THE INFORMANT ! 2.5*** (almost 3.0***) This is an offbeat movie with a serious subject but done with an overall comic touch. The subject is very contemporary…corporate greed on a huge scale both internally, exorbitant salaries and bonuses, as well as internationally, massive illegal price-fixing by international companies on a far-reaching global scale.
Matt Damon stars in the movie…in fact he is the movie. As Mark Whitacre, an ambitious, fast rising executive with ADM , the internationally corrupt company, he is the exact opposite of his Bourne character. At times he reminds me of the George Costanza character in the Seinfeld TV series. Damon put on about 35 lbs for the role, wears an awful looking hairpiece and does a great job of pulling of the demure but cagey character.
At a point in the story, the FBI commences an investigation of ADM, and Damon is the focus point. As the story moves along, it becomes a baffling mystery as to whether Damon is the puppet or the puppeteer..the victim or the villain.
There is a lot of voice over where Damon is revealing his thoughts, remembrances and observations…narrated but not spoken. This is where the persistent humor and comic overtones come into play both from Damon’s spoken and unspoken thoughts and his actions. At times its hilarious and at all times its captivatingly puzzling.
Another quirky aspect of the film is the musical score….it has a jazzy ’70s vibe by Marvin Hamlisch (side-note: he’s one of the few people to win an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar, a Tony, a Golden Globe and a Pulitzer Prize) who brings a retro hipness to the already wacky and fun film.
An interesting and funny film…good but not great although Damon is close to great.
Clark
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Sunday, September 13, 2009
ADAM 3.0*** ( nearly 3.5***)
This is a charmingly challenging “romantic” drama. Yes, it’s a “boy meets girl’ and they both are attracted to each other, and what seems like a “romance” develops although, as it turns out, it can, at best, only be, a “relationship” because the “boy’ , Adam, though 29 years old, not only lacks social skills, he is incapable of experiencing or showing real feelings…of caring for or truly loving anyone. You ask why ?? Well, Adam (Hugh Dancy) has Asperger’s, a mild form of autism. Although Adam is terrifically intelligent he often seems dense because he can’t process information like the rest of us. He cannot read people’s faces or emotions. Allegory, metaphor, irony, sarcasm and most forms of humor are beyond his comprehension, as are feelings. Adam can function in an obsessive compulsive way and has a job making the electronic components for toys.
The “girl’, Beth ( Rose Byrne), who moves into his apartment and gets to know him learns fairly early on that he has Asperger’s… he tells her…and then she reads up on it. Despite this knowledge she begins to have feelings for him that he can’t have for her. It is amazing and a credit to Beth that she is willing to be with a guy who is never going to fit in, who will never be able to “read” her and who will eternally be ill at ease with emotions. He finds a comfort with her and comes to “need” her, and the need grows as the relationship deepens. But, will the relationship last, can it last… can they make a serious go of it ???? This dilemma…this paradox makes for a fascinating story that is presented with honesty and without the usual “Hollywood” trappings or manipulations.
The performances are superb, especially that of Dancy ,as Adam, who is dead-on near perfect with how he capture the heart-breaking reality of someone who has Asperger’s . He also imbues his character with an unshakeable dignity and moral resolve. But Byrne, as Beth, is also wonderful as the wanna-be-girlfriend, one who wants to experience all the love and emotion that should come with it…yet she knows that it can never really happen.
This movie will educate you, will pull on your heart strings and will ultimately inspire hope and understanding. Such is a rare experience and, as is often the case, usually only found with courageous Independent films which this is. BRAVO for the Indies !!!!!
Clark
This is a charmingly challenging “romantic” drama. Yes, it’s a “boy meets girl’ and they both are attracted to each other, and what seems like a “romance” develops although, as it turns out, it can, at best, only be, a “relationship” because the “boy’ , Adam, though 29 years old, not only lacks social skills, he is incapable of experiencing or showing real feelings…of caring for or truly loving anyone. You ask why ?? Well, Adam (Hugh Dancy) has Asperger’s, a mild form of autism. Although Adam is terrifically intelligent he often seems dense because he can’t process information like the rest of us. He cannot read people’s faces or emotions. Allegory, metaphor, irony, sarcasm and most forms of humor are beyond his comprehension, as are feelings. Adam can function in an obsessive compulsive way and has a job making the electronic components for toys.
