“We didn’t have to look into your souls, we had to see if you had souls at all.” — Charlotte Rampling as Miss Emily in Never Let Me Go
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Oceans (2009) If you can get past the 20-minute block of Disney advertising and previews at the start of the DVD, you’ll be glad you rented this documentary. For the English version, Disney hired Pierce Brosnan to narrate, and for my money he’s as good as Morgan Freeman, whose narrative power Disney was clearly trying to replicate here. The sea life, and the sea itself, is astounding, breathtaking, and spectacular, as is the photography. There are scenes that will make your jaw drop. But Oceans, alas, is not a truthful documentary. The sad facts about the state of our oceans are given short shrift … there’s one brief scene of fish getting tangled up in a net, a quick glimpse of floating plastic debris … nothing must get in the way of the corporate happy-family feel-good experience, which I suppose is what one must expect from Disney. |
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The Tillman Story (2010) I watched this documentary after reading Jon Krakauer’s Where Men Win Glory, the brilliantly written and thoroughly researched story of Pat Tillman’s death by friendly fire and the ensuing coverup that went all the way to the top of the US government (you can read my review of the book here). This movie covered the same ground, but with far less emotional impact, I thought, than Krakauer’s book. For those who don’t like to read, I guess, the movie will more than do … and to be fair, had I not read Krakauer’s book first, I probably would have been more impressed with the movie. Actually, you know what I think? I think if Michael Moore had produced and directed The Tillman Story it would have kicked righteous ass, and there’d be mobs outside the homes of George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, and Donald Rumsfeld, demanding heads on platters. But that’s just me. |
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The Fighter (2010) I don’t have any use for boxing, but every time I watch a boxing movie I walk away impressed. The Fighter is no exception. Great cast, great story, great buildup of tension, great fight scenes (both in and out of the ring), great soundtrack. There are a lot of great laughs as well, particularly when the focus is on Micky’s incredible mother (Melissa Leo got an Oscar for the role, in case you’ve been on Mars or something) and his gaggle of gum-chewin’ beer-drinkin’ big-haired sisters. The porch scene at Charlene’s house, when the mother and sisters show up to have it out with Charlene, well, that’s worth the price of admission right there. This is a stirring movie with a lot of uplift, and … unlike Million-Dollar Baby … nobody dies. You’ll love it. |
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Fair Game (2010) Too soon! I didn’t realize how fresh and raw my memories of this sordid episode still are. I found myself reacting viscerally to the sights and sounds of George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, and other executive branch figures as they lied us into war in Iraq, even though they only appear on TV news clips as background to Valerie Plame’s and Joe Wilson’s story. Doug Liman does a great job telling that story, as do Naomi Watts and Sean Penn, and the movie is a needed corrective to the disinformation and slander put out at the time by the Bush administration and their captive press. One has to admire the courage of Valerie and Joe, but at the same time one cannot help thinking they were lucky … at least the White House didn’t smear them as child abusers, as it did weapons inspector Scott Ritter, another civil servant who tried to tell the truth. Please, Hollywood, make this movie again in about 25 years … I might have settled down by then. |
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Never Let Me Go (2010) I had no idea what this movie was about when I put it in the DVR. I thought at first it was sort of a Harry Potter movie, and indeed the similarities are striking, particularly in the evolving lives and relationships of the children in their private school, and their progression into young adulthood. There’s a science fiction aspect to the film, but it’s merely a stepping-off point. The story takes place in England during the 1970s, 80s, and 90s, and other than the premise that this is an alternate world where medicine has advanced in different directions than in ours, it’s a thoroughly recognizable world. The story is absurdly touching but also dark, a darkness that starts small and grows monstrously large, looming over everything. My first inkling that something was amiss was when toys were delivered to the children at the school, toys that turned out to be junk … dolls with missing legs, incomplete decks of playing cards, castaway plastic figurines … and yet the children were delighted with them. I’ll stop there and merely say that this was the first of many jolts. I was quite affected by this movie and will remember it for a long while. I will also run right out and read the book … that’s how much I liked it. |
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Source Code (2011) Source Code and Inception are very similar, action movies based on science fiction premises. Although I enjoyed the spectacle, I didn’t quite buy Inception (read my review here). Source Code hit me the right way, however, and I think it is by far the better movie. Perhaps this is because the underlying sci-fi concept is better explained and illustrated through action, action that in the case of Source Code actually means something. In Inception, people are trying to steal an idea by invading someone’s dream, and nothing really seems to matter. In Source Code, people are trying to avert a real-life terror attack on hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions of people. I quite liked this movie, and would even watch it again. Solid thrills, and it gives you something to think about. |
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The Killer Inside Me (2010) The director tries to channel the Coen Brothers through Quentin Tarantino. The result is a good soundtrack, eccentric characters, a lot of old cars, and a pornographic focus on violence, cruelty, and betrayal. Not just the main character but the entire movie is sociopathically immoral, and call me old fashioned, but I do not like movies that revel in and celebrate evil. I can’t understand why people make them, agree to star in them, or watch them, and I am sorry I watched this one. It made me feel dirty and unworthy. |
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The King’s Speech (2010) I thought this a very good film, well acted, and in spite of the almost utter lack of action or suspense, one that pulls you into its story. But really, it’s a small story, not hugely important, and I’m not sure what all the fuss is about. If it had not been about the British royal family, it would have died in the cradle. I enjoyed it, I’m glad I watched it, but I would not watch it again … and that, to me, is one of the things that should define a movie that takes home the Oscar for best picture. |
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Made in Dagenham (2010) A movie about a momentous strike at a British Ford plant in England, the one that resulted in equal pay for women. It’s an important story and a real pleasure to watch, especially these days when labor unions are under sustained attack. Sally Hawkins as the strike leader is superb. The movie brilliantly captures working-class British life in the 1960s, and the period touches are right on. My only quibble is how easy the movie makes it all look … a little unpleasantness here and there, but before you know it the strike is over and the women have won. But that’s the movies for you … how else do you tell a complicated story in less than two hours? |
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The American (2010) The American comes across as a George Clooney vanity project: look at me, this is the beautiful Italian countryside I live in, here are the picturesque villages and quaint villagers I move among, here are the beautiful women I bed, here is me looking pensive and vulnerable. And lord, is it pretentious! It’s pretentious from the opening shot to the closing credits. Why, it’s almost as if Clooney and Corbijn think their genius alone is enough to fascinate moviegoers. Though I frequently complain about Hollywood action movie conventions … exploding cars, 360-degree gunfire, impossible physical feats … the dragged-out scenes and lack of action in this movie go too far the other way. I was barely able to aim the remote and turn off the DVD player when it was over, such a stupor did The American induce. I need an antidote, fast … where’s our old VHS tape of Die Hard? |