FLIGHT

            There are only three components that make up a solid film worthy of my personal respect and praise: a comprehensive script with compelling characters and relationships, actors with depth and honesty, and cinematography or visual effects that are captivating, perhaps even provocative. Flight has all of the above, and some. Director, Robert Zemeckis (Cast Away, Forrest Gump, Back to the Future) and screenwriter John Gatins (Real Steel, Coach Carter, Hard Ball) are able to tell the story of a very ordinary man in what is nothing short of an extraordinary situation.

            Thorough character development, and articulation of character relationships are aspects of film that separate the good from the great. As an audience member, we want to connect to the characters in a film-we want to relate and to understand who they are as people. Such a concept seems simple in thought, but it is one that I feel has  often been missing from recent cinema.  Flight is wonderfully written because it takes its time. You get to know each character-who they are, where they come from, what makes them the way they are. You care about them, you root for them-flaws and all.

            

            Denzel Washington plays Captain William “Whip” Whitaker, a divorced, middle-aged man whose worst enemy is himself. The story chronicles Whip, a “functioning” alcoholic who flies a plane the morning after a long night of drunken, narcotic filled debauchery. The plane, from the moment it takes off is “doomed” and has one mechanical mishap after another. In short, Whip is able to fly the plane to safety, saving 96 of the 102 passengers, where in any other situation, all would have died at the hands of any other pilot. The maneuvers he is able to accomplish in the air to fly the plane to safety are nothing short of miraculous. Whip is a hero. And although his alcoholism had nothing to do with the crash of the plane, operating any vehicle under the influence of any substance is illegal, and Whip now faces the responsibility for the lives of 6 people that passed away on that fateful day. Denzel Washington epitomizes the tragic hero with the tragic flaw.  The raw emotion he is able to access is remarkable. The Golden Globe nomination he recently scooped up is well deserved and I would not be surprised if an Oscar nom is soon to follow.

            Cinematically, Flight is able to accomplish something in 2 dimensions, no 3D film in recent history has ever been able to accomplish. Watching the interior plane crash scenes are intensely authentic, absolutely palpable. You feel as if you are in that plane, part of the deterioration of this flight.

   

            If it’s still in a theater near you, I encourage you to go out and see this one. Take the entire family. It has something for everyone.

The Dark Knight Rises

“Big time Hollywood filmmaking at its most massively accomplished, this last installment of Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy makes everything in the rival Marvel universe look thoroughly silly and childish.” Written by a fellow critic, I could not have put this any better if I wanted to.  Coming in on the heels of two big budget Marvel Comics films this summer, Rises triumphs.

If you have read any of my reviews before, you know I love to talk cinematography. However, in this review, it just seems inane. We already know that Nolan knows his way around a camera. We have seen his big screen game-changers like 2010’s Inception, the 2000 film classic Memento, and of course the equally triumphant second installment of the franchise, The Dark Knight.  Rises is breathtaking cinematically. Gotham City has never looked both more grandiose and daunting, all at the same time

There are countless things to discuss in terms of why this film, and the franchise as a whole succeeds. But there is one major point that I believe supersedes all others. It is not Nolan’s portrayal of the villain, although they are always more blood-curdling and bone-chilling than any we have ever seen on screen, or read about in comics. It is not the music, action or the gadgets, though all such aspects are impeccably done and more and more awe-inducing with each film. 

What we find in Nolan’s franchise that is unique to big budget, super hero cinema as a whole is an examination of the human condition that challenges us as an audience to examine the deepest, darkest parts of our own souls. Nolan has found a way to conjoin independent film emotion and sentiment with blockbuster action and effect, ultimately creating a movie for the film scholar (or film snob) and the everyday movie-goer. He has done the unthinkable and allowed both worlds to coexist in one film, both executed in a tremendous way.  Nolan breaks the mold. Here lies the inspiration within these films, and within Nolan as a director.  As an aspiring filmmaker, I cannot help but be an admirer of his work. 

