film, music, philosophy, moral meaning, and storied living

Film schooled

2009-04-16T10:21:00.002-04:00

Comment has published my article on The Class and Happy-Go-Lucky.

Sunshine Cleaning

2009-04-16T10:18:00.001-04:00

My review has been posted by The Curator.

Viewing Trailers

2009-04-16T10:17:00.000-04:00

Read the Comment article here.

Changeling and Standard Operating Procedure

2009-02-10T21:49:00.002-05:00

Most of my film writing now appears in Comment.

Here is my latest article on Errol Morris' Standard Operating Procedure and Eastwood's Changeling.

WALL-E - 7

2008-07-08T12:22:00.004-04:00

My review has been posted by Comment.

The Happening - 2

2008-07-03T11:40:00.003-04:00

I wanted to give M. Night Shyamalan an other shot to prove his film-making greatness like the films Unbreakable, Signs, and The Village...but he has not delivered. In fact, this film is worse than Lady in the Water which I didn't like all that much, but can see some merit to. This is his first R rated film, which I assume is a marketing ploy by the studio. It makes the film worse by showing gratuitous violence. The film attempts to be a story about nature taking its revenge on humanity for its ill treatment. The main story is actually about a troubled marriage. Elliot (Mark Wahlberg) and Alma (Zooey Deschanel) are drifting apart and this scare and their care for a friends daughter shows them that they really do love each other. While the pieces were in place for a great film: good director, good actor and actress, the film is a flop and a total waste of time and money.

I'm Not There. - 6

2008-05-21T21:48:00.005-04:00

This film is a creative take on the life of Bob Dylan. Dylan is played by six different characters throughout the different phases of his life and career. Christian Bale, Ben Whishaw, Heath Ledger, Richard Gere, Marcus Carl Franklin, and Cate Blanchett, each portray Dylan as a iconic figure known for his influence in music and writing lyrics. Overall the film has a sense of the mysteriousness of Dylan as a public figure who both wants to use it, but also is unsure and at times shies away from the spotlight. While the film is beautifully shot and directed by Todd Haynes, it seems aimed at the Dylan fan more than a general audience. What seems like six stories that are interconnected seems to depend on the viewer understanding the intertextuality that makes sense of the narrative and Dylan's historical influences. This narrative complexity is sophisticated, but also at times confusing. The soundtrack can't help but be great with many covers and originals of Dylan's work.

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian - 5

2008-05-18T17:38:00.001-04:00

This sequel had quite a bit to live up to. The first film (again directed by Andrew Adamson), not only had a great story to work from, but was able to keep all the essential elements and let the Christian allegory not come off as manipulative. This film has what I think is a somewhat harder story to tell, and the allegory is not completely but almost lost in the cheap shots to integrate CGI battle scenes and cheesy romance. The characters of the Pevensie children are under-developed. What is great about this book and film series is that it is suitable to a younger audience while also showing and speaking of real evil. While the books obviously focus on the development of the reader's imagination, these film adaptations show some great visuals to hopefully jump start those lacking a grand an imagination (I include myself in this latter group). For me, the film was somewhat of a disappointment.
What all the books in this series do well is tell a story that relies ultimately on grace: that humans alone cannot somehow earn or work their way to their own selfish good. Rather we are in need of help and rescue from beyond that really is better for human beings in community and relationship.
What might be the ultimate surprise though is the ending ballad entitled "The Call" by Regina Spektor. Unexpected, but a welcome surprise.

Snow Angels - 6

2008-04-21T10:34:00.001-04:00

Comment has posted my review of Snow Angels.

4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days - 7

2008-03-30T13:24:00.003-04:00

It took some time but I was finally able to see this much anticipated film. While 2007 seems to be the year for unexpected pregnancy films, this film takes the audience on a much more heart wrenching ride than the many others that seem to work out despite the challenges. This film is Romanian and is set in the 80's when abortion there was illegal and severely punished. The story follows two friends who live together in a crowded apartment building. When scared and naive Gabriela reveals that she is pregnant, Otilia (Anamaria Marinca) arranges for the abortion. The film shows the dedication and sacrifice that friendship involves and the difficult choices that begin to define what friendship and being in a relationship mean. The film both shows the harsh reality of the situation, as well as showing Otilia's existential questioning of what her life means and where it is headed. This is probably the one film about unwanted pregnancy this year that takes it deadly serious.

Ronin - 4

2008-03-25T12:43:00.003-04:00

This is a standard covert operations film. Made in 1998 it looks older somehow. A small team of strangers are hired for a task to get a package. The package of course turns out to be a MacGuffin, and the story revolves around the issues of trust and who is conning who. A decent action film, and less formulaic than a James Bond film, but not anything to go out of your way to see. I would have liked for there to be a greater connection to the background that gives the film its title. The main stars are Robert De Niro and Jean Reno.

