Ok, yet another week without a movie, so I fear that I'll set a shortness record for this entry. Since two weeks ago I was close to bashing "Monuments Men", and I was ending with a recommendation for "Kelly's Heroes" as a WW2 movie, I thought it might be a good subject. If "Monuments Men" is pretty undecided about what it wants to be, "Kelly's Heroes" is well defined as action/comedy = 100% entertainment purpose. The subject is simple: some members of the allied troops are establishing a "private enterprise" in the middle of the war after they find out that a German bank has gold, lots of gold. The problem is the location behind enemy lines. Which leads to an entire adventure filled with issues that range from logistics problems up to face-to-face meetings with enemy tanks. About the casting, Clint Eastwood is Kelly - the organizer of the gold freedom operation, but the most memorable character is Oddball, Donald Sutherland in probably one of his best roles. Since I don't have any more time left for writing, check out the clips & enjoy the movie ;)
Since again I didn't have time to see much this week, I'm constrained to go for the last made-for-TV production I watched, "The Escape Artist". Let's dig in it quickly ...
We're talking about a BBC mini-series, that as genre qualifies as thriller. The subject in brief: Will Burton, a successful lawyer in the English bar (never lost a case), manages to save a serial killer from being convicted. Despite the result though, the killer is not happy that the defense doesn't include handshakes (or in other words, gets frustrated by the lawyer's impersonal approach). And since it's not a very good idea to upset a serial killer, what comes after ... you'll see in the movie ;)
As pretty much all productions made in UK, the cast does its job extremely well. Except that though, I have no idea how the British judicial system works, but the story seems highly unrealistic. Without spoiling much, the murder acquittals in the movie defy the most basic common sense. In the end it gets a bit close to normality (in a sort of ironic way, given the story development). Overall, for the moments when is impossible to find enough time for a full movie, it's an ok option to see piece-by-piece - 3 1-hour episodes - sufficiently well split not to lose you before the next and to allow you a break before conclusion ;)
I've had low expectations for "The Monuments Men" after I've seen a couple of not so favorable reviews. And I guess somewhere in the back of my mind I was expecting to like it exactly because I wasn't expecting too much. Unfortunately I have to confirm what others wrote. Bland.
It's a movie centered on a less known WW2 episode. The activity of an American-British-French squad of art experts, with a mission to steal back what the German army stole first, and in direct competition with the Russian threat of moving the art objects further into the East. The movie is a relatively chaotic depiction of the sequence of heroic actions taken to completion, more or less successfully, by "the monuments men" on the poster. I'm sorry for the light irony, but the way the story is presented asks for it. You don't have something clearly defined in front of your eyes. Sometimes is a real war drama, sometimes moves to a comic side, sometimes starts to look like a WW2 spy thriller, and you have also a thin romance thread to complete the mixture. Maybe all of these could work together, but I don't know .. not here. It's actually not a mix, all sides are quite separated from each other, and passing from one to another is done too often and too swift. It has its moments here & there but .. the final result doesn't impress in any way.
The story itself is interesting, and the movie has some documentary value (although it neither inspires much credibility on how accurate it is, but I didn't do a proper check so I can't tell). As a fiction though, for a WW2 behind enemy lines treasure hunt story, I would strongly recommend "Kelly's Heroes". Old but waaaaay better ;)
After 2013's European Film Awards, for one year I decided to skip the winner, since the synopsis suggested something too likely to be depressing. In a very "inspired" moment, I've chosen then from the nominees list another Italian production ("La Migliore Offerta") that proved to be a total disaster for "my daily mood" (although a very good movie on its own). Anyway, after getting also the Globe, BAFTA & finally the Oscar for best foreign movie, I've decided I should find a couple of hours to finally check out "La grande bellezza" aka "The Great Beauty" (running international title). The result: mixed feelings ...
I'm not getting too much into the subject, because there is no subject. A concise summary would be: reflections over life, more or less disconnected, through a 65 years old writer's eyes. Living in Rome ... where pretty much all the movie takes place. And which location contributes a lot to one of the best cinematography I've seen lately (I could place it on par with "Inside Llewyn Davis", although it's in a total different tone). The movie is gorgeous visually, from the start scene, up to the final credits. It's so good on this part, that for me managed to overshadow almost everything else. Because overall, the visuals, I don't know .. bring something warm near some of the life snippets which are somewhere between harsh cold and pure hypocrisy. Maybe it's just my own interpretation, but probably a sense would be that when something's getting really bitter, to throw a look around and check out the view .. either behind you, close to you, or towards the horizon .. you might find something looking sweet enough to keep going, while caring more or less - choice is yours, but reaching out a bit further ...
