I’m Not There
Directed by: Todd Haynes
Written by: Todd Haynes & Oren Moverman (screenplay)
Starring: Cate Blanchett, Heath Ledger, Christian Bale, and Richard Gere

Where to begin?  Here is a movie with almost no beginning and no end, an interwoven tale about both the same person and six very different ones.   It’s fitting that a movie about such a radical is filled with radical notions of its own, at least about filmmaking.

Todd Haynes’ I’m Not There is a visionary look into the life and ever-shifting personas of Bob Dylan.  You don’t hear his name once during the two-and-a-half hour journey into his head, but at the end you get something you don’t usually get from biopics: a true understanding and examination of the subject.  We don’t follow a single artist as they are discovered to have musical talent,  inevitably become famous and then acquire famous people problems.  All of these things happen in I’m Not There, but to different characters in different ways.

For 70 years today, Bob Dylan has been alive, and for most of that time he’s been almost a mythic figure of American pop culture.  The biggest success of Haynes’ films is that he doesn’t try to tame that illusiveness, but that it adapts stylistically to fit it.  The celebrity Dylan (Heath Ledger) is playing the folk-hero Dylan (Christian Bale) in a movie.  Symbolism like this just scratches the surface of the rewards to be found with multiple viewings.

Stylistically, I’m Not There can go from straight-forward color to surreal black-and-white within the span of five minutes.  It’s structured so that all of the stories push forward in almost equal measure.  The abrupt changes from a fugitive (Richard Gere) in the Old West to the well-known “electric” rebel (Cate Blanchett) period can throw the viewer off.  But like the organized chaos of David Lynch, no scene is without merit to the whole kaleidiscope.

There are fairly big names in such a weird movie.  All of the actors are great, but none are greater than Blanchett.  You’d never expect Oscar voters to look at such a divisive, out-of-this world movie and nominate it for anything, but she scored a Best Supporting Actress nomination for playing Dylan the martyr.

Blanchett’s striking similarity to the iconic Dylan of the 60s only enhances her portrait of an artist at a creative breakdown.  Her performance has Jude Quinn (all of the Dylans have aliases) using his tremendous talent and quick wit as a venemous defense against the press and his own emotional breakdown.  It’s a wonder to behold.

Though none of the actors match Blanchett’s captivating turn, Heath Ledger comes close.  As Robbie, a fried celebrity who falls in and out of love with a French woman (Charlotte Gainsbourg), he hits all the marks.  That Ledger’s on-screen character was also reflecting his life at that time only makes it more poignant.

Christian Bale shows up as both the early folk Dylan and the born-again  preacher he became in the 80s.  By connecting these two to the same person, Haynes commentates on the “prophet” label often attributed to him in the beginning.

Richard Gere plays perhaps the oddest “Dylan,” which is actually the famous outlaw Billy the Kid.  This character is said to represent the reclusive Hermit Dylan became after the near-fatal motorcycle accident that begins the film.

The two unknowns, the young African-American Marcus Carl Franklin and the British actor Ben Whishaw stand tall with the big names.  Franklin plays a fraud on the run who disguises himself as Woody Guthrie; Whishaw is simply a man standing trial, forced to answer questions he doesn’t want to, just like any conventional Dylan biopic would’ve attempted to do.

In these six interwoven narratives, there are boundless references to Dylan’s life and art, whether it’s song lyrics put into dialogue or actual performances of songs.  It needs to be said, though, that this isn’t necessary to appreciate it.

Haynes is a cinematic visionary in the truest sense.  There are no sweeping landscapes or epic war scenes, but instead a grand character mosaic on a truly ambitious scale that takes a single man and makes him six.

As we wander through this tall-tale folk legend’s illusive life, the movie opens many doors without providing definitive answers.  You must provide your own, and as such you need to truly put yourself into this movie in order to get something out of it.  It’s a challenge, much like Dylan’s music can be, but that also means it is well worth accepting.

Grade: A

Giant

Jordan “Bick” Benedict (Hudson)  is the top dawg in Texas, head of the famous Benedict ranching family, owner of Reata ranch.  He goes to Maryland to buy the horse War Winds and falls in lurve with the brunette hottie, Leslie (Taylor).  She comes back with him to Texas.  Bick’s sister, Luz (Mercedes McCambridge) runs the coop, doesn’t like Leslie, is kinda mean to her horse, but likes the poor cowboy Jett Rink (Dean).

Things get a little crazy when Luz is killed, gives some land to Jett and Jett becomes the big-shot oil tycoon of Texas.  The plot is centered around the rivalry between the Benedict family and Jett.

I’d almost say that this is my favorite epic.  It closely rivals Ben Hur – and that’s a childhood favorite of mine.  Anything longer than three hours gets slow, let’s be honest.  Even Lord of the Rings has the four hundred endings.  But Giant manages the time fairly well, and maintains a steady pace throughout the film.  Don’t get me wrong, it’s still freaking long (everything’s bigger in Texas) but it gets the job done in a satisfying, and moving way.  One of its major keys to success is that the cast is smaller than most epics.  We have a clear-cut idea of who all the characters are and their role in the story.  We aren’t scrambling to remember all the forty grandchildren and the five different groups of bad guys.

