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Super
Directed by James Gunn.
2011. Rated R, 96 minutes.
Cast:
Rainn Wilson
Ellen Page
Liv Tyler
Kevin Bacon
Gregg Henry
Michael Rooker
Nathan Fillion
Don Mac
Andre Royo
Sean Gunn
Linda Cordellini
Meet Frank (Wilson), a fry-cook. We get the impression he didn’t have a lot of friends growing up, didn’t get out much and was the butt of the jokes when he did. We can tell there was a time when he thought he’d never find a woman that would marry him. Yet, here he is married to Sarah who is every bit as beautiful as Liv Tyler. No wonder he counts the second they tied the knot as one of his life’s few perfect moments. Sadly, his happiness is fleeting. He comes home one day to discover her and all of her things gone. After asking God what he must do to win her back, he has a vision suggesting he become a superhero. This is how The Crimson Bolt is born.
Frank dons the costume he’s made for himself and hits the streets looking for villains to thwart. Shortly, he realizes that if he’s going to fight crime he better get a weapon. He also needs to brush up on his new craft and finds himself frequenting a comic book shop with an enthusiastic young female clerk named Libby (Page). She informs him of what certain superheroes are and are not capable of since he’s obviously not into comics. He uses this information to decide on his weapon of choice: a pipe wrench. With that, he takes the city by storm, clubbing anyone he thinks is involved in a crime. Eventually, Libby gets her own costume and becomes his overeager sidekick Boltie.
Director James Gunn makes sure Super is never dull, but certainly challenging to watch. It’s filled to the brim with bizarre and graphic imagery, dark to the point of being morbid humor and questionable morality. By questionable I mean there really is no problem that can’t be solved by a wrench to the face. Our hero is rendered little more than a violent sociopath. However, this seems to be the intent. He is supposed to be what we wish we were: unrestrained in our dealings with those we perceive to be doing wrong. It works to an extent. The problem is he does some things that are repulsive even to us. What’s supposed to endear him to us is his awkwardness, both as a superhero and in regular life. When he’s in costume this works fine. Out of costume, it’s uncomfortable to witness.
As I said though, this is dark comedy. It is not to be taken too seriously or literally. It’s a fantasy for us everyday weaklings. At this, Super succeeds. We can tell this is all tongue-in-cheek. As uneasy as it may make us feel, there are laughs to be had. For instance, right before one of his disturbing outbursts we can’t help but chuckle as he rushes off to his car for a not so quick change into costume in broad daylight.
Super does a number of things well. However, it shies away from really examining our hero’s behavior. It starts down the very Batman-esque path of have the Crimson Bolt hunted as a criminal. With Frank’s social awkwardness and conviction that he’s doing the right thing there are potentially some very dark depths to be mined. Alas, this storyline gets abandoned to keep the sappy ending intact. It leaves Super very uneven, a bit of a mess. The film doesn’t think that matters. It simply wants to be like the first Spiderman movie and so it is. Like that one, this is really all about a girl.
MY SCORE: 5.5/10Comment
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Arthur
Directed by Jason Winer.
2011. Rated PG-13, 110 minutes.
Cast:
Russell Brand
Helen Mirren
Jennifer Garner
Greta Gerwig
Geraldine James
Luis Guzmán
Nick Nolte
Murphy Guyer
Evander Holyfield
Arthur (Brand) is a fabulously wealthy alcoholic party-boy who fails to comprehend most things beyond what would be expected of a toddler. In fact, he’s still cared for by his nanny Hobson (Mirren). Tired of the exploits that keep landing him on the front page of the newspaper and embarrassing the family, and more importantly its business, his mother mandates that he mary the company’s respectable exec Susan (Garner) and settle down. If he doesn’t he will be completely cut off from the family fortune. Of course, he doesn’t particularly like Susan. To complicate matters even further, he’s become smitten with Naomi (Gerwig), a poor girl who scrapes by giving illegal tours of Grand Central Station to tourists. Yes, this is a remake of the beloved 1981 hit starring Dudley Moore.
In the title role, Russell Brand does the usual Russell Brand schtick. His Arthur is hardly distinguishable from his Aldous Snow, his character in both Get Him to the Greek and Forgetting Sarah Marshall. If you’re a fan of his, this is great. If you’re not, then it’s not. In either case, the movie constructed around him isn’t as good as either of those. Arthur just drags us down a road we’ve traversed many times. It’s that road where all the rich people are cold and calculating, possibly evil, while all of the poor are virtuous and loyal, almost angelic. Even this can work if the story is told in an interesting manner and/or we’re given round characters we feel empathy for. Such was the case with the original, unless nostalgia is getting the best of me. These people are cardboard cutouts of characters in other crappy movies who were caricatures to begin with. It all adds up to us not caring one iota about what happens to them because we’ve already seen them in other movies and didn’t particularly care for them, then.
