Serious Movie Lover

HUGO (2011/ IN THEATERS) 

I was unsure about “Hugo” when I first saw the previews–what on earth was Martin Scorsese doing making a children’s movie, in 3D no less!  And while the critics have been almost universally in love with the picture (it just won the National Board of Review Best Picture for 2011), some online users have complained that it is slow and boring and not worth the extra 3D cost.  Well, I’m here to say….it is completely absorbing, utterly charming  and will sweep you up and keep you to the end.  My advice is simple:  head right out to the best 3D theater in your area, bring along your older kids (the ones who are not impatient and can sit still), and pay the money for those glasses—you are in for a BIG TREAT.  Set in 1931 and based on the Caldecott-winning children’s novel The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick (cousin of David O. Selznick), the story revolves around young Hugo Cabret (Asa Butterfield, known best for The Boy in the Striped Pajamas).  Hugo is the orphaned son of a talented master clockmaker (Jude Law, in a brief but effective appearance) who lives in the back rooms and stairways of a Paris train station where he continues the work of his father and uncle by keeping all the clocks in the station working. Despite constant fear of capture by the station’s guard (Sasha Baron Cohen) and his ferocious Doberman, Hugo survives by stealing food from the various vendors inside the station.  He also steals toys and mechanical parts from a small toy stand owned by none other than Georges Méliès (Ben Kingsley), an old man who seems rather cranky.  Hugo’s most precious possession is an antique automaton which he and his father were repairing at the time of his father’s death and which needs a heart-shaped key to operate.  Caught stealing by Méliès early in the film, Hugh loses the book of notes that his father had made concerning the automaton and seeks out the help of Isabelle (Chloe Grace Moretz), the young adopted daughter of “Papa Georges,” to get it back. The two young characters set out on a series of adventures which lead to a wonderful re-discovery of just who “Papa Georges” is and a history lesson for all of us on the earliest days of the movies, including the amazing works of the real-life Georges Méliès.  The film also gives us a pitch for one of Scorsese’s personal passions—film preservation.  Many critics have called this film a “love letter” from Scorsese to the movies. The sets and art direction are spectacular; the attention to detail—particularly all the mechanical parts of the clocks and the automaton—are worthy of awards; and even the use of 3D is remarkable, not because it causes the screen to jump out at you (though it does at times), but rather because it is so quietly utilized.  I suspect the movie will be just fine in 2D also.  Either way, be sure to catch it on the big screen.  It’s definitely one to see.

Grade:            A+

BOWFINGER (1999/DVD)  It wasn’t the greatest time ever for Eddie Murphy last week, what with Tower Heist coming up short at the box office and his Oscar gig disappearing right out from under him (courtesy of producer Brett Ratner’s down right stupid behavior).  So I’m starting a SeriousMovieLover “Favorite Eddie Murphy Movie” campaign to remind everyone of just how great he was and is.  For myself, I’m naming “Bowfinger” as my all-time favorite.  Written by and starring Steve Martin, along with Eddie Murphy in a hilarious dual-role, the movie is a brilliant and light-hearted send-up of Hollywood, movie making, and even the Church of Scientology. Frank Oz of Muppet fame directed Steve Martin who is spot-on as Bobbie Bowfinger, a down on his luck filmmaker operating out of his classic LA bungalow and desperate to produce his accountant’s sci-fi screenplay entitled “Chubby Rain.”  Working all the angles, Bobbie decides to use his life savings (roughly $2,000!) to “go for it,” shooting his picture around one of Hollywood’s hottest stars—Kit Ramsay—played to perfection by Murphy. And of course, this is part of the hilarity of the movie because Bobbie and crew are truly “shooting around” the star who just happens to be paranoid and obsessed by thoughts of aliens—a great concept that allows Martin as the writer to introduce us to “Mind Head,” a slick cult of high rollers run by Terence Stamp and other suits who are helping Ramsay to “keep it together.”  Murphy’s second brilliant slot in the film is as Kit’s brother Jiff (his polar opposite) who joins the film as a stand-in for various shots and gives us one of the film’s signature hilarious scenes when he’s forced to cross the 101 in traffic.  Add to this Christine Baranski as Bowfinger’s lead actress, Heather Graham as Daisy—just in from Ohio –and sleeping her way to the “top,” and the rest of Bowfinger’s crew, and you have one funny movie.  If you don’t remember it (or even if you do), pull it out of your DVD collection or rent it on Netflix, put on some popcorn and have a great time.