Elizabeth Taylor is beautiful, oh she’s beautiful.  Even as an old lady towards the end she’s still got class.  Leslie the character is also admirable – she’s feisty and opinionated, anything a girl like me can look up to. I’m not a super-feminist by any means, but I like her fight for a place amongst the boys and respect any such women.

She is hardly the star though.  Rock Hudson is also excellent in his role as the patriarch of the fam.  He’s tough, kind of stubborn, but a good guy.  The Benedict offspring are also well-played.  Carroll Baker is great as Luz II.  Totally didn’t realize that it was DENNIS HOPPER in there until AFTER I’d watched the entire thing though.  I don’t think that makes me an idiot totally.  He’s quite handsome in this – not that he isn’t in his later roles but, ya know, if you’ve seen Hoosiers as many times as I have you’d understand.

James Dean… is awesome.  The method actor that showed the world how to method act.  You feel sorry for him, then you hate him.  His career was abruptly ended during filming, but his performance is nonetheless incredible.  I’d have given him the Oscar – though Yul Brinner’s totally a bare-chested stud I’ll admit.  Either way, James Dean will always be a cinematic icon, even if he’s only got three movies to his name.  Why is it that the talented ones have to die so young?  No one’s going to wonder what Miley Cyrus’s career would have been like if she were to die tomorrow.  But whatever.

Enough with my James Dean praise.  Besides the spectacular acting, the cinematography is spectacular.  If anything were to invite me to Texas and the ranch-life it’d be this movie.  Everything is consistently beautiful, oh how those roaring hills call to me.

George Stevens should also be recognized for this film’s legacy.  The overall feel of the film is moving and sweeps you off your feet.  It’s a great adaptation of an Edna Ferber novel.  Each scene is memorable.  Bick’s final fight in the restaurant, Jett’s lament to Luz, Leslie chewin’ out the boys.

This is a film worth investing three and a half hours for.  And I don’t say that lightly.  If only for James Dean. 9/10

ph. Warner

I like the Kelly’s daughter Mick (Sandra Locke), supposedly being more refined than her respectfully working class family is and will allow. There’s a scene when she hosts a party for the other neighborhood adolescents and they end up using her brother’s fireworks. She wants happiness and acceptance but will not compromise herself to get that from her peers – as they play with fireworks, she kicks them out of her property I would have let them play with the fireworks while moping.

Singer is the perfect friend for an ‘individual’ like Mick as he is with the doctor or a recovering alcoholic (Stacy Keach). He’s shunned by Mick but she changes change her mind when he starts buying her classical records even if he can’t enjoy them. Arkin is perfectly cast as Singer, even if it’s in the level of physical appearance. His dark features, making him look biracial, contributes in his role as a shamanistic mediator between the whites and blacks. He wears a suit and walks around, his silence read as pensive, altrustic and even happy.

Yes, there are ridiculous points in the film, like when the doctor’s son-in-law Willie stabs a racist man with his own knife instead of throwing it away. Or McCullers piling on departures and rejections and violence on Singer to drive him to his end. Was Singer not strong enough? Mick says that he was there for her and for everyone, and I wonder if anyone can withstand constantly being that person.

Yes, I’ll admit that I’ve only seen Cardinale and Williams’ full list while the rest are below because I’ve seen one or two of each actress’ movies. Many of the women on the list are also here because of their supporting roles. It’s hard to carry a great film. Can you imagine trying to do the same for three?

Also, I know nothing about the silent era but I’m sure that I’ll eventually learn that the likes of Lillian Gish and Janet Gaynor have hat tricks under their CV’s, the latter winning the first Best Actress Oscar for three performances. It’s also harder to get names of actresses and movies belonging to world cinema. If I could only double myself and extend the hours of a day.

And yes, Williams is here because as much as I hate parts of Shutter Island, I know a lot of you love it. Although I’m sure her 2011 is looking better than her 2010. Here goes the list.

ph. MGM

Olivia de Haviland – 1939 – (Gone with the Wind, Dodge City, The Private Lives of Elizabeth of Essex)

ph. Universal

Barbara Stanwyck – 1941 – (The Lady Eve, Meet John Doe, Ball of Fire)

Grace Kelly – 1954 – (Dial M for Murder, Rear Window, The Country Girl)

Claudia Cardinale – 1963 – (8 1/2, The Leopard, The Pink Panther)

Faye Dunaway – 1974 – (Chinatown, The Towering Inferno, Four Musketeers)

ph. Miramax

Minnie Driver – 1997 (Princess Mononoke, Good Will Hunting, Grosse Pointe Blank)

Patricia Clarkson – 2003 (Dogville, The Station Agent, All the Real Girls)

ph. TWC

Michelle Williams – 2010 – (Shutter Island, Blue Valentine, Meek’s Cutoff)

A factor in making this list involved representing each decade, one actress per decade to be more frank. I chose de Haviland over Bette Davis’s movies in the same year, Kelly over Marilyn Monroe‘s 1953 (it hurt me to do that), Driver over Kirsten Dunst (Driver might be disqualified since her involvement in Mononoke only came through 1998/1999, when Miramax released the film stateside, but Dunst 1999 films are guilty pleasures that I can’t admit to the public yet) or Clarkson over Maggie Gyllenhaal’s 2002. Besides, this post is a picture overload already, as is most of my posts in this blog.

