Here’s a series of short reviews I’ve had
the time to sit down and write. These will be my last reviews of the year, but
that doesn't mean I'm quite done with the year yet. I still have plenty more to
say about certain films, and it helps that until The Monuments Men comes out,
there's nothing being released that interests me. In a few days, I'll be
getting around to a couple of special features I plan on doing. One will be the
list of the worst films I've seen all year, and one will be of the best I've
seen all year, so I hope you'll join me for those in the future.
August: Osage County:
Where to begin? This seemed like it might have been a fantastic
film. A film written by Pulitzer Prize winning playwright Tracy Letts, and
featuring a cast that includes Meryl Streep, Julia Roberts, Chris Cooper, Ewan
McGregor, Margo Martindale, Juliette Lewis, Benedict Cumberbatch, this sounds like
absolute GOLD! How could this go wrong? As it turns out, it doesn’t go so much “wrong”
as it is just uncontainable. This film definitely runs all over the place, from
its awkward editing, the overly wordy script, to the hit or miss performers.
Oddly enough, one of these happens to be Meryl Streep. No doubt that Streep is
an actress of legendary status, but she gives one seriously hammy performance. Not
that I can’t appreciate a little ham, but this is seriously over the top - and incredibly self-aware - to the
point that she can’t even have a meal without visible teeth marks on all the
furniture in the background. I find myself drawn to the more low key
performances (Or, at least, low key for THIS movie) from the likes of Julia
Roberts, Julianne Nicholson, Chris Cooper, and Benedict Cumberbatch. One thing
that can be said of the actors, however, is that they all knock it out of the
park during that epic dinner scene halfway through. Now, if only the rest of
the film lived up to those standards…
**1/2 / *****
The Book Thief:
Set in World War 2 era Germany, The Book Thief tells the
story of a young girl moving in with her new foster parents, learning to read
through many books she comes across, and creating a friendship with a young
Jewish man taking refuge from the Nazis in her new home. It’s a delicate and beautifully
crafted film to be certain, but one that does feel very predictable. I’ve said
before that just because something is predictable doesn’t mean it’s bad, but
the story feels especially by the numbers, and for a film of this subject
matter, you do get the feeling that they’re playing things very safe. At least
the performances of the cast make it all worth the experience, especially from
those of Sophie Nelisse and Geoffrey Rush. Also, anything featuring a score by
the legendary John Williams comes with my immediate recommendation.
*** /
*****
Dallas Buyers Club:
I’m beginning to think Matthew
McConaughey never sleeps. On top of having a banner year in 2012 with Magic
Mike, Killer Joe, and Bernie, his sudden career resurgence continued in 2013
with Mud, The Wolf of Wall Street, and Dallas Buyers Club. Not to mention that
he has Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar lined up in November, but I’m getting
ahead of myself now. In Dallas Buyers Club, McConaughey, in as much a
transformative role as ever, plays Ron Woodruff, a homophobic, drug-addicted
Texas man who, in 1985, was diagnosed with HIV and given thirty days to live.
When a drug called AZT failed to help his
condition, he turned to smuggling anti-viral medications unapproved by the FDA,
creating the Dallas Buyers Club, where for a monthly subscription, AIDS
patients would be welcome to all the medication they required. A wonderful
character study throughout, the depiction of Woodruff is hypnotic from the very
beginning. Benefitting from an excellently written script and superb direction,
Matthew McConaughey delivers what is, hands down, the best performance of his
career. While the film may paint him as a heroic figure, it’s not always in the
traditional way.
While he can be quite witty, and noble in
getting his cause off the ground, he can also be a real douchebag, at least,
initially, especially when his help extends only to those who can pay up for
the medication. It’s here where his behavior can be absolutely repulsive, and
yet, we still manage to be won over by him by the time the film even ends. It’s
a gradual evolution that feels affecting without being overly sentimental, and
McConaughey nails every nuance with perfection. Not to be forgotten is Jared
Leto as Rayon, a transgender who helps Woodruff in his day-to-day routine
deals, and pretty much steals every scene he’s in. Working as a heartfelt
antithesis to McConaughey’s initially foul personality, Leto works as a witty,
charming, but also tragic character. Oscars for one, or both of them, please!
****1/2 / *****
Inside Llewyn Davis:
Inside Llewyn Davis, along with being one of the better
films of the Brothers Coen, Joel and Ethan, is perhaps their most touching one
yet. The writing is sorrowful, but still very elegant and timeless, much like
the wonderful folk music used throughout the film. The character of Llewyn, so
caught up by his repetitive lifestyle (repetitive in a good way), and played
terrifically by Oscar Isaac, just pours his heart into these songs, and you can
feel every ounce of anguish with each note. Not every character he comes in
contact with is all that interesting (though, that's rarely the case), but the
performers are so well casted here (including a very poignant appearance from
F. Murray Abraham), and the use of the numerous songs are just heartbreaking.
The sound mix is amazing!
