msmith5484 Reviews

Silver Linings Playbook (2012)

If you're crazy, you must be in love

[9/10 · 20 December 2012]

If you are calling this a 'rom-com' you are misinformed. This is a dark comic look at mental illness, with the possibility of love.

Bradley Cooper is Pat (who has an unspecified anxiety disorder)released from a facility after almost beating to death the man who was having an affair with his wife Nikki. He's lost his job, his home and is living with his parents. Dad (Robert De Niro)has trouble with anxiety as well. It seems almost everyone in this movie suffers some sort of disorder. Pat is convinced he can win back his wife if he can make his life manageable. His friend's wife sets him up with her sister Tiffany (Jennifer Lawrence) a widow also suffering. She says she will deliver a letter to Pat's wife Nikki (Pat can have no contact because of a restraining order), if Pat will dance with her in an upcoming competition. Pat believes his compassion for Tiffany and commitment to the competition will prove to Nikki he's ready for her to take him back.

Bradly Cooper if fantastic. He conveys all the anxiety, confusion, mania and anger you might expect from someone a little out of step with everyone else. There is no wink, no subtle nod that 'I'm not really crazy, this is a game'. This is a very true performance. Robert De Niro is compelling as well in his belief that his son is somehow controlling the destiny of the Philadelphia Eagles football team. Jennifer Lawrence also does very good job.

The Silver Linings Playbook says you can have a great fulfilling life with mental illness... but you need a strategy... Excelsior! Trivia note: If you look quickly at the theater marquee you'll see the movie showing on Halloween is 'Midnight Meat Train'.

Les Misérables (2012)

Must see!!!!

[9/10 · 19 December 2012]

Amazing.... Les Misérables is a powerful story of redemption, grace and love. I recommend the book (abridged... Hugo does go on) as well as the 1998 version (Liam Neeson is a great Valjean). I could not say enough good things about this production. The performers were excellent, the sets and effects were great and the direction kept things moving. If this were on the stage Anne Hathaway's 'I Dreamed a Dream' would have stopped the show... I wanted to stand a cheer. Hugh Jackman deftly guided us through Valjeans anger, anguish, despair, love and honor. Tom Hoopers decision to have the actors sing on set instead of miming a recording made the experience more emotional.

Hitchcock (2012)

Lite fan fare

[5/10 · 6 December 2012]

Set during the making of 'Psycho, Anthony Hopkins plays the 'master of suspense', and embodies the character without becoming a caricature. Helen Miran is good as his long suffering wife and partner Alma, with one scene in particular in which she unleashes her pent up frustration at Hitch's blonde lust, too audience applause.

'Hitchcock' tries to do a lot of things and manages pretty well, there's a little camp as it starts and ends like an episode of 'Alfred Hitchcock Presents' and we see his classic silhouette. Hitch even makes an appearance in the form of a photograph. There's horror as Hitch speaks with an apparition of Ed Gein (the inspiration for the book Psycho) and suspense as Hitch thinks his wife may be having an affair with a writer and we don't know what action his jealousy will take. There are battles with Paramount and the Motion Picture Production Code (Hays code) officials. The supporting players, Toni Collette, Michael Wincott, Jessica Biel and Ralph Macchio do a nice job, Scarlett Johansson, though, seemed 'stagey', like her direction was 'act like your in a 1960's movie', rather than in a movie taking place in 1960. James D'Arcy seemed to be channeling Anthony Perkins right down to the crooked smile. I think the film would have been better served avoiding the personal drama between Hitch and Alma and focused more on the difficulties in making this classic piece of horror. But it had a sense of fun that the audience seemed to like.

