50/50 (2011) – Review

Review: 50/50 is just what it sets out to be – a dramedy that is both very funny and dramatically impactful (with some tear-jerking scenes). Director Jonathan Levine does a great job focusing the attention completely on the characters, even the setting (Vancouver doubling for Seattle), plays into the characters. In doing this, he has set the audience up to be fully invested in them, especially Adam – who is played to be a very average guy, but it works quite well in this film because Adam is completely relatable to the whole audience (for the most part), which makes his journey all the more powerful and emotional. The film is actually surprisingly intense (in a ‘wow this is really sad’ sort of way), due in most part to the very good performances and the frank nature of Will Reiser’s writing. However, there is some fantastic comedy that lightens the film wonderfully, and changes the overall complexion of the film as a whole – this probably the hardest thing to get right – balancing the drama and comedy (especially the comedy). Creating tear-jerking scenes is one thing (Lifetime movies do a great job at it, but are any of them really that good?), but creating truly impactful dramatic scenes and scenes that are very funny (some being one in the same in 50/50) that flow together is very difficult, and Levine does it very well. This is the strongest aspect of the film. A small criticism that I have is that I wanted more scenes between Katherine and Adam (though, many directors believe it is good to leave your audience wanting more). Their relationship makes sense and works in the narrative, so that it not the issue; rather I just enjoyed their scenes and would have liked a few more, which also speaks to the lack of a fully satisfying ending. The ending works fine (as it plays a bit like The Graduate’s ambiguous ‘what now’, as many films have done since), but again I wanted more (a sense of closure for the characters’ relationships I guess, though the film does sort of have that, really I just want to see what happens next). However, this is really a minor issue. Overall, the narrative does work very well and Levine’s structure both plays off the drama and comedy while keeping the plot moving forward. 50/50 is both a very well played drama and a funny comedy. It is a film about relationships (with friends, parents and significant others) and how good relationships bring so much to our lives.

Technical, aesthetic & acting achievements: Jonathan Levine, now three features in, has shown himself to be one of the best young filmmakers working with 50/50. The best aspect of the film is the performances he garners from his actors, and the way he allows them to just play their scenes without big camera moves or tons of cuts. This is also due to the great work of cinematographer Terry Stacey, composer Michael Giacchino (whose scores usually stick out, but here he toned it down to match the mood of the film, I mean this is the composer who scored Lost, Up, Super 8 and Let Me In after all) and production designer Annie Spitz – all three of whom created visuals and music to perfectly fit the tone of the performances and play off and reinforce the characters, which is so important in character pieces such as 50/50. The performances overall were very good. Philip Baker Hall, Matt Frewer and Anjelica Huston provide great work in their small supporting roles. Bryce Dallas Howard is a lot of fun playing the girlfriend in a difficult position. Seth Rogen plays his typical pop-culture referencing comedy self, but in this film he works very well playing against the lead. Anna Kendrick is again fantastic (in really her second real dramatic performance). Joseph Gordon-Levitt is just right in his role as Adam – he plays the average guy very well, but also put enough anima into it that the audience not only connects but really feels for him.

Summary & score: 50/50 is much more than just an R-rated comedy or manipulative tear-jerking drama, it is a wonderful dramedy that will have you laughing and probably crying both through genuine emotion. 8/10

Directors to Watch: Part 1 – Movies Spotlight – September 2011

One of the great things about cinema is that there is constantly an inflow of great new talents. These three directors are on the brink of becoming well known filmmakers in the States.

