The Ides of March [2011]

In a tight race for the Democratic nomination for President of the United States – a young political consultant learns what politics are all about.

This is an actor’s piece – filled with lots of talking and facial expressions for all the wonderful actors to display how well they can flex. Ryan Gosling, Marisa Tomei, Paul Giamatti, Phillip Seymor Hoffman all jump in with George Clooney (who acts & directs) and make faces at each other and say stuff that makes you think they are saying important stuff – so you better pay attention.

Sorry.

I liked the movie – but you know when you want to see a movie – and you go to the theater and your phone told you the wrong time? So, you pick something else that you kind of want to see – when you have yourself hyped up for something else? Well, I went to see Moneyball and get lunch at the local brew & view – my phone said it started at 1PM – but it really started at 2PM – and I had already killed time waiting until 1PM – and I was really hungry for a burger and some waffle fries. So, I watched The Ides of March – and I could tell you everything you want to know about it – but I just can’t review it.

It’s about loyalty – and dirty politics – and how shitty life is. It’s good – really good – compelling – it felt like a 2 hour movie but it wasn’t – usually a mark that lots is happening and you are engrossed – and I was certainly grossed in. Great pacing. Good directing. Great performances. You should watch it if you like political thrillers and/or the actors involved.

It made me feel icky. It made me feel like I needed a shower. It did its job. Really good – seriously I’m not making fun of it – I’m just having a rough go of it lately – so let me have this one.

Thanks, I'll try better tomorrow - I promise... But since it's the weekend - I might not try at all... I am sorry to all you readers...

Up In The Air [2009]

Sometimes people know their weaknesses – sometimes people will even admit to them – sometimes people will even embrace them. Most of the time – those weaknesses are hidden behind something – and uprooting them in a film can be interesting – and make for both interesting drama but interesting comedy.

George Clooney plays Ryan Bingham – a man who works for a company that’s main purpose is to fire employee’s for other companies that have bosses that are too weak natured to fire their own employee’s. Bingham is great at his job – and it gives him an excuse to travel – A LOT – and rack up a ton of frequent flier miles. When Natalie (played by Anna Kendrick) a girl half his age, comes in with grand plans to take Ryan out of the air – and in an office firing people over a teleconference – his lifestyle is threatened.

Bingham is an anti-hero – from a Lost Generation of kids who grew up with no discernable values. He doesn’t value human relationships like everyone else – that’s what makes him great at his job. He can give motivational speeches to crowds of strangers – because he actually believes that people who load up their “backpacks” with the stuff he doesn’t value – are somehow weaker for valuing those things.

It’s not really explained in the movie – exactly why he’s like this – why the only thing he values is the frequent flier miles – and not the human interaction and bonds that everyone else values – but that’s not the point of the film. It can be from any number of issues or excuse - the point is Clooney plays the character in a believable fashion that you don’t need excuses. If Clooney doesn’t put his weight behind the performance it wouldn’t matter if it was explained or not. There’s no condescending Hollywood monologue that will be shown as Clooney’s Oscar nomination clip - which is much appreciated.

I would also like to note – that George Clooney isn’t showing you new sides of himself in this role – this is a tailor made Clooney role. He plays confident and unaffected well – and the casting of him in this role was a wise choice – and I feel it’s a great performance – but not much new for George Clooney.

The story is about watching him cope – not explaining why he is. He tries to push his values back on to Natalie – in his way of nullifying the threat and maintaining his status quo. Once he feels that he’s not going to win – he starts grasping for human relationships to fill those gaps in his life whether it’s reconnecting with his family or reaching out to his new love interest Alex (played by the lovely Vera Farmiga – who absolutely shines in this role) – with results that are best left to viewing the film.

The theme of the film is about the various gaps people have in their lives. Bingham in his job creates holes in people’s lives – but hands out literature and gives an uplifting speech to fill in that hole. Every character seems to have a hole in their life – whether it’s as obvious as a spouse that just left them – or in the case of Bingham’s boss (played by Jason Bateman) a soul. Some people want to embrace the missing pieces of their lives – and some would rather grasp onto something to fill those holes – some don’t realize what they are missing until it’s pointed out to them. It’s a very interesting concept – and should speak to the viewer and have them give it a thought.

Natalie comes off as a person without any gaps in her life – therefore somewhat of a personal threat to Bingham – but he plays it cool and of course her façade falls apart. This is where the other main theme of dreams versus reality really comes into focus. She describes how she thought her life would play out and those dreams haven’t been realized – Bingham and Alex are more than happy to explain how life is really like – as callous as it may seem to a young dreamer. It’s a universally spoken theme – of the grandeur and hope of youth and the disappointments of age – and how people are still looking for the fountain of youth - I wish I knew what I knew now when I was younger.

