Movie Review: "Midnight in Paris"

Midnight in Paris

Directed by: Woody Allen
Starring: Owen Wilson, Rachel McAdams, Marion Cotillard, Kathy Bates, Michael Sheen, Adrien Brody, Tom Hiddleston, Carla Bruni
Rated: PG-13 for some sexual references and smoking

When early reviews of Woody Allen's new highly acclaimed movie Midnight In Paris were released, critics praised it as a "love letter to Paris." I would have said it a little differently; it's a love letter to art. The film follows Owen Wilson as Woody Allen, I mean, Gil Pender, a screenwriter and engaged man who is not convinced he wants to be either. In fact, if it were up to him, he and his fiancé would move to Paris instead of just visit, and live the life of a struggling novelist, but his controlling fiancé (Rachel McAdams) has little interest in understanding the art that Paris provides and that Gil loves. Everything changes, however, when Gil finds a way to travel back in time to Paris of the 1920s every night. There, he meets the chorus of famous artists who inhabited that time period, from Ernest Hemmingway, to F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald, to Gertrude Stein (Kathy Bates), to Salvador Dali (a terrific Adrien Brody), to Pablo Picasso. It's really Allen's chance to nerd out, giving us insights to the historical artists, bringing their personalities to life, making them human, yet making them contemporaries of Gil. It's charming to see Gil explain to Zelda that Scott really is in love with her, or to Luis Bunel about his future film The Exterminating Angel. Like Gil, we're all seduced by the nostalgia of the age and the characters, and we both become more attached to this historical time period than our present reality.

However, Allen uses this attachment to work his artistic magic. He shows us how much of our glorification of the past is because of the dissatisfaction with our own lives; a truly brilliant point. No matter who you are, we seem to forget that "the good old days" were as unfulfilling, unenlightening, and uninspiring as our modern era, because our lives aren't satisfied by Earthly fixations. Despite his wisdom, Allen fails to recognize the true remedy and, instead, embraces pure existentialism as the answer. (He also fails to understand the value of relationships and has an annoyingly blatant political bias.) However, Midnight in Paris is one of Allen's best films, simply because I connected so well with the characters, art, setting, and beliefs of the film. Had I not known who Gauguin or Dali were, it wouldn't have had that same power. But, because you know their work, the film shows how their art was the communication of their inner man, putting meaning behind the words and depth behind the paint. The movie simply deepened my love for art and humanity. Paris, je t’aime.

Watch the pitiful, lack-luster trailer for this wonderful movie here:

Archive Analysis: "Luther"

Luther

Directed by: Eric Till
Starring: Joseph Fiennes, Sir. Peter Ustinov, Alfred Molina
Rated: PG-13 for disturbing images of violence

Despite the fact that the screenplay was obviously written during post-production, some semi-flat theology, and featuring some of the stalest performances ever captured, the movie Luther rises from disappointment simply by following such a brave, inspiring and interesting subject as Martin Luther. Despite faults numbering more than Luther's ninety-five theses, the film still makes you respect the man who was more dedicated to the Word of God than the surrounding powers threatening his life.

Archive Analysis: "X-Men Origins: Wolverine"

X-Men Origins: Wolverine

Directed by: Gavin Hood
Starring: Hugh Jackman, Liev Shreiber, Danny Huston, Ryan Reynolds
Rated: PG-13 for intense sequences of action and violence, and some partial nudity

A great action film should have fight scenes and great special effects. A great story should have deep characters and an emotional core. A great prequel should connect the dots of the previous stories. The B-grade X-Men Origins: Wolverine really doesn't do any of these well, with the exception of some decent fight scenes. It is easily the worst film of the mediocre series, and denigrates Hugh Jackman to a pretty bland role that we've seen one too many times. Worst of all, it creates more of a disconnect from the previous films than it connects. I'm glad Wolverine doesn't remember the events of the film. I wish I could forget it, too.

Movie Review: "Super 8"

Super 8

Directed by: J. J. Abrams
Starring: Joel Courtney, Elle Fanning, Kyle Chandler, Noah Emmerich
Rated: PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi action and violence, and drug use.

Director J.J. Abrams may be one of the best narrative story tellers of the past five to ten years, completely redefining the sci-fi genre. His latest film, Super 8, is a nostalgic throw back to the Spielberg-esque sci-fi era, where the genre was about something deeper than on screen explosions and monsters jumping out. Super 8 follows a group of young teens who are shooting a movie when a train derails next to them, holding a vast military secret. As the military soon shows up and tries to down play the events, as well as the odd happenings and disappearances around town, the children realize, since they are the only ones who know what really happened, they must be the ones to save the town and each other. The movie, under Abrams' direction, has a fantastic sense of wonder: the nostalgia of the 70s, the creativity of movie-making, the suspense of the mysterious monster running through the town, the wonder of a first love; all of these play a huge role in the film. He enhances that sense by telling the story through the eyes of a young boy, and in turn, making the audience see the world as a twelve year old again. It has a great sense of humor ("drugs are so bad!") and that childhood bravery that we all believe in ("What are you doing?" "I'm doing my best to save you.") Abrams brilliantly uses a cast of unknown actors, deepening our sense that the film may be real. It feels like Spielberg, at his best, back in the 80s.
However, the last act of the movie turns into the explosion-driven monster film that everyone has seen before (and that Abrams has made before), perhaps ruining the power of the film altogether. The first two acts were built on the relationships, but the final act forces them to find redemption without any cause or understanding. The nostalgia and wonder from the beginning is lost, as well. Even the ending feels sudden and forced. Perhaps worst of all, the film tries to deal with the question of "how do you deal with pain the world" by saying "keep living", which seems terribly contrived. Despite it's faults, Super 8 may best Abrams best film to date; it is an ode to the sic-fi films that warms our hearts and gives us a sense of wonder about the world, very much the way Spielberg use to. The problem is J.J. Abrams, despite his many talents, isn't Mr. Spielberg.

