Review: Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

It's been over 10 years since the horrible events of 9/11 and Hollywood continues to revisit that infamous day through a variety of film adaptations.  The latest movie to touch on the tragedy of September 11, 2001 is Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, the sometimes touching and often frustrating recount of Oskar Schell, a 9-year-old boy living in New York City whose Dad dies in the collapse of the World Trade Center.

Early in the movie (directed by Billy Elliot, The Hours, The Reader helmer Stephen Daldry) we see Oskar's strong relationship with his father (played in a not-so-lead role by Tom Hanks) which ends up powerfully affecting Oskar's ability to face live without his dad.  A year after 9/11, Oskar finds a key hidden in a vase that his Dad owned.  He believes he needs to find what lock the key opens to uncover a mystery his Dad left for him.  Most of the movie recounts Oskar's experience in trudging around NYC, asking random people if they knew his father and finding surprisingly warm reception from the normally cold-natured people of Manhattan.  Sandra Bullock is properly cast as Oskar's Mom who must deal with a troubled son and her recent status as a widow.

Oskar is played by newcomer Thomas Horn, a kids Jeopardy champion who apparently had no acting experience prior to this film.  Unfortunately for us, it shows.  Horn is quite annoying throughout the movie, overacting through all the scenes in which he shows his sadness and frustration with his dad's death.  I became annoyed with him early-on and just felt disconnected for the rest of the film.  Towards the middle of the movie, Oskar meets a strange friend of his grandmother's, known only as "The Renter".  The Renter is played wonderfully by film veteran Max Von Sydow who in a non-speaking role is able to convey a wealth of emotion.  Von Sydow ends up being the star of the film and fortunately is able to carry Horn's lack of experience in the scenes they share together.

The end of the film is sad and touching and did pull a creeper or two from my eyes.  I wish I was more emotionally invested at that point though but Horn's weird performance kept me disjointed and leery of Oskar's emotional struggle.  I have to give this movie a 2.5 out of 5 JRs.  The plot is really all over the place and despite the solid acting from Hanks and Bullock and the great supporting performance turned in by Von Sydow, the amount of screen time given to Horn is just too much to overcome.  A more polished child actor could have saved this film somewhat.  This is only worth a rental and should probably be viewed on a day when everything is going right and you really are prepared to feel depressed for a while.


NOTE:  I hope to manage to fit in my 2011 Best Movies post at some point over the next few weeks.  I am scheduled to undergo neck surgery to fuse a couple discs on February 3rd.  It might actually be good for me to write my post after my surgery since i'll have a week or two of recovery time.  I plan on having the Best Movie post and the Oscar preview/picks post up before the Oscars air in late February.


NOTE TWO:  The Academy Award nominations will be announced live tomorrow morning.

Quick Review: The Dark Knight Rises - Prologue

Before I saw Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol in IMAX yesterday, I was treated to 6 minutes of Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight Rises.  The entire sequence was shot in IMAX and depicted a spectacular mid-air heist orchestrated by Batman's main nemesis in the film, Bane (played by Inception's Tom Hardy).  We get a close look at Bane and his menacing mask as he meticulously assaults his captors.  I was worried that the departure of Heath Ledger's excellent Joker would leave a major void in Nolan's third Batman film, but after seeing this sneak peek it looks like Hardy is going all out to try to match Ledger's intensity.  Maybe Bane will be a memorable villain after all.  All throughout we get a taste of the amazing musical score put together by Hanz Zimmer.  It's only 6 minutes but it has Nolan's signature style and pacing written all over it.

I am totally geeked out for this movie and am a full believer in Christopher Nolan as the most talented director in Hollywood right now.  I just hope that the influx of Inception repeat actors (Gordon-Levit, Hardy, Michael Caine, Marian Cotillard, etc...) don't distract from an already legendary movie trilogy.  If you have the means to get to an IMAX screen over the holidays I fully recommend taking a closer look at this satisfying taste of The Dark Knight Rises.  June can't come soon enough.

Review: Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol

Tom Cruise is nearly 50 years old and doesn't let age stop him from being the most batshit crazy actor working today.  In a 10-15 minute thrilling sequence at the Burj Khalifa (The world's tallest building), Cruise throws caution to the wind and does his own stunts climbing and running across the outside of the building.  The sequence which looked unbelievably awesome in true IMAX projection is the highlight of the latest Mission: Impossible film.

Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol is the fourth film in the series that follows agent Ethan Hunt and his IMF team of technically saavy espionage experts.  The movie plays out very much like a sooped up James Bond film with Cruise and new partners Jeremy Renner, Simon Pegg and Paula Patton teaming up to take on a complex terrorist plot that spans the globe.  In some stunning on-location settings including The Kremlin in Moscow, Dubai and Mumbai, India, Director Brad Bird (who had previously only directed animated movies like The Incredibles for Pixar) shows that he has a keen eye for action.