Whatever the material’s shortcomings, the cast is game. While Brand is vigorously doing Brand, Jennifer Garner is feverishly working the dominatrix in a business suit angle, complete with riding whip. Either I’m jaded by years of seeing her as the good girl or she doesn’t have too many evil bones in her body, so I can’t quite buy it. Still, the effort is there. Helen Mirren gives her character dignity, sincerity and depth beyond the lines she speaks. It’s a typically wonderful performance from her. Greta Gerwig as Naomi is the exception. For pretty much the entire time she’s on screen her eyes are big as saucers and she can’t remove the perma-grin. Regardless of context, most of her lines come across as if she’s saying “Gee Willikers Arthur, that was neat!” Of course, during her sad scenes she’s worse. I could “see” her acting. That’s never a good thing.
Arthur plays out exactly as it is set up to right from the start. It’s a straight-forward entry into the ever-expanding romantic comedy genre. That might be okay if it were funnier. This is the major difference between this and the original. That one has more laughs. Most of the jokes here don’t quite work. Aside from the novel appearance of a not-so-heroic Batman and Robin plus two by the gaudiest of all Batmobiles, our new Arthur fails to stand out from the crowd.
MY SCORE: 4.5/10Comment
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Act of Valor
Directed by Mike McCoy, Scott Waugh.
2012. Rated R, 110 minutes.
Cast:
Roselyn Sanchez
Alex Veadov
Jason Cottle
Nestor Serrano
Emilio Rivera
Ailsa Marshall
Gonzalo Menendez
U.S. Navy SEALs
U.S. Navy Special Warfare Combatant Crewmen
Act of Valor is billed as a movie made by U.S. Navy SEALs for U.S. Navy SEALs. The rest of us can either take it or leave it. I have a feeling that anyone into action and/or war flicks will take it. Our tale follows a team of SEALs whose mission is to rescue undercover CIA agent Lisa Morales (Sanchez). She’s been kidnapped after her cover is apparently blown by Cristo (Veadov), the international drug dealer she’s been investigating. Pretty quickly, it’s discovered that this is merely the tip of the iceberg. Unsurprisingly, our heroes find themselves efforting to stop a major terrorist plot with eyes on multiple locations within the United States. Before any of this happens, frontline defenders of the free world do what they must. They have a get-together at the beach to say goodbye to their loved ones, maybe even confide in one another in hopes of resolving any last minute personal issues. For Lt. Rorke, the team’s leader ,it’s an especially difficult time to be deployed. His wife is expecting their first child. He doesn’t want anyone to know, but his bestest buddy Chief Dave is a bit of a blabbermouth. Everyone knows.
With that, we’re on to the part of the movie that keeps us on the edge of our seats: watching the SEALs in what becomes a global operation to end a threat against us, here at home. This isn’t Rambo or Commando impossibly and singlehandedly mowing down hundreds of bad guys and dropping corny one-liners. This is a team of highly trained seamen who are excellent at what they do, but will take help whenever they can get it. The action scenes feel real. We see them implementing their training. Save for possibly one moment involving an RPG, there are no superhuman feats. It helps maintain tension during these sequences. Our sense of danger is palpable. If there is a drawback, it’s that the first person shooter angle is overused. It comes across gimmicky and not as clear as it needs to be.
Wisely, there aren’t endless soliloquys of exposition. Explanations are given in a succinct, no-frills fashion. It’s basically, “This is what we know and that is where you’re going. Go get ‘em, boys!” The one piece of story AoV does use lots of words on is what’s going on with Lt. Rorke. This is repeatedly hammered into our head to ensure our proper response at the end. The writers don’t seem to understand that it doesn’t need to be so heavy-handed. Trust me, we get it. With a little less time on this, the ending would still have the same effect. Less time here would also benefit the performers. Lt. Rorke and Chief Dave get most of the lines among the good guys. Believe me, neither is in line for an Oscar. A Razzie, maybe.