Flight (I) (2012)

A powerful performance

[8/10 · 5 December 2012]

Every addict in recovery will tell of their 'moment of clarity', that defining moment when they truly realize their life is unmanageable. For Whip Whitaker (Denzel)it begins with a plane crash, which Whip manages expertly, averting great tragedy with minimal loss of life. This sequence is well crafted and harrowing. In it's aftermath he cleans up... for a while. He meets Nicole(Kelly Reilly)an addict trying to straighten up after overdosing. Fortunately this 'romance' doesn't interfere with the greater narrative as they often do. Whip is divorced and estranged from his teen son who is more angry that Whip is a horrible father than he is happy his dad's not dead. Whip is also facing legal troubles as his drunken state may put him in jail for the deaths of several passengers. When Whip finally takes responsibility and accountability, it is then he is heroic.

Both Zemeckis and Washington are subtle with their craft in this movie, which helps ground it. Without this steadiness it could have veered off into melodrama. It's easy to see why addicts are able to destroy so much. We want to excuse Whip's or any addict's behavior because we can, or want to, see the better person underneath the alcohol and drugs and hope that they'll see it too and change. But you cannot reason with the physical addiction and the psychological compulsion and until presented with a mirror powerful enough to let the addict see themselves, they will not change.

Amour (2012)

Love, life and death

[8/10 · 28 November 2012]

This is a beautiful movie about the end of life. Jean-Louis Trintignant and Emmanuelle Riva are excellent as Georges and Anne. Their story is nothing new, we've seen it before (like most stories), but it is told with poignancy. This is a character piece that could be a slog for some. There are a few extraneous scenes that make the 127 minute film feel longer but, though the story takes place almost entirely inside their apartment, I never felt the sense of claustrophobia. There is an intimacy that at time's made me feel I was watching the couple from across the courtyard from my own apartment. It is a true statement of love between a husband and wife.

I must say I felt a little betrayed by the trailer. It depicts what I take to be a much darker narrative, almost sinister and the word 'attack' in the synopsis doesn't necessarily allude to a medical condition. I think I'd like to see that movie a little more.

Lincoln (2012)

A House Divided ...

[7/10 · 27 November 2012]

Steven Spielberg gives us a well rounded story regarding the passage of the 13th amendment to the US Constitution. It's focus is predominantly President Lincoln but Spielberg gives us a view into the politics and the performers that facilitated it's passage. He gives us a Lincoln who seems to understand the contradictions of his presidency... he wants equality, but used his war powers to declare martial law and suspend ha beaus corpus. This is more of a political drama then a morality play - the supporters of slavery(Democrats)are not portrayed as evil, vile or villainous.

Spielberg also gives us a caring family man who dearly loves his sons and his wife, though he is at his ends because of her desperate longing for their son Willie who died in the White House from typhoid at 12. Sally Field should be nominated, Daniel Day-Lewis and Tommy Lee Jones probably will be as well. The film is a bit 'stagey' at times, but that wears off - at 150 minutes, it passes quickly given all the talking and little 'action'. Spielberg avoids many of his more manipulative tricks (except maybe at the very beginning when Lincoln is talking to 2 black soldiers, then 2 white soldiers) to give us a pretty direct telling of this story - based in part on Doris Kearns Goodwin book "Team of Rivals".

Searching for Sugar Man (2012)

Why haven't I heard of him sooner!!!!

[9/10 · 14 November 2012]

My wife and I saw his story and '60 Minutes' and decided to see this documentary. Rodriquez is an amazing fellow with an incredible story, even if he wasn't the voice of a generation of South Africans. This is more than a story of a singer who sold a few albums in another country, it's a story of finding inspiration and motivation and acting on those things that move us... to better ourselves and our surroundings and those around us. Rodriquez himself is inspiring. You couldn't blame him for maybe being a little disappointed (even angry) that things didn't work out artistically the way he hoped it might have in the early '70's, but he just keeps on keeping on. A man of humility, quiet grace and hard work. It seems so rare today that he seems like such an anomaly. He has a beautiful voice and his songs are well crafted. We bought the soundtrack immediately after seeing the movie. This won't be in theaters very long so rent it by means of your choosing, but do yourselves a favor and see this film.

