Andy's Film Blog: 2007

Showing posts with label 2007. Show all posts

Thursday, November 16, 2017

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers: Runnin' Down a Dream

The story of how, after meeting Elvis at a young age and later seeing The Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show, Tom Petty became singularly focused on rock 'n' roll, and formed the band Mudcrutch who played throughout the Gainesville, Florida circuit. Driving 3,000 miles to Hollywood, they shopped their demo, scored a record contract, changed their name to Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, and became a staple headliner for over 30 years of ups and downs. Peter Bogdanovich's Runnin' Down a Dream is an excessively long and rife for parody documentary, almost cheaply and lazily made by mostly editing in concert and music video footage with current interviews. It is still watchable and never boring, while continuously featuring great music and background to an inimitable singer/songwriter.

*** out of ****

Monday, January 2, 2017

Hot Rod

Rod Kimble (Andy Samberg) has only two purposes in life: To find success as a stuntman and to use his abilities to stage a benefit show to procure a heart transplant for his jack-ass father-in-law (Ian McShane) in order to finally whoop his ass. Hot Rod is silly fun, although the laughs roll out fast and quickly dissipate. Sandberg's charm wears thin and the goofiness of the first half lends itself to something strange and not quite as funny.

** 1/2 out of ****

Sunday, January 1, 2017

American Gangster

Learning from his predecessor and mentor, Frank Lucas (Denzel Washington) expands Bumpy Johnson's Harlem drug empire through a Vietnam connection while an alcoholic, womanizing detective (Russell Crowe) concentrates the effort to see to his fall. I dismissed Ridley Scott's American Gangster upon its initial release for being too familiar (ie good cop in corrupt system vs. an intelligent, scrupulous drug dealer) but a repeat viewing revealed layers of depth and, when put up against popular drug lord sagas, Steve Zaillian's screenplay demonstrates an uncommon intelligence and patience. It also features two top actors at the top of their game leading a gifted cast.

*** 1/2 out of ****

Thursday, September 15, 2016

Blade Runner

In a bleak and not too distant future, the Blade Runner unit of the LAPD is charged with tracking down and “retiring” rogue replicants, or highly intelligent human cyborgs produced by an ignominious global corporation. When six of these androids escape from their transport and seek refuge in the city, tainted detective Richard Deckard (Harrison Ford) is assigned to the deadly case, never suspecting he’d fall for one their own (Sean Young) he meets along the trail. Bearing just a passing resemblance to Philip K. Dick’s novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner is a triumph in set design and visuals, which alone justify the price of admission, even if the plot is uninvolving, the romantic subplot doesn’t bear much weight, and the film is as cold and lifeless as one of its cyborgs. The Ford performance is unlikable, awkward, and amateur, probably by design, and Rutger Hauer is frighteningly electric. Following the initial studio cut, which features putrid, dumbed down Phillip Marlowe like narration, the film went through several subsequentcuts, varying in different degrees, Scott’s final cut in 2007 probably being the most worthy of your time.

*** out of ****

Wednesday, May 4, 2016

The War

Due to the sheer magnitude of the greatest and bloodiest conflict in history, Ken Burns decided to focus his series documenting World War II on four disparate American cities (Mobile, Alabama; Luverne, Minnesota; Sacremento, California; Waterbury Connecticut) and the impact the War to End All Wars had on the men who served and on those who contributed on the homefront. Fascinating footage and harrowing stories meshed with a less than desirable approach to the material sadly result in a mixed bag, with Burns being more concerned about the home effort and the war's effect on loved ones and focusing less on causes, battles, maneuverings, etc.

** 1/2 out of ****

Friday, June 26, 2015

The Edge of Heaven

A professor and Turkish immigrant living in Germany disapproves of the prostitute his widowed father has provided shelter for back home. When she is struck dead, a victim of the old man's violent temper, the professor sets out to find her daughter, another immigrant, though living illegally, who has struck up a passionate but precarious relationship with a university student. Fatih Akin's The Edge of Heaven is intelligent, understated, well acted, and powerful told through a series interconnected plot lines which make you realize how often similarly drafted films resort to gimmickry and easy resolutions.

