Although pretty as a postcard, Water for Elephants (C-) is as formulaic as a tale can be that blends animal cruelty and forbidden love. At pachyderm pace, this three-ring melodrama fails to ring true. Robert Pattinson gives an inert performance. Witherspoon and Waltz dial it in as the other stock characters in the most mediocre show on earth.
Tag Archives: Drama
Andrew Haigh’s “Weekend” Showcases His Penchant for Intimate Gay Love Stories
Andrew Haigh’s Weekend (B+) is a highly perceptive and dialogue-rich British-set film about two men who spend a few days together discussing the nature of love, relationships, art and the Big Topics of our age before one leaves the country. More than just a gay riff on the Before Sunrise movies or My Dinner with Andre, it’s a smart and discerning character study about the space between where passion starts and true love truly blossoms. Tom Cullen and Chris New are magnificent in their roles, and Haigh is masterful in depicting how they let down their guards. His documentary-like and episodic style conceals a deeper mission, as he’s accomplished quite a profound glimpse into the origins of romance.
“Rabbit Hole” a Tough Tearjerker
Rabbit Hole (A) is a tearjerker of the first order with a never-better Nicole Kidman and Aaron Eckhart mining a groundswell of grief after the loss of their son. Director John Cameron Mitchell does an elegant and intimate job at getting to the heart of the story. Miles Teller is superb as the family’s son in flashbacks.
Unsentimental “Social Network” About Facebook Founder Displays Craft and Cunning
David Fincher’s The Social Network (B) tells the true-life story of the founding of Facebook. Its fairly unlikable hero Mark Zuckerberg (Jesse Eisenberg) aside, the film is a glossy and smartly told story about the lengths folks will go to protect their vision and invention and how stone-cold they can be in discarding friends in the process. Andrew Garfield gets a “like” for his performance. Armie Hammer is also good in two performances as twin investors jilted by Zuckerberg. The film is a bit austere, cold and calculating like its subject, which doesn’t take away from its craftsmanship but maybe from its endearment. Aaron Sorkin wrote the absorbing screenplay which, along with the direction, is a highlight.
2010 Remake of “True Grit” a Stunner
True Grit (A) is another masterpiece from the Coen Brothers with superb acting from the leads and enough adventure to please western film purists. It’s a fun, feisty and rightly acclaimed modern classic in the Western milieu with Jeff Bridges in the “Rooster Cogburn” role formerly inhabited by John Wayne. Matt Damon and Josh Brolin are also standouts, with newcomer Hailee Steinfeld making a superb impression as a feisty 14-year-old farm girl embarking on a quest for vengeance.
“An Education” (2009) is Sublime
Among many end-of-year prestige pics, here’s a gem: Lone Scherfig’s An Education (A+) in which surefire Oscar nominee Carey Mulligan plays a determined British schoolgirl who falls topsy turvy for older man Peter Sarsgaard. The film captured young love with timeless, poignant truth as moments of Lolita-ish unease heighten the heroine’s struggle with moral ambiguities. Mulligan is a revelation and the film an instant coming-of-age classic.
“Inglorious Basterds” (2009) Finds Revisionist History in Wartime
Quentin Tarantino’s Inglorious Basterds (B+) is an audacious piece of revisionist history that imagines what WWII might have been like if a couple of clever factions of bounty hunters, cinephiles and revenge seekers could have tried to kill Hitler at a movie screening. Leave it to Tarantino to take such a high-concept idea to such delicious detail and cast his film with such relish, especially with Christoph Waltz as a particularly menacing Nazi officer and Brad Pitt as a motormouthed mercenary. Some moments are uneven, but overall, this one hits the mark.
“Up in the Air” Captures Unease and Humor in Era of Layoff Culture
In Jason Reitman’s Up in the Air (A+), George Clooney gets his perfect role: a bit of a Br’er Rabbit of the friendly skies. As a job axman on the frequent flier circuit, he falls to earth when paired with spunky Anna Kendrick and affaired with sultry Vera Farmiga. It’s an acerbic, moving film that flawlessly captures the tone of a nation in economic recovery.
“A Single Man” is Perceptive Drama
Latest Oscar bait update: Colin Firth is heartbreaking as a man grieving the loss of a lover in A Single Man (A-). In his directorial debut, fashion designer Tom Ford tailors a great character study similar in texture to Gods & Monsters. I finally see why Firth has such a following, and one of my faves Julianne Moore has a wonderful small part.
Lars von Trier Directs Disturbing “Antichrist” (2009)
Lars von Trier’s Antichrist (C-) is a well acted and supremely disturbing art house horror film ostensibly about the grieving process by a couple for their deceased child and ultimately a bizarre requiem summoning imagery from the Biblical fall from grace at Eden through the mistreatment of women in Salem. Some of the metaphors and mystery are spellbinding and others less revelatory than Trier may have intended. Despite conjuring fearless performances by Willem Dafoe and Charlotte Gainesbourg and maintaining an eerie slow burn of mounting imagery of dread and isolation, the iconoclast filmmaker can’t get out if his own way to make sense of muddled themes and mixed messages. The NC-17 rated film is full of graphic imagery and is not for the faint of heart.
Bigelow Gives Big Heart to “Hurt Locker”
Kathryn Bigelow’s The Hurt Locker (A-) focuses on Jeremy Renner and Anthony Mackie as soldiers who dispose of bombs during the Iraq War and how they get deeper and deeper into their mission. Told with stunning authenticity and reverence for the work of the military, it’s a highly dramatic and exciting film as well as a technical marvel.
“Slumdog Millionare” an Amazing Adult Fairy Tale
Danny Boyle’s India-set Slumdog Millionaire (A) is an adult fairy tale with elements of magical realism that shows how fate and fortune weave their way into our lives for our own version of happily ever after. As the boy (Dev Patel) who wants to get the girl (Freida Pinto) struggles through poverty, cross-country adventures and ultimately a game show that conjures up his life’s learnings, the brilliant bright-colored cinematography and A.R. Rahman’s propulsive score fuel an absolutely delightful story that will hook you in to its spell. This is an accomplished piece of cinema that will speak to people from many backgrounds around the globe.