The movie is well written and we get a nice mix of new technology and elaborate missions.  The main actors seem to have good chemistry but Cruise is definitely the engine that powers the plot.  Bird does a really good job of making the most of thrilling action scenes that contain large set pieces.  He keeps the camera far enough away to let the audience experience the epic scope of the action.  Put it all together and you have the best Mission: Impossible film of the series.

This film is a must-see in theaters, especially in IMAX and .  It's a tad too long and some of the sequences are entirely too unbelievable.  You will definitley get your money's worth though and I'm sure we'll see Cruise globe-trotting once again as Ethan Hunt in a follow up film.  I imagine Renner and Pegg will be back as well.  A solid 4 out of 5 JRs for Ghost Protocol.




NOTE:  I saw this film out at the UDVAR HAZY Air and Space Museum in Chantilly.  It's a fantastic place to watch a true IMAX film (most of the theaters in this area that claim to be IMAX are actually much smaller in screen size).  The only downside is that you have to pay $15 to park there in addition to the $15 ticket price.  The $15 does give you access to the impressive collection of airplanes and space travel vehicles on display in the museum.  Lesson learned this time around.  Next time I'll either go with a group to split the parking cost or plan on visiting the museum before or after the show.  I did make an impromptu visit after the film and saw the highlight of the exhibit, an actual Space Shuttle (pictured below).

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to my loyal readers who have stuck with me for Two-plus years.  Thanks for reading my reviews and letting me vent my entertainment aspirations.  Stay tuned for my Mission Impossible review tomorrow and my upcoming Best of 2011 post.  Cheers to a Happy and Healthy New Year!

Review: The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

A little more than a year after gaining critical acclaim for The Social Network, David Fincher is at it again, adapting another well loved story for the big screen and putting his own personal spin on it.  The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo is the second movie adaptation of Stieg Larsson's popular novel.  The first film (a production from Denmark) was released in 2009.  Now before I review Fincher's version I must state that I've never read the book nor seen the 2009 movie.  All that being said, this adaptation staring Daniel Craig (as journalist Mikael Blomkvist) and Rooney Mara (as cyberpunk / social outcast Lisbeth Salander) is griping Hollywood drama at its finest and a must-see film for the holidays.

The movie tells the story of Blomkvist and his experiences in Sweeden during the investigation of a 40-year-old murder.  Hired by the wealthy Vanger family to uncover clues to the murder, Blomkvist ends up using the assistance of an accomplished but socially awkward investigator Salander.  Without giving too much away, we see Salander's struggle to fit in and the sexual abuse she suffers in the process.  Beneath all her awkward and quiet manerisms is an accomplished set of technical and investigative skills.  The bulk of the 2.5 hour film (which FLIES by, by the way) consists of following Blomkvist and Salander as they uncover a string of clues and evidence.  By building both characters up front, we as the audience are completely on board and feel like we're part of the investigation ourselves.

Mara is a revelation as Lisbeth Salander.  Both physically and emotionally she goes all-in with her portrayal. From the multiple piercings to the detailed tattoos and the punk/emo wardrobe and hairstyles, it's hard to believe that the same sweet girl who opened The Social Network as Mark Zuckerberg's girlfriend is the same actress we see in this film.  As the stoic Salander, Mara is able to convey so much emotion without changing the expression on her face.  It's an incredible transformation she pulls off as an actress and yet keeps so much of her performance minimal.

Craig is a great balance to Mara's bold performance.  Thankfully the Bond movies were on hiatus over the past few years to give Craig an opportunity to play this role.  In addition to the two stellar lead performances, Fincher gets great acting out of Christopher Plummer, Stellan Skarsgard and Joley Richardson.

Fincher doesn't hold back in portraying the very adult material in Larsson's book.  This is as hard an R rated movie as you'll see these days and as a result there are some really uncomfortable scenes to sit through.  These scenes are totally necessary though as the audience ends up feeling for these characters which helps ramp up the tension later in the film.  Fincher's direction is fantastic in this film and everything is shot with such perfect pacing.  He clearly makes Salander out to be an Apple fangirl and an expert in navigating technology with ease.  There's a funny little scene in the middle of the film where Salander is blazing through a MacBook, pulling up pictures with ease and switching between several applications on the fly.  Everything is brisk and almost poetic about the way she uses a computer.  Once Blomkvist tries to use the machine we see him fumble around and Mara plays the scene as if she's totally annoyed by his lack of computer skills.  There are a ton of small notes of humor throughout that add to Mara's amazing performance.  She SERIOUSLY better be up for Best Actress by the way.

