“May the Force be with you.” — Harrison Ford (as Han Solo), Star Wars (1977)
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The Class (Entre les Murs) (2008) I don’t like teenagers and I’m not cut out to be a teacher, so I was prepared to dislike this movie. Curiously enough, I liked and disliked it at the same time . . . it confirmed my curmudgeonly prejudices but also made me think, and it will stay with me. The Class is a micro-story focused on single term in a Paris middle school, following a class of 13- and 14-year old kids and their French language teacher, filmed in a documentary style that reminds you of Fredrick Wiseman. The Class presents the mind-numbing minutia of of the teacher’s professional life: the meetings, the counseling sessions, the politics. But the real story happens in the classroom, and the film presents it from both the teacher’s and students’ perspectives. It is disturbing and unsettling, yet somehow hopeful. Kids suck. Teachers are heroes. Even in France. |
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Frozen River (2008) A hard but compelling watch. Frozen River immerses you in the bleakness of poverty, with disaster always at arm’s length and often closer, a slice of life most of us cannot comprehend. Two single mothers enter into an unlikely business partnership that grows into an even unlikelier friendship, offering a small ray of hope, but my overall reaction was sadness. Well plotted & directed, with strong acting . . . but sad, sad, sad. You’ll need a solid week of Disney movies to restore the spring in your step. |
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Zack and Miri Make a Porno (2008) This movie transports viewers into the mind of a dislikable 13-year-old boy with sex on the brain and misinformed notions about adult heterosexual relationships. Sure, slobby single nerds and drop-dead gorgeous women live together and share sex toys and talk about fucking and oral sex all the time! Matter of fact, that’s pretty much all they do . . . yeah, that’s the ticket! I can’t wait until I’m a grownup too! I don’t think of myself as a prude, but when I’m around immature young men who cannot control their slack-jawed prurience I move away, and I couldn’t move away from this movie fast enough . . . it made my skin crawl. Perhaps it got better after the first fifteen minutes . . . a team of horses couldn’t drag me back to find out. |
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Wag the Dog (1997) I didn’t catch Wag the Dog during the Clinton years, when it came out, and somehow missed it during the intervening years. Until now, that is. With news of the Bush/Cheney administration’s manipulation of terror warning levels during the lead-up to the 2004 presidential election, Wag the Dog suddenly seemed relevant. Not a great film; more of a star turn for Dustin Hoffman and Robert De Niro, but still, it’s cynically persuasive . . . you know they do it; you know they’ve always done it; you know they always will do it. Wag the Dog will induce a few chuckles and wry smiles, but if you want to see a truly funny and brutally honest movie about politics and war, rent the 2008 British film In the Loop (review coming). |
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The Soloist (2008) I read about Steve Lopez and Nathanial Ayers in The New Yorker, so I knew the broad outlines of the story. What I wasn’t prepared for is the powerful way director Joe Wright casts the story. I literally couldn’t tear myself away from the movie long enough to get a glass of water. The cinematography — especially the overhead shots of Los Angeles — blew me away, and the gritty depiction of homeless street life (using homeless extras in downtown LA) was gut-wrenching. Joe Wright and Jamie Foxx were able to give me a hint of what schizophrenia might be like, and Robert Downey’s self-deprecating Steve Lopez character was totally engaging. My one objection? Every time Nathanial Ayers begins to play the cello, an invisible string orchestra plays along, making the music all pretty & sweet. It dumbs the movie down; it’s as inappropriate as canned laughter. Objection aside, The Soloist is moving, different, and strong. |
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The Great Buck Howard (2008) A sweet, engaging, often funny movie, a tribute to late night TV talk show guest magicians like The Amazing Kreskin and the hundreds of other entertainers who brush up against, but never quite make, the big time. I quite liked it, but it’s not about anything important, and a week from now — I’m being honest here — I’ll have forgotten all about it. |
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Race to Witch Mountain (2008) Sometimes you just want a Big Mac. Sometimes you just want a Disney flick. Good clean fun all around, for kids and adults. |
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Doubt (2008) I didn’t want to watch this because I hate the way the church has spoiled life for generations of people, telling them their normal urges and desires are sinful and wrong. Immature of me, I know — it’s humanity itself that’s the problem, not the church — but everything I hate about the way we deny our own nature is embodied in priests and nuns, and this is a movie about priests and nuns. But I did watch it, and I was stunned by how good it is. Good as in powerful, thought-provoking, and disturbing, not good as in happy. This is not a happy movie. You know Meryl Streep is a master of her craft when you love her character in one movie (Julie & Julia) and hate & fear her character in another (Doubt). Her Sister Aloysius is Nurse Ratched, but with depth. The three principles — Meryl Streep, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Amy Adams — are fantastic throughout. But Meryl is killer good. She may well be the best actress of our time, and Doubt is worth watching for Meryl alone. |
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Bottle Shock (2008) It’s a feel-good movie with some sappy parts, but it brought back the California I knew during the 1960s and 70s and made me ache for that wonderful place & time. Surprisingly suspenseful, given that we know how the blind taste test came out, and probably a better wine movie than Sideways. Also, it has Alan Rickman in it, always a plus. Great fun, and you should probably drink a little Napa Valley wine while you’re watching it. |
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State of Play (2009) A surprisingly good film; taut, tense, fast-paced, well-plotted, and above all, interesting. I’m a huge fan of the middle-aged Russell Crowe. He gets better and better, but I’m not saying he carries the movie all by himself — the rest of the cast is terrific as well. I was reminded of Three Days of the Condor, a 1970s fast-paced political thriller that weighed in on many of the issues of the day. State of Play gives good weight too. |