Movies Spotlight – 2016 Movies, Part 2 – August 2016

Overall, 2016 has felt disappointing at the movies. Yes, we have a few great movies like Everybody Wants Some!!, Green Room and The Witch, but the year seems to have produced one disappointment after another (especially this Summer). Captain America: Civil War, The Jungle Book, Zootopia, Finding Dory, and Deadpool lived up to our expectations (and surpassed them), but Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice, X-Men: Apocalypse, The BFG, The Legend of Tarzan, Jason Bourne, and now Suicide Squad have all come up short (seemingly pulling down our opinions of the whole year and our enthusiasm for what is to come). And yet, there are a number of films to still be excited for:

Pete’s Dragon

At face value, it is surprising that Disney would remake Pete’s Dragon, a back-catalog 1970s musical that I imagine anyone under 35 does not even know ever existed. But Disney has done something interesting with this remake, they have only taken the very basics from the original and let indie auteur David Lowery run with it, resulting in a family film that actually feels substantial. Lowery also has a great cast with Bryce Dallas Howard, Robert Redford and Karl Urban. In theaters August 12^th. Check out the trailer.

The Light Between Oceans

Derek Cianfrance makes brooding dramas, steeped in deep, dark emotions. This all makes him the perfect filmmaker to take on an adaptation of The Light Between Oceans, a drama about a man and wife who decide to raise a baby they find adrift only to discover years later that the child’s mother is still searching for it. The cast is among the year’s absolute best with Alicia Vikander, Michael Fassbender and Rachel Weisz. This could be 2016’s first serious Oscar contender. In theaters September 2^nd. Check out the trailer.

The Girl on the Train

Paula Hawkins’s novel was a huge success, making this adaptation one of the most anticipated films of the Fall. Emily Blunt leads a good cast and Tate Taylor has proven very adept in his ability to produce strong cinematic adaptations (like The Help). The mystery thriller is about Rachel Watson, a divorced woman who takes a train past her old house everyday on her way to work; only, one day something is different when she believes that she witnesses a murder, but that is not the whole story. In theaters October 7^th. Check out the trailer.

The Birth of a Nation

Writer/director/star Nate Parker won both the Audience Award and the Grand Jury Prize at this year’s Sundance Film Festival with his slavery drama The Birth of a Nation. The film feels vital, given the #OscarsSoWhite controversy and our current sociopolitical climate. Parker also represents a much needed fresh cinematic voice. The film is about Nat Turner, a literate slave and preacher who organizes a rebellion against the masters in the antebellum South. In theaters October 7^th. Check out the trailer.

Doctor Strange

Marvel Studios can do no wrong with their Cinematic Universe (aka the MCU), or so it seems. Doctor Strange, however, represents an interesting challenge. Marvel bottled lightening with Guardians of the Galaxy, a gaggle of heroes unknown to general movie-going audiences, but can they do it again with Dr. Stephen Strange? They certainly have the goodwill of their fans, a promising (and different) concept and a phenomenal cast, headlined by Benedict Cumberbatch, Chiwetel Eijiofor, Rachel McAdams, Benedict Wong, Mads Mikkelsen, and Tilda Swinton. In theaters November 4^th. Check out the trailer.

Loving

Indie auteur Jeff Nichols is one of America’s brightest independent filmmaking stars. His new drama tackles the true story of Richard and Mildred Loving, an interracial couple struggling to live in 1958 Virginia. Like The Birth of a Nation, Loving feels tonally vital right now. The buzz out of the Cannes Film Festival, where it screened in May, was very strong with special notices for leads Ruth Negga and Joel Edgerton. In theaters November 4^th. Check out the trailer.

Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk

Filmmakers have had limited success tackling the Iraq War, as it seems to be difficult to really capture the tone of such a twisted and problematic conflict and portray the struggles faced by the men and women in the middle of it (my personal favorite is the HBO miniseries Generation Kill). That said, auteur Ang Lee is a good fit to take it on. Lee also has a good eclectic cast with Kristen Stewart, Vin Diesel, Steve Martin, and Chris Tucker. The film adaptation is about Billy Lynn, a war hero who temporarily gets to come home. In theaters November 11^th. Check out the trailer.

Arrival

Auteur Denis Villeneuve made my favorite film of 2015 with Sicario; he is back in 2016 with the sci-fi drama Arrival. It is about an expert linguist who is recruited by the military to determine if an alien race that has landed crafts across the globe comes in peace or are a threat. Villeneuve again champions the need for more roles and better roles for female actors by casting Amy Adams in the lead (he famously gender switched the lead in Sicario, casting Emily Blunt). In theaters November 11^th.

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

Cynically speaking, we all knew Warner Bros. would find a way to keep the Wizarding World of Harry Potter going; however, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them has the pedigree to delight fans. J.K. Rowling is providing the script, David Yates (who directed films 5-8 of the Harry Potter series) is behind the camera, and Oscar-winner Eddie Redmayne stars. The film is about the adventures of Newt Scamander, a specialist in magical creatures, in 1920s New York City. Even after eight films, I am excited to return to the Wizarding World. In theaters November 18^th. Check out the trailer.