Grade: A

The Doors (1991/DVD/MTV)

Full disclosure:  I have always loved this movie and been in awe of Val Kilmer’s amazing performance as Jim Morrison.  So it was down right shocking when I looked it up on IMDB and realized just how little love it received at its release.  Ebert gave it only 2 stars at the time (though his quote appears on the poster to the right); Rotten Tomatoes critics ranked it a meager 59%.  Maybe people were tired of Oliver Stone in 1991.  He got nothing.  And even Kilmer—who did all his own singing—got only 2 best actor nominations:  one from the Chicago Film Critics (which he lost to Anthony Hopkins for Silence of the Lambs—fair enough) and one from MTV (which he lost to Arnold Schwarzenegger for Terminator 2–ha!).  No matter.  The movie is still running—it was showing on MTV this past weekend—and it’s just as mesmerizing as always.  Stone, who directed and also co-wrote the screenplay, famously took some liberties with the true story of The Doors but captured perfectly the trippy, drugged out scene they inhabited and the magic of their music, combined with the self-destructive, absolutely seductive individual who was Jim Morrison.  Kilmer worked hard to inhabit that role and from the opening shot to the bitter end, he has us.  Meg Ryan is wonderful as the long-suffering Pamela Courson (a role originally meant to be played by Patricia Arquette) and the movie is a reminder of how good Ryan was in those days.  Kyle MacLachlan is great as Ray Manzarek, who tried his best to keep Morrison and the band on track.  Also playing Doors musicians are Frank Whaley as Robbie Krieger and Kevin Dillon as John Densmore.  There are appearances by Michael Madsen, Billy Idol, Crispin Glover (as Andy Warhol), Kathleen Quinlan (as Patricia Kennedy), John Densmore himself (as a sound engineer), William Kunstler (as Morrison’s lawyer in Miami) and even Oliver Stone himself as a condescending UCLA film instructor—perfect!  The cinematography is incredible as visuals capture Morrison’s state of mind and red hazy concert scenes absolutely transport us to the late 60s.   And best of all, the music of The Doors is woven into the film in perfect fashion—all those haunting tunes and lyrics coming back to you.   It’s hard to get those songs out of your head when it all ends.  A good time to get out your Doors CDs or better yet, your vinyl’s.

Grade:             A

THE ASSASSINATION OF JESSE JAMES BY THE COWARD ROBERT FORD (2007/DVD)

In the mood for more really fine Brad Pitt acting after seeing Moneyball? I highly recommend checking out this film which appeared in 2007 but was largely overlooked by a US viewing audience.  What a shame.  It couldn’t be better, IMHO.  Pitt won best actor at the Venice Film Festival for his quietly sensitive portrayal of Jesse James in his last few months on earth–a fully formed performance showing lots of bravado but also insecurity and paranoia.   Roger Deakins won the prestigious ASC (American Society of Cinematographers) award for his gorgeous cinematography and was also nominated for an Oscar for the film (Note: Deakins also shot the Coen brothers’ True Grit and No Country for Old Men).  An Oscar nod for Best Supporting Actor went to Casey Affleck for his spot-on performance as the “coward” Jesse Ford, a weasel-like young fan of James, brought to vivid life by Affleck.  And there’s more–we also get to watch wonderful stints from James gang members Paul Schneider as Dick Liddil, Sam Rockwell as Charley Ford, Jeremy Renner as Wood Hite, Garrett Dillahunt as Ed Miller, and even Sam Shepherd as Frank James.  What a treat.  And add to that Mary Louise Parker as Jesse’s wife Zee.  It’s a slow-moving, beautiful masterpiece from little known New Zealand screenwriter/director Andrew Dominik.    I think I’ll order it for my personal collection right now. Rent and enjoy!

