Tower Heist

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Plot: Josh (Ben Stiller) manages a NYC super luxury apartment, where a Bernie Madoff type financial villain named Arthur Shaw (Alan Alda) lives. Arthur had lost the apartment worker's pension fund huge financial scandal, and the apartment workers are mad and want to get even. The crew plots to get their money back. Josh recruits his childhood friend Slide (Eddie Murphy) to help.

Review: Tower Heist is fast and always entertaining; it is not great cinema. It has a few good scenes with sit-com set-ups and sit-com laughs.

I liked the analogy between the real life Bernie Madoff ponzi scheme, and Arthur's scandal. When that wears thin, there is Eddie Murphy's larger-than-life character stealing every scene that he is in. Gabourey Sidibe spices things up with a tough girl Jamaican character.

The music is good. The photography is nothing special.

Cast: Ben Stiller, Eddie Murphy, Alan Alda, Gabourey Sidibe, Mathew Broderick.

Directed by: Brett Ratner

Rating:   2.5 stars:  Entertaining enough to recommend. It is a good evening at the movies. A good popcorn movie.

More: Tower Heist and last week's In Time both have Occupy Wall Street themes. Is this a trend?

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In Time

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Plot:  In a distopian future, people grow up to be 25 years old when they either die, or if they have money they can buy more time, which is additional days of life. Everyone looks like they are twenty-five because they stop aging.

A person's lifetime is recorded on their forearms, and lifetime used as money to buy things. If you go bankrupt, then you die.

Will (Justin Timberlake) is poor and lives with his mom (Olivia Wilde) in a poor "ghetto", and they scrape together enough time to live one day at a time. Will meets a guy in a bar who has 130 years with him, and robbers swoop in to take his time. Will rescues him, and is rewarded with the 130 years. Will runs to a rich area where his new wealth will not stand out, and he meets wealthy time-banker Phillippe Weis (Vincent Karthauser) and his adventurous daughter Sylvia (Amada Siegfried.) When the cops catch Will, Will and Sylvia run. Soon they are robbing the rich, and donating the money to the poor, Robin Hood style. There is a strong class-warfare, social justice message.

Review: In Time has many levels, and the political commentary is what carries it. It is like the science fiction movie version of the Occupy Wall Street Protests. The movie takes the themes of the recent protest movement and plays them in the this allegorical science fiction universe. If you are going for the action movie or science-fiction movie aspects, you may not like it.  

 Justin Timberlake does a fine job as a caring working-man hero. His mom Olivia Wilde is emotive and has a great death scene. Vincent Karthauser's Phillippe is greasy and completely self justified. Amanda Siegfried was disappointing. A better performance from her could have made this a major movie. Chemistry between Justin and Amanda just was not there. Cillian Murphy does a great job as a cop, but at 35 he looks too old.

The plot is highly conceptual, and the convention of a clock in one's forearm keeping you alive is odd. My wife found the whole clock/timebank/time-is-money metaphor too distracting. 

Director Andrew Niccol produces some painterly scenes and solid art direction. The soundtrack is OK.

In Time is reasonably entertaining, but the script and its political narrative are the real stars. If you don't like politics, you'll find it dull and preachy. 

Cast: Justin Timberlake, Amanda Siegfried, Vincent Karthauser

Written and directed by: Andrew Niccol

Rating:   2.5+ stars; It is a two star movie that gets another half because of its ambition. I am glad I saw it. It is a good conversation movie.

More: The robberies that Will and Sylvia do are justified by saying "How many people are killed every day in the ghetto?"  This is the kind of rhetoric that is used to justify terrorism, so it is a pretty dangerous argument.  Will and Sylvia shoot people as they steal time, and while they don't they kill civilians, this is getting close to terrorism.

Even more: I have described the film's message in terms of social justice and politics, but it could just as easily be described in terms of anarchy and revolution. Ideas that are more dangerous. 


I wonder how thin is the veneer of civilization in the US, and how far underneath is anarchy. 

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Melancholia

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Plot: The movie starts with a (slow motion) visual poem that ends with planets colliding. When the live action starts, Justine (Kirsten Dunst) is heading to her own wedding reception at her sister Clair (Charlotte Gainsbourg) and her husband's (Kiefer Sutherland) huge estate. They can't get the wedding because their huge limo can't drive the serpentine roads to the house, so they arrive late. She is easily distracted and tired, and spends time outside looking at the stars, upstairs taking a bath, and otherwise lounging. Afterwards, they realize a planet (Melancholia) may hit the earth, and end all life. Those who know the planet is going to hit commit suicide, but others lie to themselves saying it will miss. Clair becomes more devoted to her young son.