Manchester by the Sea

Auteur Kenneth Lonergan is finally back with a new film with Manchester by the Sea, a drama about an uncle who must take care of his teenage nephew after the boy’s father passes. The film has a ton of Oscar buzz coming out of its early festival screenings, many calling it the best film of 2016 so far. It boasts a solid cast, led by Casey Affleck, Kyle Chandler and Michelle Williams. In theaters November 18^th.

Moana

Disney’s latest ‘princess’ film aims to be something completely different. First, Moana, a young Hawaiian woman, is actually voiced by a young Hawaiian woman in Auli’I Cravalho and second Moana is her own hero without a love interest. This feels like a big step forward for Disney, who has made big recent strides forward in promoting its female characters. The film also features voice-work from Dwayne Johnson as Maui the demi-god. Ron Clements and John Musker lead the creative team (they have given us some of our most beloved Disney films like The Little Mermaid and Aladdin). In theaters November 23^rd. Check out the trailer.

Allied

Each new Robert Zemeckis film feels like a big deal, as he is a filmmaker known for pushing the visual envelope forward while telling big stories. His new film, Allied, is a WWII action romance about two spies working for the Allies who marry each other and work together, but what if one of them was really a double-agent working for the Nazis? The film also happens to have two of Hollywood’s most dynamic leading actors in Brad Pitt and Marion Cotillard playing its spies. I think this is a sleeper for film of the year. In theaters November 23^rd.

La La Land

Bursting onto the scene with Whiplash, writer/director Damien Chazelle is back with a musical dramedy and he has J.K. Simmons with him again. We need more good musicals; this one looks magical and sublimely charming. It stars Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling (who has fantastic chemistry) and is about a jazz pianist who falls for an aspiring actress in Los Angeles. In theaters December 16^th. Check out the trailer.

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

Set right before the beginning of A New Hope, Rogue One is about the team of rebels who steal the plans for the Death Star. Director Gareth Edwards describes the film as a war movie, set in the Star Wars Universe. Writer Tony Gilroy is working with Edwards presently finishing up the final editing process, getting the tone just right. Everything we have seen so far is very promising. Plus, the cast, fronted by Felicity Jones, is very good. This is the film I am most looking forward to seeing. In theaters December 16^th. Check out the trailer.

Passengers

Sony’s most high profile film of 2016 is Passengers, a sci-fi adventure about a spacecraft shuttling thousands of people to a distant colony planet that experiences a malfunction in one of its sleep chambers awakening two passengers 60 years early. The story sounds intriguing alone and then you throw in the very charming leads Jennifer Lawrence and Chris Pratt and Passengers suddenly jumps to the top of a lot of ‘Most Anticipated’ lists. If Lawrence and Pratt have chemistry, I cannot imagine this not being highly entertaining. Rising star Morten Tyldum is behind the camera. In theaters December 21^st.

A few others to look out for: Queen of Katwe, American Honey and Lion. 

Movie of the Week – Public Enemies

This week’s movie: Public Enemies (2009)

John Dillinger is public enemy number one after a string of headline-grabbing bank robberies during the 1930s; however, the Feds are closing in around him and other notable criminals like Baby Face Nelson and Pretty Boy Floyd. Melvin Purvis has been tasked with heading up the Chicago office with the specific goal of capturing or killing Dillinger. The two men play a deadly game of cat and mouse.

Public Enemies is the latest film from American auteur Michael Mann (at least until his cyber thriller Blackhat comes out in 2015), master of the sprawling crime drama. Mann worked with a superb group on the film including: composer Elliot Goldenthal, cinematographer Dante Spinotti, and production designer Nathan Crowley.

The film has a phenomenal cast, headlined by Johnny Depp and Christian Bale. The supporting ensemble features David Wenham, Jason Clarke, Stephen Dorff, Channing Tatum, Rory Cochrane, Carey Mulligan (although, she is in it for maybe a second), Branka Katic, Emilie de Ravin, Billy Crudup, Marion Cotillard, Giovanni Ribisi, John Ortiz, Shawn Hatosy, Stephen Graham, Stephen Lang, Lili Taylor, and Leelee Sobieski.

Michael Mann has made a number of fantastic crime dramas – Thief, Heat, Collateral, and Miami Vice (highly underrated). Public Enemies is his first period crime drama, though he has made a few great period dramas (notably The Last of the Mohicans). What works exceptionally well about his films, Public Enemies included, is that he garners wonderful character-driven performances in worlds that feels very gritty and realistic. Some of that has to do with his collaborations with Dante Spinotti, whose photography is stunning and feels naturalistic. He is also the best at shooting gun fights. His staging, photography, and sound design are second to none (Heat probably has the best gun fight ever filmed). In some ways, Public Enemies feels a lot like Heat. The themes are the same in many ways. And, both feature great action set pieces. The film was mildly received upon its release in 2009 and has still not really found an audience, but it is magnificent. Depp and Bale are fantastic and it is visually dazzling. I think it is a must-see for fans of Mann’s work and those who enjoy grand crime dramas. It is probably the best gangster film of the last five years (my three favorite films of 2009 are Inglourious Basterds, Up, and Public Enemies to give you an idea of the esteem I hold for this film).