Grade:     A+

HANNA (2011/IN THEATERS)

Thumbs are going both up and down on this Euro/Techno style pulsating picture, with critics and viewers alike debating whether it’s a more effective “Sucker Punch” or a young woman’s version of “Salt.”  Or is it something else altogether? The movie, directed by Joe Wright, whose previous films include Atonement and Pride and Prejudice (the Keira Knightley version),  has an “art-y” style about it, starting with a visually stunning opening in which the heroine Hanna (a mesmerizing Saoirse Ronan) outruns and shoots a deer in the snowy forest of Finland.  “I just missed your heart,” she says to the wounded animal, with the slightest German accent, before pulling out a gun and finishing it off.  Wow…great start.  Hanna is presented to us as a mysterious warrior youth, whose father Erik Heller (a fabulous Eric Bana), former top CIA operative, as we learn, is teaching her to live their motto:  “adapt or die.”  He’s also teaching her multiple languages, details of geography, survival skills and more.  Life in their small cabin buried in the snow and forest has the feel of a fairy tale, and indeed, once they part, they agree to meet up at Grimm’s House in Germany.  But first, we will follow Hanna as she searches for the “Evil Queen” of this film, Marissa Wiegler (Cate Blanchett in a fabulous red wig).   She doesn’t have to look far and soon a great cat and mouse game emerges.  Along the way, Marissa enlists the aid of her favorite henchman Isaacs (a bleached blond Tom Hollander, very creepy) and his two goons.  And Hanna is taken in by a lovely hippie family traveling in Morocco and Europe, complete with a VW van and a very savvy young daughter, Sophie (Jessica Barden) who teaches the innocent and wide-eyed Hanna a thing or two about modern teenagers.  Altogether, this movie has a weird, over-the-top feel to it, with music from The Chemical Brothers adding to its pulsing style and non-stop camera movement making you feel like you’re on some kind of adventureland ride.  Weird..yes.  But wonderful…I thought.  In fact, I plan to see this film again, just so I can catch all the weirdness I probably missed the first time, while I was trying to follow the plot!

Grade:                        B+

Catch these videos if you want to know more before you hit the theater:

European trailer and Cate Blanchett featurette

ALSO, if you like Ebert Presents, here’s the take on Hanna from his two new young reviewers.

Did you know? Ronan, who is only 17 and was nominated for an Oscar for her Supporting Role in Atonement, is actually Irish.  Her first name is pronounced “ser-sha” like “inertia”.  No inertia in this movie!

A young Jeff Bridges is the "hero" of Fearless

FEARLESS (1993/DVD) I have yet to see Source Code, but it seems to be getting pretty good reviews.  If you’re interested in movies about life, death and time warps, be sure to put Fearless at the top of your Netflix list.  The film was directed by Peter Weir, a true genius, and was written by Rafael Yglesias from his novel of the same name.  The story features at its center a plane crash whose survivor hero–Max (a young and wonderful Jeff Bridges)—upon realizing that he is about to die, finds peace and much more.  Max walks away from the crash, rents a car, visits an old girl friend and books a motel room. As viewers, we wonder:  where is this going?  But a knock on the motel room door brings investigators who reconnect Max with his real life—his loving and beautiful wife Laura (Isabella Rosellini) and his son Jonah.  They also connect Max to a psychologist (John Turturro), who tells Max he’s suffering from stress disorder.  Max disagrees; he takes everything in a fascinatingly matter-of-fact manner and seems to be truly enjoying his new state of being.  Lauded as a hero, he runs away and tests his “fearless” mojo by, for example, crossing streets in the middle of traffic and standing on edges of tall buildings.  “You can’t get me,” he says.  The plot takes a definite twist when Max is connected to another crash survivor, Carla (Rosie Perez, nominated for a supporting Oscar for her performance) who lost her baby in the crash and now won’t leave her bed.  She and Max connect at a level understood only by them; thanks to Max, Carla comes “back to real life.”  I won’t say more than this regarding the plot.  The movie is fascinating—with a  dreamlike quality—be sure to pay attention to the use of sound.  Enjoy!

Grade:                        B+            A little over-dramatic, perhaps.

Watch for:  Benicio del Toro and Tom Hulce in supporting roles.

Check this out:    Nice interview from Movieline in September 1993 when the film was released.  Don’t miss the bits about Mel Gibson.

Also:  A lovely compilation of Peter Weir films can be found here.