The first Jason Bourne movie came out in 2002, with star Matt Damon still a fairly young man of his early ‘30s. 14 years and a James Bond revival later, it’d be easy to forget how strong that original franchise was. And if you figure that about just as much time has passed in the movie’s timeline since the end of “The Bourne Ultimatum,” you’d think the CIA might’ve all but forgotten about Bourne as well.
And yet here we are in “Jason Bourne” with another set of CIA operatives chasing him down and trying to bury the past as they whisper his name in hushed astonishment. Now it’s Oscar winner Alicia Vikander’s turn to learn she “has no idea who you’re dealing with.”
Bourne (Damon) has been out of the game for years, lifelessly bare knuckle brawling in underground fights, but when his old colleague Nicky Parsons (Julia Stiles) ropes him back in, it turns out Bourne is still very much the priority of the current CIA director Robert Dewey (Tommy Lee Jones, who has played the gruff, sarcastic cop and secret agent so many times it’s amazing he wasn’t in this franchise earlier). Continue reading “Jason Bourne”
Matt Damon stars in Ridley Scott’s adaptation of Andy Weir’s sci-fi novel ‘The Martian’
The most impossible feat in Ridley Scott’s “The Martian” is not that a man can survive on Mars. “The Martian” is refreshingly optimistic, a movie that believes in not just the ingenuity and resourcefulness of mankind but the camaraderie and good-nature. It speaks to the power of the Internet and society in the 21st Century to collectively find a solution, but also rally around a moment in history. At the end of “The Martian” the whole world is watching in a unified sensation to see if Mark Watney will make it back alive. That’s an inspiring fantasy we only see in the movies, and one even less common in 2015.
Who better to incite humanity’s collective attention and care than an everyman movie star like Matt Damon? Damon here embodies pure American values and a can-do attitude, even as he sheepishly blows himself up or loses his cool. He’s a guy, above all, the kind of guy you’d want to be stuck alone on a planet with, but he’s a movie star and he’s better than you, so he’s exactly the person we want to root for.
Damon is Mark Watney, a member of a mission to Mars that goes wrong when a violent storm strands Mark from his team, who leave him for dead on the red planet. When he wakes, he quickly realizes his survival hinges on lasting long enough for another manned mission to arrive, potentially as long as four years, on communicating with NASA to let them know he’s still alive, and to grow food on a planet where nothing grows.
Good news! “I’m a botanist,” he proclaims, as if to say, “Challenge accepted. Bring it, Mars.” Mark gins up a way to grow potatoes for as long as four years, he finds a way to create water (just take two parts hydrogen and add oxygen. Not that anything bad has ever happened with humans trying to manipulate hydrogen), and he harvests leftover plutonium and a rover from previous Mars missions.
Back on Earth, NASA’s scientists have to be worn down over time to reject their cynicism. They’re all calculations and risk, dismissing Mark’s initially rudimentary attempts to communicate. Soon they’ll come around, and so do we. There’s not a moment in “The Martian” where we don’t believe in Mark’s gumption to survive or his creativity in McGyvering a solution, even something as simple as “Duct tape fixes everything.”
Part of that is “The Martian’s” embrace of science and logic. “The Martian” is methodical and practical in its explanation as to how Mark will survive, and the film never harbors an illusion that it’s about anything else but the ability to tackle the impossible.
But another part is that the film is perhaps quieter and more contemplative than the edge-of-your-seat thrill ride that was “Gravity”, another lost-in-space film with impossible odds. Mark communicates via video logs, so “The Martian” isn’t quite as reserved as something like “All is Lost”, but it sets aside time for Mark to enjoy some bad disco music or to bemoan running out of ketchup.
“Gravity” never had time for such scenes in its slick 90 minutes, and while that film found incredible economy by never setting back down on Earth, “The Martian’s” Earthbound scenes don’t feel like an after thought. Scott paces the film in dual, cross-cutting action, with NASA and JPL engineering the same solutions for communication or for outfitting a rover as Mark is figuring things out. Chiwetel Ejiofor and Jeff Daniels make sparks as NASA’s two directors debating how best to allocate resources to rescue Mark. And following “Magic Mike XXL”, this is the second film this year in which Donald Glover shows up halfway through and stops the show with his captivating performance.
When Sandra Bullock touched down on Earth, she was all alone on an idyllic lake. “The Martian” visualizes a breathtaking and inspiring homecoming in Times Square, with the whole world hooked on Mark’s safe return. Such a sight seems as unlikely today as a man trapped on another planet. But “The Martian” earns those lofty aspirations and positive, inspirational sensations because it believed in them to begin with.
