Crazy Heart

Crazy Heart (2009) A+
 
Directed by: Scott Cooper
 
Cast includes: Jeff Bridges, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Colin Farrell, Robert Duvall
 
Drama, Color
 
In Crazy Heart Jeff Bridges plays Bad Blake, an aging country music star whose best days are behind him. While on the road playing dumps for food and whiskey, Bad meets Jean (Gyllenhaal), a music writer for a local paper. They have a fling and then Blake is off to play a big gig, opening for his protégé Tommy Sweet (Farrell.) Throughout the film, Blake struggles with alcoholism, reviving his career, and his desire to make a relationship with Jean work. 

Crazy Heart is a touching movie. Bridges makes Bad so likeable despite his demons. I found myself pulling for him when he finally tries to pull his life together. Crazy Heart is like life: it doesn’t come wrapped up in a box with a neat little ribbon tied around it. Sometimes it’s uncomfortable. Sometimes it seems like there’s no hope. But sometimes there is that proverbial light at the end of the tunnel that just might change your life.
 
Jeff Bridges as Bad Blake is one of those born-to-play-this-character roles. He’s so good, you forget he’s even acting; he’s not Jeff Bridges, he’s just Bad Blake. The rest of the cast is good, as well, supporting the story and presenting well-rounded characters including Duvall as Blake’s friend who helps him get his life together. The music in the film is fantastic! I found myself tapping my foot during the sets and humming some of the tunes before we were half-way into the movie. In fact, I bought the soundtrack the next day. There’s nothing flashy about Crazy Heart. It’s just a simple story about life.
 
2010 Academy Awards Nominations for:
 
Actor in a Leading Role-Jeff Bridges*
 
Actress in a Supporting Role-Maggie Gyllenhaal
 
Music (Original Song)-“The Weary Kind (Theme from Crazy Heart)” Music and Lyrics by Ryan Bingham and T Bone Burnett*
 
*Denotes Winner

The Wolfman

The Wolfman (2010) C+
 
Directed by: Joe Johnston
 
Cast includes: Benecio Del Toro, Emily Blunt, Anthony Hopkins, Hugo Weaving
 
Color, Horror
 
This was definitely not the worst movie I’ve ever seen. I’ll leave that distinction to Nicholas Cage’s Knowing. I must say that I did not go into The Wolfman expecting to like the movie at all because of what I had heard about it from the critics, so I was pleasantly surprised in that respect. Lawrence Talbot (Del Toro) is summoned back to Blackmoor, his family’s manor and place of a childhood trauma, by his brother’s fiancé Gwen, played by Emily Blunt. His brother is missing but by the time he arrives at Blackmoor, his brother’s body has already been found, along with two others, ripped to shreds. While attempting to find the cause of his brother’s death, Lawrence himself gets bit by the beast and survives. What happens next is no surprise. During a full moon he himself becomes a werewolf. But who is the original beast and how will Lawrence’s own condition be resolved? Will the Scotland Yard detective (Weaving) investigating the case catch him?
 
The Wolfman is a throwback to the original horror movies, only with much more gore and CGI. Trust me, lots more gore! If seeing blood on the screen makes you sick, then I do not recommend you see this movie. The story was predictable with no major plot twists. I had already figured out what I think was intended to be the main twist from all the previews I had seen. While the storyline about Lawrence Talbot’s past helped support the story, there was not as much depth to it as I had hoped. There was very little background to Lawrence’s father (Hopkins), Sir John Talbot, and absolutely no characterization of Gwen. I must say the cinematography deserves an A+ for some stunning shots. I enjoyed the elements of the classic horror film present in the movie. I almost jumped out of my seat several times, but with better developed characters The Wolfman would have been a much better movie.

Solaris

Solaris (2002) B+

Directed by: Steven Soderbergh
Cast includes: George Clooney, Natascha McElhone, Jeremy Davies, Viola Davis, and Ulrich Tukur
Color, Sci-Fi, Romance
 
This version is based on a novel and film from the Soviet Union of the same name about cosmonauts’ strange experiences on another planet. In this film a psychologist (Clooney) is contacted by a friend (Tukur) to join him on a mission due to strange happenings on their spaceship. When he arrives the silence and blood that greet him create an anxious atmosphere that pervades the screen. Clooney finds that his friend has committed suicide and the two remaining crew members are plagued by bizarre fears. As it turns out, the planet the ship is orbiting, Solaris, creates a “visitor” created by their memories of that “visitor” for each person on board. Clooney’s is his dead wife, McElhone, who we find out through flashbacks committed suicide when Clooney left their marriage.
 