The “girl’, Beth ( Rose Byrne), who moves into his apartment and gets to know him learns fairly early on that he has Asperger’s… he tells her…and then she reads up on it. Despite this knowledge she begins to have feelings for him that he can’t have for her. It is amazing and a credit to Beth that she is willing to be with a guy who is never going to fit in, who will never be able to “read” her and who will eternally be ill at ease with emotions. He finds a comfort with her and comes to “need” her, and the need grows as the relationship deepens. But, will the relationship last, can it last… can they make a serious go of it ???? This dilemma…this paradox makes for a fascinating story that is presented with honesty and without the usual “Hollywood” trappings or manipulations.
The performances are superb, especially that of Dancy ,as Adam, who is dead-on near perfect with how he capture the heart-breaking reality of someone who has Asperger’s . He also imbues his character with an unshakeable dignity and moral resolve. But Byrne, as Beth, is also wonderful as the wanna-be-girlfriend, one who wants to experience all the love and emotion that should come with it…yet she knows that it can never really happen.
This movie will educate you, will pull on your heart strings and will ultimately inspire hope and understanding. Such is a rare experience and, as is often the case, usually only found with courageous Independent films which this is. BRAVO for the Indies !!!!!
Clark
Saturday, September 12, 2009
INGLORIOUS BASTERDS 3.0***
Inglorious Basterds (IB) makes no apologies, asks no forgiveness… it's a no holds barred assault on the senses. The director, Quinton Tarantino, doesn't care if he offends… he’s a master of cranking up tension and suddenly mixing it with laugh out loud moments. It’s not for everyone and if you’re not a fan of Tarantino’s style, this may not be for you.
"Inglorious Basterds is a "The Dirty Dozen" meets “Pulp Fiction” and partly tells the story of a small band of about 10 Jewish-American guerrilla soldiers who are dropped behind enemy lines in German-occupied France with one purpose in mind… to kill as many Nazis as often and as brutally as possible so as to strike fear and terror in the hears of Hitler's military. Led by Lt. Aldo Raine (Brad Pitt), the group accomplishes this by raids in which many German soldiers are killed and scalped ( Lt. Raine is part Cherokee) and allowed survivors have swastikas carved into their foreheads. There are really only a few scenes of such carnage. Instead the story revolves mostly around an SS Colonel, Hans "The Jew-Hunter" Landa (Christoph Waltz) and a French Jew, Soshanna Dreyfus (Mélanie Laurent)), whose family was brutally murdered in 1941 by Landa. Four years later she owns a movie house in Paris and meets a Lt. Frederick Zolle , a young German war hero who is smitten by her and persuades Nazi Minister of Propaganda, Josef Goebbels, to hold the premier of the film about his war exploits at her movie house. What a terrifically tempting target the premier audience will be as almost all the most important Nazi Generals and Officials will be there.
Since the real heart of this movie lies in Shosanna and for purposes of realism, about 80% of the dialogue in this movie is subtitled… from French and German. But it all plays out quite well and I don’t fault but, in fact applaud, the use of the subtitles. Also, despite this being a QT film, it has less-than-the-expected number of brutal moments, and they're so sudden, so few and so far between, you’ll find them all the more dramatic…but they are violent, graphic and bloody.
The acting in this film is superb ….. with his thick Tennessee accent, Brad Pitt is gut-bustingly hilarious as Aldo Raine Mélanie Laurent, a French actress, is exceptional as Shosanna . However, the real show-stealer here is Christoph Waltz, a German actor, as Colonel Hans Landa. On top of being able to act well in several different languages, he manages to do what almost every great, classic villain manages to do, and that is to accomplish being both charming and menacing at once. He should, without question, get a Best Supporting Actor Oscar Nomination for his performance.
Clark
Inglorious Basterds (IB) makes no apologies, asks no forgiveness… it's a no holds barred assault on the senses. The director, Quinton Tarantino, doesn't care if he offends… he’s a master of cranking up tension and suddenly mixing it with laugh out loud moments. It’s not for everyone and if you’re not a fan of Tarantino’s style, this may not be for you.
"Inglorious Basterds is a "The Dirty Dozen" meets “Pulp Fiction” and partly tells the story of a small band of about 10 Jewish-American guerrilla soldiers who are dropped behind enemy lines in German-occupied France with one purpose in mind… to kill as many Nazis as often and as brutally as possible so as to strike fear and terror in the hears of Hitler's military. Led by Lt. Aldo Raine (Brad Pitt), the group accomplishes this by raids in which many German soldiers are killed and scalped ( Lt. Raine is part Cherokee) and allowed survivors have swastikas carved into their foreheads. There are really only a few scenes of such carnage. Instead the story revolves mostly around an SS Colonel, Hans "The Jew-Hunter" Landa (Christoph Waltz) and a French Jew, Soshanna Dreyfus (Mélanie Laurent)), whose family was brutally murdered in 1941 by Landa. Four years later she owns a movie house in Paris and meets a Lt. Frederick Zolle , a young German war hero who is smitten by her and persuades Nazi Minister of Propaganda, Josef Goebbels, to hold the premier of the film about his war exploits at her movie house. What a terrifically tempting target the premier audience will be as almost all the most important Nazi Generals and Officials will be there.