Correct me if I’m wrong, but there’s no actress in the list that has an 80′s hat trick. Great roles and movie seemed spread out generously among the Meryl Streep generation and the Brat Pack girls.

Lastly, I’ll make a list for the boys and the directors, or make hat trick lists for consecutive years or movies, but only if you ask nicely. Or better yet, if you could do the rest

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True Grit
Directed by: Joel Coen & Ethan Coen
Written by: Joel Coen & Ethan Coen (screenplay), Charles Portis (novel)
Starring: Jeff Bridges, Hailee Steinfeld, Matt Damon, and Josh Brolin

True Grit is not about the large names behind the camera and on the marquee, nor is it haunted by the ghost of John Wayne.  Above all, it is a fatalistic Western with more dry wit than dead bodies behind its lessons.  It is a tall tale about a small girl and her quest for blood.

Don’t be fooled by Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon, or Josh Brolin.  The Coen Brothers know that many who aren’t drawn in by their own names will be drawn in by the names of those stars or fans of the original film that won John Wayne his Oscar.   All the hype surrounding the mystical one-eyed Marshall and his eye-patch has made many lose sight over the fact that this is indeed a film about that 14-year-old and the loss of her innocence by her own accord.

Thankfully, the brothers have not forgotten this.  Started and ended through a voice over by a grown version of that girl, the Coens spend a great deal of time establishing her story and evoking the atmosphere.  The fast paced energy pulled from the film for its excellent trailer was indeed misleading, and many will likely be disappointed when they arrive to find a hefty talk-heavy meditation.  It’s yet another trick pulled by these film makers and played on an unsuspecting audience (something they’ve never grown tired of.)

Blurring the lines between good and evil has always been a gift of the Coen Brothers, but it has larger play than usual in their take on True Grit.  Mattie Ross (Hailee Steinfeld) hires drunken Marshall Rooster Cogburn (Jeff Bridges) to track down Tom Chaney (Josh Brolin), who is said to have killed her father in cold blood.  She goes about this in the most matter-of-fact way that it throws off Cogburn.  Demanding to be taken seriously, she spouts off at almost everyone, making them and us forget that she is so young.

Over the course of the film, we see Ross witness the cost her vengeance, and by turn all vengeance, has on the body and soul.  It’ll cost you an eye or an arm, and likely your peace of mind.  To obtain that “true grit” seen in Cogburn and later in LeBoeuf, a Texas Ranger also after Chaney, she must wear herself down to the bone.  To see a smirk come across her face when given the opportunity to take her revenge is to watch, in a few simple cuts, the destruction of childhood innocence.

The outcome of this film is not as important as the journey.  For the most part it is Cogburn carrying on, LeBoeuf calling him out, and Ross trying to calm the two down and keeping their eye on the target she can’t quite aim at herself yet.  This journey is mostly entertaining, but a few rough patches and the way some of the action sequences are handled hold it back.  The extraordinary technique the brothers exemplified in their last Western, No Country for Old Men, would’ve served them just as well here.  To pick up that slack, we must turn to the actors.

Bridges returns to the Coens for the first time since The Big Lebowski, and Josh Brolin also returns for his small part as Chaney.  All the acting is excellent, even if Bridges is showboating at times.  Steinfeld scores a terrific debut performance and Matt Damon does what he can with an under appreciated character.  The key chemistry between Cogburn and Ross is right on the money.

The film’s biggest strength is in its visuals, shot by Coen regular Roger Deakins.  The many different terrains, from the rocky desert to snow covered rocks and forest, all look gritty and gorgeous.  The final stirring shot of a woman leaving a graveyard is beautiful in its simplicity.

True Grit isn’t as good as it could’ve been, but that’s not to say it is without merit.  Along with Shutter Island and Inception, this one joins the ranks of films made by fantastic directors this year that didn’t quite live up to their potential.  These people all know what they’re doing, and True Grit definitely has its moments of brilliance.

The brothers have taken this adaptation of the novel (they insist on staying away from comparisons to the Wayne outing) as seriously as they took the one of No Country for Old Men.  Corrupting a soul is serious business, even when tackled by these not-so-serious men.  Wit seeps in, if not as much as grit, and that’s kind of a shame.

Grade: B-

The Fighter
Directed by: David O. Russell
Written by: Scott Silver, Paul Tamasy, & Eric Johnson
Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Christian Bale, Amy Adams, and Melissa Leo

Micky Ward is trapped.  Trapped by his overbearing mother, his drug-addicted has-been of a brother, and the endless cliches of boxing movies.  Fortunately, with the help of an extraordinarily assembled cast of actors and a director (David O. Russell, a name to remember) with a fairly unique vision, The Fighter kind of comes out on top.

Horribly titled to be sure, this film tells the semi-true story of an underdog boxer (Mark Wahlberg).  Blah, blah, blah, you’ve heard it all before. The biggest success of this movie is that Russell is almost in as much of a rush to get past the fight scenes and into the juicy human drama as the rest of us are.  There’s a big story to be told here outside the ring, and when it stays outside the movie is a potent, fully alive drama.