Review: I had a really good attitude when I started watching, and I wanted to like this movie. I saw the opening visual poem, and I said -- look at all the pretty barely moving photos -- how artistic! When the limo got stuck on the road, I said, "What a great metaphor for society!" At the wedding reception, I thought that the incomprehensible weirdness must be leading somewhere, but it was just leading to the end of the world.  The slow pacing was just too much. I got tired of watching the little that was happening, happen so slowly. Soon I was dozing off. I missed a few suicides. 

I never fall asleep at movies, except for this movie. When I woke up, Justine was depressed and unable to care for herself, and Clair was trying to help her. 

This is an intelligent script with some clever metaphors that are thought provoking. The film dealt with death and personal destruction. It says that it is best to help each other by lying to each other. Not uplifting.  (See "Even More" section below for more ideas on the meaning of the movie.)

 Kirsten Dunst and Charlotte Gainsbourg give great performances. The others are forgettable, except child actor Cameron Spurr, who is bad. The visuals are generally good, and tell the story better than the words.

This ambitious movie could have been so much better, because sad movies don't need to be glacially slow.

Cast: Kirsten Dunst, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Kiefer Sutherland

Written and directed by: Lars von Trier

Rating:   2.5 stars: A dreary and sleepy movie experience that I don't recommend, but it is thought-provoking, and well-made.  It should be rated lower since it is so hard to watch. It should be higher because it is so fun to talk about. 

More: I wonder how the gravity would change if another planet would hit the earth. I wonder if people would become weightless in the end. How would you film that?

Even More: Maybe Melancholia is not really about death, but actually is about depression. It is about how lying to oneself is necessary to keep functioning. People who fail to lie, kill themselves. Living with depression requires some self-deception and other people to help.


Yet More: We saw Melancholia on pay-per-view prior to theatrical release. I wonder if watching new films on TV will catch on?

Ides of March

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Plot: Stephen (Ryan Gosling) is a spokesman for presidential candidate Mike Morris (George Clooney,) and they are trying to win the Ohio primary against a rival campaign led by campaign manager Tom Duffy (Paul Giamatti.) Campaign staffers are sleeping around, and the higher ups are leaking to the press and making shady deals. There is a surprise twist that drives more dirty dealing that leads to the conclusion.

Review: Ides of March is a workmanlike film with a few good scenes. It is interesting but not fun or good or merit-worthy. The message seems to be that everyone in politics is a jerk, and it could lead to a new low in voter turnout.

One would think that director Clooney was trying to promote liberal policies since Morris/Clooney is always giving punchy speechs promoting these policies.

 The best part of the movie were the Philip Seymour Hoffman and Paul Giamatti scenes. Some of their dialog was excellent, but they are not in the film enough. Instead we get policy speeches from Morris/Clooney and soap opera from Myers/Gosling & Molly Stearns/Evan Rachel Wood. Most of the plot is too predictable to be interesting. The election drama was just not suspenseful -- I would rather have watched the news.

As the movie goes through its plot twist, Ryan Gosling stops acting and turns into same wooden actor we saw in The Driver. I don't get that -- he seems engaging early in the film. It is like tough guys don't smile, or perhaps that he sold his soul somewhere.

There were 1-2 scenes with creative cinematography, especially the confrontation in the kitchen. The soundtrack was very dull.

Cast: Ryan Gosling, George Clooney, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Paul Giamatti, Evan Rachel Wood, Marisa Tomei

Directed by: George Clooney


Source: Based on the play Farragut North by Beau Willimon. The play was based on the Howard Dean campaign.

Rating:    2.0 stars: - disappointing the reviews were so good.

More: Can anyone figure out why this was called Ides of March?

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50/50

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Plot: Adam (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is 28 and he gets spinal cancer right at the beginning of the movie. 50/50 is his chance of dying. His best friend Kyle (Seth Rogen) his Mom (Anjelica Huston,) and his girl friend Rachael (Bryce Dallas Howard) try to help as he starts chemotherapy. Soon he meets cute counselor Katherine (Anna Kendrick,) and they flirt as they talk about his feelings.

Review: 50/50 is 50% medical drama and 50% comedy alternately Bro-mance and Rom-Com. Most of the actual jokes are delivered by Seth Rogen who plays a larger-then-life best friend who is obsessed with sex and getting high. Rachael and Katherine are the Rom-Com girls who are perky & cute because of the dialog and facial acting.  

The movie is more about being sick than about dying with hospital scenes and getting bald being prominent  There are some scenes with older cancer payments that address preparations for death. The film's advice on threat of death is to get high and scream.