Since the real heart of this movie lies in Shosanna and for purposes of realism, about 80% of the dialogue in this movie is subtitled… from French and German. But it all plays out quite well and I don’t fault but, in fact applaud, the use of the subtitles. Also, despite this being a QT film, it has less-than-the-expected number of brutal moments, and they're so sudden, so few and so far between, you’ll find them all the more dramatic…but they are violent, graphic and bloody.
The acting in this film is superb ….. with his thick Tennessee accent, Brad Pitt is gut-bustingly hilarious as Aldo Raine Mélanie Laurent, a French actress, is exceptional as Shosanna . However, the real show-stealer here is Christoph Waltz, a German actor, as Colonel Hans Landa. On top of being able to act well in several different languages, he manages to do what almost every great, classic villain manages to do, and that is to accomplish being both charming and menacing at once. He should, without question, get a Best Supporting Actor Oscar Nomination for his performance.
Clark
Monday, September 7, 2009
CORALINE 3.0***…almost 3.5*** (a DVD rental or cable movie)
To begin with, this is a 2009 movie that superbly employs stop action animation with some computer generated effects. Also, it is a film adapted from a book that won the 2002 Bram Stoker Award for Best Work for Young Readers. Even so, it is not a movie for very young children ( under 10 years old). It is a dark fantasy… a gothic fairy tale with creepy images and a sometimes spooky look. But, for age appropriate kids and adults, it is very, very good in a very, very different way. And for those who look for the pearl in the oyster, it is a surprisingly fine family film because it focuses on what family is all about and points out the danger of strangers, especially those who try to lure kids with nice things.
The Story: Coraline is a young girl, 8 to 9 years old, but wise beyond her age, who has just moved into an old house with her parents, who can best be described as workaholics. She left behind good friends and new ones are very hard to find , While Coraline doesn't really dislike her parents, she feels neglected and disconnected from them. Coraline, in her search for something to do…for some excitement in her otherwise boring life, finds a secret door in the house which leads to a different world—an alternate universe. Coraline goes through the door and discovers her "other" mother and father. They look exactly like her real parents except they have buttons for eyes. Coraline is seduced by all the wonderful things the new parents have to offer. She's treated to sumptuous meals and given a tour of a garden outside the house which is full of fantastic creatures which Coraline finds enchanting. As you watch this unfold, you get that bad feeling that it is TOO good to be true … that evil may lurk in that strange alternate world. So, tension builds as you worry about whether Coraline will see what may be behind those button eyes…and be able to resist the lure of the parent “strangers”? And the answer …well, that’s for you to find out.
The best way to describe the over-riding theme of this fine film is right up there in the movie poster…”Be careful what you wish for.”
Clark
To begin with, this is a 2009 movie that superbly employs stop action animation with some computer generated effects. Also, it is a film adapted from a book that won the 2002 Bram Stoker Award for Best Work for Young Readers. Even so, it is not a movie for very young children ( under 10 years old). It is a dark fantasy… a gothic fairy tale with creepy images and a sometimes spooky look. But, for age appropriate kids and adults, it is very, very good in a very, very different way. And for those who look for the pearl in the oyster, it is a surprisingly fine family film because it focuses on what family is all about and points out the danger of strangers, especially those who try to lure kids with nice things.
The Story: Coraline is a young girl, 8 to 9 years old, but wise beyond her age, who has just moved into an old house with her parents, who can best be described as workaholics. She left behind good friends and new ones are very hard to find , While Coraline doesn't really dislike her parents, she feels neglected and disconnected from them. Coraline, in her search for something to do…for some excitement in her otherwise boring life, finds a secret door in the house which leads to a different world—an alternate universe. Coraline goes through the door and discovers her "other" mother and father. They look exactly like her real parents except they have buttons for eyes. Coraline is seduced by all the wonderful things the new parents have to offer. She's treated to sumptuous meals and given a tour of a garden outside the house which is full of fantastic creatures which Coraline finds enchanting. As you watch this unfold, you get that bad feeling that it is TOO good to be true … that evil may lurk in that strange alternate world. So, tension builds as you worry about whether Coraline will see what may be behind those button eyes…and be able to resist the lure of the parent “strangers”? And the answer …well, that’s for you to find out.
The best way to describe the over-riding theme of this fine film is right up there in the movie poster…”Be careful what you wish for.”
Clark
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