Movie Review: "The Tourist"

The Tourist

Directed by: Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck
Starring: Johnny Depp, Angelina Jolie, Paul Bettany, Rufus Sewell, Timothy Dalton
Rated: PG-13 for violence and brief strong language

When considering the biggest flop of 2010, many will say the Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie film The Tourist. It was not well received, it did not make a lot of money, and Ricky Gervais mercilessly criticized the film during the Golden Globes. Why the hate? Simply, because the film isn't "Hollywood" enough for Americans. We need a quick moving story, plenty of action, jokes with punchlines so we know when we are supposed to laugh, and an ending where the hero has a fist-fight with the villain. I've seen that film a thousand times and I'm bored with it. The Tourist is the exact opposite of that film, making it one of the most unique non-art films I've seen since Peter Weir's brilliant movie The Truman Show. Now, the film is hardly perfect; Johnny Depp may have delivered his worst performance, seeming rather bored throughout the movie, and there are some truly awful green-screen shots in the film that pull you out of the story. Despite that, The Tourist feels like a throwback to one of those slow, "golden age of Hollywood" movies that Hitchcock would have made. I found The Tourist to be a clever, original, and relatively clean genre-less movie that simply was too unique for it's blockbuster audience. Not surprising it's European feel, considering the director is named Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck.

Archive Analysis: "Gangs of New York" and "American Splendor"

Gangs of New York

Directed by: Martin Scorsese
Starring: Leonardo Dicaprio, Daniel Day-Lewis, Cameron Diaz, Liam Neeson
Rated: R for intense strong violence, sexuality/nudity and language.

Martin Scorsese's film Gangs of New York starts with a unique and fresh take on history, stylized and authentic, gritty yet breathtaking. Unfortunately, it gets lost in the depths of sin only to emerge without any commentary or thought except that the world is changing. What's as disturbing as it's lack of message (yet is probably accurate to some level) is the social and racial tensions that fly between the distinctly protestant "Americans" and Catholic Irish immigrants. This misunderstanding of Christianity and total hypocrisy is frustrating because, well, a gang leader named Bill the Butcher is hardly a representation of Evangelicalism, or Christianity for that matter. Like his other films, Scorsese makes you sit through all this depravity only to leave you without a theme. More beautiful art and painful realities that leads to shallow thoughts and feelings.

American Splendor

Directed by: Robert Pulcini, Shari Springer Berman
Starring: Paul Giamatti, Hope Davis
Rated: R for language

The start of the movie American Splendor reminded me of the hopelessness of the film Synedoche, New York. However, Splendor is reality, which makes it far more disturbing. Thankfully, the film takes a turn for the better when the character played by Hope Davis enters the film, not because she brings any redemption, but simply because we don't have to hear the gloom and doom of Paul Giamatti's character Harvey. While the film is entertaining and unique (and is one of the few films I remember where the characters finish a scene, they walk off the set of that scene as the actors, and it totally works) American Splendor tries to find meaning in life by taking the mundane and trying to turn it into something special, missing the fact that life has value in a redemption greater than your Earthly existence.

Movie Review: "Scott Pilgrim vs. The World"

Scott Pilgrim vs. The World

Directed by: Edgar Wright
Starring: Michael Cera, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Jason Schwartzman, Chris Evans
Rated: PG-13 for stylized violence, sexual content, language and drug references.

If the millennial generation's grasp for meaning and nostalgia were immortalized in a movie, I bet it would look something like Edgar Wright's film Scott Pilgrim vs. The World. Wright has had a relatively successful path thus far with hit British comedies Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz. However, Wright leaves his dry wit and clever scripts behind in Britain to make a broader film like Scott Pilgrim. On all accounts, it's a valiant effort: Wright embraces the Sega Genesis style and gives the film a unique film, something unlike anything that we've seen. However, the story is plagued by fights and action sequences that, after about thirty minutes, become monotonous and boring. His previous films gave us characters whom, despite their stupidity, we fell in love with. Scott Pilgrim, played by the type-cast Michael Cera is filled with meaningless selfish brats. Every person in the film was a jerk, and it affected the film. Even films with far darker protagonists made me care more about them than the moron Pilgrim. I cheered for no one in this film except the ending credits. And they won in the end.

Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the film was the message behind it. While most will write it off as a ridiculous comedy, Wright at least attempted to connect the symbolism with his audience and make some type of statement on relationships and life as an encouragement to the love-seekers. And, while it does bring up some good things like fighting for people in life and owning up to your own sin, it also degrades love (an unselfish emotion) for self-respect (as self-centered one.) Even their response to "Nega Scott" at the end was a brush off, claiming that he was kind of a cool guy. Really, the dark side of someone can be ignored as a a pretty cool guy? What a tool. With Pilgrim being as ridiculous and self-centered as he is, it's no wonder he was taking on the world. I would probably want to fight the goon, too.

Movie Review: "It's Kind Of a Funny Story"

It's Kind of a Funny Story

Directed by: Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck
Starring: Keir Gilchrest, Zach Gilifianakis, Emma Roberts, Lauren Graham, Jim Gaffigan
Rated: PG-13 for mature thematic elements, sexual content, drug material and language

It's Kind of a Funny Story is a misleading title. The film isn't funny, but it also isn't trying to be. The indie film follows a youngster realign from a broken heart and a mistrust of his family and friends, who checks himself in a mental institution. Once there, he realizes his condition is far better than his contemporaries, yet he must endure a week with the truly hurting and weak. Through the experience, he learns that, not only is his life not that bad, but he has the ability to to help others through the tough times around them. While this is a good message, it still misses that humanity has value outside of the life they lead. By emphasizing "hopeful existentialism", the movie unwittingly condones some of the immoral actions of life (pictured and discussed by the hormone-raged teenage protagonist) and claims that these experiences that bring us temporary happiness (like dancing to Egyptian music) are the best way to combat the pressures of life (like deep depression, drug addiction, etc.) A wasted opportunity to find universal meaning. The technical aspects follow suit, providing us with an entertaining premise, but occasionally losing focus on rabbit-trails and high school level turmoil. As great as it could have been, I guess it's just kind of a good movie.

Movie Review: "The Next Three Days"

The Next Three Days

Directed by: Paul Haggis
Starring: Russell Crowe, Elizabeth Banks, Liam Neeson
Rated: PG-13 for violence, drug material, language, some sexuality and thematic elements

The Next Three Days has a simple concept; lets have a husband break his innocent wife out of jail. I'm not sure why it becomes such a boring story to tell, or why Paul Haggis goes off on rabbit trails while telling it, or why Russell Crowe seems bored performing in it, but it does all of those things, as well. You add the poor acting of Elizabeth Banks and only giving Liam Neeson five minutes of screen time, and the film starts to take a turn for the worse. It's like a bad episode of 24 starring a boring protagonist who breaks the law for a "just" reason, with no real villains to try to stop him. It doesn't even say very much or come to a really great conclusion. For as exciting as it sounded, The Next Three Days was a pretty uneventful film.