Schutzengel (2012)

Til Schweiger has presence

[6/10 · 14 November 2012]

As an American, I went into this not knowing what to expect. I wasn't disappointed. I'm not thrilled, but not disappointed. Maybe I just don't understand European movie sensibilities (I recently saw Rust and Bone and thought there were pacing and story issues with that).

I think Til Schweiger is an engaging actor (he reminds me of Guy Peace) and Karoline Suchuch is beautiful. The film was beautifully shot, it looked great. The plot - policeman protects girl from bad guys - is a staple of the genre and Schutzengel, as another entry in the canon doesn't add much that's new or prevent the next one. It has it's share of clichés: the hero is emotionally withdrawn and former military, the young cop who finds out his wife is pregnant gets killed (immediately), the 'crazy' best friend and the faceless, nameless henchmen who end up as cannon fodder.

There are problems. The first being the reason the girl needs protection. She witnesses the killing of a boy by 'the villain' in what I would describe as a tragic accident. The boy sneaks the girl into the Presidential suite of the hotel where he works, she takes a laptop, 'the villain' comes back to the room, the boy and girl hide, 'the villain' notices the laptop missing, his security man comes to investigate and when the boy tries to put the laptop back 'the villain' panics and shoots and kills him. He actually seems quite remorseful when he realizes he's killed the boy. As far as I could tell 'the villain' is the villain because he may have laundered some money and is a arms dealer. A lot is made of the fact this man can own and carry a loaded gun. I guess they really hate guns in Germany though they must love them in movies as there is no actual fighting, all action is done with various handguns, shotguns and machine guns. Another problem is that it's too long at 130 minutes. It could have been cut to @ 90 by removing a sequence in a diner and a stop by the police that really adds nothing to the story.

The relationship between the girl and her protector has some moments, but doesn't really build what I consider a substantial bond and I guess there has to be a 'love' relation in the form of the DA trying to prosecute 'the villain' and give us an upbeat ending.

One thing that I was surprised to see, that separates this from all other action movies is the hero washing and crying over his best friend who was shot to death.

This is not an excellent film but it did give me an interest in seeing what else Til Schweiger has done.

Rust and Bone (2012)

Character study / slice of life

[6/10 · 13 November 2012]

If you are a fan of Marion Cotillard I recommend it, she has remarkable depth. Frankly I wish this were more her story. The actors play their parts well and Jacques Audiard gives a great feeling of isolation and desperation to the film. The film suffers, I think (maybe because it is cobbled together from several short stories) from a lack of narrative and theme. In the beginning of the movie "Alain" seems like a man who would do anything to protect and care for his son, later, he seems not to think much of him at all and comes across as completely self-absorbed and brutish. There's only a vague understanding of why "Stephanie" might be drawn to him. "Rush and Bone" is more of a character study and an exercise in film making without epiphany or closure. It could have gone so many places, sadly it doesn't really go anywhere and as viewer I was ultimately unfulfilled.

Dark Shadows (2012)

Johnny Depp vanity piece

[4/10 · 9 May 2012]

This movie is nothing but an excuse for Johnny Depp to put on make up and clothes and play a foppish character. He does it well, great in fact, but that's not a reason to make a movie. This was very much a disappointment. Too much happens too quickly and other things happen without much thought. Characters are not defined and Michelle Pfeiffer and Jackie Earle Haley are wasted. We have a vampire, witch, ghosts and a werewolf and not much scare or many laughs.. a few chuckles at the 'fish-out-of-water' aspect, but "Austin Powers" was funnier and more poignant. I didn't understand the motivations for any of the characters except the witch who curses Barnabas to be a vampire... he essentially uses his servant girl for sex then falls in love with another woman, no wonder she wanted revenge. This was a disjointed piece of distraction. Barnabas kills a bunch of construction workers, which has some scares, then he kills hippies, for laughs. He complains that killing is destroying his soul, but we don't see any reason to believe that. The sets and costumes are excellent as is the cinematography. The only thing missing is a well thought out story. The final shot suggests a sequel... which would be a curse.

The Artist (I) (2011)

Don't miss!!!!!