The performances were strong – with possibly the exception of Anna Kendrick’s mini-awkward-breakdown was the low-point in the film – even though it provided a laugh. The script was strong, funny and bittersweet. The direction by Jason Reitman was spot on – he’s turning into one fine director. He’s got a great sense of composition and pacing - and an ability to keep it light – though this film could easily be a trudge through a depressing matter.

It’s tough to watch a film with your main character going around firing people without acknowledging the current economic climate – and how people are losing jobs every day – helping make Up in the Air a film that finely represents the current malaise of our time. It works as a statement film – with the cinema verite kind of interviews that have people expressing what it’s like to lose a job – and what they’ve done to cope with it and bridge that gap that was created in their lives. It’s uplifting – in that bittersweet way.

Not all hope is lost.

This is a great film on many levels - and even though I don't particularly think this has been a really strong year for Hollywood - this gem of a film is clearly in my mind the best of 2009.

Weekend Viewing - Jan 29-31 (part 1)

Up in the Air [2009, directed by Jason Reitman]

This is a story about filling holes in your life. Ryan Bingham fills holes in his life by flying across the country to create holes in other’s lives by firing them – but his goal isn’t to bring others down – it’s the frequent flier miles. When a girl half his age begins at his company and presents a more cost effective – way to fire people over teleconferencing – Bingham is obviously threatened. Bingham is left once again with a gaping hole – and he looks to fill it once again. This is my favorite film of 2009 - a full review should be coming later this week.

A Perfect Getaway [2009, directed by Dave Twohy]

A murderous couple is out killing newlywed couples on the islands of Hawaii – what are we ever going to do? Well first off – let’s not be so self referential that you make the actual movie obsolete – it’s fine that the character works in Hollywood – but talking about plot structures and “red herrings” only goes to further my initial theory of the film (seriously figured this one out almost immediately). “Oh, we’re going to throw you off the trail – because we’re clever Hollywood types! That’s why we made the reveal awkwardly long as to prove how dumb you are as the viewer that you didn’t see it coming! Ha ha ha!” Anyway – this film is getting 3 out of 5 because I’m that big of a fan of Steve Zahn – he’s hilarious (even if he can’t get a role in a decent film to prove it)!

Weekend Viewing - Jan 22-24

Extract [2009] directed by Mike Judge

Joel is having a sort of a mid-life crisis. His wife doesn’t want to sleep with him – and he’s increasingly frustrated at work and is looking to sell his extract business. His slacker friend, Dean, and him come up with a far fetched plan that will help Joel get laid with a recently hired girl, Cindy. Unbeknownst to Joel, Cindy has her own plans to help a recently injured employee sue Joel for everything he’s got.

Here’s the thing – I liked how Joel has a fairly simple problem – but come up with a very complex solution to solve that problem – yet the whole thing seems a bit forced. The screenplay seemed like a few teenagers imagining what their lives would be like – in a immature male fantasy. Nobody was really well defined as a character - which made their decision making process difficult to follow and even care about. Though the film was humorous it was never really funny – and I would really like to see Mike Judge work on his female characters. 3 out of 5 stars.

Syriana [2005] directed by Stephan Gaghan

I’m sorry – I can’t give you a synopsis to this film – as I still can’t really see what it’s about other than intrigue and corruption in the oil business and in the Middle East. Each character though well portrayed – I didn’t feel connected to – or understood what their goals were – maybe that was the point of the film - I couldn’t really tell you. This is my second viewing of the film – and I still can’t connect the dots – I’m really not trying to be ignorant – I just don’t get it and I’ve got to give it a 2 out of 5.

Y Tu Mama Tambien [2001] directed by Alfonso Cuaron

Two sexually obsessed best friends take a young jilted housewife on a road trip to a beach.

What I really liked about this film is that it kind of plays on a theme that sex isn’t always sexy. The boys are sexually obsessed – but they aren’t very good at sex – they are still young and in need of understanding the world around them and themselves in order to understand sex. When looking forward to seeing this film I read descriptions like “erotic” and “sexy” – but I couldn’t disagree more – sex is used as the tool to show the boys “growing up”.

They grow up quite a bit on the road trip with the help Luisa (the jilted housewife) – who teaches them about their own ideals and how reality is vastly different from what they want to believe. It’s very well acted – and though I wanted to slap around both of the boys – it was only because they were portraying their parts correctly that I wanted to slap them around. It’s a very good film – worth a look – if you aren’t easily offended by full frontal nudity by both sexes. I give it a 4 out of 5.