So that we are on the same page, let me explain a little deeper, what it is that I mean. In The Dark Knight, the Batman is challenged mentally in the most acutely, intrinsic way possible by The Joker. The Joker, played so outstandingly by the late Heath Ledger challenged Batman because The Joker literally had nothing to lose. In complete opposition to Batman, The Joker had no rules. He did not commit crime for money or revenge-he was not the average criminal in that sense. He created crime only for the sake of creating chaos. To paraphrase The Joker himself, he just “wanted to see the world burn”. This second installment caused us as an audience to question our inner selves, and the inner beings of those around us. It forced us to ask questions like, “Does pure evil actually exist? If so, how close are we all to the brink of evil? Are we each just dangling on the edge, and perhaps with one slight push over, maybe none of us in fact knows what we are capable of.

These are the questions the Joker forced upon us, and The Dark Knight Rises pushes this a step further.  Bane is the almighty Dark Knight’s nemesis in Rises and Batman is due for a comeback to save Gotham after an eight year hiatus and retreat into obscurity due to Gotham’s labeling of him as a murderer and outlaw. Now Batman must not only struggle with Bane’s overwhelming physical advantage over him-something he has yet to face, but now he must also find the inner strength to “rise” up and defend the city that abandoned him, and discover within himself, what makes such a tumultuous, sacrificial life, worthwhile. Rises continues with such themes from The Dark Knight, and examines them further by forcing us to ask, what inspires us? Whom and what do we love so much that we might place their life, above our very own? Nolan executes an exploration of this theme from both sides. We see it from the villain, as well as Batman himself.

With The Dark Knight Rises, Nolan has solidified himself as a writer, director, and producer of legends. As someone that aspires to work in this industry for the rest of my life, Nolan’s talent and successes are what dreams are made of. I can only hope to have a fraction of the career he has had. As for everyone else, you simply cannot wait four months to see this movie on your television screens. The film was released a mere 24 hours ago, and Hollywood is already buzzing about Oscar nominations for Best Picture.

Hmm, A Batman movie for Best Picture? That is something else.

Prometheus

Director and producer Ridley Scott, the man responsible for blockbusters and critical successes like Black Hawk Down, American Gangster and the 1982 cult classic, Blade Runner has another monetary success on his hands with Prometheus. But this time, he has done something completely different than any of these mentioned earlier films. Prometheus is…forgettable.  Reviews and buzz around the film have been mixed. I can in no way call myself a “sci-fi junkie,” but being a movie fanatic and film scholar, I have to unfortunately say that my review is the same. Prometheus is just “so-so.”

Allow me to address the cinematic successes of the feature first. The film’s biggest accomplishment is its use of CGI to create both setting and creature. When the movie first opened, I said to myself, “Wow, this is really beautiful.” The film is aesthetically stunning throughout. In this science-fiction feature, Scott left nothing to the imagination. And I mean this in the best way possible. Aside from its achievements in visuals, the performances are mostly quite good. Noomi Rapace (2009’s The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, 2011’s Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows) plays Elizabeth Shaw, the film’s heroine, and she truly delivers. Shaw’s character could not have been better cast. The rest of the cast is top notch as well. All of the world is familiar with Charlize Theron. She is not only strikingly beautiful, but her performance also does not disappoint. Although, I have to say, in terms of female leads and performances, this is certainly Noomi Rapace’s film. Idris Elba gives a questionable performance with him having accents that go and come throughout the film-this facet really through me for a loop. Although, since the film is set so far in the future, perhaps the film is making a statement about the future life for humans being one of varying descents, and ancestry no longer being clear and defined. I at least hope this is what they were going for. My favorite performance of all comes with Michael Fassbender’s portrayal of David, the anatomically and rhetorically correct robot. David is so advanced, even calling him a robot seems to take something away from his essence. Fassbender gives David the most precise amount of superficiality so that the audience easily believes that this extraordinarily life-like looking man, is in reality, a scientifically generated being.