*** 1/2 out of ****

Monday, May 18, 2015

Mad Men

SPOILERS abound. Again, its hard to write about a serial without discussing the plot.

Season 7, Parts 1 & 2 (2014, 2015)

As the 60s fade and the 70s are ushered in, Don stares down another failed marriage, termination from his partnership, and his continuing, wayward calling existential crisis as SC&P faces consolidation into advertising juggernaut McCann Erickson. The final season of Mad Men travels down its own path, moving at its own speed, unconcerned with sensationalism, histrionics and easy resolutions, and providing its characters with deserving, surprisingly uncynical, and even tender endings. While so many shows seem to lose steam, spinning their wheels long after ideas or interest has run out, Matthew Weiner’s unprecedented series remained continually assured, surprising, intelligent, and engaging, a glowing example of how good television can be.

**** out of ****

Season 6 (2013)

It is a tumultuous 1968 and Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce finds itself chasing several major accounts while being party to a major merger. Pete Campbell finds himself several outrageous entanglements, one involving his mother and a new mystery man at the agency. Peggy finds her stock rising, yet still subject to the whims of the male colleagues, and Don continues his tumble into the abyss, engaging in a tryst with a neighbor that results in what may be his ultimate low point. What can be said about Mad Men that hasn't already been said. This latest season is a continuation of excellence that hasn't wavered since its foundation. All the excellent elements (acting, story, production values, etc.) are still intact and the addition of James Wolk playing Bob Benson, another charming, alliteratively named abstruse ad man adds some more fun to the proceedings. Watching this season, I realized how nice it is to be able to watch a show without worrying about its quality, knowing it will be great, and sitting back to enjoy the fall.

**** out of ****

Season 5 (2012)

Its 1966 and Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce has, quite quickly, revealed the monster it has become and how its depravity knows no bounds in the efforts seal a Jaguar clientele. Don continues his surprisingly faithful and seemingly empty marriage to Megan, Roger trips on LSD, Pete pursues an acquaintance's fragile spouse, Peggy reaches the end of her rope, as does Lane in a more literal sense following financial straits. After a long wait, the most brilliant series on television returns with a dark and brutal season as the audience along with the characters seem to get kicked in the teeth on a weekly basis. From the larger happenings discussed above to smaller ones, such as Paul Kinsey's pathetic return to Betty's weight problems, the sense of melancholy and longing seems deeper than ever. The cast is excellent once again. I liked where they took Peggy and Joan's stories this year, and Jared Harris was remarkable in where he was able to take his character throughout his run. In Season 5, Matthew Weiner gets closer to the heart (or lack thereof) of his characters and involves us once more in a sad and sinuous journey.

**** out of ****

Season 4 (2010)

1964 is coming to a close and Sterling, Cooper, Draper, and Pryce is struggling to take off. After bungling an interview with the New York Times, recently divorced Don Draper begins a decline where he sees the death of his friend in California, struggles with his drinking, and faces more problems with his secret identity. Peggy, Pete, and Joan face discontent at work while Roger's attitude towards a major client may just bring down the entire agency. Season 4 of Mad Men is a continuance of excellence for a show that started off wonderful and somehow seems to constantly get better. The regulars shine as bright as ever and there are some humorous new additions to the cast including a couple of buffoons in creative and an ambitious executive at a rival agency. Season 4 helps prove that television can be literate and entertaining at the same time and that most other shows aren't even trying.

**** out of ****

Season 3 (2009)

It's 1963 and the Brits have invaded Sterling Cooper. Shaking up management and making changes throughout the company, Pete Campbell and Ken Cosgrove are thrown into competition for the Account Manager Position. Don has acquired the desirable Hilton account but it may be more trouble than its worth. On the home front, his father-in-law comes to live with his family, a new baby has arrived, and an older gentlemen causes Betty to rethink their continually troubled union. Then, that sad fateful day in late November arrives when the world stops and reflects on the great tragedy that has befallen them. Season 3 of Mad Men continues the elegant melancholic brilliance that was established in the first two seasons. With pacing that is both leisurely and thoroughly exciting, Mad Men keeps raising the bar for television excellence. Matthew Weiner and his staff keep writing wonderful dialogue and situations and all the great actors, lead by the enigmatic John Hamm continue to wow as well.