****1/2 / *****
Lone Survivor:
I have no doubt that Lone Survivor means
a lot to director Peter Berg, and is a marked improvement over his
unintentionally hysterical Battleship, but the writing here is weak. I want to
love this story more than I do, but it feels quite clichéd, the jingoism and
near-patriotism propaganda are distracting, and I just wasn't invested in the
characters. Don't get me wrong, the actors are all trying very hard, but I feel
like I learnt nothing about or from them, and they have virtually no identity.
I kept identifying characters by the actors playing them, and that's never
good.
However, this is a movie where execution
does help. Even if the writing is weak, Berg's direction is competent, and very
well balanced. The pace at which the movie moves (and this thing really does
move) is great, especially in the action heavy second half. The numerous,
visceral shootout scenes are pretty prolonged, but they're not "breathless"
per se. Berg knows when to take a break, and let a scene breathe, even if it's
not for very long, but it fits given the state of the characters. They're shot
well, and they sound fantastic. The sound mix is very traditional, but very
well executed, balancing all the audio out excellently, and highlighting one of
the year's most impressive achievements in sound editing (and given sound
designer Wylie Stateman's enviable pedigree, such a thing is hardly
surprising).
*** / *****
The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones:
…
Why should I even bother?
* / *****
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty:
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, directed
by and starring Ben Stiller as the title character, a frequent day-dreamer who
goes on a cross-global expedition to locate a world renowned and secretive
photographer, is something of a mixed experience for me. First things first,
this is definitely a heartwarmer. When I look at the beautiful photography and
visual effects work, the sentimental but sincere tone, and the wondrously epic
scope of the story, I can tell that Stiller is pouring his heart and soul into
this film. However, I just don't think it all connects together as well as it
should. I think the movie feels so at odds with itself tone-wise. This doesn't
necessarily come from the zone-out sequences (which did give me quite a good
laugh when Walter would snap back into reality), but a hefty chunk of the comic
relief (specifically with Patton Oswalt's off-screen EHarmony employee) feel
mismatched.
I don't think the characters Walter comes
in contact with are always interesting (Adam Scott, who I love, couldn't have been
any more one-note), although a big scene featuring Sean Penn was absolutely
wonderful. The story has so much uplifting ambition, even if it doesn't fully
realize that vision. Don't get me wrong, the substance is there, and they do
take time out of the film to address it, but at the end of the day, as
enjoyable as it may be, Stiller falls short of the mark. At the very least, he
took the phrase "go big, or go home" to heart.
*** / *****
The Wolf of Wall Street:
“Beware of his heart of gold. This heart
is cold. He loves only gold.”
There is no better way to describe the
lead character of The Wolf of Wall Street, Jordan Belfort, than with these lines
from Shirley Bassey’s theme song from Goldfinger. A long anticipated release
from the incomparable Martin Scorsese, and perhaps some of the most fun I’ve had
with any movie of 2013, the film raises many questions. “What lies behind the
fascination of such massive con artists?” “Are these actions just doomed to
keep repeating over and over?” “How do the James Bond films keep working their
way into my reviews so long after my retrospective has concluded?”
This is one of the most graphic, immoral, and ridiculous
movies I've ever seen... And yet, why could I never stop watching? I guess a
lot of that is due to the very satirical tone that the direction and writing
employs. For instance, simply watching Belfort’s dinner scene with Matthew
McConaughey’s character immediately gives you an idea of the vibe they’re going
for. It’s unapologetic in its unpleasant nature, and is all the better for it,
and highlights one of the movie’s strongest thematic ideals of excess, showing how,
after all the fun dies down, this level of excess eventually makes Belfort more
miserable as his lust continues to grow, and with seemingly no way to satisfy
it.
Among the movie’s best elements is the character of Jordan
Belfort. He's what I consider to be an unlikable character done right. He's so
crude, repulsive, reckless, deceitful, and all around one of the most
despicable characters ever put on screen, but somehow, both screenwriter
Terence Winter, and Leonardo DiCaprio somehow make him extremely charismatic, and
hysterical. He knows he's a heartless beast, and he loves EVERY minute of it.
Of course, DiCaprio - continuing what I thought of his Django performance last
year - relishes in chewing the scenery, and gets completely lost in the role. A
late scene where he's high on Quaaludes is an incredible showcase of physical
acting, and perhaps one of the most uncomfortable, yet funniest sequences I’ve
seen in any movie this year. Those first two hours are such a rush, much to the
credit of Scorsese’s longtime colleague Thelma Schoonmaker, but the third hour
is where the movie starts to drag. It's the first time that I ever noticed the
length of the film, and it is where the whole experience seems to crumble under
its own weight. Still, it wasn't enough to destroy my immense enjoyment.
****1/2 / *****
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