[9/10 · 10 February 2012]

The Artist is a wonderful movie. I can't say too many good things about it. It is funny, sweet, endearing, sad and lovely. I'm surprised at how moved I was. The leads (Jean Dujardin & Berenice Bejo) radiate charm, you can't help but root for them even when his pride get the best of him and she gets a little big-headed. Maybe it's just me but Jean Dujardin reminded me a little of Gene Kelly. Uggie (the dog) is marvelous - I don't know why he hasn't been nominated. I would call it a 'movie lovers movie', it has nods (or maybe winks) to 'Sunset Boulevard', 'Singin' in the Rain' and 'The Mark of Zorro'. Although this is a silent movie, there are moments of sound playfully executed. The story is relatively simple - how does an established star cope when trends and technology change faster then he wishes they would? There are a couple of nits I could pick, but why? Please do yourself a favor and see it.

The Iron Lady (2011)

A great actress portrays a great leader

[7/10 · 3 February 2012]

If you think it will be a lefty 'hit-job' you are mistaken, as was I.

Most of the movie takes place in the present showing Margaret her daughter and aides struggling with her dementia and grieving the death in 2003 of her husband Denis. The film doesn't demean her by showing her as frail. We are shown a woman in declining mental health but also a woman who is still a strong presence, a force, not to be taken lightly. Through flashbacks we are given glimpses into her past and rise to PM. We see her inspired by her father, her foray into politics, and the struggles she handles being a woman in a man's world. We see her strength of conviction when she battles members of her own party who are quick to compromise for sake of their career. In these moments we are shown the strength and authority of a great leader. While watching these scenes I wanted to stand and cheer.

The Descendants (2011)

Well written script and strong performance stays away from melodrama.

[8/10 · 24 January 2012]

Many films show us characters working their way through grief. In "The Descendants" Matt King (George Clooney) has to tell his family and friends that his wife Elizabeth will be taken off life support after suffering a head injury. His eldest daughter tells him that her mother has been having an affair, he learns that she was in love with the man, Brian Speer (Matthew Lillard) and was going to seek a divorce. After breaking the news to loved ones that those who loved Elizabeth should visit her to say goodbye, he decides to find Brian and allow him to see Elizabeth.

Alexander Payne's direction and George Clooney's understated performance anchors this film from becoming a study in familial dysfunction and morose introspection. There is anger and disappointment, from all, but it is conveyed realistically without hysterics and punches, as when Elizabeth's father (Robert Forester) blames Matt for his daughter's accident, or when Matt's daughters realize their mother is going to die, or Matt confronts Brian or says goodbye to Elizabeth, it is very grounded in reality. I never felt I was watching someone act.

Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close (2011)

What does this key open.... who cares?

[5/10 · 18 January 2012]

This is a story of an odd boy (who may have asberger syndrome ("The tests were inconclusive")) grieving his father who dies on 9/11 when the South tower collapses. He tries to hold on to his father by tracking down the lock to a key he finds in his father's closet. The journey he takes (dragging us along) doesn't go anywhere and we learn very little about the boy, his father or why we should care. Along the way we have a reconciliation with the boy's grandfather who abandoned his son (Tom Hanks) years earlier, but, big deal, they don't seem to have any real emotional connection so neither do we. This pairing of odd boy and mute grandfather might have been very interesting, but we don't feel much of a bond between them. When we finally reach the end of our journey and discover where the key belongs, it is unsatisfying. Maybe because the father didn't even know about the key so it really had nothing to do with him, so the entire journey was ultimately fruitless, except to add another layer of 'father/son' disconnection, which is odd because we're shown that this boy and his father had a great relationship. I'm not sure why this had to take place on 9/11. Almost nothing is made of it and we're not shown the attack having any effect on the city or these people except that this mother and son lost someone. He could have gotten killed by a drunk driver and it would have mattered the same to the audience. The best and most effective scene is between mother and son (Sandra Bullock and Thomas Schell) as they fight and cry about missing their husband and father. I'm certain the film makers wanted to make a thoughtful, emotional 'father/son' movie, but the true bonds between a father and son are not expressed very well and that's too bad.