AoV manages to overcome its flaws to deliver a movie that’s exhilarating, sad and controversial. It entertains, but not merely for entertainment’s sake. It doesn’t dwell on the rights and wrongs of war. Instead, it just presents us with the reality of these men’s lives. However, in doing so it may come across as pure propaganda and more than a bit militaristic. The actual U.S. Navy is said to look upon this as a recruitment tool. That said, the action still carries the day. Narratively speaking it’s average or less in comparison to other action flicks. In terms of combat scenes, it’s much more.
MY SCORE: 6.5/10Comment
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Unknown
Directed by Jaume Collet-Serra.
2011. Rated PG-13, 113 minutes.
Cast:
Liam Neeson
Diane Kruger
January Jones
Aidan Quinn
Bruno Ganz
Frank Langella
Clint Dyer
Sebastian Koch
Olivier Schneider
Stipe Erceg
Dr. Martin Harris (Neeson) and his wife Elizabeth (Jones) arrive in Berlin for a swanky bio-technology conference where there is going to be a major announcement. When they get to the hotel, he realizes he’s left his briefcase at the airport. While his wife checks in, he catches a taxi to go retrieve the case, without telling her. On the way, the cab he’s riding in has a horrible but spectacular accident. He survives, but goes into a coma. When he comes to, no one knows who he is, including Elizabeth. She’s even with a guy who claims to be her husband, the real Dr. Martin Harris (Quinn). With no ID and no one to corroborate his story, he can’t prove otherwise. As if that weren’t enough, a couple of henchmen are following him around trying to kill him. I hate when that happens.
In an effort to reclaim his identity, Martin retraces his steps, looks for clues, etc. He also recruits Gina (Kruger), the cabbie, to help his cause. Of course, they have to survive the occasional run-in with the aforementioned henchmen. They also uncover things that seem to explain what’s going on. Before you know it, we’re watching The Bourne Identity starring Liam Neeson. Unfortunately, this isn’t nearly as innovative as that was when it came out. To be sure, it does some things well and manages a bit of excitement. However, it never escapes Matt Damon’s shadow.
For that matter, it doesn’t escape Neeson’s own shadow. More specifically, the one cast by the movie Taken. Whatever its flaws, Taken is a fun, no-holds barred action flick. In it, Neeson kicks a lot of ass and establishes himself as a genre star. Unknown seems to owe its existence to that movie. Alas, Unknown is not Taken. It drags things out a bit where that movie is concise, insistent on not letting us catch our breath. As I implied earlier, this actually takes more cues from the Bourne series. It executes many of the same moves, just not as good.
None of this is to say, Unknown is a bad movie. It’s not. There is certainly fun to be had. This is especially true if you’re looking for a movie where Liam Neeson barks lines in his megaphonic voice and beats down baddies, this is a solid choice. You’ll get what you came for. To continue the time-honored tradition of talking out of both sides of my mouth, even ardent fans of the actor probably won’t call this a masterpiece. It gives us a few thrills and an interesting finale. We’ll just forget about it not long after it’s over.
MY SCORE: 6/10Comment
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The Switch
Directed by Josh Gordon, Will Speck.
2010. Rated PG-13, 101 minutes.
Cast:
Jennifer Aniston
Jason Bateman
Patrick Wilson
Juliette Lewis
Jeff Goldblum
Thomas Robinson
Bryce Robinson
Todd Louiso
Kelli Barrett
Wally (Bateman) is a really nice guy. He’s a bit on the neurotic side, but a nice guy nonetheless. He’s also in love with Kassie (Aniston). They’ve tried dating once, but found they were more suited to a platonic relationship. At least she thinks so. They have been bestest buddies ever since. Unfortunately for him, he can’t seem to fight his way out of the friend zone. Suddenly, he’s in luck. SPOILER ALERT! Since he is the nice guy and this is a Jennifer Aniston rom-com, it’s inevitable that they’ll wind up together. It’s the how that provides us with a movie.
Kassie is really listening to the ticking of her biological clock. She’s not interested in getting married or even seriously dating anyone, for that matter. Still, she wants to have a baby. She logically decides to get artificially inseminated. In rapid fashion, she turns down Wally’s offer to be her donor and finds Roland (Wilson), a handsome dim bulb to do the same. So far, so good. However, here is where the plot gets completely contrived. At the behest of Debbie (Lewis), her other best friend, she throws an “insemination party.” Uh…no, this doesn’t involve Kassie in anything even remotely sexual so don’t get your hopes up. It’s a mostly regular party with two major differences. The first is that at some point there is a big announcement to let all the revelers know that Roland is off to the restroom to make it with a dirty magazine and a cup. Second, another announcement. This one will kick everyone out so that Kassie can have some privacy while performing the insemination herself. Huh? Who does this? Is there even a doctor present? Yup, we see him sitting on the sofa smoking a joint. Lovely.
