Ahoy, squirts! Quint here with a nice bundle of reviews of some upcoming flicks, most of which I haven't seen yet much to my chagrin. Up first we have a Londoner named Motta doing the mini-review thing for a bunch of award season flicks. This also contains a review of the only movie out of all these talked about flicks that I have seen, which is THE AVIATOR. I agree whole-heartedly with his review and will have my own look at the flick out very, very soon. In this batch we have THE AVIATOR, LIFE AQUATIC, BEYOND THE SEA and THE CHORUS. Enjoy!
Greetings from surprisingly reasonable weathered London. I'm in a positive frame of mind as awards season is upon me so I'm getting to see a lot of great stuff in a very short period of time. Here are a few brief looks at a few of the ones I saw last week if of any interest:
THE AVIATOR
Ladies and gentlemen we have a winner. This is a superb and riveting film. I was concerned ahead of it as I knew nothing about nor particularly wanted to know anything about Howard Hughes and I was wishing Scorsese had done the Dean Martin biopic (Dino) he was talking about but damn was I wrong. Don't be put off by the 165min running time, it didn't feel anywhere near as long as Kinsey, Beyond The Sea or Ray which are all shorter. The jawdropping recreation of the Hell's Angels dogfight was worth the effort on its own.
This is easily DiCaprio's best performance. Cate Blanchett is astonishing as Katherine Hepburn and is surely a shoe-in for supporting actress (although I hear Natalie Portman is great in Closer which I'm not seeing until later this week so have to wait and see) even the ever-awful Kate Beckinsale actual came off well. All the supporting players, John C Reilly, Alan Alda, etc are on career bests. Sure it may not be Raging Bull, Mean Streets, Goodfellas, Taxi Driver or King Of Comedy but still a magnificent and worthy achievement I reckon, especially in this slow year for really strong best pic contenders. Aviator may not have the best lead performance this year (if there's any justice that will be between Foxx in Ray, Bacon in Woodsman and Bardem in The Sea Inside), it may not have the best script (Life Aquatic and Sideways), or the best cinematography (Very Long Engagement) but it has the best package. Everything works perfectly together under Scorsese's direction. A triumph.
THE LIFE AQUATIC WITH STEVE ZISSOU
Another great effort from the so far infallible Wes Anderson. The man just keeps getting better and better. Both effortlessly funny (okay that's partly Bill and orange hats but still) and genuinely moving this is a superb film that unfortunately may be overlooked at awards because it's so daft is places. Henry Selick's wonderful, vibrant and lunatic animation adds worlds to the film but the performances are the key. Owen Wilson is better than he's ever been largely because he's not just being his usual annoying self. Murray is great as ever and it's good to see him in a lead again. Willem Dafoe is a revelation. Who knew he could be so good at comedy. I wouldn't be surprised to see a supporting nod go his way. Anderson makes one bold plot decision which will possibly upset some people but I felt it kept the story interesting and was necessary to find a way out of the film - which admittedly does occasionally seem like it's not going to end! My only main criticism is it needed more Goldblum. He's very funny but in it very little which was a shame.
BEYOND THE SEA
Dear lord what's going on here? This is a mess. The music is good and the story is interesting enough but this is another of those loopy "I'll look back upon my own life as a fantastic musical" biopic's like De-Lovely. For all his protestations Spacey is too old to play Darin. Part of the strangeness of the film is that noone seems to age in 20 plus years. Spacey always looks 50, whether playing a teenager of Darin at the end of his life in his late 30s. Bosworth doesn't age, Hoskins doesn't change, Blethyn (direly miscast here) doesn't either. All of which doesn't help matters. There could have been a really interesting film here but this isn't it. Ray it ain't.
THE CHORUS (LES CHORISTES)
This is an interesting and sweet French film about a school teacher at a school for wayward boys in the 1940s/50s (I think) who gets through to them through music and discovers there talents. OKay so it's a bit hokey and is kind of Mr Holland's Opus meets Dangerous Minds but it surpasses all that to deliver a sweet natured but not cloying tale that is funny throughout. If you like choral music you'll love it. If not, well it's still worth a look.