Trailer: Here

Available on: Blu-ray and Video On-Demand

LeapBackBlog 2012 Film Awards – Part 4: Leading Performances

Film in 2012 may not have been quite as strong overall as 2011, but right at the top there were a lot of good and very entertaining films. 2012 also featured many wonderful performances, particularly among men (many great performances that would have made my lists in past years were sadly left off). The LeapBackBlog Film Awards are comprised of what I think were the best and most interesting films, the strongest performances (taking into consideration who the actor is and what else they have done), the narrative style that drew me in (best directing), and exquisite craftsmanship (best technical achievements). But really, these are lists of my favorites from the year.

Part 1: Technical Achievements

Part 2: Supporting Performances

Part 3: Directors

Part 5: Films

Christian Bale – The Dark Knight Rises

Reprising his role as Bruce Wayne/Batman for the third time, Christian Bale is again astonishing in The Dark Knight Rises (in what is easily an overlooked performance given the genre and how seamlessly and natural Bale plays the character). While in the past two films Wayne is a pillar of strength in the community, here Bale plays him as a broken man, both figuratively and literally. Even when he returns to being Batman, his heart is not really in it anymore, and Bale lets the audience see his crushed will and injured spirit while still putting on the guise of confidence and strength. This only makes his true return all the more dramatically powerful. Bale is known for his brilliant performances (films like American Psycho, Rescue Dawn, and The Fighter), and while this might not be as flashy it is equally as layered and just as strong.

Jessica Chastain – Zero Dark Thirty

Jessica Chastain had a breakout year in 2011 and has followed it up with another strong year. Playing Maya the CIA agent in the field that devotes herself totally for over a decade to finding and killing Osama bin Laden, she is brilliant in Zero Dark Thirty (and will likely win an Oscar for her work). She has the tough role of being strong even in the most emotionally crippling situations, but also must be vulnerable enough to let the audience in – and she finds the perfect balance. Chastain also captures the toll that the stress and drive takes on Maya. She has a very bright career ahead of her, as she is already among the best actress working right now.

Bradley Cooper – Silver Linings Playbook

Who knew Bradley Cooper was capable of such a good performances? Well, David O. Russell apparently. Cooper gives the best performance of his career to date in Silver Linings Playbook as Pat (which should open doors for better leading man work for him in the future and not just crappy romantic comedies). Cooper plays Pat with a mix of compassion and hostile energy. The performance seems to constantly teeter on the edge of completely exploding with nervous rage, which absolutely pulls the audience in. But, the audience also likes Pat and is behind him because they see that Pat is capable of love and really does want to get his life together. It is very strong work by Cooper (in a year with at least fifteen or so male leading performances could have made this list).  

Marion Cotillard – Rust and Bone

Aside from the practical challenge of playing a character that loses both her legs below the knee, Marion Cotillard also has to play the deep depression felt by her character Stephanie in Rust and Bone. What makes the performance so compelling is Stephanie’s emotional journey back. Cotillard is phenomenal, as she perfectly captures the strength and drive of Stephanie. The audience is heartbroken and inspired all in the same dramatic arc. Cotillard is also very good in Little White Lies and The Dark Knight Rises this year.

Daniel Day-Lewis – Lincoln

Daniel Day-Lewis is not so much playing a character in a film as much as he seems to be channeling Abraham Lincoln in Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln. It seems silly to say that, as I have no idea what Lincoln was actually like or how he sounded when he talked, but Day-Lewis just seems so completely lost in the character that it does not even occur to me that he is not actually Lincoln. That is what he does, he just becomes his characters, and is maybe the greatest actor working right now.

Keira Knightley – Anna Karenina

Keira Knightley just seems to excel in costume period dramas, especially when working with Joe Wright. Anna Karenina is their third collaboration together. Knightley is able to bring the extreme highs and lows of Anna’s tragic relationship with Count Vronsky to life by completely giving herself over to the role. Anna thinks she is above high society and can live outside their rules, only to pay the price and lose everything. Knightley pulls the audience in with her naïve charm and strength, and breaks their heart with her fall, filled with crazed fits of jealousy and anguish. Though she gets a lot of criticism (especially among English journalists, who often try to tear down their own), she has really emerged as one of the top actresses of her generation with continued great work.

Jennifer Lawrence – Silver Linings Playbook

Jennifer Lawrence had a great 2012. She starred in a huge blockbuster in The Hunger Games cementing her as one of Hollywood’s biggest young female stars (probably with Emma Stone, Kristen Stewart, and Emma Watson) and she was nominated for her second Oscar in Silver Linings Playbook. She is brilliant in the film, bringing a ton of energy and strength to the role of Tiffany, a young widow also dealing with mental issues. She is electric, making ever scene better and stealing the film (which also features great work from Bradley Cooper and Robert De Niro). It is my favorite female leading performance of the year.