Terry Gilliam’s sci-fi satire has many of the same visual, structural and thematic elements of his masterpiece “Brazil”.
With each generation comes the same feeling of nothingness and monotony to the present. People get stuck in dead-end jobs with neuroses and apprehensions, and the new wave of technology doesn’t appear to change much. Terry Gilliam’s ‘80s sci-fi “Brazil” captured the Orwellian state with such surreal humor and visual creativity that its now 30-year-old vision of the 21st Century has made it a cult classic.
Gilliam’s latest “The Zero Theorem” is awfully close to being “Brazil 2.0”, a satirical reimagining of another not-too-distant future that matches “Brazil” structurally, visually and to an extent thematically. Critics have faulted Gilliam for doing a remix of his greatest hits, but his idiosyncratic message is as relevant now as it was then.
“The Zero Theorem” tells the story of Qohen (Christoph Waltz), pronouncing his name “Cohen” with a Q, but no U. Years ago he received a phone call that he believed would tell him the meaning of why he was put on this Earth, but he got disconnected in excitement and now lives in an old church vicariously waiting for that call back. His work involves a new form of computer programming, one that has reduced work to video gaming and inscrutable equations. Qohen begs his supervisor (David Thewlis) to work from home to await his precious call, and in exchange, Management (Matt Damon) puts him to the task of deciphering The Zero Theorem. Continue reading “The Zero Theorem”
George Clooney stars and directs this World War II drama with a rich cast and a weak execution.
Art has been a part of human culture since the dawn of man. People like me spend their lives writing about it, protecting it and debating it because it tells us about ourselves, defines our history, makes us think, moves us to act, provides escapism and many more things that can fill a term paper. And we should preserve it at all costs because Hitler is bad and go America.
George Clooney’s “The Monuments Men” champions art and the soldiers who helped to salvage it from the Nazis during World War II, but it’s a muddled war film rather than a stirring piece of art full of ideas and meaning itself. It’s about the lofty Idea of art, only important on the motivation of preventing Hitler from making someone else’s culture his own.
“Art is to be held up and admired, just like these men,” Clooney says. And the extent to which Clooney feels art should simply be placed on a pedestal or hung on a wall like the way America treats its military reflects how pretty and patriotic, yet empty “The Monuments Men” feels. It has echoes of being an amusing buddy caper complete with manufactured camaraderie and a role call of movie stars called into action one by one, not unlike Clooney’s “Ocean’s Eleven.” But it also wants to be a grave war drama and paints the melodramatic set pieces and themes of war, justice and serving your country with a broad brush. Continue reading “The Monuments Men”
Neill Blomkamp’s “Elysium” is a smart sci-fi heavy on parallels to contemporary American social politics.
The futuristic sci-fi “Elysium” may be the most modern and topical movie of the year. With tense action movie thrills and a jaw-dropping CGI backdrop, it not so subtly refers to the political hot spots of immigration, the poverty divide, the environment and universal healthcare in modern America. That it doesn’t forget to be a creative and compelling sci-fi in the process is part of the fun.
In the early 22nd Century, the wealthiest humans have fled the now deeply polluted and over populated Earth to an orbiting space station known as Elysium. In their space resort, the synthetic grass is green, the pools are shimmering blue and healing pods have effectively eliminated death, disease and aging.
Meanwhile on Earth, specifically in Los Angeles, everyone is poor and working class, “Soylent Green” levels of people roam the ghetto and abusive, snarky robots police the streets. This life is not the apocalypse; it’s simply the new normal.
That “Elysium” feels less like dystopia and more like an extension of contemporary ills will be the dividing line between those feeling Director Neill Blomkamp is beating a dead horse and those prepared to accuse it of a socialist agenda. Continue reading “Elysium”
The more mundane aspects of Liberace’s relationship dominate in this biopic, and “Behind the Candelabra” feels like an empty and overdone Vegas showpiece.
Too gay, was the reason Steven Soderbergh gave that “Behind the Candelabra” became an HBO TV movie rather than a wide released feature. And yet this biopic on Liberace’s relationship with Scott Thorson shoves the homosexual politicking to the background in favor of the more familiar trope of marital bickering. Although much of the film is enjoyable in that Mr. Showmanship way, this genre, unlike Soderbergh’s other recent genre experiments, does not fit him as well.
Although Liberace (Michael Douglas) was a skilled pop pianist in the ‘70s, his real claim to fame was his fine-tuned crowd work. We’re introduced to Liberace through a dopey Boogie-Woogie number in his Vegas stage show made fun through his simple pleasantries. It’s not that Liberace was the natural showman, but that everything he says here seems just right, and it’s no wonder he wins over Scott Thorson (Matt Damon) along the way.
