A Movie A Week - Week 7: Oscar Nominated Short Films 2012 - Live Action

Movie: Oscar Nominated Short Films 2012 - Live Action
Theater: Landmark Midtown Art Cinema
Snack: Caramel Popcorn and Coke

We are in the February dumping grounds.  That time when studios fill theaters with the dregs of their release sechedules.  I was concerned that I would have a hard time finding a movie worth watching this week.  Fortunately, I discovered the Oscar nominated shorts were showing at the Midtown Art Cinema.  This year's live-action nominees form a strong crop of films.  I really enjoyed all five and I think any one of them would have been a worthy winner.

And the nominees are . . .

Pentecost (Ireland) - A strong beginning to this shorts program.  I know very little about altar boys or football (soccer football, not American football (though I don't know much about American football either)), but they meet hilariously in this short.  The look on the kid's face, that is the main character's, in the final scene just killed me.

Raju (Germany/India) - There is more drama and tension in the twenty-four minutes of this short than in a lot of features.  I was absolutely riveted.

The Shore (Northern Ireland) - I resisted this movie at first.  The opening scene had me worried that I was about to be overwhelmed by sentiment.  Fairly quickly, however, the sheer charm of the film won me over.  It is certainly sentimental, but in the best possible way.  It is a crowd pleaser, and I understand why it was the winner in this catagory.

Time Freak (USA) -A time travel comedy is right in my wheelhouse.  I really enjoyed the film, but more than that I am hugely jealous that I didn't make this movie.

Tuba Atlantic (Norway) - This was a strange one.  It took me a while to really get into it.  Ultimately it was the unabashed silliness in the face of death that I found the most appealing.  A fine finish to an excellent shorts program.

A Movie A Week - Week 6: The Artist

Movie: The Artist
Theater: Carmike 12
Snack: Coke

When I set out to find a movie to see this weekend, I expected I'd end up seeing the latest entry in the "Liam Neeson is a bad-ass" genre (that would be "The Grey"), but then I discovered that a local theater had begun showing "The Artist."  I wasn't sure what to expect going into this one.  Sure, it's gotten glowing reviews (97% on Rotten Tomatoes), but it is a silent, black & white film and I am a product of my age with the attendant attention span.  I suppose I shouldn't have been concerned, I have seen and enjoyed silent films before, but it's been a while.  As it turns out, "The Artist" managed to hold my attention for the duration.

The story is good, but it doesn't break any new ground.  What makes this movie special is not the actual story, but how it goes about telling that story.  The thing that is probably the biggest obstacle to the film garnering wider release and a larger audience, turns out to be one of its greatest storytelling strengths.  The film is not, of course, completely silent.  Like the old silent films, it is accompanied by a score.  Sadly, however, unlike the silent films of yesterday it is not live accompaniment, but it is an excellent score.  There are other sounds that are present at various points in the film, and the silence that surrounds them makes those sounds potent tools in the filmmaker's toolbox.  There's a weight to these sounds that they wouldn't have in a conventional film.  Director Michel Hazanavicius makes effective use of this.  The actors, particularly the two leads, all do a good job using physicality to compensate for the absence of dialogue.  This must have been an exciting challenge for them, being so far outside the modern film acting experience.

I liked "The Artist" and I find the more I think about it, the more I like it.  I have a lot of respect for the daring and artistry of the thing.  I'll be interested to see if the critical buzz and Oscar attention drives a larger audience to seek it out.  A silent film is not a terribly commercial thing in 2012, and is a tough sell for modern moviegoers.  Those willing to give it a shot, though, will come away satisfied.

A Movie A Week - Week 5: Chronicle

Movie: Chronicle
Theater: AMC Discover Mills 18
Snack: Popcorn and Coke (aka The Classic)

Note: Sorry for the lateness.  Illness, school, and work just took up too much of my time this week and so this is a day late.  So to my one reader, I apologize.


Here is an example of a film I probably would have passed up had I not committed to this whole movie a week thing.  I'm a bit wary (and, for that matter, a bit weary) of these "found footage" style films.  The idea was a novelty when "The Blair Witch Project" came out in 1999, but recently there have just been so many of them that it just feels like a cheap gimmick.  That said, "Chronicle" isn't harmed by the gimmick.  The story probably could have been told just as well without it, but as I said, no harm done.

This is the story of three teenagers being granted super-powers after exploring a mysterious hole in the ground (as teenagers are wont to do).  From there, we get what turns out to be a very good "super-powers in the real world" story.  I do question one of the major dramatic choices, however.  This is going to take us into SPOILER territory, so if you have not seen the movie and don't want the ending spoiled, read no further.





I question the choice of POV character.  In this sort of movie, the character with the camera is the audiences POV.  In this case, that character was Andrew, played by Dane DeHaan.  In the early part of the movie, he is a largely unseen voice behind the camera.  His rather flat affect, while important and fitting when viewed in context of what happens later, leaves us with a dull narrator introducing us to the world of the film.  The fact that this character is the one who develops into the villain of the piece is an interesting choice, but I'm not sure if it was the best one.  It becomes difficult to empathize with him once he starts to exhibit sociopathic tendencies. I find that I'm a bit conflicted about the choice.  On the one hand, I laud the defying of conventions, but at the same time I really wanted more time to connect with the more heroic Matt (played by  Alex Russell), especially when the final confrontation occurs.  Ultimately, I don't feel the film was hurt by the choice as I thoroughly enjoyed it.