Leslie Mann – This Is 40

This Is 40 takes both a realistic and comically exaggerated look at modern relationships. At its center is a fantastic performance by Leslie Mann, who plays Debbie – a mom and wife who just wants her life to be perfect and tries to control everything around her to make it so, but this leaves her feeling frustrated, disappointed, and ultimately unhappy as things fall short of her expectations. Mann, however, is great in the film because she also can see her own flaws and wants to change, it is just difficult, which brings a very relatable aspect to her performance – the relationship troubles in the film between Debbie and Pete are almost too real for a comedy (and that is thanks to the good work by Mann and Paul Rudd).

Joaquin Phoenix – The Master

Freddie Quell, Joaquin Phoenix’s character in The Master, is an absolute scoundrel. His destructive nature ruins and destroys any possible good that might come his way, yet his struggle to find a place in post-WWII America is utterly compelling because Phoenix brings so much to the character. He is an unpredictable train wreck and the audience cannot take their eyes off him, wanting to see what he will do next, but there is also an inner depression that allows the audience to feel for him as well. It is my favorite male leading performance of the year.

Denzel Washington – Flight

The character of Whip Whitaker in Flight is one of the more difficult roles of 2012 because the character is an unlikable protagonist. Denzel Washington is able to get the audience behind Whip by bringing his usual swagger and confidence to the character. He also plays Whip to have a deep sadness behind the confidence, which allows the audience to sympathize and care about him even after his self-destructive behavior. Washington is so good in the film that the audience roots for him to come out on top, when he clearly has a problem and needs help. It is very good work and among Washington’s best.

Rust and Bone (2012) – Review

Review: Rust and Bone is a strong character drama built on brilliant performances and deft direction. The film is about Stephanie and Alain, two people in the south of France who by different circumstances find themselves in hard times. However, together they are able to find strength.

Writer-director Jacques Audiard’s drama works fundamentally because his characters, Stephanie and Alain, feel real and are relatable to the audience. Unlike most Hollywood character pieces (this is basically the French equivalent), Audiard is unafraid to have his characters be unlikable in moments, which allows them to do horrifying things (especially Alain in his relationship with his son). But, it makes their redemption all the more satisfying and moving an experience for the audience.

As a character drama, the film invites the audience to go on a journey of discovery with the characters on an emotional level. For Stephanie, her journey is about overcoming the tragedy of losing both her legs below the knees in an accident, completely changing her life (or so it first appears). Her story is about finding the strength to start living again, and she finds that in Alain who treats her like he would any other person (instead of like a cripple). Audiard finds real beauty in this character and he expresses it in a visual manner – particularly in the scene in which Stephanie returns to her former place of employment (and the scene of her accident) and plays with the orca she trained. It is incredibly moving and visually magnificent. The audience can easily relate to her from a place of pity or sympathy, but Audiard is not that interested in those emotions, as Stephanie often finds herself offended by those that take pity on her. Audiard strives to have the audience relate on a higher emotional level as she rebuilds herself and her life – not sympathy, but relating to her strength and drive. Her struggle is not a setback, but merely puts her on a new path.

With Alain, Audiard makes it much tougher on the audience. Alain cannot seem to get out of his own way, as he continually makes bad decisions that seem to alienate those around him (especially those that love him), yet he is also the only character to treat Stephanie like a normal woman. His friendship with her comes from a place of empathy, as he can see that she is in a bad place just as he is in a bad place. Alain is completely broke with no real skills. He takes his son away from his drug-addled mother and moves to the south of France to stay with his sister in the hopes that she can help him, because he does not know how to care for him properly. However, he turns to dubious ways of making money, sleeps around, and does not act like a good father – even though deep down he does love his son; he is just weighed down by the stresses of life and does not know how to handle it. He then finds a calling in street fighting; entering into loosely organized fights to make some extra money and Stephanie goes with him. Her presence and her struggle to rebuild herself seem to give him the strength and drive to preserver. And yet, he still cannot get out of his own way. The audience has a much tougher time relating to Alain. His mistakes border on unforgivable, and yet they are all things the viewer could find themselves doing if put under the same pressures and in the same circumstances as him.

While Stephanie’s journey is about remaking herself and perseverance in the face of tragic events, Alain’s journey is one of redemption, and they need each other. It is these overarching narrative tracks that draw the audience in and make the characters ultimately people the audience can get behind and take stock in, despite their mistakes – along with the great performances from the actors and Audiard’s wonderful direction.

The film is a bit emotionally manipulative, as most dramas are. Audiard injects a lot of dramatic tension and elevation into the narrative – like Stephanie losing her legs and Alain constantly making himself the bad guy (and a scene with Alain’s son near the end of the film). There are tear-jerking scenes that play with the audience’s emotions, but Audiard is a good enough director and storyteller to make these heightened dramatic moments feel organic. Yes, the film is manipulating the audience, but it is doing so artfully and meaningfully. The film is not about the dramatic plot points; it is about the characters and their emotional journeys of physical and spiritual redemption.

Rust and Bone is a beautifully shot and acted character drama. It blurs the lines between what the audience sees and expects from its characters and the audience’s own deeper relationship with the characters – in other words, it creates characters that are at face value not necessarily likable but through their emotional journeys the audience comes to feel deeply and care about them, which is all a filmmaker can want and ask for in a film.