Anyway have to get back to work. I've got Phantom Of The Opera tonight so need to get busy.
bye for now, Motta
Now for a differing opinion on THE LIFE AQUATIC... in a way. He's disappointed, but still puts the film in his top 10 of the year. I've personally loved each and every one of Wes Anderson's flicks just as much as the one before it. I hope this film won't be any different, but time will tell, eh?
Hey Harry -
Just came from a preview of “Life Aquatic”. Have a few thoughts if you want them.
Packed crowd at Laemmle’s Fairfax in LA. Long line to get in. Security checking bags, confiscating phones, cameras, etc.
Looking forward to this movie. LOVED “Rushmore”, Thought “Tenenbaums” was even better. Have to say that I walked out with mixed feelings about this film.
I compare this film to the way I felt about Scorsese’s “Casino”. When I left that movie I thought that if anyone else had made it, it would be declared a classic. Since it was Scorsese and he had done it before (and better) with “Goodfellas”, there was a small bit of a letdown.
Don’t get me wrong, if you love Wes Anderson, you’ll like this one … if not love it. Has everything that you want – dry humor, great music (The Portuguese Bowie songs rock!), the titles at the beginning of the scenes, great cast, funny sight gags, some big laughs, that ‘Wes Anderson” look – anachronistic sets, quick zooms, etc. There was just something about this film that was missing for me. Trying to put my finger on it.
The sound sucked in the theater, but one thing that I definitely heard was hissing … yes, hissing from the audience at Bill Murray’s (multiple) “bull dyke” and “dirty slut” lines (directed at Kate Blanchett’s character). Guess the Lesbian contingent was offended.
Yes, the animations were cute … I guess. I’m sure that the film will age well and become a cult fave on DVD. Definitely in the top ten that I saw this year. I just didn’t get that same feeling that I had when I left “Tenenbaums” and that was “I just saw the best picture of the year.”
Call me David Ferrie
Next up is a look at Sean Penn's THE ASSASSINATION OF RICHARD NIXON, a flick I almost caught at the American Film Market this year, but just barely missed. Still looking forward to this flick, which wins some kind of award for having the weirdest long title of the year... and that's saying something in a year with a film called LEMONY SNICKET'S A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS!
Got several tickest for the Santa Fe Film Festival, and I haven't seen much about most of these films on your site, so here's a review: Saw The Assassination of Richard Nixon tonight. An interesting film, with an amazing cast, even in the smallest parts. Sean Penn plays a struggling salesman, struggling not because he's a bad salesman, but because he refuses to be dishonest. He will not accept that it is necessary to be dishonest or accept dishonesty in others in order to succeed as a businessman. Don Cheadle plays his much more pragmatic partner, who tells him that he doesn't give up his rights to work a job, but also that he shouldn't forget that he has a right to feed his family. Naomi Watts plays his long suffering but fed-up wife, who is tired of him getting fired from his jobs based upon his principles. Michael Wincott and Mykelti Williamson make appearances in small but crucial roles. Penn plays Samuel Bicke, an actual historical figure of little note, in this exploration of what drives a fairly normal man to extreme lengths. Penn's performance is akin to his I Am Sam role, of a simple minded person who cannot quite make the mental leap from dreaming to living. He cannot draw a distinction between what he wishes the world could be and what the world is, and therefore he cannot function in a normal life. He obsesses upon the concept of honesty and genuineness(is that a word?), and eventually suffers an extreme disconnect between reality and his ideals. He focuses his rage upon Richard Nixon, and plans a scheme that would have seemed unlikely in 1974, but in 2004 it produces a chilling final shot. Afterwards the director, Niels Mueller took questions, and told the story of his 4 year journey to get this film produced. He mentioned that he started writing the story as the Assassination of LBJ, but after learning about Samuel Bicke, he realized that there was a real person who already had most of the characteristics of the fictional character he was creating. Mueller, who did a ghost write on 13 Going on 30, used his friendship with Alexander Payne to get the script into the hands of a producer who showed it to Sean Penn. Penn loved it enough to stick with it through 4 years of financing problems. I was actually fascinated by the all-star producers attached to the project: Payne, Alfonso Cuaran, Leonard DiCaprio. This movie will probably only get a limited release, but it is well worth seeing, mainly for the fantastic acting by all involved.