Nicolas Winding Refn

Filmography to Date:

Winding Refn, a Danish filmmaker, started his career in 1993 when he came to America to study film at the Academy of Dramatic Arts. He made his first film in Denmark – the 1996 crime thriller Pusher. It is considered one of the greatest director debut films in cinema history. He made another film in Denmark, Bleeder, before making his first English language film (filmed in the U.K., Canada and Denmark) Fear X. Neither film was as well received as his first, so Winding Refn decided to return to the world of Pusher to make two sequels (With Blood on My Hands and I’m the Angel of Death) to complete the trilogy. His films in Denmark are also highlighted by his collaboration with Danish star Mads Mikkelsen (who appears in four of his films). He next took two films solely in the U.K. First, the TV movie Miss Marple: Nemesis and then the crime biography Bronson. Bronson served as Winding Refn’s breakthrough film for English-speaking audiences, also leading to many discovering the Pusher Trilogy. The film’s star Tom Hardy also was praised by critics leading to a breakthrough in his career. Winding Refn then returned to Denmark to make the very atmospheric Viking epic with Mads Mikkelsen Valhalla Rising, which is probably his most artistically interesting but inaccessible film to date.

September Film:

Drive marks Winding Refn’s (who is considered to be a Danish auteur) debut in Hollywood (and to a degree in America). He has a great cast with Ryan Gosling starring and supporting work from Carey Mulligan, Bryan Cranston and Albert Brooks (among others), and critical acclaim coming out of the Cannes Film Festival winning Best Director and being nominated for Best Film. Critics in general love the movie, many calling it the best film of the year (so far). I am most interested in seeing how the material, the film being an action crime thriller, meshes with Winding Refn’s style of late (specifically the great, and awful at the same time, tone and style of Valhalla Rising). Though, if the Pusher Trilogy is any indication, he can handle the crime genre very well. If the film is received as well by moviegoers as it has been by critics (and the box office is there), Winding Refn could be the next hot director in Hollywood. Here is a trailer for Drive.

Upcoming:

Up next in 2012, Winding Refn is again working with Ryan Gosling in the crime drama Only God Forgives. It is about a Bangkok police lieutenant and a gangster who settle their differences in a Thai-boxing match. It also stars Kristin Scott Thomas.

Career Highlights:

1)      Pusher Trilogy (1996/2004/2005) – crime (DVD/Rent)

2)      Bronson (2008) – crime (Blu-ray/DVD/Rent)

3)      Valhalla Rising (2009) – drama (Blu-ray/DVD/Rent)

*Editor’s Picks

Bennett Miller

Filmography to Date:

Miller, a New York City filmmaker, started his career directing commercials and music videos before making the very good and deeply personal to New York City documentary The Cruise in 1998. It is about Tim “Speed” Levitch, a tour guide for Manhattan’s Gray Line double-decker buses. There is such a love for the city in the film. Continuing to make commercials and music videos, Miller did not return to film until deciding to tackle the biography of Truman Capote, specifically focusing on his writing of the novel In Cold Blood about the murder of a Kansas family and the two men who committed it. The film, Capote, is excellent (and I cannot think of too many better dramatic feature debuts). It was nominated for Best Director, Film, Screenplay, Supporting Actress, and won Best Actor for Philip Seymour Hoffman at the 2006 Oscars. It is a haunting character piece, and Miller made a case of himself as an auteur with only one feature under his belt.

September Film:

Taking his time to make his follow-up to Capote, Miller finally has a new film – this month’s Moneyball. As a huge fan of baseball films (I think baseball translates to film the best of all sports), I was excited about this before knowing anything about who was involved. Now, knowing who is making the film, I think it is likely to be on many 10 Best Lists. Along with Miller directing, it features work from writers Steven Zallian and Aaron Sorkin, cinematographer from Wally Pfister and production design from Jess Goncher, all excellent talents. Plus, it has a great cast with Brad Pitt starring and supporting work from Jonah Hill, Philip Seymour Hoffman (working again with Miller) and Chris Pratt. It is about Oakland A’s general manager Billy Beane, who revolutionized the game with the use of sabermetrics to build a good team on a tight budget. Here is the trailer. This is another film, like Drive, that has critics enamored as it plays at Fall Festivals ahead of its release, further strengthening Miller’s stock as a wonderful filmmaker.