War Horse (2011)

Spielberg's misplaced manipulation

[4/10 · 18 January 2012]

Every film maker manipulates. They have a point of view they want the audience to share. Steven Spielberg has the ability to tell a story very well, but when he gets overly sentimental his films fail. Maybe this is an example of loving something too much. Instead of a whisper, he's screaming "Feel this!!, Love this!!" I don't need to be beaten over the head. Also, it seems like they were trying to make a movie that would appeal more to kids. Or maybe Spielberg doesn't trust the American audience, that's why all the actors spoke English except with vague German or French accents. The characters were fairly one-dimensional so I was never fully attached to any of them. I also didn't feel any of the tension that was supposed to be there either during the battle scenes or the auction scenes. And the scene with the British and German soldiers freeing Joey from the barbed-wire and developing a bond should have been so much more. The film looked beautiful for the most part, the colors were rich and full and looked like a Technicolor film at it's best, although there were times with the lighting, that you could tell someone was off camera with a reflector shining light on the actors faces. This could have been a truly great story of love, loss, honor and bravery, but got lost because Spielberg forgets to treat his audience like thinking adults and plays too much to the heart.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011)

Compelling mystery thriller - a little long

[8/10 · 11 January 2012]

I admit I didn't care much about this until I heard David Fincher was involved. I loved his work with Fight Club; Se7en; The Social Network; The Game. I liked his story telling with other movies I thought were just OK (Panic Room; Benjamin Button; Zodiac) I was aware there was a book and a first movie, but I didn't know anything about either as to content. I really liked it. The story was interesting, the acting superb, especially Rooney Mara (I will be looking for more from her), the cinematography is excellent, the direction well paced and suspenseful. But, to begin with, the main title sequence seemed out of place. It looks more like the opening of a James Bond movie - weird. Also, and these are dramatic changes, mostly to shorten the film (158 min. is a bit long) I could have done without all the business about Lisbeth's guardian, both the one who has the heart attack and the one who rapes her. I realize it's 'gritty' and is supposed to show how she's abused but fights back, but, I thought the subway scene where her bag is stolen and she fights to get it back did the same thing, only quicker. Actually, I don't know why the whole thing is there - she's a genius hacker - she could just plunder peoples/companies bank accounts - there's no need for her to go asking anyone for money. I think maybe the author had a rape/revenge fantasy he wanted played out. Also, I think it would have been better if she hadn't sexualized her relationship with Mikael, he would have made a better father figure and would have made their relationship more compelling. I think Lisbeth is a fascinating character, I would have liked to have learned more about her and how she lives her daily life and how she became an investigator - maybe that's in the book. I really like the look, atmosphere and pacing of Finchers movies, this is no exception. He is a terrific storyteller. I will always be interested in what he's doing.

The Flowers of War (2011)

Don't miss. This deserves your attention.

[9/10 · 21 December 2011]

Zhang Yimou has crafted a beautifully shot and compelling story set inside horrific events. About all I knew of this movie was it was set in 1937 China and starred Christian Bale. Not knowing much allowed me to be completely open to the journey of the characters. This is an emotionally powerful story about people caught in circumstances for which there seems no hope of survival. The Japanese soldiers are shown as barbaric, but we do meet an officer who attempts to remain honorable though he must do his duty to his superiors. The violence in the movie is brutal, but not graphic or gratuitous. The choices and sacrifices made by the characters never seemed contrived. The arc of Christian Bale's character may seem 'predictable', but it is never false or 'convenient' to the story. All actors are excellent. Because they're foreign to me I had no idea who they are or their other work. At the screening I attended we were introduced to Ni Ni, who said this was her first film. She is both beautiful and compelling. I wish her a long career. Yimou, through his daughter, told us about his journey to make this movie - based on a novel, based on real events. He has told an amazing story that will stay with me for a long time.