Micky is overshadowed by his half-brother Dicky (Christian Bale), a former boxer and the pride and joy of Lowell, Mass.  Now disparate, thin, and riddled with a crack addiction, Dicky, his mother Alice (Melissa Leo) and their huge family live out their fantasies through Micky almost desperately. They cocoon him in a web of false hopes, short-term goals, and guilt, never really allowing him to emerge and spread his wings.

Then he meets the girl.  Charlene (Amy Adams) teaches Micky to start thinking for himself and speaking up, something he’s never gotten the chance to do in a home where a Carmela-Soprano-on-steroids of a mother makes all the decisions for him.  Melissa Leo is extraordinary in this role.  She’s been underrated for years, nabbing an unexpected nomination for Frozen River in 2008.  She can expect to win Best Supporting Actress.

Matching her blow-for-blow on the acting front is Christian Bale.  Another overlooked actor, at least by the Academy, he can expect a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his stunning performance in this movie.  He steals the spotlight from Wahlberg and the rest much like it was stolen from him in The Dark Knight.  His maddening eyes, cockeyed smile and tragically misguided dreams of getting back on top will haunt you.

Surprisingly, Wahlberg actually holds the center of this movie fairly well, even if Bale and Leo steal the show.  Adams is also a surprise as his foul-mouthed and determined girlfriend.  It is a testament to this movie’s script that it allows roles for women in a sports movie that don’t just have them sitting on the sidelines and cheering.

Most of The Fighter comes as a surprise, with its amazing acting and powerful direction.  Included is a soundtrack sure to please the audience a film of this type draws in.  That being said, Russell uses them in terrific ways, propelling scenes along in a way sometimes worthy of a Scorsese film.  Watching Dicky flee the cops and then meet up at a restaurant with his family only to get him and Micky beat up by them is accompanied by a Led Zeppelin track and edited to stylistic and emotional perfection.  Sure, you’ve seen a lot of this before.  But with a gritty new coat of paint and some of the best acting of the year, you won’t mind watching a boxer conquer the odds… again.

Grade: B-

Best Picture

The Social Network
Black Swan
The King’s Speech
127 Hours
Winter’s Bone
The Kids Are All Right
Inception
Toy Story 3
The Fighter
True Grit

Should Win I’d be the most happy with Social Network, Black Swan, or The Kids Are All Right.  There’s no real Blind Side this year, but The King’s Speech is the least deserving… and it’s also one of the front-runners.
Will Win: The Social Network has a real shot, but so does The King’s Speech. Many have already handed it to King George, but I’m leaning toward King Zuckerberg.
Snubbed: There’s really no Blind Side this year among the nominees. However, over The King’s Speech I would’ve nominated The Ghost Writer, Enter the Void, White Material, Exit Through the Gift Shop, Splice or I Am Love.

Best Director

Tom Hooper- The King’s Speech
Darren Aronofsky- Black Swan
Joel & Ethan Coen- True Grit
David Fincher- The Social Network
David O. Russell- The Fighter

Should Win: Aronofsky.  His direction on Black Swan was the best thing about the movie, which is saying a lot.  Fincher is also great, but so many other elements of Social Network would’ve worked on their own if not as well.  You can’t really say that about Black Swan.
Will Win: Fincher.  Even if The Social Network doesn’t walk away with the night’s biggest trophy, this one is a pretty safe bet.
Snubbed: Yes, yes, Christopher Nolan deserved a nomination  for Inception here over Tom Hooper, but don’t forget Danny Boyle.  His direction on 127 Hours was impeccable and his movie was better than both Inception and The King’s Speech.   I’d also throw in Lisa Cholodenko’s low-key genius in The Kid’s Are All Right, Gasper Noe’s hallucinatory brilliance in Enter the Void, Roman Polanski’s artful storytelling in The Ghost Writer and the mesmerizing work of Claire Denis in White Material.

Best Actor

Colin Firth- The King’s Speech
James Franco-127 Hours
Javier Bardem- Biutiful
Jeff Bridges- True Grit
Jesse Eisenberg- The Social Network

Should Win: James Franco.  He was more vital to the success of a film than any other actor this year.  It’s up to him to carry Danny Boyle’s artistic vision on 127 Hours, and he does an admirable job of blending the comic with the tragic.
Will Win: Colin Firth.  It’s the most sure-fire bet on Oscar night, and it helps that Firth gives a fantastic performance.
Snubbed: Michael Douglas deserved some serious recognition for A Solitary Man, and Leonardo DiCaprio’s performance in Shutter Island was thrilling.  Both were better than Bridges in True Grit.

Best Actress

Natalie Portman- Black Swan
Annette Bening- The Kids Are All Right
Jennifer Lawrence- Winter’s Bone
Nicole Kidman- Rabbit Hole
Michelle Williams- Blue Valentine

Should Win: Annette Bening.  Her acting isn’t showy, it’s subtle.  It’s also perfect.  The scene where she sings Joni Mitchell at a dinner table moves from comedy to a thing of beauty and harmony, making the heartbreak that follows all the more harrowing.
Will Win: It’s Natalie Portman’s to lose, but Bening could easily upset because she’s been nominated 3 times with no victory.
Snubbed: Isabelle Huppert in White Material and Tilda Swinton in I Am Love are two foreign performances that deserved much more recognition.  Also add in Julianne Moore in The Kid’s Are All Right, who deserves to be right up there with her acting partner Bening.