Technical, aesthetic & acting achievements: Jacques Audiard may well be France’s best director working right now. Since 2005, he has made three wonderful films (this, A Prophet, and The Beat That My Heart Skipped – all three are well worth seeing). He does not shy away from characters on the fringe of society. Though, he does not just show them as bad or lesser people. He takes a more realistic approach showing the good and the bad that they are capable of. His characters are much more developed and interesting than almost any others in film right now. I cannot wait for his next film.

Alexandre Desplat’s score is regal and triumphant, perfectly fitting this story of redemption. The film is emotionally intense and visually intimate. Desplat reinforces these elements wonderful with his excellent music. Audiard also employs a great soundtrack that works with the tone of the film incredibly well. Stephane Fontaine’s cinematography is fantastic as well. Fontaine and Audiard use the lighting and camera to capture the intricate emotional details of the performances mixed with expressive visual imagery creating an intimate and visceral experience for the audience. Michel Barthelemy’s production design roots the film very much in reality (and the world in which these characters inhabit – gritty and grimy) again fitting the tone of the film.

Rust and Bone does not have too many dramatically meaty supporting roles, as the film is very much just about Stephanie and Alain and their relationship. However, Celine Sallette, Corinne Masiero, and Bouli Lanners are good in their small roles. Matthias Schoenaerts (building off his great work in Bullhead) is very good as Alain. He seems so natural in the role that it is as if Audiard just found this character on the streets and had him play himself. He is a brutal and emotionally closed off man, bordering on villainy to some extent, and yet Schoenaerts is able to give him such humanity that the audience cannot help but end up on his side by the end. Marion Cotillard is phenomenal as well. Stephanie has a long road to go from pretty much giving up on life to finding such strength to not only hold herself up but also to hold Alain up as well. He helps her and she helps him. It is easy to dismiss her work playing someone who is crippled as being dramatically low hanging fruit (so to speak), but Cotillard brings so much more to the role. She is heartbreakingly lost only to be the truly strong one in her relationship with Alain. It is emotionally fearless work, and among the year’s best.

Summary & score: Rust and Bone is one of the best character dramas this year, with some of the year’s best leading performances. 8/10

Little White Lies (2012) – Review

Review: Little White Lies (Les petits mouchoirs) is able to touch on almost every emotion as it utterly engages the audience. The film is about a group of friends that takes their annual vacation to the seaside minus one member of the group (Ludo), who was just gravely injured in a car accident. Emotions and tensions are high between the members of the group, as they both deal with the issues in their own lives and the sadness resulting from the state of their friend. Writer-director Guillaume Canet excels dramatically with this film, sculpting fantastic characters that draw the audience in. Ensemble films have multiple challenges – firstly, telling a cohesive story with enough character moments across a big cast to engage the audience and present fully fleshed out characters. Canet does this very effectively by economically giving enough about each character for the audience to completely understand them and where they are coming from. Every character is relatable and fully developed. Nothing feels forced or fake. None of the characters are there merely to forward the plot, which is very rare in ensemble dramas. Even the event of Ludo injuring himself is not what brings the characters together; rather it only heightens the emotional state of the narrative, Ludo’s scene at the beginning serving more as a prologue setting the tone. Thus, the audience completely enthralled with the characters, Canet’s narrative is able to be very funny and then very sad the next moment, dictating the emotions of the audience. The success of the characters is also due to the wonderful performances by the cast and the great writing. The script has a great familiarity to it, as if the audience has known these characters forever. There is also enough diversity among the character stories that each viewer will be able to at least latch on to one in particular, which is important to the narrative’s overall success (the audience really caring about the characters, or at least one specifically). Canet’s shooting style also pulls the audience in and makes them feel as if they were a member of the group with lots of medium shots that often have more than one character in the frame. If there is a weakness in the narrative, it is that the film is very much a slice of real everyday life and not more of an inflated journey. There is nothing wrong with dramas that explore average life, but for some audience members they have an uphill battle fully engaging them. The narrative journey of a character outside their comfort zone is usually the basis for a narrative, and this film does not seem to push these characters outside their normal lives, more so it deals with them addressing their issues. However, again, the skill of the actors and Canet elevate the narrative to be the very compelling piece that it is. Little White Lies is one of the better ensemble dramas in recent memory (similar to Magnolia, L’Auberge espagnole and The Barbarian Invasions).