Eagle vs Shark - 7

2008-03-20T11:21:00.006-04:00

This is the Napolean Dynamite of romantic comedies. It has awkward characters who are just trying to make a connection in a fragmented and broken world. Made in New Zealand by artist-turned-director Taika Waititi and staring Loren Horsley as ex-Meaty Boy employee and Jermaine Clement (Flight of the Conchords) as eccentric Jarrod, it also features plenty the indie music of The Phoenix Foundation. It also features a few illustrated portions reminiscent of Michael Gondry films. The basic story is that Lily is in love with Jarrod who hooks up with her at a Fight Man video game party. He then asks her brother for a ride back to his hometown to beat up a former bully from when he was in grade school. All the characters are weird including Jarrod's family, but the lesson here is that human beings have a need to connect, and no matter how rotten we or others are, better to attempt love and relationship than waste away on a deserted island.

Lust, Caution - 6

2008-03-18T22:29:00.003-04:00

Director Ang Lee (Brokeback Mountain) and screen-writer James Schamus (The Ice Storm, The Wedding Banquet, Eat Drink Man Woman) team up once again to adapt this short story by Chinese author Eileen Chang. To over simplify, or rather to make an unnuanced comparison, this film is similar to Verhoeven's 2006 film Black Book. This film is also set during WWII, but in Japanese occupied Shanghai, rather than German occupied Holland. A young university student, Wang (Wei Tang), uses her beauty to get close to the enemy as a part of a resistance movement. After a failed attempt early on with some of her young theater friends, she later is recruited to once again get close to Mr. Yee (Tony Leung). As lust turns into love, it becomes harder to tell who is deceiving whom, or even if it is deception anymore. And after all the build up of developing an intimate relationship it all comes down to the crucial decision of what they love more: the causes they work for, or each other.

Dial M for Murder - 7

2008-03-10T10:57:00.002-04:00

In this Hitchcock film, the perfect murder is planned and put into motion. Anymore information about the plot would take away from the excitement of trying to follow it as it zigs and zags. It is an intricate story with plenty of twists and turns as the plan is fouled up but always being covered by Tony (Ray Milland) as he controls the situation through control of the story that people hear and believe. Grace Kelly plays Margot, Tony's wife and the victim of his scheming. This film is a great suspense film, as the audience is in the know, but is still guessing and waiting for the police to solve the case. Hitchcock's excellence at his art once again comes through, no scene, dialogue, or shot is by accident.

The Battle of Algiers - 7

2008-03-09T16:35:00.002-04:00

This classic and influential film, tells the true story of the events in Algiers, the capital city of Algeria, Africa. Algeria was colonized by the French and in 1954 started a revolution called the National Liberation Front (NLF). Using grassroots methods of strategic bombings and killings, the cell groups were eventually eliminated by the French paratroopers. But Algeria was eventually able to gain independence in 1962. The parallels to the current war in Iraq are striking. And may help explain why the French were oppose to the US invasion, assuming that the current French government are true students of history. Amazingly this film was made only four years after the final events of the film. The film shows both the strategy of the NLF as well as the French Military (including conversations about the definition and use of torture). It provides a large picture of the battle, rather than a personal narrative focusing on one character or group. It almost seems as though it wants to work as a documentary or creative archive of the events. In current time it has many strikes against it. It has subtitles, it's in black and white, it's old, and while containing action is pretty slow paced. With all that said it still may be worth your time and consideration.

Into the Wild - 7

2008-03-06T12:58:00.009-05:00

I was skeptical of this story when I heard about it, first as a book by Jon Krakauer and then as a film adaptation directed by Sean Penn. Stories of this type- people going to live "back" in nature, can get a lot of things wrong and be rather off putting especially if they simply reject modern life. One possibility is to pit nature as inevitably violent to man. Another option is to pit man as inherently violent against nature. Hyperbole makes for a diatribe rather than a story. At the same time, if the film contains no conflict it tends up being boring. What this film does beautifully is to ask good questions. This relationship of how we are to live in the world is a necessary question in order to get the audience to think about the complexity and nuance of what the good life is. The film is nicely divided up into chapters that show how Christopher McCandless arrived at his end (in both senses of the word). His story is one of a searching for wisdom. He got a college degree, he came from a "good" family, but all of that did not add up to who he thought he was or could be.
It would have been easy for this story to have been turned into one of a martyr- an idealist killed by a materialist society. Instead Chris becomes an inquirer into the human condition, something everyone can learn from and should probably try to pursue. This film makes a good discussion piece on the long list of huge existential, but real, questions about life and living and the wisdom and foolishness that are revealed.
The film is nicely accented by the soundtrack written by Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder.