Between the two announcements, a very drunk Wally heads to the bathroom to use it for its intended purpose. Of course, he finds himself alone with Roland’s donation. One thing leads to another and he winds up switching out Roland’s sample for one of his own, unbeknownst to anyone else. Ewww. Again, who does this? Needless to say, Kassie gets pregnant and moves far away to raise the baby in a safer place than New York City. Fast forward seven years and she moves back to the city with her son Sebastian (both Robinsons) in tow, who is obviously just like Wally. Our seed-switching hero agonizing over how to tell Kassie what he’s done and that he loves her ensues.
For a romantic comedy, The Switch is remarkably light on both elements. In place of romance, we get the aforementioned agonizing. We also get lots of bonding between Wally and his illegitimate son. Comedy is generally supplied by Debbie’s usually unfunny putdowns of Wally. Occasionally, we do get some real humor through a wonderful but underused Jeff Goldblum as Leonard, Wally’s boss. Aside from the ickiness of the actual switch, the movie moseys along plowing through genre clichés and banks on our inherent soft spot for the two stars. By that, I mean it hopes we have one for Bateman, it just knows we have one for Aniston. If you’re in the demographic they’re aiming at, have at it. If not, follow Wally’s lead and switch this out for a different specimen.
MY SCORE: 4/10Comment
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Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Directed by Tomas Alfredson.
2011. Rated R, 127 minutes.
Cast:
Gary Oldman
Colin Firth
Tom Hardy
Mark Strong
Benedict Cumberbatch
Toby Jones
John Hurt
David Dencik
Ciarán Hinds
Kathy Burke
In October of 1973, a British Intelligence operation goes terribly wrong and one of its operatives, Jim Prideaux (Strong), is shot and captured. In the aftermath, George Smiley (Oldman) is among the people forced into retirement. At about the same time, a few others are promoted to prominent postions due to them getting their hands on some high grade Soviet intelligence. Fast forward a bit and Smiley is dragged out of retirement to perform a sensitive investigation. It is suspected that one of the men who have risen through the ranks is actually a mole. This is a remake of the 1979 film which starred Alec Guinness.
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is indeed a spy movie through and through. However, it’s concerned with the drama of real people who are spies, not the stereotypical action heroes we’ve come to believe them all to be. The effort is placed on trying to figure out where the secret rooms are, who’s meeting there and what they’re saying, not in trying to dazzle us with our hero’s death defying feats. To this end, it sets a deliberate pace that will admittedly feel slow to some. For others, it will leisurely suck us in as we come to understand there is nothing leisurely about the situation at hand. We’ll grow more fascinated as the twists and turns mount. We may even feel we need a tour guide to help navigate the course.
This is where Gary Oldman comes in. Basically, he holds our hand through the maze. He doesn’t have all the answers but he’s darned good at looking for them. Since he is holding our hand, we can’t help but get to know him. What sticks with us most is how unhappy he seems. True, he makes Smiley a stoic chap, but that just seems to be how the man operates in his professional life. Beyond that, there is a deeper sadness to him. Obviously, part of it is because he was unceremoniously dumped when stuff hit the fan. There’s more to it than that due to some other things we find out over the course of our time with him. Even when he should be happy, he appears unsure that it’s alright to feel that way. Oldman conveys all of this perfectly in one of his most subtle portrayals.
All of the things that make TTSS wonderful can work against it, as well. As mentioned, it can drag at times. During this time, it’s possible to get a little lost. As great as the acting is there really isn’t much character development. The situation develops, the people do not. Finally, part of its charm is that it’s a period piece. Since the Cold War has been over for quite some time now, it can feel dated. Certainly, there is some relevance to today’s world but it may not be so easy to pick up. In the end, it’s an excellent spy flick that isn’t for everyone.
MY SCORE: 8/10Comment
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The Roommate
Directed by Christian E. Christiansen.
2011. Rated PG-13, 91 minutes.
Cast:
Leighton Meester
Minka Kelly
Cam Gigandet
Aly Michalka
Danneel Ackles
Billy Zane
Frances Fisher
Tomas Arana
Lauren Alfano
Although a college student, Sara (Kelly) is pretty dense. She’s the last co-ed on campus to realize that her new roommate Rebecca (Meester) is a few assignments short of a syllabus, if you know what I mean. Within thirty seconds of the two meeting, Rebecca becomes obsessed with Sara. Actually, obsessed is putting it mildly. She also becomes violent against anyone who spends any time with Sara. As you might imagine, Rebecca isn’t very popular.