These flashbacks are emotional and powerful; the visuals of the planet and inside the ship are pleasing. Jeremy Davies, before he spent time on “the island” on Lost, provides comic relief with something strange lurking under the surface. Soderbergh does a great job of telling a story without overloading us with dialogue. Slightly reminiscent of 2001: A Space Odyssey, Solaris is a troubling examination of emotions and memory.

Any good movies lately?

It's been awhile since I've posted here.  Job and family obligations have kept me quite busy for the last month.  Last week my husband and I went to see Shutter Island.  We both liked it.  The previews make the movie seem much "scarier" than it really is.  The movie is really much more of a psychological thriller.  Despite the fact that I could see the ending coming, I still found it a great way to spend a Friday morning.

Speaking of mornings, Movie Tavern here in Denton has $3 movies for the first showing of each movie Monday-Friday including new releases.  So, if you live in Denton, and find yourself needing something to do mid-morning on a weekday, head to Movie Tavern!

And now my question to you is, Seen any good movies lately?

Movie Weekend!

This weekend was full of movies for me.  Well, three movies to be exact.  Saturday night I indulged myself with a movie I had DVRed: Night Nurse with Barbara Stanwyck, Joan Blondell and Clark Gable.  Then on Sunday night, my husband Landon and I joined the rest of the world when we watched The Hangover.  Today (an oh-so-glorious day off), we went to see The Lovely Bones in the theater.  I thoroughly enjoyed all three of them.  I'll have reviews to come!

I Was a Male War Bride

I Was a Male War Bride (1949) A
 
Directed by: Howard Hawks
 
Cast includes: Cary Grant and Ann Sheridan
 
Black-and-White, Romance, Screwball Comedy
 
Cary Grant is at his comic best opposite Ann Sheridan who is definitely able to stand up to Grant. Grant plays Henri Rochard, a member of the French Army whose escapades with WAC officer Catherine (Sheridan) forms an unlikely marriage. The story then follows Grant as he tries to follow his new wife to the U.S. as a male “war bride.” I Was a Male War Bride is a perfect example of director Howard Hawks’ fast-paced dialogue for which Grant was made. Sheridan is wonderful as the woman who can take the heat and give it right back. You’ll never know how ugly a woman Cary Grant makes until you’ve seen him in this movie. Hilarious and one of my favorite comedies!

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (2009) C
 
Directed by: Terry Gilliam
 
Cast includes: Christopher Plummer, Lily Cole, Heath Ledger, Vern Troyer, Andrew Garfield, Johnny Depp, Jude Law, Colin Farrell.
 
Drama, Comedy, Fantasy, Color
 
To say that this was an odd movie would be an understatement. My husband and I wanted to see this film for one reason only: This is the movie Heath Ledger was filming at the time of his death. The filmmakers handled his departure from the production very well by using Johnny Depp, Jude Law, and Colin Farrell to play Ledger’s character inside the imaginarium.
 
Let me back up a bit. The premise of the movie is something like this: Dr. Parnassus (Christopher Plummer) makes a deal with the devil to become immortal. A thousand years later he falls in love with a woman and makes another deal with the devil to remain youthful in order to woo the woman with whom he’s fallen in love. Dr. Parnassus’ end of the bargain is that he must give the devil, known as Mr. Nick in this movie, his child on their 16th birthday. So, we meet Dr. Parnassus and his daughter, Valentina (Cole), a few weeks before her 16th birthday as they work their side-show magic on the people of London. Dr. Parnassus, now 1000 years old in the 21st Century, has the power to bring people into his mind and see into their imagination; this is what they call the imaginarium. He and Mr. Nick have a game they play inside the imaginarium to see whether people will choose a life of evil and darkness (Mr. Nick) or the life of good and self-sacrifice (Dr. Parnassus). In an attempt at one last gamble with Dr. Parnassus, Mr. Nick proposed that the first one to win five souls can keep Valentina, but they only have 2 days to do it.
 
Are you confused yet? Because I am and I haven’t even begun to tell you about the other characters involved in the story. Somehow Percy (Troyer) also obtained immortality and takes part in Dr. Parnassus’ Imaginarium side show. Also involved in the Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus is Anton (Garfield), a young performer as dedicated as the others to winning souls for the good of humanity who also has a heart for Valentina. The gang stumbles upon Tony (Ledger) one night as he is hanging off a bridge, literally. It seems Tony has gotten himself into a bit of trouble with a group of Russians and is implicated in a well-known charity scam. He pretends to have lost his memory after they save him from the noose so that he can hide out.
 
