DJANGO UNCHAINED, ZERO DARK 30, FRANCINE, LES MIZ again, and OSCAR NOMINATIONS!!!!

I always approach Quentin Tarentino films with much trepidation, knowing that from experience they will be alternately profane, violent, amusing, creative, energetic, outrageous, musical and perhaps tedious at times.  His newest film DJANGO UNCHAINED is right up there with his most (see adjective above and insert here) films.  I must say that I loved the first 90 minutes very very much, for its audacious plot/script, that has a German bounty hunter (Christoph Waltz) teaming up with a freed slave (Jamie Foxx) in search of the well paying bounty hunting of white criminals that seem to end up exploiting slaves on Southern plantations.  The film is an extreme black revenge fantasy, and in spite of it's lurid moments and bizarre humor, the film is intelligently entertaining.  But the final third, set on the plantation of an over the top sadistic slave master played with gleeful abandon by Leonardo DiCaprio and his faithful overseer of the slaves Samuel L. Jackson at his ornery, witty mode changes the mood to a more brutal tone.   The violent climax features buckets of abstract red blood splattered copiously far and wide and the greatest explosive pyrotechnics that Hollywood can provide.  (Quentin Tarentino, in a small cameo role, gets a spectacular exit.)  If you're in the mood, it's a hoot.  If not, it can dampen your pleasure in the film.  Still, I WAS NOT BORED, and give the film snaps for creativity and entertainment value given the melodramatic subject matter.  You've never seen anything like this.      GRADE--------B+

ZERO DARK 30 played for me much like director Katheryn Bigelow's previous Oscar winner THE HURT LOCK from a couple years ago---technically proficient, some intense scenes, competent actors, but rather clinical in it's approach to the story--this time the hunt for and killing of Osama Bin Laden.  There is also some use of a hand held camera which I detest--at least it is not used as intensely as some films that have been ruined by excessive motion--(LES MISERABLES, END OF SHIFT come quickly to mind.....)
I've been enjoying Jessica Chastain for the last two years---she's appeared in over 6 roles, most effectively in THE HELP last year.  Here she is portraying someone who is work obsessed, clinical, determined, driven---but with no back story, she's not very intriguing.  The final 45 minutes is the most interesting, as the mission goes into effect and is played out probably as accurately as the bits of news we witnessed on TV gave us.  Over all the film is intelligent in a clinical manner--there's nothing to engage our sympathies, however.       GRADE--------B 

I finally saw LES MISERABLES again, this time at a much better theatre, and while the earlier assessment is accurate for me, at least the foreheads and chins of the actors were not cut off and the hand held camera work and the "way to many closeups" were not quite so annoying.  I've been humming the score for several weeks now, and not a bad score to hum.     GRADE-------B

Screened at the recent Vancouver Intl Film Festival in October, the modest film FRANCINE features a fine performance by Melissa Leo as a recently released convict who has trouble relating to people but, we think at first, seems able to relate to animals.  She works at an animal shelter, feeding and washing and adopting animals, until towards the end of the short 70 minute feature, we realize her home has become a hoarders nightmare of dozens of animals, with food and liter covering nearly every inch of her home.  As usual, Miss Leo is fascinating, and the film wouldn't exist without her layered and compelling nuances.       GRADE--------B


Watched on DVD----------------------------

The final installment of the DRAGON TATTOO TRILOGY is called THE GIRL WHO KICKED THE HORNET'S NEST and it is a compelling and satisfying mystery thriller that ties up most of the loose ends and brings some closure to the characters that make up the nearly 9 hour Swedish TV series that was made into 3 film for the US viewers.  I watched the Extended Version, and while there is not a lot of crucial scenes that were missing from the theatrical version, it was interesting to see some of the scenes that weren't there--usually adding some clarification to the drama, and there are a couple modest subplots that help make the film feel stronger.           GRADE------------A-

HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON (2010) is a superior animated film with lots of adult humor stirred in, having to do with domesticating dragons, honoring family, becoming your own person, etc---all presented with lovely special effects and scenery.   GRADE-----B+