The performances were all great especially Howard, Kendrick, Gordon-Levitt. Rogen is a bit of a cartoon character, and Huston did not have a big part. Perhaps the dog could have played a bigger role in consoling Adam.

Cast: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Seth Rogen, Anna Kendrick, Bryce Dallas Howard, Anjelica Huston

Directed by: Jonathan Levine; produced & written by Will Reiser; Will Reiser is a cancer survivor.

Rating:   3.0 stars: Engaging and entertaining, but not inspiring. It is thought-provoking, and the characters are well done. It is worthwhile, but you can't expect a movie about cancer to be fun-to-watch. 

More: Everytime I saw Katherine and Adam, I kept thinking that the ethics board would not like what they were doing.

Even more: Writing a good comedy about death instead of about being sick is hard. When I went to the theater I was hoping for a more ambitious film, but this was still good.

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Moneyball

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Plot: Billy Beane (Brad Pitt) is general manager for the relatively poor Oakland A's, and he hires chubby statistics geek Peter Brand (Jonah Hill) to help remake the team on a limited budget. Peter and Billy use obscure statistics to trade for cheap, unconventional players, and trade away their stars. Manager Art Howe (Phillip Seymour Hoffman) and everyone else is skeptical. There is a sub-plot with Billy confiding with his daughter Casey (Kerris Dorsey.)

Review: Top story telling turns this unlikely plot into a tense, feel-good drama. I liked this movie a lot once it got moving. The characters are engaging, and the story has built-in drama. There is enough development of Billy's homelife to get into his head, and enough baseball to provide drama. Predictably the A's lose and then start winning, and director Bennett Miller creates all the suspense he can. 

The performances are all good, and the directing is snappy. Moneyball starts slowly, but the characters get more involved and the dialog gets better. Only great writing and directing could make a winner out of such an unlikely story. A best adapted screenplay Oscar should be in the bag already. I'd like to see an Oscar nomination for Brad. 

The visuals are strong, and twelve-year old Kerris Dorsey's song was great, but the rest of the soundtrack was forgettable. 

Cast: Brad Pitt, Jonah Hill, Kerris Dorsy, Phillip Seymour Hoffman

Directed by: Bennett Miller

Rating:   4.0 stars: A strong movie, strong performances, and a nice pro-technology message. Best movie of the year so far.  

More: Yeah, nerdy geeks with Excel spreadsheets are Heros! Why wouldn't I love this movie?

The Real Billy Beane

Even more: Here is a picture of the real Billy Beane.

Yet more: Someone should apply these principles to running the government.

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Drive

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Plot: "The Driver" (Ryan Gosling) does Hollywood driving stunts, fixes cars, and drives the occasional get-away car. He meets his cute neighbor, Irene (Carey Milligan), but soon her husband, Standard (Oscar Isaac), comes back from prison. "The Driver" tries to helps them out by helping Standard get out of debt by robbing a store, but that does not go well, and soon we are meeting thugs and mob bosses. The violence is brutal and hard to watch, but brief.

Review: Drive is a classy movie with understated dialog and underacting -- all the dialog and emotions are dialed way back. Only the bad guys have emotions everyone else is stony-faced. The under-emoting helps the viewer enter into the experience better, but it does not let the actor show you how to feel, instead, the audience paints the emotions on the blank screens of Gosling and Milligan's faces. 


It could not be more different from Fast Five.  It is supposed to be an updated Film Noir, although  the images are not dark and smoky.


"The Driver," the character, starts out being a regular guy, but as the movie progresses he gets becomes a more stereotyped tough guy and more and more violent. Perhaps this is because of the circumstances he is in, but perhaps we just are getting to know him better. The Driver is like an experimental film since its style is so dominant. The soundtrack is good too.


I was glad to watch it because it is different. On the other hand, different does not make it good. 

Cast:  Ryan Gossling, Carey Mulligan

Directed by: Nicolas Winding Refn, based on the book by James Sallis.

Rating:   2.5 stars:  I am tempted to give it 3 stars because it was pretty edgy. On the other hand, it was not that fun to watch, and not as engaging as Contagion that also got 2.5 stars. To me the underacting was too great, and there was no social or moral message in the Drive.

More: The character "The Driver" does not have a name; he is always "Driver," or "Kid."

Even More: I like how the only* beverage in the film is water; this fits with the visual minimism. (*I have been corrected, Driver drinks coffee in the diner.) 

Yet More: Irene's husbands name is "Standard." "The Driver" is supposed to be the "Deluxe;" check the titles in the soundtrack album. 
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