Technical, aesthetic & acting achievements: Guillaume Canet is a very good actor (as I very much enjoyed his work in Joyeux Noel, Farewell and Last Night), but is becoming an even better writer-director. Tell No One was a great mystery thriller, and Little White Lies is one of the best dramas of 2012 so far (in America at least, as this came out in 2010 in Europe). I am very much looking forward to his next film Blood Ties (his Hollywood debut). The film’s score, consisting mostly of American classic rock favorites, is brilliant and emotionally fits the tone perfectly, while also adding to what the characters feel on-screen. Cinematographer Christophe Offenstein and production designer Philippe Chiffre (both of whom worked on Canet’s last Tell No One) do fantastic work as well. The narrative is steeped in realism, and the design of the film contributes to that, while also filling in character information with the style of the wardrobe and the living space of each character. The photography also presents the narrative as a real life story, as the lighting is fairly straightforward. Yet, Offenstein’s work is also very beautiful, both in its ability to capture the actors’ faces but also the landscapes. The prologue with Ludo, shot entirely in one long take, is brilliant and one of the most artistically compelling cinematic moments of 2012, as well. The performances make the film, however. All the actors are great, but there are a few standouts. Jean Dujardin (coming off his breakthrough in America with The Artist) is wonderful as Ludo. That scene is completely vital and visceral as it energizes and ultimately shocks the audience. Gilles Lellouche and Laurent Lafitte are also very good, often lightening the mood, yet still carrying a lot of the dramatic weight. Benoit Magimel is great in the film as Vincent, a character who is struggling internally with the very question of who he is. He has to play most of it with his face and eyes, and does so very well. Marion Cotillard (as always) is fantastic, playing both comedy (her scene riding the raft is probably the funniest moment in the film) and drama very well. She can completely command the screen. Francois Cluzet steals the film, however. He gets to play more physical comedy and drama than the rest, but still has a deep humanity to his performance.

Summary & score: Ensemble dramas are often shallow peripherally engaging works, but Little White Lies has well developed characters and wholly captivating performances and drama. It is a great ensemble piece. 8/10

The Dark Knight Rises (2012) – Review

Review: The Dark Knight Rises is an utterly and brilliantly satisfying conclusion to The Dark Knight Trilogy. The film finds Bruce Wayne and Gotham City eight years removed from the events of The Dark Knight – Wayne has retired from being Batman and has locked himself away in his mansion, while Commissioner Gordon has cleaned up the streets. However, something devious is brewing, as the mysterious terrorist Bane plots to bring about both the destruction of Gotham and the end of Batman. Writer-director Christopher Nolan has done an excellent job in crafting this trilogy; from Batman Begins showcasing how the anger filled Bruce Wayne channeled his fear and rage into a way to save Gotham to The Dark Knight addressing the sacrifices that Wayne must endure to keep the city safe. With The Dark Knight Rises, Nolan tells the personal story of Wayne finally overcoming his fear while also aggrandizing the franchise, as this is an immense production feeling more extravagant (like the epics of classic Hollywood – similar to Gone with the Wind and Lawrence of Arabia) than the past two films. There are a lot of characters, interweaving storylines, big set pieces, and locations. Plus, the film has just a grand visual style and tone to it (especially when viewed as intended in real IMAX). Right from the start, the audience feels like they are experiencing something different and special (again, similar to how audiences must have felt watching the epics of the past on the big screen). It is a very visceral experience, as the visuals, score and sound design work together. Under less capable hands, the sheer amount of material (being enormous) that Nolan needs to get through in under three hours while still having enough action would have found the film collapsing under itself. Nolan, however, skillfully composes the film to flow beautifully and efficiently. If nothing else, this can be remembered (as well as the first two films) as the work of a master storyteller. Nolan gives Bruce Wayne the typical three act hero’s arc, but also incorporates five other principle characters that each has their own story arc, both intersecting and separate to Wayne’s. Nolan’s structure for the overall film builds upon Wayne’s arc, divulging story and character information for each of the main players. The film never feels slow or disjointed, because everything is building towards the end. While the characters all have their own motivations and arcs, all their stories come together in the end. Nolan also does a fantastic job of giving all his characters dramatic moments allowing them to shine, and thus the audience understands them, and can relate and be invested in them (which is key to any film working on a deeper emotional level). Yes, this is a spectacle film – there are huge action set pieces and thrilling moments, but they are not the point. The characters are the point, and why this film (and Nolan’s other Batman films) work so well. The audience wants to see Batman (Wayne) triumph – they genuinely care. This is particularly the case with this film (and is part of the reason I think it might be the most engaging of the series – though this only based on one viewing), as Nolan gives much more of an emphasis to Bruce Wayne than Batman. Before, Batman was the main character and Wayne was just the mask that he wore (to some extent). But with The Dark Knight Rises, it is Wayne’s story and internal struggle that drives the dramatic and emotional elements of the film, building on elements from the series (like the loss of Rachel). More so than the first two films, the audience cares about Wayne more than Batman. Nolan’s choice of villain in Bane also directly ties into this internal struggle for Wayne. Bane is both mentally and physically menacing and (maybe even) superior to Batman, and thus it is Wayne and not Batman that must find the will to defeat him. In many ways, this film (and the series) works as a character drama (both for Wayne and the other main characters). Nolan gives them so much depth (especially when compared to most genre filmmaking) and they are so well drawn and developed. But again, The Dark Knight Rises is also a great action adventure, full of brilliantly executed set pieces. It also has the expected one-liners and banter between the heroes and villains. Nolan does infuse some humor and lighter moments that relieve the tension (if only briefly). Nolan’s Dark Knight Trilogy has been to an extent based in reality (there have not been aliens or monsters), but it is still an exaggerated reality. This film sees the technology that Wayne has access to pushed a little further as well. But it works, because the overall tone is still grounded. Tonally, overall, the film has a very bleak and constricting feel to it. Unlike most superhero films, the audience is not actually sure if Batman will live through the end. Nolan does almost too good a job with the tension, which is tired to how relevant the film feels to today's world (maybe especially America) with the social and economic unrest. The film is completely gripping and engaging on both a dramatic level and on a visual one – and this again goes back to Nolan’s care and skill in presenting and fleshing out his characters and giving this film (in particular) an epic grandiose visual style and scale. The Dark Knight Rises is not only one of the greatest comic-book films ever made (if not the greatest), but also a masterwork of genre filmmaking (and filmmaking in general as well). It is the new bar to which all other spectacle films must now be judged.