Upcoming:

As of now, he has no new projects announced, but with the likely success of Moneyball it is only a matter of time and finding the right film.

Career Highlights:

1)      The Cruise (1998) – documentary (DVD/Rent)

2)      Capote (2005)* – drama (Blu-ray/DVD/Rent)

*Editor’s Picks

Jonathan Levine

Filmography to Date:

Levine, another NYC filmmaker, attended Brown University before doing his masters at the American Film Institute. He also worked as director Paul Schrader’s (if nothing else, see Schrader’s film Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters) assistant before focusing on his own filmmaking – beginning with two shorts the drama Shards and the documentary Love Bytes. Next he made the popular horror B-movie All the Boys Love Mandy Lane, which also sprouted rising star Amber Heard’s career. In 2008, Levine had his breakthrough (outside the schlock fan base that loves All the Boys Love Mandy Lane) with the comedy drama The Wackness, which he also wrote. It won the Audience Award at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival, catapulting Levine into the league of hot indie directors. However, Levine took his time to pick his next project, directing an episode of How to Make It in America during the break from film.

September Film:

Levine has finally found a project that seems to be right in his wheelhouse, the comedy drama 50/50 about a 27-year-old who is diagnosed with cancer and is given a fifty percent chance of survival (it is somewhat based on writer Will Reiser’s own experiences). Here is the trailer. It has a fantastic young cast with Joseph Gordon-Levitt starring and supporting work from Seth Rogen, Anna Kendrick and Bryce Dallas Howard. Even though it deals with a tough subject, the film looks hysterically funny, and it will be good to see Anna Kendrick in a real dramatic role again after she was so good in Up in the Air. Like the other two directors, Levine could see his services become in high demand if this film does as well, critically and commercially, as it is expected to do.

Upcoming:

Levine has is next project slated for 2012 with Summit Entertainment. It is a horror romance drama about a zombie who becomes involved with the girlfriend of one of his victims (yes, it sounds ridiculous, can you say My Boyfriend’s Back, but also kind of potentially awesome). It is called Warm Bodies and stars Nicholas Hoult (who is brilliant in Skins generation 1, and ready to breakout in America after co-starring in X-Men: First Class), Teresa Palmer (also a rising star), Analeigh Tipton (who was fantastic in Crazy, Stupid, Love.), and Rob Corddry.

Career Highlights:

1)      The Wackness (2008) – comedy drama (Blu-ray/DVD/Rent)

*Editor’s Picks

At the Movies – September 2011 – Part 3: This Month’s Best Films

Must See of the Month:

Drive (Nicolas Winding Refn) – Crime Drama – Sep 16

Summary: The film is about a Hollywood stunt driver who moonlights as a wheelman. After a heist goes wrong, he discovers that there is a contract out on his head. Filmmakers: Danish director Nicolas Winding Refn is known for very atmospheric and intense films (Valhalla Rising is a good example). Drive as a crime drama with an action aspect to it is a slight change of pace for him, which should be interesting. He has an odd mixture of collaborators working with him including crime drama genre composer (mostly) Cliff Martinez (Traffic), cinematographer Newton Thomas Sigel (who shoots all Bryan Singer’s films) and indie production designer Beth Mickle(Kind of a Funny Story). Cast: The cast is very good in its own right, but especially fitting for the genre with Ryan Gosling starring and supporting work from Christina Hendricks, Ron Perlman, Bryan Cranston, Carey Mulligan, Oscar Isaac, and Albert Brooks. Expectations: When I first heard about this project, having recently seen Valhalla Rising (and having loved parts and found others not to work, but certainly found Refn to be a fantastic filmmaker), I was very interested to see how Refn would fare making more of a Hollywood (or at least indie Hollywood) style narrative – and in particular one in this genre. Then I saw the trailer, and probably like everyone else who has seen it, I was blown away. It looks incredible (like top five remaining films of the year incredible – it reminds me of Bullitt). That said, this is easily the film I am most excited to see this month – but it is not just me. Drive was an official selection of the Cannes Film Festival and is one of the highest rated films from this year’s festival circuit. Check out the trailer. Review.