There is so much going on in the convoluted plot that it can sometimes be hard to keep up with everything. Unfortunately it also means the characters are not well-developed and I’m left wondering why on earth I should care what happens to these characters. Perhaps there was a bit left on the editing room floor, so to speak? Or maybe the scrip itself didn’t lend itself to much character development. The imaginarium scenes were trippy, to say the least, but had great special effects. I enjoyed the performances by Ledger, Cole and Garfield. I do have to admit that producer/director Gilliam cleverly integrated the performances by Depp, Law and Farrell after Ledger’s death left scenes unshot. There was one shot of Depp outside of the imaginarium that was too obvious and did not belong. He did most resemble Ledger, but the shot would have worked just as well from behind.
 
This is the kind of movie that may very well develop a cult following and someday become a cult classic. For me, there were too many holes, too much plot, and not enough character. It had its moments of drama and comedy, but not enough to carry the movie.

The Sheik

The Sheik (1921) A

Directed by: George Melford

Cast includes: Rudolph Valentino, Agnes Ayres

Black-and-White, Silent, Romance, Adventure

It’s easy to see why women fainted at the sight of Valentino in this film, his first. Even under the robes his masculinity bulges through. The story follows an independent young woman (Ayres) who is captured by a desert Prince (Valentino) during her holiday. At first she is frightened and repulsed by his obvious intentions, but through the help of a westernized friend of the prince, she finds that the prince isn’t really an Arabian prince, but a white orphan who was adopted when his parents died by the former prince. He was educated in Europe. She begins to fall in love with him and when she is captured by a rival leader, Valentino saves her in a climactic and highly romantic ending.

It is unfortunate that the love story between the two main characters can only be sanctioned after we discover that the prince is not an Arabic man but a white man raised by an Arabic prince. If you can look past the dated opinions of interracial relationships, you will find a gem of a film. The DVD has some great music which attempts to recreate the possible music played during the original release of the film. A true classic and a must see.

Diabolique (Les Diaboliques) (1955)

A+

One cold morning this week I was sick and couldn’t sleep. After spending an hour and a half tossing and turning, I decided to go to my couch and watch a movie I had on my DVR. I thought I would watch a little TV to help me fall asleep. Unfortunately for my need to sleep, but fortunately for my movie-loving heart, the movie I chose was Diabolique . I have a lot of unwatched movies on my DVR and this was the oldest and getting close to being deleted.

I did not know anything about this movie before watching it except the premise. A man’s wife and his mistress plot his murder. As the film begins, I quickly see why the two women would desire this man’s demise. Michel Delassalle, the headmaster of the school Institution Delassalle, is abusive both physically and verbally to the women. We first see Nicole Horner, his mistress and teacher at the school for boys, wearing a pair of sunglasses to hide her latest gift from Delassalle. At dinner that night he forces his wife Christina to eat the bad fish he has served to all the children in order to set a good example for everyone else. You see the pain and torment across her face as he pushes her to eat it.

Nicole and Christina decide that night to go on with their plans to murder Michel. The plan seems perfect down to every detail. They drown him in Nicole’s bath tub in another town and bring him back to the school to dump his body in the murky swimming pool. I watched in suspense as several times, the body is nearly discovered. Because of his reputation with women, none of the other teachers, or students (who seem to know too much about their headmaster’s private life), find it odd that Michel does not return right away after the holiday. The next few days nearly drive Christina out of her mind as she waits for the body to be discovered. Nicole, the strong authoritative one, decides to shorten the waiting process by accidentally dropping Christina’s keys to the school into the pool. When a student is unable to find the keys at the bottom of the pool, Christina is forced to order the pool drained. We watch her unravel as the pool is drained just outside her classroom’s window, only to discover there is no body there.

This is where the movie begins to take on its twists and turns. As the women are seemingly haunted by the body’s whereabouts by several events, Christina’s health declines and Nicole seems to grow stronger.

Diabolique is a movie wonderfully acted by Paul Meurisse (Michel), Vera Clouzot (Christina), and Simone Signoret (Nicole) who all turn out thoroughly convincing performances. Henri-Georges Clouzot directs this film to its brilliant finish with possibly the most suspenseful ten minutes on film. With its black-and-white cinematography, the film is a shining, or more perhaps more appropriately shadowy, example of a film noir classic. If you see the ending coming it is only because of the influence that this film has had on many films that followed. Watch Diabolique and you won’t regret it!

Reviewed January 6, 2010

A Film Lover's Dream

In an attempt to find a "creative" outlet for my love of all things movies, I have decided to create this blog. I am a former film student, current film lover, but by no means a professional in the film industry, or a writer for that matter. The views expressed in these posts are solely my opinion and I realize they may not coincide with yours.  Feel free to make comments!  To help me start out and get into the swing of things I will start out with and mix in some reviews I have written years ago.  Who knows, this walk down memory lane for me may make want to re-watch some films and reconsider my former opinions.  I hope you enjoy.