As far as cinematic achievements go, that is really it for Prometheus. The film as a whole is very slow. The pace of the film speeds up, and slows down, speeds up and slows down. If we were in traffic, this would have been an overwhelmingly nauseating car ride. Aside from the slow pace, there are glaring holes within the plot. At one moment, there will be extreme danger, and the next, the focus has changed, and what was once deadly, somehow now no longer is. Character relationship and back-story is never fully developed. There are several relationships and potentials for them within the film, but none of them are ever fully hashed out, leaving the audience unable to connect completely to any one character.

Nothing sets Prometheus aside from any other science fiction movie.  We have seen every character and every storyline within this film if not once, then many, many times before. Ridley Scott also directed the 1979 classic Alien, where Sigourney Weaver plays the iconic Ripley, like Rapace plays the brave Shaw in Prometheus . Scott seems to try to mimic his earlier hit in Prometheus, and he just misses the mark. And  to be fair, this alone is not a valid complaint. All movies “bite” off of other movies. Rarely has something never been done before in this industry. But the question is always, "did you do it better?" "Was this somehow more unique than when it was done the first time?" And Prometheus just was not. This one isn’t worth a theater run. It will be in the Red Box box for $1 rent soon enough.

Project X

“Epic” does not even cover it. I just finished the movie less than 15 minutes ago, and I sit here unable to control myself in excitement. I am not sure where to even start with this review. Hilarity ensues from beginning to end,  and just 25 minutes into the film, I’m even getting anxious for the party to start.

Everything that every trailer, every commercial, every promotion has said this movie is, it is. Take every party film you have ever seen in your life, and amplify it times one million.  Anything and everything that you can think of happening at the most ridiculous party that you could dream up, happens in this movie. It leaves absolutely nothing to the imagination. It goes from a get together, to a party, to a rave, to a complete and utter riot, right in the middle of upper middle class suburbia.

The film is perfectly cast with every character type you have seen and want to see in a film about a high school party. Character types that you have absolutely seen in other films similar (2007's Superbad, 1998's Can't Hardly Wait) but the execution is exponentially more outrageous. Todd Phillips is the executive producer. This is the same guy that brought you 2009's The Hangover, and we all know how that movie changed the comedy game in the film industry. To compare it to even more recent films, this is the best comedy and the most fun you will have in a theater since 2011's Bridesmaids.

The film is shot in “found footage” style and I cannot say that I have been a fan of this in the past. However, I also recently saw Chronicle, and like Project X, it also blew my mind a bit. If this is the direction Hollywood is going with this type of cinematography, I am not complaining in the least. The film’s greatest cinematic accomplishment would have to be the music. The soundtrack in this movie is complete madness. Imagine every heart thumping, adrenaline pumping, ultimate party song that you have ever heard. Put it in an 88-minute film, and you have Project X. The way the film is shot, in combination with the bombastically loud and electrifying nature of the music, you feel like you are literally at this party. Critics are going to tear this up, and I have to say, the film is a bit one note. There is not much to the storyline, and again, you have seen all of these characters before. And you have seen this storyline several times. But really, who cares? I don’t need to know the depths and the inner workings of the minds of these characters. I don’t need any back story. Take this film for what it is. It’s a film about three outcast high school kids who throw the most unforgettable party in history, and it is a complete blast to watch. Again, film's like it have been done again and again, but without question, it is the best of it's party film genre, and that's enough for me.

This movie does not just chronicle a party; it chronicles an experience. Just seeing it in theaters, was an experience all its own. It has been a while since the last time I was at a movie, and the entire crowd clapped and cheered at the end. The energy in the theater alone was indescribable.

No words can describe the sweet, sweet insanity of this movie. Go see it. Go see it right now. No, really... NOW!