Worth Checking Out:

Contagion (Steven Soderbergh) – Thriller – Sep 9

Summary: The film is about an outbreak of a deadly disease and the team of doctors tasked with saving the human race from annihilation.  Filmmakers: Director Steven Soderbergh has been a bit uneven (at least for me) with his recent films, some good and some terrible. But when he is on, he is a very good filmmaker, especially when directing dramas. He has never really made a thriller, so I am interested to see how this turns out. He is shooting the film himself and working with frequent collaborator composer Cliff Martinez (Solaris and is also scoring this month’s Drive) and production designer Howard Cummings (The Usual Suspects). Cast: Contagion’s cast is almost too good for the film to be bad with Matt Damon, Kate Winslet, Marion Cotillard, Bryan Cranston, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jude Law, Laurence Fishburne, John Hawkes, and Elliot Gould. Expectations: Honestly, I when I first heard about this film I was weary – not another Outbreak I thought, I mean how many of these films can they make. But having Soderbergh involved gives it the potential to be great and the cast kept me from dismissing it. The trailer is also quite engaging. I think it looks like a good thriller (be it one we have probably seen before, but good nonetheless). Check out the trailer. Review.

Moneyball (Bennett Miller) – Sports Drama – Sep 23

Summary: The film is about Oakland A’s general manager Billy Beane – the man who changed baseball. Using advanced statistics and computer analysis to pick his players, enabling him to build competitive teams on a budget. Filmmakers: Excellent director Bennett Miller is back for his second feature (his first was the Oscar winner Capote). He is again working with composer Mychael Danna and two of the best in their respective fields cinematographer Wally Pfister (who shoots Chris Nolan’s films) and production designer Jess Gonchor (who designs the Coen Brothers’ films). Plus, the script is by Steven Zaillian (American Gangster) and brilliant writer Aaron Sorkin (The Social Network). Cast: It has a wonderful cast too with Brad Pitt starring and Jonah Hill, Robin Wright, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Chris Pratt, and Kathryn Morris supporting. Expectations: I love sports dramas, especially baseball dramas, so maybe I am bias right off the bat, but Moneyball has the right director, crew and cast to be an Oscar contender. It looks to be very good based on the trailer. Bennett Miller made one of the ten best films of 2005 (which was a very strong year), thus Moneyball comes with a lot of anticipation and expectation. Check out the trailer. Review.

50/50 (Jonathan Levine) – Drama – Sep 30

Summary: Loosely based on the life of the film’s writer Will Reiser, it is about a 27-year-old who is diagnosed with cancer, and his struggle to beat the disease. The film also looks at how his loved ones deal with the news. Filmmakers:  Indie director Jonathan Levine made a name for himself among the indie film crowd with his first two films All the Boys Love Mandy Lane and The Wackness. 50/50 looks to be more of a Hollywood style film, but if is as good as it looks it should serve as a springboard. He has a great crew with one of my favorite composers Michael Giacchino (Let Me In), cinematographer Terry Stacey (Adventureland) and production designer Annie Spitz (who got her first job as a production designer on The Wackness). Cast:  The cast has a great mix of some of the most talented young actors in Hollywood with Joseph Gordon-Levitt starring, Seth Rogen and Anna Kendrick co-starring and Bryce Dallas Howard, Anjelica Huston and Philip Baker Hall featuring in support. Expectations: It is difficult to make the kind of R-rated comedy that producer and co-star Rogen usually makes when you throw in cancer (just look at Funny People, which I think is underrated, but it did not play well for general movie-goers). However, there is enough talent, both dramatically and comedically to make this work. It looks to be both very funny and dramatically engaging. Check out the trailer. Review.