Most people will compare the movie to Larsson's novel I assume.  I cannot make that comparison as I haven't read it.  Let's be honest.. I don't like to read much.  I'd much rather watch a movie or TV series than sit down and try to read a book.  Maybe it's because I have a little ADD in me but mostly it's because the movie-going experience is much more engaging.  I'm sure Larsson's book is incredible but I don't feel like I've missed anything by not reading it.  Fincher and screenwriter Steven Zallian have created a brilliant movie that can stand on its own as far as I'm concerned.  I also have to mention the great score put together by Trent Reznor and Atticus Finch (the same duo that took home the Oscar last year for Social Network).  Once again, the two have created a supporting soundtrack that is minimal in tone but completely balances the action on screen.  In a nod to Reznor's day job, one of Salander's cyber-hacking buddies in the movie is shown wearing a NIN t shirt.

Fincher has created another masterpiece here in line with my personal favorites The Game, Se7en and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.  The Social Network was just so-so in my book but Fincher is back on top with this effort.  I find myself eagerly awaiting the next film in Larsson's Millennium Series of books which will also be directed by Fincher and presumably star Craig and Mara.  Heck, I may even read the book beforehand.  The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo succeeds in all aspects of film-making and narrowly slides in at the top of my list of best movies of 2011.  There's still a few more Oscar contenders I need to see over the holidays but this movie will be hard to top.  5 out of 5 JRs for a supremely acted and wonderfully paced tense thriller. It's very rare that I'll see two 5 JR movies in a row, but this movie and The Descendants were really THAT good. Go see both while they're still in theaters.

Movie Review: The Descendants

George Clooney has strung together a long and impressive resume in Hollywood, gaining fame early on for his looks primarily but gaining recent accolades for his acting and directing skills.  In Alexander Payne's The Descendants, Clooney takes his acting game to a whole new level as he embodies the character of Matt King, a father of two dynamic daughters who goes through an ordeal of having his wife on life support after a freak accident while finding out she has recently cheated on him.  For once I watched a George Clooney movie and actually forgot that I was watching Clooney.  In what I consider his best performance yet, Clooney plays an everyman character that is vulnerable and extremely interesting to watch.  The pairing of this veteran's acting talents with the writing and direction of the elusive Payne (who hasn't directed a film since the 2004 classic Sideways) is a perfect formula that plays out in the lush visuals of Hawaii.

Warning... there are very SLIGHT spoilers in the plot recap below.  I don't give away key elements but a lot of details are mentioned.  If you don't want to know much about the plot, skip the next two paragraphs. 

Payne's excellent story chronicles the actions of King, his daughters Scotty and Alexandra (played brilliantly by the talented and beautiful Shailine Woodley) and Alex's friend Sid as they roam around the Hawaiian Islands attempting to find the truth surrounding King's wife's affair.   We get the back story of King early on and learn that he is one of the descendants of the Hawaiian royal family that dates back several generations.  He and his large extended family on the islands are congregating to decide what to do with a large plot of prime real estate that has been bestowed upon them.  It is up to King himself (appointed as the sole trustee) to make the final decision on which bidder to sell the land to.  This decision ends up being balanced with breaking the news of King's wife's terminally ill situation.  King has to go and tell family and friends about the imminent passing of a woman who he hates for realizing that she cheated on him.

King's oldest daughter Alex who is in typical 17-year-old full on rebellion mode, hates what her mother did to her dad as well but must battle with conflicting emotions surrounding her imminent death.  Woodley is remarkable in this role and helps give the entire movie an authentic family element.  Her underwater reaction to the news of her mom's death in the house pool is incredibly realistic.

The supporting cast of Scottie (Amara Miller), Sid (Nick Krause) and King's father-in-law (the always excellent Robert Forster) help glue the family tension and interaction together.  Payne has become a master of letting characters' faces help tell a story.  Just as he did in Sideways with Paul Giamatti and About Schmidt with Jack Nicholson, he allows Clooney to convey a wealth of emotion just by holding the camera on his face for an extra frame or two.  Having been to Hawaii myself, this is without a doubt the most realistic depiction of our 50th state.  Payne almost creates the islands as a separate character that weaves its way through the arc of the story.

I expect Woodley and Clooney to be up for acting nominations next year.  They both give some of the best performances I've seen this year.  Payne's story and knack for balancing solid writing with simple and effortless visuals that highlight the scenery of life.  Again, this is one of the more realistic portrayals of family dynamics that i've ever seen.  You need to go see this movie (I would recommend going on the big screen to take in all of the great Hawaii landscape scenes) right away.  Right now this is my 2nd favorite movie of the year and my 2nd 5 out of 5 JR rating for 2011.

Movie Review: Hugo

Martin Scorsese has had one of the most prolific directing careers in cinematic history.  With a body of work that spans decades and generations he continues to crank out hit after hit and remains the master of the mob movie.  Despite all the accolades (including the recent Best Direction and Best Picture Oscars for The Departed in 2006) Scorsese has never made a film that resonates with children.  With Hugo (a re-telling of The Invention of Hugo Cabret, a 2007 novel), Scorsese tries to not only make a family movie but also grasp the mastery of 3D filmmaking.  While he seems to have accomplished the latter, I cannot say that this movie is really a family-oriented masterpiece in any regard.