Technical, aesthetic & acting achievements: Christopher Nolan, now eight films in, can altogether be called the best Hollywood filmmaker both right now and of his generation (and one of the five best auteurs across all of film right now). With Inception and The Dark Knight Rises, Nolan has perfected a style of filmmaking that is both on the highest ends of spectacle and drama from a quality standpoint. His event filmmaking has transcended pure entertainment or extravagance by giving even more care to story and characters. More so than any other filmmaker right now, his name brings with it the promise of not only a fantastic film but also something to wonder at and be amazed by. And more so than any other filmmaker right now, I look very much forward to what he does next. Hans Zimmer gives the film one of his most thrilling and epic scores (and this from a man who has built his career on composing excellent music for action films). The score enhances the enormous scale and grand feel of the film, completely complementing it. It is not only one of Zimmer’s best (maybe even his best), but the best film score of the year so far (here is a piece I particularly like). Plus, his Batman theme is wonderful. Wally Pfister’s cinematography is also wonderfully brilliant. The film has a dark yet crisp look to it. Gotham is visually presented as being both gritty and elegant – like any of the great cities of the world. And, Pfister’s camera works with Nolan to present this as being a massive event film. Visually, it is magnificent, impressive and colossal in its scope and scale. It truly feels like an epic in the best sense. Nathan Crowley and Kevin Kavanaugh’s production design accomplishes many of the same things – it is grand in its scale and showcases both the gritty reality and elegance of the city and its landmarks (or differing sets). But Crowley and Kavanaugh’s work also has an aesthetic artistic appeal to it (especially the pit prison). Technically and aesthetically, the work from Zimmer, Pfister, Crowley, Kavanaugh, Nolan, and everyone else involved in the making of the film is top notch and without equal so far this year. The film also features exceptional performances. There are a ton of cameos in the film (at least for those that watch a lot of TV, as many familiar faces pop up in small roles). Juno Temple and Ben Mendelsohn are great in small supporting roles. Morgan Freeman plays Fox with his typical coolness and seemingly moral absoluteness. Fox and Alfred seem to very much take up the mantel of Wayne’s surrogate father figure. Michael Caine as Alfred is given more weighty drama to play in this film versus the past two, and he is fantastic in it. His emotional scenes with Wayne very much drive Wayne’s internal struggle, and thus Caine’s ability to be great in them is key (and he is great in them). Gary Oldman is also given some dramatic heavy lifting (much like the end of The Dark Knight), and he is very good (as usual). Oldman plays Gordon to be very conflicted. He has done a lot of good for the city, but at what cost (especially if you harken back to the scene in Batman Begins when he refuses to take a piece of the payoff – wanting to keep his hands and conscious clean). Marion Cotillard plays her Wayne Enterprises board-member character Miranda to be almost the perfect match to Bruce Wayne. She is lovely, caring and intelligent. And yet, there is something more to her. To say the least, she is very good. Joseph Gordon-Levitt is almost emotionless and hardened on the exterior, but there is a lot of pain behind his eyes. Much like the other characters in the narrative, his role as Blake and performance fits perfectly with Bruce Wayne’s own internal struggle. Anne Hathaway is brilliant as Selina Kyle. She is not there just to serve as eye candy or a mere love interest; rather she is a full and complicated character. Hathaway plays her to be very feminine in the way she moves, but also with an edge. She is not to be trifled with, as she can handle herself. Tom Hardy is wonderful as Bane. Many complain about his voice (and have since it first appeared in the prologue ahead of Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol), but I contend that it is an absolutely essential and genius aspect to his character. Hardy plays Bane with so much power, just in the way he carries himself and in the way he speaks. He is truly formidable. In the wake of Heath Ledger’s outstanding performances as the Joker in The Dark Knight, many wondered if any actor(s) could portray a villain (or main character other than Batman) to the same level in this film. Hathaway and Hardy are both equal to the task and bring forth different, but equally engaging and interesting characters. Christian Bale has been very good throughout the films. In The Dark Knight Rises, he gets a chance to really dramatically shine, and he is again astonishing. Bale’s Wayne is almost a tragic figure that is so vulnerable, but there is such a will to him as well. While with Batman, Bales play him to be a force of controlled rage. Being that this is a genre film, his work will mostly go unnoticed, but it is standout work nonetheless.

Summary & score: The Dark Knight Rises is the epitome of epic (event) filmmaking, being both of the highest quality in terms of entertainment spectacle and dramatic resonance. 10/10

Movie of the Week – A Very Long Engagement

This week’s movie is A Very Long Engagement (2004).