Extremely Loud And Incredibly Close

If done well, I can find any genre of film enjoyable.  Action, fantasy, science fiction, thriller, drama, comedy, or some combination of genres even. The greatest movies, however, are the ones that stick with you. They have a message and you can find truth in them. They are honest. Extremely Loud And Incredibly Close is that film.

The film stars young actor, and silver screen newcomer, Thomas Horn. Horn plays a precocious and wise beyond his years young boy named Oskar Schell that goes on a journey to find the lock to a key he found of his father's (Tom Hanks), after his death on "the worst day" of September 11, 2001. Oskar embarks on a journey to find the lock to a key, but along the way he finds people with hundreds of stories not dissimilar to that of his own. Stories of family, faith, friendship, love, loss, and essentially, life.

September 11th is the most infamous day in modern American history and that day has shaped the lives of the people that lost someone on that horrendous morning.  Extremely Loud is a movie about stories. Everyone has one, and not everyone's story has a happy ending. The one thing that separates us, is simultaneously the very same thing that connects us. Our lives are constantly moving and changing. Nothing stays the same and it is that single fact that makes life difficult and beautiful.

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close is without question one of the best films of the year. Sandra Bullock, who plays Oskar's mother, gives an impeccable and truly gut-wrenching performance. Tom Hanks is as charming as he was in 1994's Forrest Gump, and you will fall in love with him all over again. Thomas Horn is a young actor that I hope we see much more of. With the Academy Awards on the horizon and the nominees just released, I can confidently say that Horn was  robbed of the Best Actor  nomination. He absolutely gives one of, if not the best male performance of the year. The Best Picture nominee received, however, could not be more well-deserved.

There are no words that I could personally express that would perfectly explain and illuminate how excellent this picture really is. It's a film for all of us. Go to your local theater and see a real film this weekend. See Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close.

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo

Every now and then a director comes along in American cinema that changes the way movies are made.  He or she comes on the scene with new insights, innovative visions and a very distinct personal style and we, as audience members fall in love with the cinema all over again. Today, that guy is David Fincher. He did it with Fight Club in 1999. He captivated us with The Curious Case of Benjamin Button in 2008. He gave us a fast-paced, entrancing history lesson into our current social lives with his take on how Facebook began and how its often callously perceived inventor became the youngest billionaire in the world, with it all happening only seven years before the film’s debut. This film was 2010’s The Social Network. On December 21, 2011, Fincher made his mark again with his portrayal of the gripping best-selling novel, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, again solidifying his place in Hollywood and his place in cinema history. Fincher proved again, he’s here to stay.

Just like a great director only comes on the scene every blue moon, so does a great actress. In Dragon, that actress is Miss Rooney Mara. Mara auditioned for two and a half months amongst major Hollywood players like Scarlett Johansson, Kristen Stewart and Natalie Portman for the coveted role of Lisbeth Salander.  Fincher undoubtedly made the right choice. She is absolute perfection in the role. Salander is the perfect hero. The perfect heroine. Her physical and emotional androgyny allow her to be both, making this film so intriguing for male and female audiences. Salander is a 24 year old social outcast, mostly by choice, deemed mentally incapable by the government of Sweden.  She has been used and abused throughout her life, some of which you read in the book, and see in the film quite explicitly,  and she does not get emotional. She never gets emotional after such abuses. She gets even. There is a quality to Lisbeth that is less than human. She might be described as a lowly crusader, abandoned by the world around her, but yet takes on its problems with fearless courage.  We watch her avenge her abuses and the abuses of those around her without wincing. She is violent and her techniques for taking on crime are unorthodox. She’s the perfect villain and the perfect hero all in one. Courageous. Brave. These are understatements in describing Lisbeth. She is a real world super hero with relatable humanistic factors that make us root for her in the story, and we hope and even pray that there might just be a Lisbeth Salander somewhere in our real world. As for new-comer Rooney Mara…she has a very long career ahead of her.