Best Supporting Actor

Jeremy Renner- The Town
Geoffrey Rush- The King’s Speech
John Hawkes- Winter’s Bone
Christian Bale- The Fighter
Mark Ruffalo- The Kids Are All Right

Should Win: Christian Bale gives perhaps the greatest performance of his career, stealing scenes left and right as a dejected drug addict in The Fighter.
Will Win: Bale is a fairly certain pick, but Geoffrey Rush may end up walking to the podium with his pupil Firth to collect this trophy.
Snubbed: Vincent Cassel in Black Swan deserved Renner’s spot.  He brings a creepy macho bravado to the largely female cast.  I also would add in Pierce Brosnan in The Ghost Writer and Andrew Garfield in The Social Network.  

Best Supporting Actress

Hailee Steinfeld- True Grit
Melissa Leo- The Fighter
Jacki Weaver- Animal Kingdom
Amy Adams- The Fighter
Helena Bonham Carter- The King’s Speech

Should Win: Melissa Leo gives another one of the fantastic performances from The Fighter.  As a controlling mom who’s not afraid to pick favorites among her sons, she enthralls, confounds and ultimately amazes you with her technique.
Will Win: Even though the press is making an issue out of Leo sending out personal ads, there’s no clear opposition to her victory.  The Academy made the stupid mistake of nominating Steinfeld in the supporting category instead of the lead, so some voters who would’ve picked her as Best Actress might vote her in here.
Snubbed: This category was filled with undeserved nominations.  Bonham Carter and Adams, as much as I like them in other movies, do not deserve slots here.  Jacki Weaver was the best thing in Animal Kingdom, but still didn’t deserve a nomination.  Olivia Williams in The Ghost Writer, Marion Cotillard in Inception, Lesley Manville in Another Year, and Kimberly Elise in For Colored Girls all would’ve been better choices.

Best Original Screenplay

Mike Leigh- Another Year
Christopher Nolan- Inception
Lisa Cholodenko & Stuart Blumberg- The Kids Are All Right
David Seidler- The King’s Speech
Scott Silver and Paul Tamasy & Eric Johnson- The Fighter

Should Win: The Kids Are All Right had the best screenplay of the year, and it was a larger part of the success of it than some of the more visually appealing films this year.
Will Win: Cholodenko and Blumberg are the definite front-runners, but the Academy could give it to Christopher Nolan as a way of saying sorry for omitting him in the Best Director Category.  And if The King’s Speech ends up pulling a surprise sweep, look for another possible upset here.
Snubbed: All of the five nominees are adequate, but to shake things up I would toss in Splice or A Solitary Man.

Best Adapted Screenplay

Joel & Ethan Coen- True Grit
Debra Granik & Anne Rosselini- Winter’s Bone
Michael Arndt- Toy Story 3
Aaron Sorkin- The Social Network
Danny Boyle & Simon Beaufoy- 127 Hours

Should Win: Aaron Sorkin’s screenplay for The Social Network is astounding without the help of David Fincher’s visuals.
Will Win: Sorkin is another sure-fire bet.  If The Social Network loses Best Picture but wins the writing and directing awards, the Academy will look like fools.
Snubbed: Again all 5 are adequate, but then again so were the screenplays of Shutter Island, Let Me In, or The Town.

Best Cinematography

Roger Deakins- True Grit
Wally Pfister- Inception
Matthew Libatique- Black Swan
Danny Cohen- The King’s Speech
Jeff Cronenweth- The Social Network

Should Win: Of the five nominees, I’d go with Pfister’s beautiful work in Inception, although I’m also partial to Libatique’s gorgeously violent images in Black Swan.
Will Win: Pfister might walk away with this one if Inception takes all of the technical awards, but right now Jeff Cronenweth’s sinister atmosphere in The Social Network looks to be the front-runner.
Snubbed: I’d like to take this time to bitch about the exclusion of Anthony Dodd Mantle’s amazing work in 127 Hours.  It keeps a largely stationary movie from standing still and really injects life into the story.

Dustin Hoffman stars as Benjamin Braddock, who recently completed his undergrad and is deciding what to do with his life.  The film begins at the Braddock’s home in California where his parents are throwing him a graduation party.  Embarrassed, frustrated, uncomfortable, he escapes and stares at his fish.  Mrs. Robinson (Anne Bancroft) – wife of Ben’s father’s law partner and family friend, she also doesn’t have a first name apparently – finds Ben hiding.  Asks him for a ride home… asks him in the house… offers him a drink… turns on music… starts taking off her clothes…. “Mrs. Robinson, you’re trying to seduce me.”  Ben’s a little taken aback by these advances of a 40 somethin’ year old woman and panics his way out of the house.  But with no direction, he doesn’t stay horrified for long.  He soon arranges their first rendez-vous at a hotel and their affair awkwardly begins.

He’s basically living the life.  Sun bathing and piña coladas in the pool by day… meeting the woman at night.  In one of their rare discussions, Mrs. Robinson forbids Ben to ever date her college-aged daughter, Elaine.  Ben’s reluctant to promise anything but doesn’t care much for the Robinson daughter so he agrees.  Too bad his parents do care.  They coerce him  into taking her out when she returns from Berkley.  With his affair between Mrs. R completely over, and despite his initial efforts to ruin their date, he starts to fall for the cute, full of life Elaine.  I’ll let you imagine where that might lead.