**** out of ****

Season 2 (2008)

The second season of Mad Men picks up in the smoky and booze filled corridors of Sterling Cooper in the spring of 1962 with historical moon orbits, devastating plane crashes, high profile celebrity suicides, and the threat of nuclear war on the loom. As for the members of Sterling Cooper, a new executive will offer lofty promises, cost a tenured and liked exec his job, and possibly jeopardize the entire company for the sake of self promotion. Peggy Olson's career has skyrocketed while in her free time she reflects on the repercussions of her surprise pregnancy and has made the acquaintance of a young visiting priest. Ms. Halloway has become happily engaged but is somewhat discontented with her role at the office. Harry Crane has been made the head of the newly formed television department, Paul Kinsey has become involved in social activism with his new girlfriend, and Pete Campbell has found a way to capitalize on a family tragedy while struggling to conceive a child with his wife. Don Draper's affair with an older woman will lead to a separation from his wife, serve as an inspiration for boss Roger Sterling to leave his, and cause Don to head to California to do some soul searching which may lead to some answers regarding his mysterious past. Mad Men continues its excellency with wonderfully realized storylines and dialogue, while getting to the core of the discontent of its characters who seemingly have everything but who are still somehow empty.

**** out of ****

Season 1 (2007)

"How could anyone be unhappy with all of this"

So says Don Draper, the debonair advertising executive for Sterling Cooper, one of the most successful firms on Madison Avenue. Yet under the surface of the characters on Mad Men, the brilliant series by Matthew Weiner, lies a melancholy and a desire for something other than the items they superficially promote. With the smell of change in the air, Sterling Cooper's executives are something of a dying breed as they drink, smoke, engage in infidelities, and occasionally put in some work hours and draw in clients while the women wish to succeed on their own but seem hopelessly dependent on men in a male dominated world. At the top sits Draper (Jon Hamm), a natural at his job and a good family man as well. Regardless, his beautiful wife (January Jones) seems unhappy, has childish tendencies, and has recently been placed in psychotherapy. He doesn't seem contented, and sees his way into the arms of a Greenwich village woman (Rosemarie DeWitt) who hangs around beatniks. Also, developments occur that suggest that he may not be who he says he is. Then there is Peggy Olson (Elisabeth Moss) the perky and intelligent secretary with greater ambitions but seems to fall prey to the advances of Pete Campbell (Vincent Kartheiser), the snaky junior executive who will stop at nothing for self-advancement. Overseeing are the partners Roger Sterling (John Slattery) and Bertram Cooper (Robert Morse), the former more concerned with boozing and womanizing and the latter a pragmatist and seemingly straight and narrow kind of guy. Mad Men is a show that is intimately familiar with its time and setting, and it shows in the resulting period detail. The actors are wonderfully cast and believable in their roles. It is brilliantly conceived and intelligently written and sets the bar for what primetime television should be.

**** out of ****

Monday, April 27, 2015

Into the Wild

In 1992 Chris McCandless (Emile Hirsch), an intelligent, affable recent college graduate hailing from a well to do family, quietly and completely exited his life, abandoned his car and all possessions, and set off to explore the wilderness of the Western continent with the Alaskan interior in mind as his final destination. As he encounters an array of people and terrains he ambles along contentedly to a lonesome and tragic demise. Jon Krakauer’s fascinating, journalistic account of McCandless’s journey is hampered by director and book adapter Sean Penn’s pseudo-documentary structure which serves to somewhat distance the viewer from the story. The scenery, however, is spectacular and Penn does try diligently to remain faithful to the book. Hirsch gives it his all but doesn’t really have the chops to match his will, though he is given wonderful support from Hal Holbrook, Cathy Keener, and Vince Vaughn. Lastly, the Eddie Vedder soundtrack grows awfully wearisome and mundane.