For the next 90 minutes or so, we get a very tame and much dumber version of Single White Female. That movie is bolstered by a gutsy, decidedly adult tone even if it is merely a riff on Fatal Attraction. Bridget Fonda is sufficiently suspicious and eventually afraid of her roomy, as we are. It lacks much restraint and goes for gold whenever possible. The best thing it has is a skillful and deliciously over the top performance from Jennifer Jason Leigh in the psycho chick role. All of these things add up to a guilty pleasure. On the other hand, The Roommate is a watered down, stupid PG-13 rated mess inhabited by non-descript actors giving bland performances. This assessement excludes Billy Zane as the faux-chic, ultra-sleazy fashion design instructor. He's far from bland. Then again, hasn’t Billy Zane become a warning sign that you’re watching a bad movie?
Anyhoo, stupidity isn’t inherent is the premise of The Roommate. We’ve been thrilled by plenty of these types of movies. Stupidity comes from the handling of that premise. Having one character not realize something about another often works. It doesn’t work when the unknowing character is completely oblivious to even the most obvious signals. That’s just plain frustrating. Speaking of stupid, there’s Sara’s binge-drinking buddy Tracy (Michalka). I won’t say exactly what happens to her but it’s an uninspired take on a certain iconic scene in the classic Psycho. Yes, compared to that and most other films that label themselves “horror” and/or “thriller” Tracy’s ordeal is quite tame. The stupid part is she has a choice between two actions that most of us would take, or a third choice that only the most timid among us would even entertain. Of course, she shows all the backbone of a jellyfish then mostly disappears from the movie. I wouldn’t be surprised if the bigger girls aren’t still taking her lunch money.
If there is one daring thing The Roommate does it’s that it takes the lesbian subtext of SWF and pushes it to the forefront. Even this is botched, though. It’s not necessary to the plot or done with any other meaningful purpose. It’s simply there to try and recapture our attention with the most risqué thing the restrictive PG-13 rating will allow, a few seconds of a two pretty girls kissing. By the way, neither of which is Minka Kelly, so don’t get your hopes up. If anything, this serves as a reminder that this is a mostly a bloodless, sexless affair that can’t even manage to excite us horndog guys in the audience or scare anyone who has ever had a sibling or friend jump out at them and scream “boo!”
The Roommate is fairly unwatchable. It’s not good in any way, shape or form. It also lacks the balls to go all out and become a so bad it’s awesome experience. Instead, it just grates on you with its idiocy and predictability. We don’t like our heroine as much as we just can’t believe how dumb she is. As for our villain, Meester gives a game effort in the role but doesn’t seem like someone we can’t handle. Here’s an idea: skip this, find a copy of SWF and watch that, instead.
MY SCORE: 0/10Comment
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Margin Call
Directed by J. C. Chandor.
2011. Rated R, 107 minutes.
Cast:
Kevin Spacey
Zachary Quinto
Simon Baker
Paul Bettany
Demi Moore
Jeremy Irons
Stanley Tucci
Penn Badgley
Aasif Mandvi
Mary McDonnell
Ashley Williams
It’s already a tough time at NBS, one of America’s largest companies. They’re laying off a sizable chunk of the risk management department at their Wall Street office. This includes department head Eric Dale (Tucci). Just to let him know they’re not screwing around, his company cell phone is shut off as he is being escorted from the building. On his out, he hands a flash drive to Peter Sullivan (Quinto), one of the young guys lucky enough to survive. It contains a project Dale was working on. He urges Peter to take a look at it and “be careful.” Talk about ominous. Peter does, finishes it up and voila! He figures out that the company’s business module is broken beyond repair and they’re going to go belly up any day now. Meetings with people all the way up the chain of command ensue.
Yes, I said meetings ensue. However, don’t get these confused with the nod inducing type you fight through at your job by taking coffee intravenously. These meetings have the gravity of deciding how to react to a world altering event. These people are literally trying to figure out whether or not a company whose collapse will have far reaching consequences can survive the next day. If so, how? How many of their own will have to be sacrificed? Is their best play an unscrupulous one? And on, and on. The weight of the world is truly on their shoulders. The tension between them is almost unbearable. Almost.