The French romantic epic set against The Great War is about Mathilde and her unwavering search for her fiancé who disappears in no man’s land, after being sentenced to death for self-mutilation along four other men. The film plays like a detective mystery – with each new clue or piece of information, Mathilde comes closer to finding out what really happened. This is auteur director Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s second film with actress Audrey Tautou (their first was Amelie). He is working again with screenwriter Guillaume Laurant, brilliant cinematographer Bruno Delbonnel, editor Herve Schneid, and production designer Aline Bonetto (same group as with Amelie). Composer Angelo Badalamenti scored the film; he also worked with Jeunet on The City of Lost Children. Tautou stars as Mathilde, and Gaspard Ulliel, Dominique Pinon, Ticky Holgado, Marion Cotillard, Jodie Foster, Tcheky Karyo, and many more make up a fantastic supporting cast. A Very Long Engagement has a lot of the same quirkiness and great offbeat scenes as Amelie, but also has an epic scale to it with WWI’s war of attrition shown in graphic detail. Tautou is wonderful in the film, playing Mathilde as being outwardly strong but inwardly scared though resolute and hopeful. She is not ever going to give up until she knows the truth. It has some of the most beautiful cinematography, as well, from the last decade. It is a must for fans of grand romances and war films. Check out the trailer.

Available on DVD and Streaming

Contagion (2011) – Review

Review: Contagion is a really well made film both from an aesthetic and storytelling standpoint, as it seems to be grounded (more so than many films, especially studio films in this genre) in reality. Events evolve and play out how they probably would, given such an outbreak of a deadly disease did occur (stipulated to the same factors as in the film). It is this realism that makes the film work as well as it does. The narrative structure that director Steven Soderbergh employs sees the narrative jump around the world between multiple characters – giving a broad more global sense of what is going on. The cost of this decision is that the film does not feel like a thriller in the truest sense (at least not all the time), and this is due to there being many characters that the audience only briefly gets to know – the last of connection lessens the stakes. Mitch Emhoff might be an exception, and the scenes involving him and later his daughter have the most emotional impact and thus work the best in a thriller-like capacity. However, while Soderbergh does forgo a strong emotional connection with the audience (though, Emhoff’s character is used well as a narrative throughline, and a good touchstone for the audience’s emotions), he is aware that the story and the narrative style in which he unfolds the film is enough to engage the audience (and he is right). It also helps that the ensemble cast gives great performances (and all feel real and fleshed out to the extent their limited screen time will allow). Contagion thusly works better as a drama than a thriller; however the thrilling aspect of it is in the sheer devolution that the planet faces and encounters in the wake of the outbreak, as it grows, which is greatly helped by the realism Soderbergh uses. I would even argue that the narrative that Soderbergh retains is even more compelling than if he had stayed solely with the Emhoff character (which probably would have been a more thrilling film – a bit like 28 Days Later…, but without zombies – sort of, I mean those infected are sort of like zombies in a sense). As it is, Soderbergh can show the audience the drama of such an epidemic on a much grander and scarier scale (though, again, impersonal), and having the film so rooted in reality makes it all the more frightening, on a much more intellectual level than most disaster films (which this could be classified as). The narrative is more about will humanity survive than just one character (but, as stated above, we do get to see how one family copes with the drama of what is happening to the world, because to some degree we do need that connection to a character). True thriller or not, Contagion is a very good disaster drama, that surprisingly, given the genre, feels genuine.

Technical, aesthetic & acting achievements: Steven Soderbergh can probably be classified as an auteur director, due to his style and quality as a filmmaker. Though his background is in indie film, his best work seems to come from the films he makes in Hollywood (Traffic, Ocean’s Eleven, Out of Sight, and Contagion – which is probably my favorite of his films). He also produced and shot the film, and his cinematography has never been better (and at times reminded me of the work he did on Traffic – especially when the setting was Mexico). However, the production design by Howard Cummings and the fantastic score by Cliff Martinez really solidify the world of Soderbergh’s drama. With things like 28 Days Later… and The Walking Dead as reference (the film looked and sort of had the same tone as a zombie film, maybe that is why I keep coming back to them as references), Cummings is able to both stay in line with what the audience expects the world would look like in complete disarray, but also gives the film its own unique sense of realism that fits the narrative perfectly. Martinez’s score (sample here) sets the tone really well (again getting back to zombie movies, it sort of reminded me of a toned-down, more dramatic Hans Zimmer-like version of Marilyn Manson’s Resident Evil score at times, sample here versus Contagion here, with a great use of tribal drums). I liked it a lot. The cast is also very good, many with limited character work. Laurence Fishburne, Jude Law, Marion Cotillard (who is fantastic with almost no screen time), Jennifer Ehle (who gives possibly a film-breakthrough performance for her career), and newcomer Anna Jacoby-Heron are great in support. Kate Winselt is wonderful and tragic in her supporting role, and Matt Damon is good as always in the lead (in a character that fits right in his dramatic wheelhouse).

Summary & score: Contagion is a disaster thriller that is more frightening than thrilling, as it play much more as a drama. Regardless, however, it is very compelling. 8/10