Miniseries Review: "Sherlock"

Sherlock
(season 1)

Directed by: Paul McGuigan, Euros Lyn
Starring: Benedict Cumberbatch, Martin Freeman, Rupert Graves
Rated: Not Rated (Unofficial rating would be PG-13 for disturbing/intense images, violence, and mild language)

I normally won't watch a miniseries, and normally don’t like modernizations of classic stories. However, I’m making an exception for the BBC’s three-part series Sherlock, a modernization of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s classic character Sherlock Holmes. The series, which is three ninety-minute films, feels more like a trilogy of movies than a miniseries. But, more importantly, the series doesn’t feel like a modernization; it feels like the original. Most adaptations hit the characterizations so well, the characters become predictable and shallow. Sherlock certainly gives us real, fleshed out characters that still follow Conan Doyle's form. Holmes, despite donning modern British attire and using cell-phones and computers, is the same quirky, stuck-up, and instantly brilliant persona that he was in Conan Doyle’s novels. Dr. Watson (Martin Freeman in his BAFTA winning performance), has arrived back home from the war in Afghanistan, and is more of a voice of normal society; Watson is likeable, smart, and not intimidated by Holmes (or really anyone.) The humor of their relationship really blossoms throughout the series, between Sherlock's disdain towards the commoner's lack of intelligence and Watson's frustration at the quirkiness and arrogance of Holmes. While modernizations are normally built on gimmicks for the older fans or changes that infuriate them, Sherlock is built the same as Conan Doyle’s stories: on the cases he solves. In past stories and adaptations, the brilliant mind of Sherlock is wasted on trivial cases and novice villains. In the miniseries, the level of both is raised to Sherlock’s bar, which makes them as heart-pounding as they are mind-bending. Thanks to the interesting characters (especially Professor Moriarty), the seriousness of the cases, and the strong visual nature of the direction (especially underrated director Paul McGuigan), Sherlock branches out from Conan Doyle’s stories in a way that makes the series as exciting and addicting as they come, yet still give us the characters and nuances that we’ve come to know and love.

Movie Review: "Exit Through the Gift Shop"

Exit Through the Gift Shop

Directed by: Banksy
Starring: Banksy, Thierry Guetta
Rated: R for some language

Undermining our common perception that artists are looking for glory, the recent documentary Exit Through the Gift Shop shows us a different side of art; street art. However, because of it’s illegal nature, the artist must remain incognito, rather than reveal his identity and face legal consequences. The film follows Thierry, an obsessive fan, who is ever searching for the worldwide recognized and elusive Banksy, the Michaelangelo of street art, who is also called an art terrorist, yet who’s identity is still unknown. While the film fails to really wrestle with the morality of an art form based in vandalism, it does show how art loses its significance and meaning when art (especially novice art) is commercialized rather than makes a statement. As juxtaposed by Bansky and Thierry’s view of street art (and brilliantly by the last shot of the film), the value of art is it’s impact; when art fails to say anything, it matters very little how much it’s sold for. Because of this, and the rather entertaining value of the film, Banksy is elevated from artist to philosopher. Thierry is neither.

Archive Analysis: "Summer Hours"

Summer Hours

Directed by: Olivier Assayas
Starring: Juliette Binoche, Charles Berling, Jeremie Renier
Rated: Not Rated (Unofficial rating would be PG-13 for thematic elements)

Saturated with subtext and theme, the French film Summer Hours may be one of the richest films of the past decade. It's a slow, brilliant character study that feels like a Renoir or Bergman film made in the 21st century. While following the intersections of a close family who must deal with the death of a loved one, Summer Hours shows the affects time has on individuals, whether outlasting the significant events and people of your life, to the pain of seeing memories and broken promises fade away. Without giving us a defined opinion on these subjects, Summer Hours brilliantly opens our eyes that each of us will have to deal with this pain; we live in a world where death and memories are unfortunately interlinked. It's the balance of these experiences that may be it's greatest strength; it's tragic without being depressing, thought provoking without being outspoken, and riveting without being heavily plotted. Simply put, Summer Hours is a moving portrait of humanity's struggle with time in every stage of life.

Archive Analysis: "The Count of Monte Cristo"

The Count of Monte Cristo

Directed by: Kevin Reynolds
Starring: James Caviezel, Guy Pearce, Richard Harris
Rated: PG-13 for adventure violence/swordplay and some sensuality

Most of the time, classic literature makes bad movies. With only a handful of exceptions, most films simply do not have the time, ability, and form to follow the plot of a book. That may actually be a complement when considering Kevin Reynolds' adaptation of Alexander Dumas' classic The Count of Monte Cristo. While the book is a long, detailed soap opera about the cost of a life built on revenge, Reynolds almost completely breaks continuity with the book and adapts it to a swashbuckling B-film centered around sword play and adventure. While the plot and cinematography still make it a little confusing at times, the witty dialogue and fun action scenes keep the story moving. While Jim Caviezel's is solid as the title character of the story, Guy Pearce's cold and sinister performance gives the film it's life and style. It's a pretty clean PG-13 film overall, and even tries to bring in some Biblical themes, specifically from the late great Richard Harris as an imprisoned priest who points the wronged Edmond to God and away from vengeance (but muddied morality keeps the film from any strong Biblical ties.) While certainly not a classic like Dumas' book and perhaps downplaying his cautionary themes on revenge a little too much, Monte Cristo is still a fun, relatively clean, and enjoyable low-budget film that, at least, is a taste of the excitement and adventure of it's predecessor.