On Friday I'll be seeing Kontrol and The Merchant of Venice, on Sunday, A Very Long Engagement.
Call Me Darth Dude-icle.
Up next is a peek at a film called IN GOOD COMPANY, which has seen a little bit of press on this site, but not much. Considering how in love with Scarlett Johansson I am it's no surprise that I'm looking forward to this flick. Topher Grace is fine, too... I mean... not "fine", but fine at what he does... um, being funny on the television... you know, not "fine" as "hot" or "do-able" or "I want him..." Oh, dear... I seem to have just dug the hole deeper, didn't I? Read the review, you pervs, and leave me alone!
Just thought you'd want to know.
Last night I got into a special press screening of In Good Company in Salt Lake City. Because of traffic, I showed up one minute before they closed the doors. The theater was packed with tons of journalists with notebooks in hand.
My opinion of the movie may be a bit biased because I am a fan of the writers. This movie pulled me in from the beginning and kept my full attention until the credits ended. None of the journalists appeared to be happy as they wrote their final notes. My friends and I joined in with a few other people to clap and cheer and show the people of Universal our approval. None of the journalists did.
In my opinion, this movie did not have the same humor as their other movies, although still very funny. In Good Company was more deep and mature. It has several layers. The dialog was neat because it seemed to be very natural.
Dennis Quaid was great (as usual). Topher Grace did a good job. Although he's pigeon-holed into the same character, he played a bit different role in this one. I'm not saying that it was a different character, but you'll see him do some stuff he hasn't done yet. Scarlett Johannson played her part very well. (It's also an added bonus to have eye candy like her in any movie.)
My friends and I really enjoyed it and hope to see it do well in theaters.
Lastly, I have a quickie review of CLOSER, a film I am dying to see. I heard those sneaky so-and-sos in Austin snuck this film last night and didn't tell me about it, which makes Quint sad. I love me my Mike Nichols (drove through half the country to see a play he directed, THE SEAGULL, in Central Park back in August of 2001 where I trembled in the presence of Christopher Walken and got felt up by a drunk John Goodman, but that's a story for another day) and Clive Owen rocks and Natalie Portman is cuter than a baby puppy... a HOT baby puppy. Here's the review, squirts!
Hey, Harry...
Love the site. I happened to be at a screening of Mike Nichols' latest offering, "Closer", starring Julia, Jude, Natalie and He-Who-Should-Be-Bond-But-Is-Too-Smart-For-That-Trap Clive Owen.
First thing's first: anyone remotely familiar with Mike Nichols' work knows he's one of the geniuses who, every know and again, decides to help push the boundaries of film. That being said, not even halfway through the film, I watch five people (in their mid-fifties) stand and proceed to the exits not to be seen again. I laughed. They were obviously offended by the dialogue which is raw. The film is being compared to Carnal Knowledge for what that film did thirty years ago, mirroring the sexual revolution. I won't say Closer impacts on that level, but it leaves a lasting impression.
Clive Owen gives the hands down best performance in the film, playing the despicable Larry, a dermatologist who meets Julia Roberts' Anna in an aquarium quite by 'accident'. Roberts is unusually understated in her role of the emotionally indecisive photographer, but it's still the best work she's done since the stunt acting she did in Erin Brockovich. Jude Law is perfect, as usual, and perfectly disheveled playing the second of the two male characters drenched in sleaze while Natalie Portman struggles (in my eyes) to portray the waif/stripper. Portman has never been seen like this. In wonderful camera movements, you see more than you've ever seen of Portman, but most is left up to the imagination. She's instructed in one scene to do things most average red blooded men would have their strippers do in a private room and she complies using some of the wittiest dialogue I've heard all year.
In a year where the best films seem to be cartoons, it's nice to see an intelligent (not artsy) film with smart dialogue. At times, the film smacks of being on stage (even though it's adapted from the English play of the same name), but just when you start to drift, there's that one-liner or scene that snatches you right back in.
And then more people walked out.
I left the screening having just watched four despicable people you really don't like or care about, but you're engrossed in what unfolds in the four years of these four lives. It's not always pretty but it's always powerful.
Thanks, Harry.
kinghenry3
