkes (Isiah Whitlock, Jr) a black man who is probably the most straight-laced guy at the conference.  Lippe panics and calls his girlfriend/teacher; “Honey, there is an Afro-American in my room”.  Once he overcomes his shock, they become fast friends. Joan Ostrowski-Fox (played with world-weary beauty by Anne Heche) is a married insurance agent who looks forward to the annual convention to escape her dreary family life.  I’ve always thought of Anne Heche as a bit flaky, but she really pulls off her role.  You can really see the sadness behind her party exterior.  Her life didn’t turn out as she planned. “What happens in Cedar Rapids stays in Cedar Rapids” she confides at one point.  Finally there is Dean ‘Deanzie’ Ziegler, played by John C. Riley channeling the best Bill Murray performances.  He’s loud, smug, sleazy, and inappropriate.  He’s a self styled party machine who steals every scene he is in.  His strategy for winning debates: “Volume, proximity, and attitude”.  Even the short skirted prostitute Bree (Arrested Development’s Alia Shawcat) who stands outside the hotel has an innocent charm.  Lippe is so naïve that he doesn’t realize she is a prostitute.   He takes it at face value when she asks if he wants to party.  He replies that maybe he will run into her at the party in the hotel lounge.

            This movie is sweet, charming, raunchy, and dirty all at the same time.  The characters play in perfect ensemble and we laugh at things we recognize in our everyday life.  Everyone is funny, but Reilly is over the top hilarious with his raunchiness.  Every time he opens his mouth you can’t believe what comes out even though you are braced for it.  I didn’t realize how much I missed that Bill Murray style of slob comedy.

            Ultimately, this movie is an affectionate, comedic look at small town America and a lampoon of the insurance business.  Everything we see is familiar and relatable.  The more we recognize and relate, the harder we laugh.

            This is a funny insightful comedy with a perfect cast.

           

I rate this... wait for it "Super Awesome"  ****

           

Justin Bieber: Never Say Never

Psych!!!!! 

I can't believe you would think I would see this film.  Shame on you for even looking at this review.

Winter's Bone

Winter’s Bone

Winter’s Bone was another one of those films that debuted quietly last summer and did very little at the box office.  The critics loved it, but a combination of a dreary and ambiguous trailer (in the summer, people want to see blockbusters, not heavy movies) and an odd title (same thing that hampered Shawshank Redemption when it first came out) conspired to keep this movie obscure and forgotten.

            Still, the movie was powerful enough to catch the attention of the Oscars and it was nominated for both Best Picture and Best Actress.  I can say, with almost certainty, that it will win neither.  This is not to say it wasn’t a good film, but the mojo just isn’t there.

            Winter’s Bone is a story about a poverty stricken family in the Ozark’s.  I think critics love these extreme poverty tales as quintessentially American and tend to give more credit than is deserved, but don’t get me wrong this is a worthwhile film.  17 year old Ree Dolly (Jennifer Lawrence) is, for all intents and purposes, the head of her family.  The father is absent and the mother’s depression is so severe that she is incapacitated.  Ree dreams of joining the Army and providing a better life for her younger brother and sister.  The challenge comes when the Sheriff shows up on her doorstep looking for her father who has skipped bail.  Ree could care less about the whereabouts of her father, but unfortunately for them, the father put the house and property up as collateral.  Suddenly, Ree is faced with the possibility of facing eviction and having no way to care for the family.  She is already relying on the charity of the neighbors for food.

            Ree sets out to find her father.  She must  untangle the trail of lies and a code of silence from a community she is a part of.  While everyone has sympathy, the code of kin is even stronger and she risks her life pushing boundaries that no one wants crossed. 

            It’s a fascinating look at the state of mountain people in today’s world.  Where in previous generations, the illegal activity was moonshine, it is now trailer meth labs.  They need to hunt for their food which consists of squirrel and deer (do you want that stewed or fried they ask) all the while talking on cell phones.  They live in dilapidated log housing that have satellite dishes out front.  The banjo and the violin are still their main source of music and family entertainment.

            Jennifer Lawrence gives a quiet and powerful performance as a child who is forced to take on grown-up responsibility.  While it’s a fascinating performance for its’ unflinching look at hill life, I don’t think this is an Oscar level performance.  It’s just a movie to be immensely proud of. 

            An overlooked performance in this film is John Hawkes, who plays her meth-ridden, cocaine addicted Uncle Teardrop.  The man oozes redneck creepiness and danger, but as the story progresses ends up being her moral compass and protector.  Try pulling that off without being contrite, but the director Debra Granick somehow finds a way.  Teardrop is a reprehensible human being, but when all have abandoned Ree, he is there.  And that says something.

            I will say the movie is very slow and, even though it is an intriguing detective story, I wouldn’t call it riveting.  If nothing else it is an unflinching look at mountain life.  It’s hard, secretive, and brutal, but the redeeming, unwavering values of kin (I love using that word) and community is the balance.  Neighbors look out for each other.  Protecting the family is everything whether they are right or wrong.  They survive together and support each other.  It’s easy to look down upon this life, but they demonstrate valuable lessons that everyone should respect.

            Jennifer Lawrence is not an actress who displays a lot of charisma (which is perfect for this role).  Even though she is being nominated, I’m not sure she will go on to be a force to be reckoned with.  Of course, I thought the same thing about Jennifer Jason Leigh and, as she matured, her abilities grew and she has a resume to be respected (even if she isn’t a household name).  I think Jennifer Lawrence has a chance for that type of career.  Low-key, respectable, consistent.

I give this movie:  ***

A good and worthwhile movie, but can be slow and ponderous, especially if you watch it at home.