The nuance of Michael Douglas’s performance, one that strays away from impersonation, is that he does feel as though he’s trying. It is a performance, no matter whom he’s talking to, and that shows. It’s when we’ve been around this act too much that it grows old and tiresome, and that’s exactly what happens to Scott. Continue reading “Behind the Candelabra”
We’re at the point where there’s going to be a big movie opening every week until the end of the year now, so get excited.
“Skyfall” has biggest Bond opening ever
“Skyfall” earned $86.7 million at the Box Office this weekend, sending it on its way to trounce even the inflation added record of the fourth Bond, “Thunderball.” It’s popular appeal as well as its just plain awesome quality has lead some to speculate the possibility of nominating Judi Dench, Javier Bardem and Roger Deakins for their respected Oscars, as well as a push for the movie itself for Best Picture. It’s a long shot, but I would be on board.
Best Animated Short shortlist revealed
Could we soon be saying, Oscar Winner Maggie Simpson? The shortlist for the Best Animated Short category was revealed last week, and it includes “The Simpsons” short “The Longest Daycare” and the lovey Disney short “Paperman.” The Pixar short film this year that screened before “Brave,” “La Luna,” was nominated and lost last year. But I can guarantee you now that the little underdog movie no one’s heard of and no one will see will almost definitely win this category. Here’s the full list: (via In Contention)
“Adam and Dog”
“Combustible”
“Dripped”
“The Eagleman Stag”
“The Fall of the House of Usher”
“Fresh Guacamole”
“Head over Heels”
“Maggie Simpson in ‘The Longest Daycare'”
“Paperman”
“Tram”
Christoph Waltz in Best Actor race
I said last week that for some reason people already want to count “Django Unchained” out of the race before anyone’s even seen it. Why no one would consider Christoph Waltz owning “Django” just like he did “Inglourious Basterds” is beyond me, but the difference this year is that he’s being pushed for the Lead Actor race now rather than supporting. Yes, it’s a crowded field, but he was just that good before, and I don’t see why he can’t be again. This also means that Leonardo DiCaprio and even Samuel L. Jackson are people to keep an eye on in the Supporting race. (via In Contention)
Image Credit: The Hollywood Reporter
The Hollywood Reporter Airs Annual Actor Roundtable
Each year The Hollywood Reporter puts together an extended interview roundtable with a collection of actors, usually Oscar hopefuls for that year. Last year they interviewed George Clooney, Viola Davis, Christopher Plummer, Charlize Theron and Michael Fassbender, and this year they’ve interviewed Jamie Foxx, Matt Damon, Denzel Washington, Richard Gere, Alan Arkin and John Hawkes. All six are potential Oscar candidates for acting, three more likely than the others, but their discussion veered much more intellectual. They talked acting on stage, what they would do if they couldn’t act, family and whom they admired. It’s a stirring hour-long discussion between smart actors being very candid in a setting you won’t see anywhere else. (via The Hollywood Reporter)
Gurus ‘O Gold released
The Gurus ‘O Gold have been my go to barometer for Oscar predictions for the last few years. Collectively, they are probably better at anticipating the awards and forecasting changes than any one of them individually. This is their first time forecasting the major categories this year since Toronto. Things are bound to change as a few other movies set in and are seen by the public, but the universal consensus right now is unsurprisingly “Argo,” followed closely by TIFF winner “Silver Linings Playbook.” The surprise I see in the list is the inclusion of “Flight” in 10 spot and “Moonrise Kingdom” on the outs. 10 is probably a generous number for nominees anyway. Take a look at the full list if you’re like me and love charts and spreadsheets and stuff, and avoid it if you think it has the potential to suck all the fun out of the Oscars. (via Movie City News)
Will Best Picture match Screenplay?
A blogger at “Variety” observed that last year was a surprising anomaly in the trend for nominees for Best Picture and Best Original or Adapted Screenplay. The movie with the BP nod always gets the screenplay nod, with historically very few exceptions. Last year alone matched the last 10 years in terms of gaps between the two categories, and it’s worth noting that this year may go the same. “Moonrise Kingdom,” “The Master,” “Amour,” “Django Unchained,” “Beasts of the Southern Wild” and “The Sessions” are all questionable nominees for Best Picture, and that’s just listing the front runners in the screenplay races. (via Variety)
Ben Affleck to receive “Modern Master Award”
For a guy gunning for an Oscar for Best Director with a film set in the ‘70s, it’s got to feel good to win an award called the “Modern Master Award” at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival. Ben Affleck will receive the award on January 26, conveniently not long before the Oscar ceremony itself. (via The Race)
Kenneth Lonergan’s “Margaret” has the same emotional resonance and poetic understanding of a post 9/11 New York City as Spike Lee’s “25th Hour.” Yet unlike Lee’s intensely literal depiction of race and omnipresent anxieties in the tragedy’s immediate aftermath, “Margaret’s” virtues are contained within deep, complex metaphors that engulf Lonergan’s stirring character drama.