It's a movie that 10 years ago I would have found terribly boring. 5 years ago I would've been probably terribly depressed after seeing it. Today, neither happened. I didn't like it, I didn't dislike it - as I said, mixed feelings :) Guess I'm right when I say I'm getting old :))) ...
So .. "the final entry" for Oscar 2014. A bit "faster" than I had planned a month ago, but let's not start with the boring details. Finally, we got to the list of the 9 "best picture" nominees. Where, well .. they might not be actually "the best", but at least are at a level good enough to (hopefully) justify your time spent watching.
"American Hustle" is a movie that I didn't expect to like. I've did a bit of research before seeing it. A quick read about ABSCAM on Wikipedia left me completely cold as interest. A corruption story in New Jersey, in the beginning of the '80s, practically started from nothing. The FBI "invented", by its own will & power, a wealthy "sheik" who tried to obtain a series of favors from various politicians. Otherwise said, a sort of "let's throw a bait, and see if there's fish in lake". Maybe I'm a bit too distrustful in human integrity, but I guess you can always find "fish in the lake". Fortunately, not always the bait is good enough. But, following the rule of "make the bait more & more attractive", I'm afraid that slowly, with patience, you can catch all the fish = with different degrees of tolerance, pretty much every country would need anticipated elections & extra room in prisons. To draw a line, I found the "justice victory" in the presented case a bit "self-justified", and I was expecting an idiot movie that glorifies it without reason. Au contraire .. what I've seen was way different, but I'll hold from spoilers ;) In any case, we won't see the Oscar here, although there might be some chances for the script ...
"Captain Phillips" doesn't need much presentation. A cargo ship attacked by pirates and the resulted problem. Another real-story (dominating as in the last years this category), which in the end .. it's not clear how real it is. Apparently, the crew brought some harsh critics on captain Phillips' handling of the situation. Who knows .. What's certain is that Hollywood likes heroes ;) .. About the movie, it's ok. Not very impressive (at least not for me). A very particular exception is the ending. Where I've seen one of the most realistic depictions of what after-shock panic means and how it's handled (way more accurate than other "disaster movies") ...
"Dallas Buyers Club" shows us how a guy diagnosed with AIDS in the '80s manages to prolong his life expectation of 30 days with about 7 years. Besides the brilliant acting (possible Oscars landing here), it's a very interesting view and critic over the pharmaceutical industry practices of the time. Adding also the direct effects in the patient handling by medical institutions. I don't know how things evolved until this day on drug testing, approval & marketing. However, as I wrote in a previous entry (despite the irony, for who knows me better), I think the movie gets a bit too radical sometimes in its pro self-medication stance. It's always good to get a certified opinion. I have to admit though, that I felt really good seeing a movie that clearly states that you should have some self-awareness and double-check what the doctor prescribes :)
"Gravity" got already enough space on my blog, starting with a full entry last year, so I won't repeat myself. According to my previous posts, it might seem that the best picture Oscar of the year will get here. It's possible, since at least as quantity, it's probably the movie which will nail the most awards. Still, all the predictions in my previous entries (partial exception on directing) are on the technical area. As actors & story, "Gravity" doesn't look good. Despite the metaphor theory, and how much the clip below tries to convince us about this. A metaphor can be appreciated as long as it keeps a certain depth. Here it starts to lose its metaphor status given how often the movie hits you with it (= the depth gets shallow) ...
"Her" is, as I wrote before, I movie I wanted to skip. I can leave aside my whole IT research background ( + security to make it even "worse" :) ) = the objective part which stamps a big red warning on such idea. But even subjectively speaking, a story like "romance between a guy and his OS" is .. I don't know ... disturbing. I could make fun of the movie, and get into ironical comments .. but it would be (partially) hypocritical. It's clearly a bit cheesy here & there, but overall it's ok. I can at least complain about Scarlett Johansson's husky voice ;) not the best choice for "the virtual girlfriend". Term which, as attractively intriguing it might seem, the "scary factor" on the social outcome still looks too bad. And I'm also afraid that "a real version" would lead to a different ending ...