*** out of ****

Wednesday, February 5, 2014

The Savages

Two struggling, intellectual, and nearly estranged siblings, an unpublished playwright (Laura Linney) in an affair with a married man and her older brother (Philip Seymour Hoffman), a philosophy teacher and expert on Brecht though totally hopeless in his personal life, receive word that their completely estranged father has begun using his stool as finger paint and it may be time to place him in a home. When his partner drops dead, that process gets kicked into high gear and the siblings begin analyzing their own shortcomings and destinations during the painful process of seeing their father to his life's end. Tamara Jenkins' Savages is a perceptive, literate, and very funny film which doesn't go the often taken easy route through its material and while occasionally pushing the envelope on its level of discomfort, it always remains dynamic thanks to the distinct, humanized performances from its consummate stars.

Monday, February 3, 2014

Atonement

On a hot summer afternoon on an English country manor in the quiet days before World War II, a precocious girl (Saoirse Ronan followed by Romola Garai and Vanessa Redgrave during later stages of the film) misinterprets incidents taking place between her older sister (Keira Knightley at her most radiant) and the family's gardener (James McAvoy) and, through one callous mistake, forever alters the course of all three of their lives. Atonement is a sumptuously mounted film from Joe Wright who, with screenwriter Christopher Hampton, takes Ian McEwan's remarkable and impeccably structured book and translates it to the screen with as much adeptness and carrying as much, if not more, emotional weight. From the idyllic early passages at the country home, to the famous five minute tracking shot at the beach at Dunkirk, to the gut wrenching final revelation (which should serve as an instructional for twist happy movie makers), Atonement is a triumph on every level.

Thursday, January 30, 2014

Pete Seeger: The Power of Song

Pete Seeger, who died earlier this week, was known as a walking repertoire of the American Songbook who added a few entries of his own and used this knowledge and his trusty banjo to become a conduit to prove the title suggestion. Seeger lived too full a life to be done justice by my modest aspirations here, but during his storied 94 years he became a tireless champion of leftist causes, from civil rights to antiwar to ecological, while being a primary influence to a generation of earth shaking folk performers, and never deviating from his humble nature. Pete Seeger: The Power of Song is a fantastic documentary from PBS's American Masters series which wonderfully blends archived footage with many of his endearing songs, while he, in between taking an occasional break to chop wood at his rural Hudson River home, and his family guide you through his life. I also appreciated how the documentary occasionally detoured to gain the perspective of common folks who were displeased with some of Seeger's choices, including an protester at a pro-communist rally he headlined or a Vietnam vet from his hometown who was thoroughly disgusted with the artist's visit to North Vietnam in 1972. I must say I was a little irked by the obvious and expected pompous postulations of Bruce Springsteen, Joan Baez, Natalie Maines, and other musicians and the film unfortunately devolves into a change the world advertisement and a too sanctifying portrait of the man but at least for four fifths of its running time, The Power of Song is an excellent look at an impressive life.

Wednesday, November 27, 2013

Zodiac

While the self-anointed Zodiac killer terrorizes residents in the Bay Area through random acts of manslaughter and cryptic messages sent for publication in the local newspapers, only a cartoonist for the San Francisco Chronicle (Jake Gyllenhaal), with occasional assistance from an alcoholic reporter (Robert Downey Jr.) and a hotshot detective (Mark Ruffalo), sees the unresolved case to its bitter end, through obsession and personal endangerment. Adapted from a book by Robert Graysmith, the featured illustrator, Zodiac is one of the most detailed films in memory, with its continual barrage of dates and case facts made all the more impressive by director David Fincher's heightened visual style and its ability to maintain a highly intense narrative thrust, these two elements coming to a head in the extraordinarily conceived basement sequence. Gyllenhaal serves as the film's center, Ruffalo is a standout playing the dogged, semi-famous detective David Toschi, and Downey Jr. finds a role suited to his personality (and not the other way around) adding a welcomed sense of humor.

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

I'm Not There.