Scorsese employs a hodge-podge cast consisting of veteran talents like Sir Ben Kinglsey and Sacha Baron Cohen (who really is becoming more of a dramatic force in Hollywood) mixed-in with young up-and-coming stars like Chloe Grace Moretz and newcomer Asa Butterfield (Hugo Cabret) whipped up in a lush brilliant vivid landscape of a Paris train station.  We follow young Hugo as he attempts to connect with his deceased father through a sequence of clues that were left behind after his death.  As Hugo works with his new-found friend Isabelle (Moretz) to follow the clues and avoid the pursuit of the nosey station captain (Cohen) we are treated to a fantastic display of 3D mastery as Scorsese weaves the camera effortlessly in and out of the various pathways and passages of the train station.

Despite the precise execution of the three dimensional medium, the overall subject matter and the pace of the plot is extremely slow and not very appealing to kids (in my mind).  The second half of the film focuses more on Kingley's character of Georges Melies, a pioneer in the film industry who directed the famous A Trip to the Moon silent movie during the advent of modern cinema.  While the story of Hugo does a great job in chronicling film history and movie preservation efforts, it loses touch with the core of the film (Hugo himself) and completely switches gears in overall tone.

If Hugo was marketed as a historical lesson in cinematic history then I wouldn't have much of a problem with this film.  Unfortunately all the ads and reviews skew it as a perfect family film, not mentioning the underlying context.  Back in sophomore year of college, I took a film history class and learned all about the Lumiere Brothers and Melies.  We even watched the 15-minute Trip to the Moon in class.  Sitting in the theater watching Hugo with my son, I felt as if the lesson was forced upon me again.  While it surely is interesting to know about the beginnings of filmmaking, I wasn't expecting to have it thrust into my son's mind at such a young age.  Hugo is PG and I shouldn't expect it to be geared towards 7-year-olds but I'm sure that Josh was lost through much of the film.  He claims to have liked it once it was over, but I wish I know more about Scorsese's plan going in.  Anyone under 10 really won't be able to fully grasp the message of this movie.

Regardless of the sub-par story, the visuals are very good and almost worth the price of a 3D ticket.  Overall though I have to give Hugo a disappointing 3 out of 5 JRs.  Hopefully Scorsese has gotten this "family" bug out of his system and can return to making violent and engaging movies for the rest of us.

Movie Review: 50/50

Director Jonathan Levine's 50/50 is the feel good cancer movie of the year based on a true story of screenwriter Will Reiser and his battle with a rare type of cancer.  The film takes a grim topic and dissects it using both humorous and touching sequences that ultimately culminate in one of the best movie-going experiences of the year and a showcase for the rising talent that is Joseph Gordon-Levitt.

Reiser and Seth Rogan are real-life friends and have collaborated on several screenwriting ventures and Rogan reprises his supporting-friend role in this film.  The movie focuses on Gordon-Levitt's character of Adam Lerner (loosely based on Reiser's life), a researcher for a Seattle-based public radio station who receives unfortunate news that he has developed a serious tumor in his back at a very young age.

Levine does an excellent job of showing both the serious side of cancer and the hope and joy that comes from having a solid support system.  Gordon-Levitt owns this movie and bears the weight of the serious complications that come with a cancer diagnosis.  We see him sulk around for most of the film in a believable state of denial and hopelessness.  Rogan provides the comic relief that plays well against Gordon-Levitt's sorrow while the super-cute Anna Kendrick (essentially playing the same role she did in Up in the Air) is serviceable as Lerner's therapist / love interest.  Rogan seems to keep playing the same slightly-high, frat boy character in every movie.  I realize that he has little range as an actor but for once I'd like to see him try something different.  While his performance is slightly frustrating, Gordon-Levitt is a revelation and it's hard to believe how far he's come as an actor since moping around on the baseball field in Angels in the Outfield. After three solid performances (including 500 Days of Summer and Inception), he's definitely one of the best young actors in Hollywood right now.

50/50 gets well earned bonus points for a powerhouse final 15 minutes that feature an awesome Total Recall reference, a hilarious line about urination and Pearl Jam's epic Yellow Ledbetter that sounds as the credits roll.  I thoroughly enjoyed this movie and really did buy the emotional weight that Gordon-Levitt's character carried throughout.  The scene where Adam Lerner is about to go into surgery is particularly moving with a solid supporting performance by Angelica Houston as Lerner's mother.  This film makes you cherish your own life and does so with some well timed laughs throughout.  I definitely recommend seeing this movie and give 50/50 4.5 out of 5 JRs.  One of the best movies of 2011 for sure.