Like, I can sense, it was to fluidly string together, to review Mr. Scorcese's latest The Departed is a tricky business. The elements of its plot do not exactly form the best arc they might otherwise have, but there was clearly not a lacking in forethought or planning to blame. Mr. Scorcese's contemplative mind was no doubt at work for a long time piecing out what the best way to attack and attach the film's various competing storylines and testosterone-loaded fervor, to make a meaningful, but un-espresso-like, dose of gentlemanly adrenaline. No easy task I say, and, for the distinctive certainty of effort, I shall assign blame for the major flaws of this body film only to some shaky genetics (i.e ., to its screenwriter, though even about this decision I'm uncertain).
I am certain, however, about the caliber of the acting. Say what you will about his turn in that late 90s epic; I say Mr. DiCaprio's talent as an effective and powerful actor has grown undiminished ever since he first set foot onto a set in the early 90s. It was a pleasure to watch him heavily, yet stalkingly, pace the screen, in feverish animation. Mr. Nicholson's effort was also admirable, his well-to-do sloveliness charming, and Mr. Wahlberg was appropriately tempered.
Technically, the film was well handled, the unsightly task of editing accomplished. Nevertheless, I am left with a guttural feeling of ambivalence about the film. Perhaps it was too drawn out? Perhaps it was too mundane? Perhaps it was too masculine? I can't settle upon any premeditatedly probable cause for its tendency toward failure, which itself is unsettling, but I have no choice but to trust my instincts in saying just as I did when I watched the final scenes in the theater: 'Okay, may be it will realize itself later.'
Grade: B
19 October 2006
Review: The Departed
Review: The Science of Sleep
No, Mr. Gondry, your inclusion of gratuitous nudity will not make me go easy on you. Basically, your screenplay was awful. I got the feeling that you only wrote it to give yourself an excuse to exercise your artistic creations in 3-D space, but slushy writing to support a single ideal premise, even if it be a good one, is never a good course.
Now, aside from that major failing, your art does look fairly wonderful upon the screen, and Mr. Bernal, as usual, makes the best use of the material he is given. His transformation of what could have been a creepy, unrelatable fringe-dweller to a sympathetic, dreamy visionary was no small, nor unworthy, feat. Yet, despite his assets and those of the art sequences, The Science of Sleep fails to register too frequently to ignore. I was disappointed; I expected better.
Grade: C
Review: The Queen
Stephen Frears surely hit ice, when he first began to chip away at this ambitious project. Luckily for us the fractile shards that fell were so finely huned that there is almost nothing to criticize about this work.
Indeed, The Queen is the first exceptional film of the year, with strong performances riding its smooth, serene screenplay from its very first frosty pinnacle to its very last, temperate end. For both the actors who worked on the film and for the crew, the film was undoubtedly a tremendous success and for the public, in the still resonant wake of Brokeback Mountain, yet another example of how extraodinarily powerful simple tranquility can be. The screenplay, unlike so many of today's screenplay's, correctly refuses to tie its arms behind its back in obtuse complexity; instead, it undulates beautifully in restraint. All the actors could do for it was align themselves to its rhythm, and the adept Ms. Mirren is so studied and accurate at this alignment, that it's disconcerting at times. Her relationship with the here brilliant Mr. Cromwell writhes in exquisite discomfort, and for Mr. Cromwell, it has been quite some time since he last found such a rewarding match. Even Mr. Frears' direction, which can usually be said to effectively efface any emotional virtue from a film by its almost masochistic restraint, could not break the well wrought cadence; it can actually be best described here as transmuted by the rhythm to feel confident.
Yes, I was hard-pressed to find an area for which to offer a meaningful critique. Even the musical score was so inspired a piece of composition that I nearly applauded the speakers. (It was in my opinion the best part of the film; kudos, Mr. Desplat.) So, I will say only this: I wished that Mr. Sheen had made his Tony Blair seem a little less exasperated by everyone.
Congratulations.
Grade: A-
17 September 2006
Review: The Last Kiss
Tony Goldwyn's The Last Kiss marks Paul Haggis' latest attempt at writing a meaningful screenplay. Considering the attempt's result, I think he has obviously and yet again failed miserably. Dialogue is awkward, reality is at many points inconceivable, the entire thing is unbalanced, and gratuitous nudity - how much does one really need? Thus, it is now the unswerving opinion of myself (and likely many others) that the ability, purported of Mr. Haggis, to deftly stroke by pen the intricacies of humanity is itself a fiction, through and through. And a counterargument, that the flaws of the screenplay enhance the uncertain nature of the characters and the story, is just compensatory and ludicrous. The rambling scenes that appear mired in (purposeful?) confusion inarguably lack luster; the other scenes, fraught with a dangerous level of acuity in dialogue, blanche the film with an in-your-face clarity that is as contrived as are the supposedly realistic lives of the script's characters. (Mr. Goldwyn's mediocre direction does little to help this fact.)
Indeed, the only redeeming and interesting parts of this film were those parts played by Zach Braff, Blythe Danner, and (occasionally) Jacinda Barrett. Ms. Barrett, while being for much of the beginning of the film a (too) dull figure, emerges from this stupour later, to deliver wonderfully gutturally an otherwise hackneyed line in a key argument scene as well as to bring elsewhere much needed life into her character, though such life does continue to be dappled in its brilliance. As for Ms. Danner, the subtleties in her crafting of her small, yet evidently supporting, part exemplify her as a gifted actress, and I am sorry for that her talents had to be wasted by this bizarrely written screenplay. The same praise could well be said for Mr. Braff and, in addition, that one hopes that he, due to role he played and to the deservedly wild acclaim the role him garnered as progenitour of the marvelous Garden State, not be typecast into characters of this now popular nature (e. g., of late-youthful malaise and uncertainty, of emotional incongruities). Mr. Braff, I eagerly await the next film you yourself helm.
The Last Kiss, however, I could have done without.
Grade: C
02 September 2006
Discover (Not) Snicket
For those of you, bloggers out there, who have not yet had the misfortune of being exposed to the 12 books in Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events, consider yourselves lucky. The truly terribly and awfully ghastly details that these books contain are almost certainly too much for your feeble minds and, er, emotions to bear without a severing strain. Thus unbroken, you, I recommend, should absolutlely not dare to visit this following site, which provides a disturbingly accurate and alluring description of the last, 13th, book in the repulsive series: do not click here.
31 August 2006
Discover Sondre
In the spirit of my last post, which I feel has broken through the former presentiments of this blog, I am inspired to post now, without any hesitation, about one of my very favorite artists, the glorious Sondre Lerche, coincidentally whose new single, Phantom Punch, is about to be released. Mr. Lerche, much like OK Go - at least to my eyes - has stayed dismayingly below the popular radar, despite some obviously burgeoning and brilliant talents. Yet, with a style most swanky, a repertoire more varied, and a genuine appeal to be aspired for, Lerche far outdoes any perceived competition. I give him my highest esteem: 100% smooth and kick-ass. :)
Perfeito!
Discover OK Go
So, I just had to post the link to this video, because 1) OK Go is amazing, 2) the video is so genius (in the best etymological sense of the word), and 3) I'm so happy that they just pulled it off live at the MTV VMAs. So, go and watch it.
Hot.
24 August 2006
Films for the Fall
New Site!
Yay! A new location for my blog has been established, thanks to Google! I expect this new site to be even better than the last one (A Year in Film) and to definitely look a little nicer. Perhaps I may even expand the blog's purpose a bit. Who knows? Anything's possible. Stay tuned, bloggers - there's a lot more film-ing to do. :)
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