"Nebraska" is a sort of road-trip movie, which "stumbles" in a small town where nothing happens, located, obviously, in Nebraska. As more extended summary, it's a bitter comedy centered on the relation between a drunk old alcoholic father, and the son who decides to "play along" and grant him a wish = the road-trip in the attempt to claim a non-existent prize in a cheap lottery. The movie is good, but it doesn't shine (and it's not about being in black & white). It has enough comedy moments to relax it .. but for some reasons, I still found it sufficiently depressing to stop here the discussion.
"Philomena" is a bitter story, based on a real case of a an Irish woman who got split from her son while residing in a nun convent. After 50 years, she finally decides to search for the lost child. For this she gets help from a former high-profile political journalist, who got fired and is in a position that leaves him no choice than to accept apparently more "tame" stories. I'll hold from more spoilers. The movie though, would deserve its own separate blog entry, but I'll try to wrap up here. It's a superb example of how to handle a harsh subject in such a manner that it's not only digestible .. but it also gives a lesson saying that life moves on, and you should take it lightheartedly. Sometimes, although it doesn't completely heal the wounds, it helps a lot bearing them. That's as base main message. In another more particular sense, the movie makes a clear difference between organized religion and just simple faith. Position taken quite critically, sufficiently enough to be probably labeled as anti-catholic (although the idea is more general). Not the least, it's the first movie where I found Steve Coogan's acting actually good, and the chemistry between him and Judi Dench is delightful (despite the fact that there's no romance involved = just pure friendship). It's impossible that this movie ends up as winner, but I really hope it will get at least a chance for adapted screenplay, because it deserves it.
"12 Years a Slave" is the nomination which has probably the highest chance to nail the award for 2013's best picture. But this year it's hard to predict. It scores in many areas. Yet another real story, of a free black male from the North, kidnapped and sold in the South where he's kept as a slave for 12 years. The movie has a sort of a particular "epic factor" in it, maybe a bit hard to define, but relying on the harshness of the drama and the length of the persecution, still ending well. Besides that, we have a good directing, a decent script, an impeccable casting, and also a nice sound mixing which was though skipped in the nominations. The problem is, that despite having a full range of qualities to target best picture, it looses on almost each piece of the ensemble in front of other different movies. And this brings up some questions. We'll see the outcome ...
"The Wolf of Wall Street" is the latest movie by Scorsese, and as said last time a good one, but still sort of unpolished. I can say though, that I'm pleased of seeing him getting back to the usual themes after "Hugo". Or to what Scorsese knows to do best, digging into the deep dark corners of the human character. It's done though with a comedy note this time, based on (again) a real case of a broker, not very orthodox in his business practices. It's debatable if you can call a happy-end for the story, but what's certain is that the story is sometimes so unlikely in how it develops that it really deserved a movie. I don't know how much is true and how not, but the sequence of events in the second part of the movie is a sort of proof that if you play with fate, the fate might play back with you, in twisted & creative ways ;)
That's it ... This year is the first since I started this blog when, for various reasons, I couldn't manage to cover at least the sections where I've seen all the nominations. I had to make a choice, and I gave up on actors, on actresses (although I still should see a movie there, and anyway I'm too subjective = Amy Adams & Sally Hawkins don't stand a chance), on scripts ... I also decided to carry on a small boycott on soundtracks, given that Hans Zimmer didn't get a nominee neither for "12 Years of Slave", nor for "Rush" (even though the first is a bit self-plagiarizing, and the theme of the second is sort of close to "Rains of Castamere" from Game of Thrones by Ramin Djawadi).
I said it before, that the predictions I make in these entries are just "for fun". The real purpose is to discuss a bit some good movies, and parts that get less visibility. But still, for this, at least the list of nominees has to be decent. When we have a "Rush" which is completely ignored = nothing for editing, nothing for sound, not even supporting actor .. a "Prisoners" which hardly manages to get one single nomination for ... cinematography .. and I think I can add more titles to the list .. I'm sorry but I have to admit that it starts to see a tendency to get "political" in the nomination process (and this isn't new but was not as bad as now).
Fortunately, good movies are still made, and there will be independent of any taken award. And with all the lacking lists, I still managed to point some titles to be watched I guess. Which might be sometimes better than a weekly blog entry with an average "3 out of 5". So, if fate smiles & time allows, who knows .. maybe we'll do another round next year ;)
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