Todd Haynes' I'm Not There attempts to examine the life of Bob Dylan by telling a story in which six actors in separate vignettes play different aspects of his personality. Please excuse this clumsy description of these exceedingly vague characters: Ben Whishaw narrates the proceedings. Christian Bale portrays Dylan in his public life. Heath Ledger as a post music career actor living in Hollywood. Cate Blanchett during his famous 1965 tour of Britain. Marcus Carl Franklin as a nine year old, African-American hobo embodying the spirit of Woody Guthrie. And Richard Gere as an ambiguous Billy the Kid outlaw death figure of the west. The movie is interesting as a curio, and will probably be more to your liking the more you know about the legendary folk singer (I don't know too much). I'm not sure if any of the performances come off exceedingly well (even Blanchett's hailed one) or if the film gets any closer to the enigmatic songwriter's core. Also, Haynes is a competent filmmaker, but he uses this film as an opportunity to delve into show-offy gimmicks, and nods to Fellini, Godard, Hal Ashby, and others begin to grow wearisome.

Monday, May 20, 2013

No Country for Old Men

The other night I watched Stanley Kramer's Judgment at Nuremberg, a classic film that held a place in my my mind as a powerful, all-encompassing statement on Nazi atrocities. Upon revisiting it, while still retaining many dynamic sequences, it seemed to have lost much of its initial effect. I bring this up to make the point of how many great movies actually get better upon subsequent viewings? The Coen Brothers' No Country for Old Men is one of these films. Adapted from Cormac McCarthy's novel, it tells the story of a drug deal gone bad in a barren Texan wasteland and three men, a brazen working class laborer (Josh Brolin), a weary, aging sheriff (Tommy Lee Jones), and a cold blooded psychopath (Javier Bardem) all in pursuit of a briefcase containing 2 million dollars. Made without a soundtrack, and containing scenes of great tension, harsh violence, dark humor, great acting, and perceptive philosophizing it is an almost impossible to fathom film of great construction that offers more and more with each viewing.

Saturday, December 29, 2012

Waitress

A young (Kerri Russell) buries the misery inflicted by her cruel and controlling husband (Jeremy Sisto) in the delectable pies she bakes which play like gangbusters at the local southern diner where she waits tables. After becoming unwillingly pregnant, she begins an affair with her charming prenatal caregiver (Nathan Fillion) and aims to win a top paying pie making contest to make the dream of leaving her husband a reality. "Waitress" is as putrid as its plot description, probably even more so, and will probably play best to those enthralled by gas station dime novels and the regular Lifetime Channel fare. Written, directed, costarring, and dedicated to Adrienne Shelly, who was murdered in a bizarre NYC home invasion before the film's release, the movie seeks to be a southern, small town female bonding picture a la "Fried Green Tomatoes" and unfortunately isn't very successful, at least from my cynical, male perspective. Even Andy Griffith brings very little to the proceedings, playing a crotchety regular at the diner, in what was one of his final roles.

Saturday, November 10, 2012

The Darjeeling Limited

Three brothers (Owen Wilson, ), all reeling in their own way following the death of their father, meet in India and embark on an expansive journey by train, in an attempt to reconcile old wounds. With a surreptitious motive for the trip held by one of the brothers, the trio embark in misadventure after misadventure, each self-revealing and healing by turn. "The Darjeeling Limited" is a gorgeous location film that offers further evidence in the maturation process of Wes Anderson. Bringing his acutely delicate sensibilities to the project, Anderson tells an affecting story and features fines performances from Owen Wilson (who recreates his highly ordered character from "Bottle Rocket"), Jason Schwartzman (who cowrote the screenplay with his cousin Roman Coppola and Anderson) and Adrian Brody. The touching finale also conjures up memories of Powell and Pressburger's great "Black Narcissus."

The Criterion DVD features a simultaneously filmed short featuring Schwartzman and Natalie Portman entitled "Hotel Chevalier" which doesn't work by itself, but fits nicely within the context of the film, and probably should have been included as part of it.