The great thing about The Graduate is that it takes its time.  One of the best scenes in the movie is a simple conversation between Mrs. Robinson and Ben.  The scene is quite long with many pauses, but it is one of the greatest crafted scenes I have ever seen.  Ben is flustered with their exclusively physical relationship, and starts asking questions to Mrs. Robinson.  We glimpse his eyes grow with wonder, we watch her eyes fill with pain.  There’s so much sadness and so much growth.  Needless to say the script is impeccable.  Witty, satirical, but deep.

The rest of the movie is developed in a similar fashion.  The pacing is greatly due to the music of good ol’ Paul and Art.  ”The Sounds of Silence” is so perfect for the movie (as, of course, is “Mrs. Robinson”) and there are many scenes with nothing but.  It miraculously never drags.  Ben drives to see Elaine…. Ben slowly sinks in his pool, full of apprehension (great moment)… Ben lying in his pool… very little action.  I grew up listening to Simon and Garfunkel, but I never knew they were this cool.  The sounds of silence can speak so much louder than dialogue.

The Graduate is primarily a comedy – the script is evidence of that.

Ben: “Where’d you do it?”
Mrs. Robinson: “In his car.”
Ben: “What kind of car was it?”
Mrs. Robinson: “Come on now.”
Ben: “No, I really want to know.”
Mrs. Robinson: “A Ford.”
Ben: [laughs] “That’s great.  So Elaine Robinson got started in a Ford…”

It’s a funny movie, but it’s not just funny.  It’s a character study.  It makes you laugh, but I’d mostly say that it makes you smile at the realism.  The second half of the movie is greatly different from the first, its dynamic changes as Benjamin changes.  His and our attentions shift to Elaine, and his pursuit to win her over.  (Some great scenes there too… man I could rave about this whole movie scene by scene if I really wanted to).

Good acting? Check.  For me, it’s weird to think that Dustin Hoffman hasn’t always been the top dawg in his business.  I mean, this is the guy that did Rain Man, Kramer vs. Kramer, Tootsie, All the President’s Men… He’s been “the man” my whole life.  But nobody knew Dustin then.  Everyone knew Dustin after Benjamin Braddock.  Even without D. Hoffman, though, Anne Bancroft is sensational.  You hate her, you feel sorry for her.  The rest of the acting is solid as well, mainly Katherine Ross.

This film was one of the few to win the Best Director Oscar and not Best Picture.  Mike Nichols is the man.  It was nominated for basically everything else, though, including Cinematography (excellent – a constant visual treat) and Screenplay (also excellent).

And how ’bout that end?  The wedding crash to top all wedding crashes.  ”It’s too late.” “Not for me!” (Granted, that IS a relationship I’d love to see in the future… how could YOU handle being with someone that had slept with your mother?)

I can’t rave enough.  With these acclaimed classics that I’d never seen, it’s difficult sometimes to figure out if you love it because you know you should love it, or if you actually love it.  I didn’t want to hand out a 10/10 just to conform.  But the more I thought about it, the fewer things I disliked.  This movie is excellent on all fronts, and truly should be considered a classic.  10/10

Animal Kingdom
Directed by: David Michod
Written by: David Michod
Starring: James Frecheville, Guy Pearce, Jacki Weaver, and Ben Mendelsohn

It’s easy to draw parallels between this movie’s title and its application to the crime world; monologues about “survival,” followed by several repeated shot sequences of these characters doing the same thing- carrying prey, guns.  We get it, people are just like animals: violent, repetitive and, as it turns out, kind of boring.

Gangster movies are often punctuated with a searing critique of the culture where the gang resides.  The Godfather and Goodfellas immortally critiqued the American Dream, and the more recent Gomorrah showed Italy and humanity rotting from the inside out.  Lesser gang films often reward the viewer with shocking scenes of violence and perversely profane characters to reward them for sitting through the message.  To an extent this is what Animal Kingdom does, though the most interesting characters are the ones who seem normal on the surface (isn’t that always the case?)

Along with the usual suspects- drug dealers, sociopaths, the cowardly brother- a dark force is working behind the scenes, punctuating her sons’ dealings with a “hon” or a “sweetie.”  That would be Janine ‘Smurf’ Cody (Jacki Weaver) the unlikely matriarch and leader of this dysfunctional band of idiots and murderers.  Her charm is somewhat disarming at first, and director David Michod mostly shows her reaching up to her towering sons to give them a loving peck.  Later, as it becomes all too clear who is pulling the strings of these Aussies, her eyes reveal some sort of hidden menace.  Weaver is a  scene-stealer, not quite Oscar-worthy but a welcome spark to an otherwise dull procedural.

Animal Kingdom has the undesirable qualities of not know which movie it wants to be and having an uninteresting protagonist at its center.  Josh Cody (James Frecheville) is sent to live with Janine and her gangster sons after his mother dies.  He has not seen them in years because of an alleged fight that took place between his mom and Janine.  Once you see the devious acts of murder and unrest in the household, it’s clear she kept her distance for other reasons.

