Movie Reviews

Here are some short reviews of films I've seen recently. These are a mix of Oscar nominated films and some classics and one HBO Biography.

Nine - This is a musical, based on the broadway play which was based on Fellini's 8 1/2. It has an amazing cast but isn't an amazing film, it gets kinda tedious and the songs aren't particularly memorable. It was nominated for 4 Oscars: Art Direction, Costumes, Original Song and Supporting Actress, Penelope Cruz. She was good and the small roll had some range, but I don't see why she was nominated. There was one great shot that I wish lasted longer; the director, Guido was on stage and a movie screen test was projected into the air around him as he danced through it. There's no great reason to see this and I have 8 1/2 waiting for me on my TiVo.

Crazy Heart - The story of an alcoholic country singer named Bad Blake who once was well known and is now touring bowling alleys and other small town venues. He complains about his protege who is now playing stadiums and offers help, but Blake hasn't written a new song in eight years. A single mom interviews him for an article and they begin a kind of relationship. Jeff Bridges and Maggie Gyllenhaal are nominated and they are well deserved. Bridges dysfunctional Blake is completely natural and believable. I didn't care much for the music, though the main song is nominated.

The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus - This is best described as a Terry Gilliam film and CGI is definitely something he should have explored sooner in his career. I chuckled every time a Monty Python cartoon came to life in it. The story is about a traveling carnival-like show that actually leads to people imagining new worlds. And there's a contest with the devil. This is famously Heath Ledger's last role. He plays Tony, a man with a mysterious past who joins the show. He's really good, in a toned down Joker like performance. For the other world scenes Gilliam replaced him with different actors for the different worlds. Johnny Depp, Jude Law, and Colin Ferrel are somehow the obvious choices and work really well into the story. I thought it was a bit long and wished the narrative were a little stronger, but that's to be expected with Gilliam. Still when you see his visions, you understand the nominations for Art Direction and Costumes.

The Last Station - A drama about the end of Leo Tolstoy's life where his followers and wife battle for the royalties to his books. Christopher Plummer is up for Supporting Actor and Helen Mirren is up for Best Actress. James McAvoy and Paul Giamatti do well and no one tries a Russian accent. Ebert's review covers all the elements well, though I didn't get too drawn into the story.

Temple Grandin - This is an HBO biography about Temple Grandin who I had not heard of. She a high functioning autistic who has transformed the livestock industry with her work. Claire Danes does a magnificent job playing her and would probably get an Oscar nomination if the film were eligible. The story and story telling were both compelling. Well worth seeing.

Long Day's Journey Into Night - Directed by Sidney Lumet, written by Eugene O'Neill based on his Pulitzer Prize winning play. Katharine Hepburn got the only Oscar nomination (for Best Actress) but Ralph Richardson, Jason Robards and Dean Stockwell are all excellent. It's long and it took a while for me to get into it but I did and really liked it. It covers a day in a hugely dysfunctional family of addicts. Things spiral more and more out of control as the causes of their troubles are shown to be more and more complex. It's a master class in acting (and of addiction) and I want to see it again.

Bad Day at Black Rock - I'd seen this many years ago while going through a Spencer Tracy phase and had really liked it. I saw it again and still do. It's a modern western set just after World War II directed by John Sturges. Spencer Tracy plays an army vet who visits a tiny desert town looking for someone named Komoko, however the town is immediately suspicious of him. They start off unhelpful and then get belligerent. It's small story, with traces of High Noon, told with great economy and with an underlying social message or two. Ernest Borgnine and Lee Marvin play thugs in early roles and the always fun Walter Brennan plays a doctor. Maybe I think it's better than it actually is, but this is one of my favorites.

The Color Purple - I'd somehow never seen this before. Whoopi Goldberg's first role and she's great in it as Celie Johnson who suffers from poverty, incest and abuse. Don't see this in a double feature with Precious. Danny Glover's Albert is as vile as Mo'Nique. The same year he was in Silverado and Witness, which is a very impressive year. I know this film as the one that got 11 oscar nominations and didn't win any. Glancing over the competition, Out of Africa won 7 and I don't remember the film well. It seemed like a weak year, but I can kind of understand it (though I would have given Witness and Ran more awards). It's directed by Spielberg and you see his touches throughout, but it's very uneven in the emotional journey.

Paris Blues - Get this cast: Paul Newman, Sidney Poitier, Joanne Woodward, Diahann Carroll and Louis Armstrong. It's directed by Martin Ritt (who also directed Hud) and the Oscar nominated jazz score is by Duke Ellington. Newman and Poitier are ex-pat jazz musicians living in Paris and Woodward and Carroll are on vacation. There isn't much plot, in fact barely any at; they meet and start dating (and a friend of Newman's has a drug problem). But there is great music, some nice b/w shots of Paris and really amazing star power. Seriously, it's somehow almost worth watching this just to see the actors stand there. The jazz score is great. I'm not sure it's memorable, but it was fun to watch.