Meant to be released over five years ago but delayed due to legal battles between Lonergan and distributor Fox Searchlight Pictures over the film’s final cut (the edit I watched is the shortened, 2 ½ hour version edited by Martin Scorsese and Thelma Schoonmaker, but the extended Director’s Cut exists on the DVD), “Margaret” is a flawed masterpiece.
This version’s editing is a mishmash of vignettes, arguments and moments out of time all surrounding one teenage girl. The movie’s length, the web of subplots and the film’s rich cast and numerous characters for me paint a lush portrait of a whole city full of grief, regrets and anxieties. If it seems to never approach a rational ending, what could sum up this new mentality we’ve lived with for 11 years now?
“Margaret’s” central character is Lisa Cohen (Anna Paquin), a smugly confident high school student giving off an attitude that she knows just how phony she is. On the street one day, she distracts a bus driver (Mark Ruffalo), causing him to run a red light and hit a pedestrian named Monica (Allison Janney). Lisa cradles her in her last moments and feels devastated. But fearing the bus driver will be in trouble for something she caused, Lisa lies to the police and claims it was an accident free of negligence.
But this is just in the film’s first 15 minutes. For the next two-plus hours, Lisa will go through life trying to find closure and solace in battling her parents, losing her virginity, arguing with classmates and pursuing a lawsuit against the bus driver. Continue reading “Margaret”
Steven Soderbergh takes the heist movie to the art house with his “Ocean’s Eleven” remake.
“Ocean’s Eleven” was when Steven Soderbergh took the art house to the mainstream. It wasn’t Oscar bait like “Traffic” and “Erin Brokovich,” and it wasn’t gritty and experimental like “Sex, Lies and Videotape.” It was just pure Hollywood fun in the biggest way possible, which is probably the reason why most critics were unkind to it. To see such a gigantic studio picture with no lofty ambitions come from an otherwise serious director was like a concert pianist pounding out a little honky-tonk, as Roger Ebert put it in his 2001 review.
But to see how much it gets right, how different it feels and how unique it looks at every moment in comparison to similar Hollywood capers like it is to realize that “Ocean’s Eleven” is a great film after all, and a fun one. Continue reading “Ocean’s Eleven (2001)”
If you are even the slightest bit less jaded, cynical and bitter to life and movies than me, the film critic who cannot enjoy anything but dark, thoughtful art house movies in black and white and a foreign language, then do not hesitate to see “We Bought a Zoo.” It will make you feel elated. You will bawl your eyes out with tears of pure sunshine.
“We Bought a Zoo” is possibly the most joyously tepid movie ever made. It is schlock, formula tearjerker filmmaking to perfection. It is as dopey and exuberantly cute and infectious as any movie you will ever see ever.
Watching it, I felt like Benjamin Mee’s (Matt Damon) teenage boy, just rolling my eyes and muttering under my breath at every passing moment to all the fun emotions and happy people around me.
Except like a teenage boy, I’m brooding and hating it all for no good reason. It’s lame and bad and predictable and stupid and formulaic, but it’s all so HAPPY. You don’t watch the movie or think about it; you just cheer in glee. Continue reading “We Bought a Zoo”
The first Jason Bourne movie came out in 2002, with star Matt Damon still a fairly young man of his early ‘30s. 14 years and a James Bond revival later, it’d be easy to forget how strong that original franchise was. And if you figure that about just as much time has passed in the movie’s timeline since the end of “The Bourne Ultimatum,” you’d think the CIA might’ve all but forgotten about Bourne as well.
The most impossible feat in Ridley Scott’s “The Martian” is not that a man can survive on Mars. “The Martian” is refreshingly optimistic, a movie that believes in not just the ingenuity and resourcefulness of mankind but the camaraderie and good-nature. It speaks to the power of the Internet and society in the 21st Century to collectively find a solution, but also rally around a moment in history. At the end of “The Martian” the whole world is watching in a unified sensation to see if Mark Watney will make it back alive. That’s an inspiring fantasy we only see in the movies, and one even less common in 2015.