Michod brings a dark and brooding quality to the visuals of the film, which in the end is more dull and boring than anything.  The constant slow-building synths in the background can completely ruin a moment.  As a morally-superior cop (Guy Pearce) shows up to take Josh under his wing, he must choose between his family and his happiness, and the bellowing chords stalk him like his crazy Uncle Andrew (Ben Mendelsohn).

The movie alternates between gang-banging and cautionary preaching, never reveling in the violence but never finding an interesting story either.  As Janine manipulates behind the scenes, you begin to see the promise of a more interesting movie, one without any sympathetic characters at all.  Evil with a charming smile is better than good with a boring scowl.

Grade: C-

Atonement
Directed by: Joe Wright
Written by: Christopher Hampton (screenplay), Ian McEwan (novel)
Starring: Keira Knightley, James McAvoy, Saoirse Ronan, and Vanessa Redgrave

Atonement isn’t a time capsule for your grandparents.  If you’re looking for the lavish period drama with the costumes as the stars, it’s gone with the wind.  This movie, yet another adaptation of a well-received if faded from memory book, is a love story for the modern age; that is to say, a pretty damn depressing one.

The movie starts off on a perfect 45-minute grace note, setting up the passionate exchange between Robbie (James McAvoy) and Cecilia (Keira Knightley).  Cecilia is a wealthy daughter of an affluent family, Robbie is not.  The thing that separates this fairly common class clash is bitter jealousy, brought along in the form of the innocent young Briony (Saoirse Ronan).

In Atonement‘s rapturous first third, director Joe Wright weaves a delicate tale fueled by powerful emotions- love, hate, lust- that cannot possibly co-exist.  Briony, another wealthy daughter if much younger, also has an innocent crush on Robbie.  It is that innocence that ultimately tears the two apart.

Over the course of the sun-drenched and then night-soaked day, Robbie and Cecilia share passion-fueled sex in the library, a note is misinterpreted, and a rape is comitted elsewhere. Briony knows about it all, and her misinterpretation of the note sparks jealousy, and she blames Robbie for the rape.

It’s a pity Briony has to grow up as the film progresses.  Not that her story isn’t the most entertaining thing in the movie no matter who plays her, it’s that Saoirse Ronan is so good that you notice when she isn’t there.  Her haunting stare as she tells a lie that resonates throughout the rest of her life pierces the viewer.  It’s cold, calculating, and should be way beyond an actress of her years.

Following the brilliance of the film’s first third is a lesser movie, if still a good one.  Robbie goes to war in WWII to earn his freedom from prison, Cecilia and Briony work as nurses.  The two can never forgive Briony for what she did, and she is unable to forgive herself.

The lovers do meet again a couple of times as the movie takes its course, but like all tragedies, their love never comes to fruition.  Briony grows up to be an acclaimed novelist, and it is in the final, stunning scene that the movie regains the power it has in the beginning.

Vanessa Redgrave, in a singular scene as the elderly writer, maps out the movie’s whole purpose: can you redeem yourself through your fiction?  When she reveals that much of the segment where she is a nurse (played by Romola Garai) was a rewrite from what actually happened, the true weight of that decades-old lie seems to hit her full force.  The answer to the question posed by this movie, appears to be a resounding “No.”

The three women who play Briony do give the best performances in the movie, but James McAvoy and Keira Knightley are also terrific.  In their brief time together onscreen, it is believable that they did fall in love, and it was at the wrong time.  Much is made about the scene in the library, and it is one of the most passionate exchanges to singe the screen in years.

The weakest part of the movie is Robbie’s escapades in WWII.  A lot was also made about the 10-minute tracking shot that chronicles his walk along a beach after a battle.  It does show a lot of aspects of the war, but it’s really only impressive on a technical level and doesn’t really do anything for the story.

As a whole, Atonement has been largely forgotten, as most movies that are nominated for Best Picture and don’t win are.  2007 was one of the greatest years for modern movies, and though No Country for Old Men, There Will Be Blood, and Sweeney Todd all came out the same year, it’d be difficult to forgive yourself for looking past Atonement.

Grade: B

Crazy Heart
Directed by: Scott Cooper
Written by: Scott Cooper (screenplay), Thomas Cobb (novel)
Starring: Jeff Bridges, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Colin Farrell, and Paul Herman

It’s not uncommon that a performance is the sole interest in a film.  Sometimes an actor or actress digs so deeply into a role that they seem born to play that it overshadows all else in the film.  This, as you can probably tell, is the case with Crazy Heart.

Jeff Bridges’ status as an underdog in Hollywood ended this year when he was awarded the Best Actor Oscar at the Academy Awards.  While the ceremony does often offer up the trophies as a career summation, sometimes the actual performance deserves it as well.  This is also the case with Bridges.  He brings to life washed-up country singer Bad Black so well that his portrayal gives this movie its depth and purpose.

First time director Scott Cooper was wise in letting his actors take a hold of his script, however lousy and mundane it may be.  For all its well intentions, the movie is boring.  By the commercial it looked like a country rehashing of The Wrestler, but Mr. Cooper is no Aronofsky.  As far as debuts go, this is underwhelming.

The film begins with Bad Blake going to a gig at a bowling alley.  Right off the bat fans of Bridges will smile as the screen basically winks at them.  Blake is a hopeless alcoholic, surviving on his reputation with old fans to get by.  He chats up a liquor store owner until the man offers to buy him the whiskey he has no money for.