Beowulf - 4

2008-03-05T11:04:00.002-05:00

When criticizing the adaptation of this ancient tale, the writers of this version have beat the critic to the punch. Neil Gaiman and Roger Avary are clear that this is there version of what they consider to be an ever evolving text. Since the original was passed down orally and then copied repeated by monks with paper and ink, Avary and Gaiman claim that personal edits are an inherent part of this particular story. So if you are going to dislike the film for this reason you'll want a degree in English and some history lessons in the genealogy of the text. My dad keeps telling me that I am half Frisian, which are the descendants of British and Dutch vikings, so this story is suppose to be in my blood. And I guess, lucky for me, I find these stories more interesting than the actual story of Beowulf. Robert Zemeckis' motion capture filming technique that he started using with The Polar Express annoys me. I think it looks dumb. How's that for a philosophical critique? I don't mind the reverse Oedipal interpretation of this telling of the tale (Grendel's mother is now the super-sexualized Angelina Jolie), it was mostly just the bad graphics and voices and the aesthetics of the piece that turned me off to it. If you like this type of animation and adventure tales then this will probably satisfy your tastes. As for me, I'm going to go back to reading up about Frisians on Wikipedia.

Margot at the Wedding - 5

2008-03-04T15:25:00.004-05:00

This is Noah Baumbach's (The Squid and the Whale, Mr. Jealousy, Kicking and Screaming) latest film. It continues Baumbach's tradition of dialogue oriented film that focus on interpersonal communication and issues of honesty and intimacy. While all of his previous film have done this in a funny and deep way, this film seems to lack the cohesion that make his type of film-making great. It is very much like a Woody Allen film (almost always associated with the culture of New York City where both of them are from), Margot (Nicole Kidman) and her son travel to the home of her sister Pauline (Jennifer Jason Leigh). Pauline has decided to marry Malcolm (Jack Black). The rest of the film is then a series of conversations of conflict between sisters, cousins, and spouses as they work through there past and try to make their way forward. These characters live in the height of a therapeutic culture, and most viewers would probably say they think to much, especially about themselves and their skills at interpersonal relationships. It is hard to sympathize with them as they all seem rather selfish in their pursuit of happiness that they expect others to conform to. While the psychoanalysts might have plenty to work with here, it leaves a more general audience with very little.

Rendition - 6

2008-03-02T16:13:00.003-05:00

Why this film did not do better at the box office is beyond me. It had the star power: Reese Witherspoon, Jake Gyllenhaal, Meryl Streep, Alan Arkin, and Peter Sarsgaard- and directed by Gavin Hood (Tsotsi). It also had a decent story to tell, granted it might have gotten lost in the flood of political films dealing with terrorism and the war on terror. The film takes a simple story of an Egyptian who is taken in by the CIA coming back from a work related trip to South Africa due to connections he may have with a recent suicide bombing. Anwar El-Ibrahimi has lived most of his life in America and has made a life and family in the US. The story gets more complex as it weaves together the bureaucracy, cynicism and emotion that go into trying to figure the truth of the situation. Each character has their own perspective and political hide to look out for. And though it deals with torture, the film alludes rather than showing the horrendous nature of it.
While not based on specific true events, I have personally heard of this situation happening to people that look or have Arab sounding names. 9/11 changed the way we think about fear and security and the chances for something to go wrong are real. And with the small exception of some confusing flashbacks near the end of the film, it is an intriguing and much needed film. It does a good job of showing the personal behind what is usually portrayed in the media as merely political rhetoric.

Barbershop - 6

2008-03-01T15:58:00.002-05:00

This film uses the location of a local barbershop in Chicago to allow for dialogue among the community of African-American's that work and surround it to talk about issues closest to them: family, dreams, and race in America. Because the film needs a plot to be successful at the box-office, an the ATM next store is stolen, and a shady businessman offers to buy the barbershop from Calvin (Ice Cube). In the end the community comes together and Calvin begins to understand the value of the local over the global. The film ends with a great quote by Eddie (Cedric the Entertainer) about how the narrative of making a living (money and fame) has replaced the narrative of making a life (valuing family and community). Rather than playing to stereotypes, the film uses the conflict within the Black community to show that it is internally diverse and should not be understood as a monolithic culture.

See, in my day, a barber was more than just somebody who sit around in a FUBU shirt with his drawers hanging all out. In my day, a barber was a counselor. He was a fashion expert. A style coach. Pimp. Just general all-around hustler. But the problem with y'all cats today, is that you got no skill. No sense of history. And then, with a straight face, got the nerve to want to be somebody. Want somebody to respect you. But it takes respect to get respect. Understand? See, I'm old. But, Lord willing, I'd be spared the sight of seeing everything that we worked for flushed down the drain by someone who don't know no better or care.