At it’s core, Margin Call is just people talking their way through a problem. Movies like this require strong acting. After all, there are no action or sex scenes to bail out the plot. The plot is all there is. The ensemble cast puts its collective best foot forward. As an admitted apologist for Kevin Spacey (Sam Rogers), I’ll have to start with him. He endows his character with such world weariness he constantly seems on the verge of checking out. In a career chock full of showy, over the top performances, this is one of his more subtle and impactful turns. Demi Moore (Sarah Robertson) is another standout. You can really see the Herculean effort it takes to restrain herself. We can tell that the words coming from her mouth are a mere fraction of what she wants to say.
There are two actors who get to cut loose. Not that either character is flashy, they just say what’s on their mind. One is Paul Bettany playing Will Emerson. He’s Sam’s right hand man. Most of his time is spent with Peter and his buddy Seth (Badgley), both subordinates of his. Therefore, he can speak freely more often. Occasionally, he even does so to a couple of his superiors. It’s a well done portrayal. The other is the great Jeremy Irons as company CEO John Tuld. He has an immense presence and as the top dog, never minces his words.
In addition to excellent acting, MC gives us a compelling story. Obviously, its heavily inspired by the events that sent the U.S. spiraling into a recession in 2007 and 2008. Indeed, NBS is loosely based on Lehman Brothers which declared bankruptcy in ‘08. It’s a story we’re familiar with. Essentially, it’s a film about the fate of its target audience. Like so many things, the strategies that will affect the 99% are begrudgingly agreed upon in boardrooms we’re not allowed to enter. This is one we get to peek into.
MY SCORE: 9/10Comment
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Moonrise Kingdom??
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The Tree of Life
Directed by Terrence Malick.
2011. Rated PG-13, 139 minutes.
Cast:
Brad Pitt
Jessica Chastain
Sean Penn
Hunter McCracken
Laramie Eppler
Tye Sheridan
Fiona Shaw
Nicolas Gonda
Kelly Koonce
Cole Cockburn
Mr. O’Brien (Pitt) is an overbearing father. He doesn’t take any guff from his three boys, or his wife, for that matter. He doesn’t physically abuse them, but it’s clear who is in charge. Things have to be done his way or not at all. Well, actually all this comes later.
Jack (Penn) doesn’t have the greatest relationship with his dad. That’s understandable since that’s the guy in the first paragraph. Jack’s grown up to be very successful, but is agonizing over something he’s said to the old man. He mopes around looking like his dinner didn’t agree with him, calls his father and apologizes profusely. Wait, that also comes much later.
In the beginning. By the way, given what actually happens early on, in the beginning is a holy, er uh, wholly appropriate phrase. So in the beginning, Mr. O’Brien’s wife, of course she’s named Mrs. O’Brien (Chastain), receives a telegram. Yes, I said telegram. This happens during the 1950s. The telegram informs her that their oldest son has died at 19. With that, we break into an updated version of Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey. We see something that looks like The Big Bang. There is also fire, shots of the sky, wide open plains, prehistoric creatures and so on. A number of these images include voice overs whispered by one of the three people named above. Often, they’re questioning God. For the most part, the questions boil down to “Why did You have to let him die?” These theatrics go on for an excruciating 45 minutes or thereabouts and feels like a half-baked mix of Creationism and Evolution. It desperately wants to be deep, but simply feels pretentious. I feel the same way about 2001. I hate 2001. My apologies to the legions of that movie’s fans.
Eventually, we get back to the story of the domineering father. This part of the movie holds some intrigue. It’s not that the story is so unique, it’s that the storytelling is. There aren’t many scenes that would play as conventional. We get a constant barrage of short bursts that advance the plot. They play as memories might, in quick flashes of our most unforgettable moments. It’s an interesting technique used effectively.
Unfortunately, the part of the movie I enjoy gives way to more surreal visuals. This is obviously meant to complete a number of circles. It does. However, it’s all just a bit much for me. Many will praise the movie for being different and for some stunning visuals. Director Terrence Malick does indeed deserve kudos for this. The same goes for the massive quantity of symbolism and the wonderful performance by Hunter McCracken as the young Jack. Still, a huge portion of the movie, while beautiful, bored me to tears. Yes, I know. People smarter than I have put it on many of their “Top 10” lists for 2011. It was even nominated for Best Picture. Maybe I just don’t get it. You’re probably right. I’m OK with that.
MY SCORE: 4/10Comment
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LOL. As I watched Tree of Life I thought to myself "This is like A Space Odyssey..dell is gonna hate it". Just like with 2001, I had plenty of time to daydream about all sorts of things.Comment
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Yeah, I spent a whole lot of time looking at my watch wondering when it would finally end.Comment
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