The film is very well-done and it is a very well-made adaptation of the book. The book is lengthy and it is filled with several storylines and minute details and as jarring as the twists and turns that arise from such plot detailing are, it is also what makes the book great. A film however, in order to keep the audiences attention, cannot have such detailing, or the film literally would have been about 4 to 5 hours long. Fincher made a few plot changes from the book to the film, but overall, they were better choices for the movie.

The cinematography is beautiful. The mood set for the film is classic Fincher. Dark lighting and undertones, rugged, yet detailed set-design, fluid camera, and edgy, but up tempo music all keep the plot flowing. The flow of the storyline, juxtaposed with Fincher's cinematography choices feel very similar to The Social Network. The opening credit sequence alone hooks you. It’s ominously sexy, and indescribably artistic and sets the tone for the rest of the film.

For those that have read the book, Fincher does an impeccable job with choices of setting and character. Strangely, the locations described in the book and the main characters that inhabit them are exactly as I pictured them. In the book you are able to get inside the mind of each character. I know what kind of person deeply inside and out that financial reporter, Mikael Blomkist (Daniel Craig) is because the book tells me.  I know the inner-workings of Salander’s mind and all of her complexities because the book explicitly describes them. Rarely is a movie able to capture the description and vivid detailing of a book so well. Fincher accomplishes a great feat with this film. As an audience member, even having not having read the book, you are able to get to know these characters. Fincher leaves room for the next two films in the trilogy, however, which I think is a good thing. At times, I felt the book may have been too detailed. Fincher lets you breathe in the film. The characters have room to grow both on screen and in your mind. In this first installment, Fincher gives you just enough insight, just enough sex, just enough danger, and just enough brutality to entice your curiosity for the rest of the trilogy.

See The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. There is no debating it. Just see it. 

Young Adult

Smart. Witty. Real. Young Adult is written by Diablo Cody and directed by Jason Reitman. This is the same dynamic duo that created 2007’s facetiously clever comedy, Juno.

The funniest jokes are the ones that are based in truth. The same is true of a good comedic film. Theron plays Mavis Gary, a former member of the “popular crowd” in high school, that has gone on to live her dreams in the city and make a name for herself writing what came to be a very popular teenage book series. The movie opens, however, to a low, depressed, self-deprecating and physically disheveled Theron whose career is on a downward spiral, as she struggles to write the final book of the now once popular teen series. Mavis is lonely and unfulfilled and she leaves the city on a quest to return to her hometown to win back her high school boyfriend, Buddy, now married and with child.  On this outrageously hopeless and pathetic journey Mavis realizes her life is really no better than those that stuck around her hometown. She always thought she was “better than that,” but it turns out she’s over 30, miserably unhappy and has no direction whatsoever.

The film is about as dark, as dark comedy’s get. Theron proves again that not only is she stunning, but incredibly talented. The film is a must-see because it’s something millions of graduating high school students every year can relate to. It’s also something millions of adults that have left their hometowns are drawn to. For those graduating high school seniors that have aspirations of leaving their hometowns and never coming back, this film is for you. Home is the place so many of us want to leave and get as far away from as possible. But life teaches you about the cruelties of the world, and home is the place you always return, no matter what. It’s also the place those that get away, often fear having to permanently return to. Some of us choose to stay in the comforts of our hometowns the rest of our lives. Ultimately, this film shows us that no matter what life choices we make and no matter where we end up, we’re not all that different after all. The stay-at-home parent wants the life of the successful writer with the glitz and the glamour-filled lifestyle. The writer wants a family and a husband and a place to actually call home.  

We’re all human,  and we all want what we don’t have. That’s what makes this film so relatable and the characters in the film so real. Diablo Cody writes movies for real people. This movie is great because it makes you cringe as you watch Mavis go through this ultimate low in her life. But, it’s a classic tale of, what doesn’t kill you, only makes you stronger. Sometimes, life happens, but then life goes on and we pick ourselves up, and we keep going.

Young Adult is one of the best films of 2011. No glitz, no glam, just grit. And most of the time, that’s just the way life is.