We're getting deep into my favorite season of the year for movies: the one where good ones come out (snobbish cough, but for real).
I am going to talk about Into the Wild, Michael Clayton, The Darjeeling Limited and American Gangster so if you are trying to save all knowledge of anything before seeing the movies, don't read the this post and go do something with your life.
So since it's the Oscar-movie season I'm trying to see as many movies as possible since I'm not a huge fan of the summer blockbusters and not into horror, sci-fi or most fantasy. I like the epic, dark, uplifting human sagas that most often tug on Oscar voters' hearstrsings. That being said, here are some thoughts on the four movies I've seen in the last few weeks.
Into the Wild- Holy shit, I think this was the best of the bunch, it totally destroyed me as a person during and for awhile after sitting in the theater and watching it. So much about this movie is really good but the thing that I liked most was the nuance and balance it employed with respect to Christopher McCandless's (Emile Hirsch, he's good) story. I always felt a tug inside me between wanting to root for him and wanting him to get what was coming, agreeing with him and disagreeing, being happy and being sad, being content and being frustrated. This was a true story and I appreciated that the movie contained all of the same vagaries that are present in life. The acting was good on Hirsch's part and the supporting characters were really good throughout and added a lot to the movie. On a personal level I found a lot of connection between what McCandless was thinking and how I feel about some things so the jarring lows he hit knocked me around pretty good on my own level, Sean Penn is kind of a cinematic thug, I'm into it, the wild.
Michael Clayton- I used to think I hated George Clooney but he keeps doing tight shit. From the vapid, but self-aware and very entertaining Ocean's 11 series to Syriana, Good Night and Good Luck and now Michael Clayton, the dude makes good movies and he's a good actor, you can't argue with that. The story is well told in this movie and going into it one of the reasons I didn't think I would like it was that I couldn't see how an ethical law firm thriller would be that good and in the end, it still didn't grab me so much but the acting is superb and there isn't a dull moment throughout with just enough suspense to keep you on your toes but not make you feel dumb.
The Darjeeling Limited- Wes Anderson is the ultimate Whitman College filmmaker, dorky-cool and quirky he always seems intriguing and like someone I'd want to hang out with to seem hip and cool. I haven't seen Bottle Rocket or Rushmore but I have seen The Royal Tenenbaums and Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou and enjoyed both of them. I went into this movie with high, but incorrect hopes. As I watched this movie about three brothers (played really well across the board by Owen Wilson--thanks god he didn't kill himself--, Jason Schwartzman and Adrien Brody) traveling through India on a quest of various levels I kept feeling frustrated. Part of this could have honestly been that I'd run a 5k race earlier in the day and was dehydrated, tired and had a pounding headache which did not put me in the best movie-watching mode. Also I was frustrated because I was finding the movie very self-indulgent in its own quirkiness and I kept wanting SOMETHING TO HAPPEN, I was feeling anxious and things seemed to be dragging on and on. I pretty much felt this way until the end of the movie and throughout the night as I mulled it over. This was definitely one of those movies that stayed in my head for a few days and as that percolation was doing its thing I began to appreciate the movie more and more. The saying "it's the journey not the destination" really comes to mind here, the little bits and pieces, small anecdotes and annoyances that are liberally sprinkled throughout actually create a very real-life picture of the characters and events so in the end I began to appreciate this movie more.
American Gangster- Ridley Scott always makes good movies. So do Russell Crowe and Denzel Washington. There was very little change this would fail and it didn't in my mind. Much like last year's "The Departed" this movie left me feeling like I was in good hands throughout, the characters were good (although strangely a little underdeveloped I thought) and the story moved along well too. The only two complaints I could register would be that some scenes in this were so phenomenal that others seemed rather pedestrian and this movie didn't do anything too spectacular to distinguish it from it's cinematic lineage of The Godfather, Scarface, Departed, etc. Still a damn good movie with great acting.
'tis the season for good movies and this is only the started. Others on my list to try and get to see are:
Margot at the Wedding (same peeps as squid and whale)
Be Kind Rewind (Michel Gondry seems like an odd choice for this, but I'm excited)
Lions for Lambs
Charlie Wilson's War
I'm interested in readers comments on the movie I talked about or other upcoming movies we should keep our eyes out for!
By specific request of Mandel, from Sachxtreme:
ReplyDeleteI found the Darjeeling Limited to be the more compelling of Wes Anderson's five movies. In this film, I sensed a greater balance in the many elements that put it together. There was a mix of well-known actors in addition to random Indian villagers, all of whom had significant and memorable roles that helped define the personality of the film.
The three brothers, Francis, Peter, and Jack, played by Owen Wilson, Adrien Brody, and Jason Scwartzman respectively, each capitalized on a certain personality trait. While this capitalization is in many ways less true to the complexity of human nature, Anderson took advantage of the medium of film to the greatest extent he could with his actors. These three brothers were each stock characters for an overwhelming need for control (Francis), apathy (Peter), and desperation (Jack). The Royal Tenenbaums had a similar collection of stock characters, but its ensemble cast made each of them seem more superficial since we did not have the chance to get to know them as in Darjeeling Limited, where three main characters allowed Anderson a greater sense of balance with his characters.
While I did not ride on first class cabins in the Indian trains, I can say that those characters experienced a journey through India with fewer of the daily hassles you might encounter over there. Anderson instead overdramatized their mishaps to the point where they became heroes for their attempts at saving drowning children. Anderson, like few other budget filmmakers, does not look for what is real or true to make a drama more akin to a documentary. Instead, he takes the clichéd spiritual journey of India to find oneself and sensationalizes it into a work of art to reflect the extent to which it is indeed a cliché. To quote Pablo Picasso, "Art is a lie which makes us realize the truth."
That sounded very much like Adam Sachs, indeed.
ReplyDeleteThe big movie I'm excited for is... No Country For Old Men, duh.
That makes two of us, pard'. Y'all should fly down t' Texas and we'll go see that movie after drinkin' a few Lone Stars.
ReplyDeletep.s. I am also excited to see I'm Not There, as I'm sure Mandel would be as well. People in the Jumago/Dean camp, however, might continue to think they're too good for Bob Dylan.
yeah i totally forgot to mention I'm Not There, I'm real excited for it, and I can't wait the Drew/Jumago cormac booty dance ball tease suck fest after they see NCFOM.
ReplyDeletei was not informed of a post-movie cormac booty dance ball tease suck fest. you guys are exclusive fair weather friends to not include me in such an event. fuck you both.
ReplyDelete