Who Is Cletis Tout?
Bluntly, this film is 90 minutes of entertainment in which you can't wait to see what happens next...even though you kind of already know. More a film about how film's play out than a hit man movie, Who Is Cletis Tout wins points for raising fine, albeit rather unintentional points about audience expectations and growing film cliches. However, whereas the outer layer deals with such ideas, the meat of the film is downright lazy and unrealistic. Never has there been a film with such soft and unintimidating assassins and villains than Who Is Cletis Tout. The love story is thrown together and the journey from point A to point seems highly ludicrous to the point of being a fabrication. There is limited to no intelligence in the characters and everything seems to work out in their favor despite their inability to control a situation. For a film that relies so heavily on a character's love for old and classic cinema, the filmmakers (and previous mentioned character) seem to have no problem with producing a storyline that's been seen time-and-time again and offer nothing new besides how its told. Besides bringing further light to how cinema has decayed as a creative process, Who Is Cletis Tout isn't worth finding out. Yet, there's just something attractive about a con on the run, stealing diamonds and getting the girl. In the sense of cheap entertainment, Who Is Cletis Tout isn't the worst you can find.
Rating: 6.1/10
Rango
We're no more than a little over three months deep into this year's film campaign and already Pixar has a legit challenger for next year's Best Animated Feature. Rango has a little bit of everything. Yes, it's being marketed as a family movie, but it's really not for kids. There's plenty of crude humor and its dialogue exceeds the ever improving level of intelligence that most animated films carry these days. More than anything, Rango is a mix of the old and the modern. It pays homage to Westerns of old (with an obvious shout-out to The Man with No Name), but Rango plays more with the idea of what the Western is in today's world and cinema. Throughout, it pays tribute to the disappearance of the Western as a genre and rekindles its values even in modern times. It's tied together with the more modern notion of self-discovery, lonliness and finding out who you really are and what your purpose is. While Rango himself is an example of the old age/new age comparison, water also plays a vital role. Seen as a delicate and essential treasure in the past, water is now abused by modern utilities and parallels the film's theme of the prospect of having "more" means being powerful. The film can also be seen as a spin-off of The Great Depression in that the hopelessness slowly lifted and the people united as one in hard times. The mayor of the town suspiciously takes the form of FDR and his representation isn't exactly a kind one...take it as you will. It's not the most humorous film, but Rango is a fantastic fusion of old and new elements and perfectly reflects Westerns of the past while looking ahead towards what's in store for the genre. Also, look for the reference to Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. It's a classic.
Rating: 9.2/10
Cedar Rapids
More than the average raunchy comedy, Cedar Rapids uses it independent release, strong characters and flawless leads to provide a more whole-filling release. In many ways, Cedar Rapids tells the story of a small town man thrown to the sharks in a larger, more upbeat and unfamiliar territory. Tim Lippy (Ed Helms) travels to an insurance convention in Cedar Rapids for his company as a replacement of his hero in the insurance biz who dies unexpectedly. The film succeeds thanks in large part to the written character of Lippy, who is used to his small town atmosphere where the good people and bad people are clearly noted, defined and known. What is disguised as a raunchy comedy is actually the story of a man learning about the world beyond the one he knows while holding on to the traits and characteristics he holds most dear. Indeed, Lippy doesn't trust people he doesn't know and sticks to those he does. More than anything, Lippy wants to feel safe and surrounded by people he can trust to be there for him (much like clients and their insurance agents). The story also offers an honest look at two sides of the insurance game: the universal belief that insurance companies hold corrupt at their cores and the single agents who only want the best for their clients. The film remains largely indifferent on taking sides, but rings of honest through and through, whether it's the takes on insurance or the transformation and build of the characters. Sporadically funny, consistently honest and filled with perfect transitional writing and memorable performances (and what will go down as one of John C. Reilly's most underrated performance), Cedar Rapids is one that one could easily miss, but really shouldn't.
Rating: 9/10