Roman Polanski's version of OLIVER TWIST (2005) was a flop in the USA, barely opening in most of the country, but in Europe, the film was a modest hit, bringing it's box office gross to over $40 million.  It was made just after his award winning THE PIANIST (2002) and just prior to THE GHOST WRITER (2010).  It's a pity, because this version has a lot to recommend it.  The sets are quite spectacular, the actors very effective (Ben Kingsly plays Fagin), and the music score (by Rachel Portman) is most lovely.  I enjoyed this film quite a bit---certainly even better than anything you'd see on Masterpiece Theatre.  Well worth a watch on DVD.          GRADE--------B+

Billed as "a dark feel good comedy" and quite funny in it's deadpan humor, the Norwegian film  A SOMEWHAT GENTLE MAN (2010) starring Stellan Skarsgaard is a strange hybrid of gangster film crossed with love story crossed with character study.  Just out of prison, his boss wants to set him up with a job and a revenge plan, but Skarsgard's characters just wants to eat and make love to any number of women who cross his path--and in that order, too.          GRADE-------B+

I watched Jodie Foster's  film NIM'S ISLAND (2008) prior to seeing her bizarre, confusing, rambling speech on the recent Golden Globe's show, and thought that for a desert island child's fantasy film, it was pretty good, and she seemed calmer and less intense than usual, for a change, and I like her that way.  Gerard Butler and Abagail Breslin also star, and the film should have been a bigger hit on the family circuit than it was.  Now, back to the Golden Globes show, it seemed like she was trying to say a lot of things, but felt she didn't have to, so the "is she out or not" question seemed obscured by the pleas for privacy (and this from one of the most reclusive stars working in Hollywood these days) and the heartfelt anguish over her mother's dementia (?).  And is she retiring or not from film making?  Weird.           GRADE-------B-

Produced by 20th Century Fox just after the disastrous years long filming of CLEOPATRA that nearly sank the studio, this  trifle of a comedy TAKE HER SHE'S MINE (1963) stars James Stewart and Sandra Dee as an overly possessive father who tries to protect his college bound daughter from losing her virtue, but he ends up in a succession of scandalous situations--mostly from his own eager stupidity.  Surprisingly, there are a number of funny sight gags and clever lines strewn among the predictable situations, and Jimmy Stewart is nothing if not a stalwart good sport as an actor.    GRADE-----C+

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OSCAR NOMINATIONS came out last week, and as usual there were surprises and missed opportunities.  I don't have too many problems with the best picture category, but I think that SKYFALL, being touted as the best BOND ever should have eked out a nomination.  I would have loved to have seen Samantha Barks and Eddie Redmayne get supporting nominations for LES MISERABLES--they both stand out in my mind as more subtle choices than some others.  I think it was brave for the Academy to honor the small indie BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD with nominations for Picture, Director and Actress--I admired this film a lot, except for the distracting hand held camera business, and the child star Emmanuelle Riva certainly makes this film stand out in memory.  The foreign film category always disappoints me, as the country nominates their own film--not necessarily the best film---for consideration.  Hence, THE UNTOUCHABLES missed out on a nomination--one of the best from SIFF.  More comments later, and watch out for my FAVORITE FILMS from 2012 coming in the next few weeks.

LES MISERABLES, PROMISED LAND, THIS IS 40, GUILT TRIP, and finally A NEW LEAF now on Blu Ray DVD

Certainly one of the most anticipated films for myself this year end movie season has been the long time coming film version of the popular musical stage production LES MISERABLES. There have been over half a dozen filmed versions of the Victor Hugo novel in the past 50 years, including 3 that I recently viewed on DVD--1935, 1952 and the latest non musical with Liam Neeson in 1998.  Obviously the length of the novel has to be truncated to keep the plot with in a 2-3 hour time slot, and the versions I saw seemed to all keep the basic essentials in tact.    I will say right now that the new musical film was a frustrating disappointment for me, mostly because of what I found to be some major directorial/technical missteps.