All of these interesting scenes take place in the beginning and the end, and in between we’re pummeled with rehashed filler and musical performances.  T Bone Burnett may have written some excellent music for this film, but songs are repeated far too often. With the exception of the excellent “The Weary Kind,” none of the songs were good enough to be used multiple times in the movie.

Maggie Gyllenhaal plays Blake’s only chance at a normal life in the form of a young reporter who charms him during an interview and genuinely cares for him.  Bridges and Gyllenhaal have some terrific chemistry, but her Best Supporting Actress nomination seems undeserved mostly because the script doesn’t allow her character to achieve her full potential.  Other than an emotionally-charged scene where she spontaneously breaks down while Blake comes up with a new song, she doesn’t get to show off her skill.

The movie as a whole isn’t a total waste.  Colin Farrell struts into a few scenes and gives Bridges a run for his acting money, but it further proves my point.  This is an acting movie, though it acts like it’s something more.

Grade: C

Starring: Mickey Rourke, Marisa Tomei

Genre: Drama

Director: Daren Aronofsky

Written By: Robert D.Seigel

Wins: Best Actor, Best Song (Golden Globe), Golden Lion (Venice Film Festival)

Oscar Nominations: Best Actor, Best Supporting Actress

What is it that we want from our lives? What’s that one thing which is closer to your heart more than anything else? What is it which brings in an element of peace into our life? To quantify and be able to answer all these questions without pausing would mean, either you have lived your share of life or you are still at the nascence of a journey called “Life”. The debate on this basic principle that we are too confused to know exactly what we want gives shape to a compelling story called “The Wrestler”, written by Robert D. Siegel and directed by Darren Aronofsky.

“The Wrestler” narrates the story of Randy “The Ram” Robinson (Mickey Rourke), a professional wrestler who was in his prime form back in the 80’s. Twenty years later, he’s down and strained every muscle of his body, but continues to wrestle during weekends to earn some extra money for his living. And the rest of the week he devotes himself working in a store where he begins to question his purpose of life. Dejected with the status quo of his life, Randy accepts the proposition of a “20th anniversary” rematch to his opponent, thinking that it will help him get back to his groove. Addicted to steroids and straining himself beyond limits, Randy suffers a life-threatening heart attack days before the rematch. When he’s told by the doctors that he cannot wrestle again, Randy begins to trace back the dots in his life and realizes what he has been missing and how he was on the road to oblivion….

At the very outset it may seem to be like “Rocky Balboa”, but it’s much more than that. Rocky Balboa glamourises everything, but “The Wrestler” is a tale of loneliness, isolation, tragedy, pain, desparation…The streets are deserted, the people around Randy are either way too annoying or there’s just no one to talk to…the only person Randy manages to befriend is Cassidy (Marisa Tomei), a stripper at a local club. The story also brings some of our darkest fears to life. Questions like, what happens if there’s no one around to share your feelings? What if you are living a life which is devoid of a purpose..a meaning? What happens when you realise how lonely and depressed you have been all your life? , are bound to intrigue while watching this movie. The problem is, we the people, realise what has been happening to us too late. While some manage to tie the broken threads, others end up searching for the answers all their lives. No matter how hard we try, a sense of depression and alienation will creep in if there’s no one around to talk to. You need someone. You DO.

Mickey Rourke as Randy “Ram” Robinson crafts a spell binding performance with his portrayal of a man who’s trying too hard to cling to life. We end up seeing the world and the environs exactly like Randy does and it’s hard not to empathize with him. He has been nominated for “Best Actor” role for this years Oscar. A well deserved nomination…he’s totally convincing in his role. Marisa Tomei, who plays the role of a stripper (Cassidy) pitches in a credible performance (also nominated for “Best Supporting Actress” at Oscars). Her subtle flipping between her feelings for Randy and the basic rules of her profession (Never date your customer) is yet another episode of how confused we are. The backstage conversations between Randy and the new wrestlers in the ring sheds some light on the actual behind the scenes drama of Wrestling Profession. While most of the moves are already scripted, the pain they endure to make things entertaining is humongous. Cutting oneself with blades, barbwires, staple pins, nails is definitely painful to watch, but from the film’s point of view it adds more credibility.

The cinematography is another thing worth mentioning…dribbling through confined spaces, it adds a lot more to the eeriness of the backdrop. A lot many scenes are just focused on Mickey alone and the cinematographer Maryse Alberti does well in capturing the emotions which Mickey goes through. Director Afronosky does a great job in telling the tale of Wrestling, the wrestlers, the backstage drama, the pain, the fall, the alienation which Mickey endures. One of my favourite scenes is the part where Mickey tries to finish the match with his signature move towards the end of the movie…painfully realistic!

Amazing performance by Mickey Rourke, great cinematography and direction are perhaps why you should watch this movie. Although this flick is low on entertainment quotient, but it scores a lot more on one thing which movies these days generally lack. It makes you think. Think about the life which you once dreamt, but has not turned out to be what you imagined. Think about those people whom you couldn’t spend time with. Think about those relationships which you didn’t bother about…think about the peace which you have always been looking for….think…thin…thi…th..t…..

(Republished from my post on http://movies.newscrux.com)