Friday, September 7, 2012

Glass: A Portrait of Philip in Twelve Parts

Philip Glass is the reserved, minimalist composer who is famous for his resounding, hypnotic, and intentionally redundant pieces. Over the course of a year, director Scott Hicks, whose Oscar winning Shine depicted a socially misfitted musician not entirely unlike Glass, follows the melodist around as he tends to family, works on his latest symphony or film score, and composes his next opera entitled Waiting for the Barbarians. I have always found Glass' work spellbinding, and watching him work with Woody Allen here and also hearing Errol Morris discuss their collaborations is fantastic stuff. However, due to the composer's closed off nature, he doesn't make the most compelling subject, and much of his personal life, discussed at length here, just doesn't seem particularly cinematic. This is also a really long film, especially for a biographical profile of this sort. Also having recently watched "James Levine: America's Maestro", another American Masters entry on a great musical master, the difference was evident on how to make a captivating film on the subject.

Friday, December 23, 2011

Before the Devil Knows You're Dead

Andy (Philip Seymour Hoffman) is an insolvent real estate broker and his employee brother (Ethan Hawke) is doing much better. To relieve their financial woes, they decide to knockoff their parent's suburban jewelry store in an in-and-out kind of deal. But, of course, the job goes horribly awry and Andy's sexy wife (Marissa Tomei) and her revelations that she is sleeping with Hank, along with their father's (Albert Finney) tenacious pursuit of the culprits leads everything spiraling towards a bleak and tragic climax. "Before the Devil Knows You're Dead" was the final film of legendary director Sidney Lumet ("12 Angry Men", "Network", "Dog Day Afternoon") and is a fitting sendoff for a filmmaker who specialized in gritty urban fare. Aside from the cheap, stark look of the film itself (which is probably intentional), this is a brilliantly acted and ingeniously constructed film. Having seen it once before, I was amazed how well Kelly Masterson's time jumping screenplay conceals a central secret for so long. The grim script is also carried out to perfection by a top cast led by an intense performance from P.S. Hoffman. Ethan Hawke, who is capable of good work, turns in one of his better performances here, as does Marissa Tomei as an aging siren fearing she is losing her looks. The great and often overlooked Albert Finney is in fine form in a wrought, operatic role. "Before the Devil Knows You're Dead" is a shattering and beyond bleak film that is a testament to its prodigious director.

Hollywood Chinese

"Hollywood Chinese" is a twofold exploration by Alfred Dong of Chinese Americans roles in Hollywood films and how they are portrayed. The first segment focuses on the early years of film, where roles were hard to come by for Chinese, and where people of Asian descent were always depicted in stereotypical roles and even the most successful Chinese roles such as in "Charlie Chan" or "The Good Earth" were given to white actors. We also see the work of such extraordinary people who were able to succeed in spite of bias, including James Wong Howe, the legendary two-time Oscar winning cinematographer. The second segment of the documentary focuses on current Chinese filmmakers and performers such as Ang Lee, Nancy Kwan (pictured above), Wayne Wang, BD Wong, and Joan Chen recollecting on the movies that influenced them in addition to their body of work. "Hollywood Chinese" is an enlightening film, made with a rare kind of thoughtfulness and understanding, that shows a group of people who have been limited by the industry who have still left an impressive mark on the movies.

Sunday, November 27, 2011

Encounters at the End of the World

The eccentric and existential Werner Herzog set out to make a documentary about Antarctica, but not one focusing exclusively on the wildlife or the terrain. Here, while still capturing much of the rugged landscape, Herzog seems more interested with the types of personalities that are drawn to the desolate wilderness thousands of miles from civilization. He meets various types of brilliant and unconventional scientists including a team studying an active volcano, a dive expedition capturing underwater footage, and a naturalist who has just that day discovered three new species of life. Herzog's philosophical narration always livens up his films but I think it is a mistake to focus so greatly on the individuals instead of nature. While at first stimulating, the subjects grow increasingly wearisome to the point where you can even sense Herzog himself growing tired of them. And still, there is some incredible footage here, including a training expedition and a despondent penguin, and although Herzog sought out to not do yet another nature documentary about the South Pole, I think that's where the strengths of his film lie.