  The first problem is immediately apparent.  The director has decided that the hand held shaky camera work that is becoming so prevalent in low budget films is the answer, but I detest hand held camera work---it is nausea inducing and distracting and I think cheapens the look of the film.  The second big problem is his insistence in using extreme CLOSE-UPS in nearly every scene--I guess to emphasise the emotional impact of the songs.  Unfortunately, the entire film is sung with nearly 80% of scenes in extreme close up giving the film a claustrophobic, non-epic feel, and if ever a film should look like an epic, LES MISERABLES is one.  There are many scenes where the camera is so close in and giggly that I wanted to move to the rear of the theatre.   The third problem I had was not necessarily the fault of the film maker, but the theatre in which I saw it.  I saw this film the day after Christmas with my parents in the local Stanwood WA theatre.  When I walked in early, I noticed the screen was very wide--nearly wall to wall, but very short---maybe 50 feet by 15 feet high.  This resulted in many many heads being lopped off in numerous scenes, especially in the occasional medium shot---sort of a headless singing torso effect, and very annoying.  Even my parents who are in no way cinematic connoisseurs, made comment to that after the showing. However, they both found the film to be impressive and engrossing.   I intend to see the film again in a better equipped theatre in Seattle  to see if these issues are easier to watch in better conditions.

However, the good news is that the music continues to soar.  The much hyped process of having the actors actually sing live during the scene and adding the scoring later, seems to bring out the emotional best in each song.  The film is well cast, with some impressive emotional singing and acting work by each cast member--Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe (effectively subtle), Anne Hathaway (who is not so subtle in her big torch song, but nails it dramatically nonetheless), Amanda Seyfried (with her lilting soprano ballads), and nearly stealing the show are two lesser characters played by relative newcomers Samantha Barks and Eddie Redmayne.  Sasha Baron Cohen and Helena Bonham Carter provide some needed broadly comic relief, since basically this film has most of it's cast dying  by consumption, murder, suicide or disease by the end.

So, do I recommend this film?   Absolutely, since for many it will be the only way to see it--when the still very popular stage versions come to town, it is hard to get seats, and very very expensive.  This film is clearly sung, with only some of the choruses difficult to understand at times, but you will still get the gist.   The story remains compelling and dramatic, and the message that LES MISERABLES delivers is that hope and love can endure even in the worst of times.       GRADE-----------B

PROMISED LAND is a modest drama about big business (in this case a natural gas company) VS  an environmental movement in a small town that wants to stop the exploitation of their farmland.  The film is watchable, and the cast is engaging (Matt Damon, Frances McDormand, John Krasinski) but it is such a gentle film that aside from the liberal sentiment, there is not much to remember when it is finished.            GRADE--------B-


Judd Aptow has had enormous success with his comedies that he has produced, including SUPERBAD, FORGETTING SARAH MARSHAL, BRIDESMAIDS, THE FIVE YEAR ENGAGEMENT, and he has directed some smash hits like 40 YEAR OLD VIRGIN, KNOCKED UP, and FUNNY PEOPLE (one of my least favorite), but all these film share one disappointing flaw.  THEY ARE TOO DAMN LONG, and need to be edited and/or shaped with more coherent plots.   His latest film THIS IS 40 has the same problem.  This film goes on and on, and just when you think it should be wrapping up, he introduces at least 2 new characters that haven't had much screen time in the first 2 hours.  This is not to say that there are no interesting characters.  Indeed, he gives all his characters lots of screen time, and the film has many sparkling examples of witty banter that float by providing a smile or smirk by the viewer.  I just wish sometimes he'd get to the point a little faster.
GRADE--------B-

A situation comedy if there ever was one, THE GUILT TRIP is set up as a vehicle for Seth Rogan (a young, brash, struggling would be salesman), and Barbara Striesand (his older, brash, controlling mother.)  It is certainly an easy movie to watch, and there are a few chuckles, but mostly it evaporates by the time each scene in finished.  The plot has Rogan taking his mother Striesand on a road trip across country to try to sell his newly developed all natural cleaner to various large companies.  It doesn't take a rocket scientist to determine what will happen by the end.  However, the film is so tame that I can't even recommend it as a guilty pleasure.          GRADE-------C


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The 1971 comedy THE NEW LEAF has recently appeared on Blu Ray DVD, and it is one of my wife's favorite comedies.  Elaine May wrote, directed and stars in the film along with Walter Matthau, as a rich goofy matron who is seduced by the scheming Matthau who is now broke and needs to marry a rich woman in order to continue living in he manner to which he is accustomed.  The film is very quirky and awkwardly paced at the beginning, and it always takes me a while to get into the (pleasurable) leisurely comedic style, but the characters become endearing and the charming film has a way of getting under your skin.        GRADE----------B