Pride - 5

2008-02-28T13:45:00.003-05:00

It's a shame, but films like this have become bland. The formula is the same. Black people have been discriminated against in all areas of life in America since slavery, and in the last 50 years have made some inroads into things they had been excluded from. Rallying around a strong, courageous leader, a group find meaning and victory by fighting prejudice and doing good. Remember the Titans used football, this film uses swimming. Based on the life of Jim Ellis (Terrence Howard), the film uses all of the standard lines and story to show how he inspired young people to start swimming and gain their dignity and pride back from racism and oppression. It's not that these stories aren't good, its just that filmmakers are not very creative in their telling it. And I wonder what it does for race relations in the world as this narrative becomes the dominant one. It seems to conflate the American dream of working hard with the reconciliation needed in order to live with and in the midst of a society that still has to come to terms with racism and prejudice. These films have the potential for creating dialogue, but rarely do as the issue is reduced to a simple formula that leaves the audience entertained rather than confronted.

The Flight of the Conchords - 7

2008-02-26T13:32:00.003-05:00

Fun. Crazy fun. This HBO comedy series follows Bret and Jermaine (Eagle vs Shark) as they move to New York from New Zealand and try to get their career as a band going. With the "competent" help of Murray, who manages the band on the side from his New Zealand consulate office, they have one obsessive fan, Mel, and a small apartment. But they have yet to get a gig...well unless you count a show in the shady bar of a motel near the New Jersey Airport or "a" central park in New York. The Conchords sing about everyday things like falling in love, breaking up (and they are definitely not crying about it), and how computers are taking over the world (binary solo!). Plenty of humor also comes from the misunderstanding that they are from England or Australia. Each episode has a song or two integrated into the simple plot. Not only are they funny, but they are creative and catchy (check out some of the songs here). The first season has 12 episodes- it is worth checking out.

In the Valley of Elah - 6

2008-02-23T18:42:00.003-05:00

With the many films about the war in Iraq as a subtext coming out, this film could get lost as just another film trying to be political. In fact, this film rises above the simple "politics of now" and portrays the aftermath of war in a complex and compelling manner. While the plot is driven by Mike (Jonathan Tucker) status as AWOL and eventually discovered dead, the focus is on Hank Deerfield (Tommy Lee Jones) a retired Army man of a different era, on the search for his son. This generational difference becomes the major theme in the film, as Hank holds to the values of honor and courage, while the Army he witnesses through the friends of his Mike's colleagues, seem cynical, damaged, and lost. Who Hank is looking for becomes murky as relationships are in pieces, needing connection. Hank begins to connect through Detective Sanders (Charlize Theron) who decides she has nothing to lose, her respect on the job is at almost zero, and the two of them take up an informal investigation. She is a single mom, and the title of the film comes when Hank retells the story of David and Goliath to her son, who is lost to its meaning and significance. The investigation soon delves them deeply into the effects that war has on young people, who must not only adapt culturally, but also psychologically, to the trauma they are witness to. The film slowly draws out this story, making it a war film with very little action and violence. The film uses minimal dialogue but shows the power of war and the pain of those involved below the surface of the way we speak and how things appear on the outside.

Gone Baby Gone - 7

2008-02-18T08:48:00.003-05:00

Who determines what is right or wrong? Or do we simply aim at what seems better? This is one of the central questions this film raises in the context of an old, but poor Boston neighborhood surrounding a case of kidnapping. Patrick (Casey Affleck) and Angie (Michelle Monaghan) live together and work together as private investigators, following people and looking for missing person's- usually for dead bodies. The McCready family approaches them to help in the police investigation to look for a missing four year-old. In order to not spoil the film I'll leave it there, but this deep and disturbing search leads to Patrick having to reflect on the morality, consequences, and responsibility of his choices and actions. In asking the question what is the right thing to do, we cannot merely explain our decisions as a reaction in our gut, or rely on platitudes, but rather the choices must become a lived reality- as painful and hard as the consequences might be. The characters are as complex as the plot as they all struggle with knowing what is right, and how to make choices in line with what they love.
Based on the novel by Dennis Lahane, who also wrote Mystic River, this film was adapted (with Aaron Stockard) and directed by Ben Affleck. The film is beautifully shot, using real neighborhoods and some local people. My brother sees similarities of this story to recent events in Chad, but wait till after you see the film to read this article, as it may be a spoiler.

We Own the Night - 6

2008-02-15T10:00:00.004-05:00

Inspired by the success of The Departed, this film pits two brothers who seem to be on opposite ends of justice against each other on the streets of New York. Bobby (Joaquin Phoenix), a club owner who keeps questionable company like the Russian mafia and drug peddlers is just trying to stay below the laws radar, while Joseph (Mark Wahlberg) is climbing the ranks toward his father's (Robert Duvall) likeness as chief of police. When the pressure mounts on Bobby, he has to find a way to get past his past, and make the moral choices necessary to love others, and decide who he really is. The film focuses on loyalty, and the tensions we find in life as many people and things contend for our loyalty.