A Movie A Week: Week 4 - Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol

Movie: Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol
Theater: AMC Discover Mills 18
Snack: Hot dog and Coke

This was a catch-up week for me.  I've been wanting to see it since it came out in December but hadn't gotten around to it until this week.  This does highlight one of the advantages of digital projection; instead of seeing a film print that was noticeably degraded after more than a month of screenings, I saw a digital projection that was as pristine as it was on the first screening.

I've enjoyed the previous Mission: Impossible movies, though I have to admit I remember absolutely nothing about the second one.  The main draw of "Ghost Protocol" for me was the director, Brad Bird.  He's directed a number of animated films of which I've been quite fond; "The Iron Giant" in particular being a favorite of mine.  This film was Bird's live-action debut as a director, and you have got to admire the man's ambition tackling something this big the first time out.  More impressive is that he manages to pull it off.  The story moves along at a lively pace and even incorporates a bit of continuity from previous movies.  The film held my attention from start to finish and there weren't any of the lulls that so often happen in the middle of movies like this.

Tom Cruise is still a convincing action hero, even as he approaches his 50th birthday.  Meanwhile, Jeremy Renner continues to build a nice career for himself with a good performance here.  Simon Pegg is a welcome addition to any movie as far as I'm concerned, and I am so glad the powers that be decided to bring him back from the last Mission: Impossible.  Overall, the film is a well-crafted and immensely fun entertainment.

A Movie A Week - Week 4: Red Tails

Theater: AMC Discover Mills 18
Snack: Hot dog and Coke

The critics have not been kind to this movie.  It's currently sitting at 35% on Rotten Tomatoes.  Maybe critics were looking for a weighty drama about the Tuskegee Airmen.  This is not that movie, but it is by no means a bad movie.  I found it to be a fun, if conventional, blockbuster-style film.  The dogfights, particularly, were exciting.  I thought the performances were generally pretty good, though whoever gave Cuba Gooding, Jr. that pipe as a prop probably regretted it.  The man could not stop playing with the thing and it was a very distracting whenever he was on screen.  Between actors and director, there were quite a few veterans of "The Wire" involved in this film, which is a good think as far as I'm concerned.

The story was fine, a good entertainment.  However, the dialogue was a bit on the hammy side.  To me, it also felt like this movie had a late-'80's/early-'90's vibe.  I can't put my finger on why, and it is neither a good nor a bad thing as far as I'm concerned, I just found it interesting.  I think the critics have been unfair to "Red Tails."  It's not a great film, but it is an entertaining one.

A Movie A Week - Week 3: The Iron Lady

Theater: AMC Discover Mills 18
Snack: Hot dog and Coke

I had hoped, when I decided to go and see "The Iron Lady," that I would be seeing the story of the rise to power of a significant 20th century political figure.  Or maybe the story of a woman's rise in a traditionally male world.  These were not really the stories this movie was interested in telling.  Instead, a lot of time was spent chronicling the mental decline of Thatcher in her later years.  Between that and scenes from her marriage, there didn't seem to be much time left to spend on her time in government.  Unfortunately, I just didn't find the story that was told to be all that compelling.  Honestly, it played like paint-by-numbers Oscar-bait.  Margaret Thatcher was a controversial figure during her time in office who aroused both passionate opponents and equally passionate defenders.  Here, though, it was as if the filmmaker was not sure how she felt about Thatcher as a political figure and so chose to just gloss over that part of her life.

The acting was uneven in places.  Streep was fine, of course, but I found the performance of the actress playing young Margaret Thatcher to be a bit overwrought.  Problematic performances combined with an overblown musical score make the whole production seem rather ham-handed.  Surely there is much richer dramatic material to be found in the life and career of Margaret Thatcher, if only the filmmakers had tried harder to find it.

A Movie A Week - Week: 2: Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

Theater: Regal Mall of Georgia 20
Snack: None

I've never read the John le Carré novel or seen the mini-series starring Alec Guiness, so I walked into this movie cold.  I think I may have benefited a bit from not knowing the details of the plot beforehand, I was learning things as the characters were and I was riveted.  I would be interested to hear the reactions of those who were familiar with previous versions of the story.  What I did know going in, was that it stars Gary Oldman (who is awesome) and that it's about Cold War spying (which is fascinating).  This isn't action-movie, James Bond type spying, this is the talk-y, think-y, spying-as-chess-game type of spying.  The story had my full attention for its entire running time.  The performances were fantastic across the board.  Particularly noteworthy were the were Oldman, of course, and Benedict Cumberbatch, who I mainly knew from the BBC's recent "Sherlock" series and who I almost didn't recognize thanks to the dramatically different look he sports in this film.  I also have to offer special praise to the filmmakers for taking such a complicated story and managing to fit it into a little over two hours without making it hard to follow.  I always felt like I knew how one scene connected to the next.  To sum up, "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy" is a fine film with some great performances; well worth seeing.