Monday Morning Quarterback Part III
By BOP Staff
January 17, 2013
BoxOfficeProphets.com
Jay Barney: I took my son to see the two kid friendliest options, Wreck-It Ralph and Rise of the Guardians. Frankly, I was a little disappointed that there were not more options for kids going into the holiday season. I recognize there was a little bit of a glut during the Halloween part of the calendar, but for any family that did not want to take there youngsters to see the Hobbit, there just was not much out there.
We did go and see Lincoln, and I was shocked by how much I enjoyed the film. I might be the only person in America to say this, but when I initially saw the shots of Daniel Day-Lewis as Lincoln, I didn't think it was going to go very well. I know he is a talented actor, but my first reaction was actually quiet negative. That said, I was really impressed by what they were able to do, and it did not take me long to start seeing him as the 16th president. The film was good, his acting was great.
Aside from that, I have to admit that I am already looking three months down the road, getting excited for the late spring releases that lead into the summer movie season. Iron Man 3, Star Trek, here we come.
Edwin Davies: I finally caught up with Killing Them Softly, which rocketed into my Top 10 of the year with little problem. I'm a huge fan of both Andrew Dominik's previous films - The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford in particular, since I think it's one of the finest American films of the last 20 years - and I'd been eagerly anticipating his latest for over a year. He did not disappoint. It's a tense and uncomfortable crime thriller with a lot to say, perhaps too much, about modern America, and its attempts to equate small-time murders with the banking bail out will put off anyone who doesn't like getting politics in their gangster films, but it worked beautifully for me. One of these days Dominik is going to make a film that more than six people go to see and he'll be rightly recognized as the tremendous artist he is.
I also watched Silver Linings Playbook, which was basically two separate films - one a comedy-drama about two desperately unhappy people connecting through a shared interest, the other an energetic dance contest movie - both of which I liked a lot, but the way they were combined really rubbed me up the wrong way. It's not the idea of mixing the two per se, more the way in which they try to ramp up the stakes in the third act which struck me as so clumsy and hamfisted that it spoiled the whole experience for me. It's a perfectly okay movie made up of great parts that don't quite fit together well enough.
Finally, I watched Django Unchained and it overtook Searching for Sugar Man to become my favorite film of 2012. I loved every ridiculous, audacious and indulgent moment of it and it's stuck with me for the better part of two weeks. I have no illusions about how it's going to do at The Oscars (i.e. horribly, but maybe Christoph Waltz will win) but i don't think that enters Tarantino's head when he makes films. He makes whatever crazy thing he wants to and every just kind of falls into line behind.
Felix Quinonez: The Hobbit - I thought it had great moments and a winning performance by Martin Freeman buried underneath this mess of a movie. I hate to say it because I really wanted to love this movie, but it's clear that they were just trying to stretch it into three movies to make more money not because the story necessitated it.
Argo - I thought this was a phenomenal movie with great acting and directing. Even though I knew what would happen I was completely riveted.
Django Unchained - Another phenomenal movie. Christoph Waltz stole the show. Everyone was great but in my opinion he was the best part of the movie. I loved it.
Lincoln - I thought Daniel Day-Lewis was really great in this movie but, If I'm just being honest, I thought the movie was a bit boring. But I still liked it.
Zero Dark Thirty - I loved it. It was a great movie, but I don't think it's as brilliant as people are making it out to be.
Max Braden: I've been trying to squeeze in as many movies as I've been able to in the last two months.
In theaters:
I was very impressed by Lincoln. I think the country's general mental image of Lincoln is the sonorous, wise statesman. Daniel Day-Lewis really made him human with the self-amusing stories and even explosive temper. I also liked the history lesson given by the presence of Thaddeus Stevens, who I knew nothing about before the movie.
Silver Linings Playbook is my favorite of the Best Picture list. At first I didn't buy Bradley Cooper's midnight manic sessions, but as he mellowed through the movie I saw him more as a character. Jennifer Lawrence of course is amazing, both emotionally and physically.
Life of Pi has exceptionally sharp cinematography with the 3D format, particularly the early zoo scenes. There are also some great images throughout the movie. I'm not a big fan of the bookending format for the story, because like Atonement and Sarah's Key, these are events that happened so far in the past of the main character's life, they become less relevant. I would have preferred the Cast Away approach of just showing it in live time, but then the keynote of the reveal would have been lost.
The Sessions is like one long hot date, and by gradually easing into the sex act, it really makes you slow down and appreciate the human body and intimacy. Hawkes and Hunt are both very good.
I was really, really looking forward to Jack Reacher based on the kickass trailer. The movie unfortunately let me down, mostly because the music did not support what was happening on screen at all. With long periods between action, it felt very dull. Still, I like the Jack Reacher character. I haven't read the novels, but I think I'd prefer the Tom Cruise size Reacher over someone like Dolf Lundgren.
Django Unchained is good, but not as good as Tarantino's best. I was a little uncomfortable during some of the more violent scenes but I appreciated having them in there as a reminder of the history. What is it about seeing Walton Groggins on screen that makes everything better?
The Impossible is heart-wrenching. I haven't heard so much audience sniffling since I saw My Life twenty years ago. It's probably the best of the Oscar movies that nobody is seeing. I don't understand why this was limited to a platform release and not just put out wide to start.
Zero Dark Thirty is good, but like Jack Reacher, the music was fairly weak. And I just can't buy Bert Macklin as a DEVGRU guy.
I've seen over 30 movies on DVD in the same time period. Some highlights:
Dark Shadows: Johnny Depp is perfect for something like this, so why was it so damn uninteresting?
Safety Not Guaranteed: I of course have a huge crush on Aubrey Plaza because of Parks and Rec, and this movie is like an extension of that. It's a nice, quirky romance.
Liberal Arts: My crush on Elizabeth Olsen is even bigger, especially in a romance like this. Unfortunately her storyline is repeatedly dropped and picked up. This movie would probably be better as a novel.
A Christmas Story 2 was released in December, ruining some wonderful childhood memories.
10 Years: Instantly one of my top five favorite movies of the year. It's great to see all the cast members, and Oscar Isaac's love song to Kate Mara is wonderful. Lynn Collins is also great.
Arbitrage: Also a great movie that nobody is seeing because it was quietly released on video. The mix of thriller and drama is really well balanced, and even though you shouldn't be rooting for Richard Gere's nefarious tycoon, you want to see if he can squirm his way out of trouble.
Rock of Ages: This movie starts off *horribly.* Instead of honoring the '80s, it tarnishes the '80s with flat notes. But you have to see it for Tom Cruise's rocker. It's hard to decide who goes over the top more, him or Matthew McConaughey as Killer Joe.
David Mumpower: Like everyone else, I'm on an awards season hunt to watch everything of note.
I came away from Flight wondering what the point was. I mean, I like that Denzel Washington played a dysfunctional train operator two years ago and followed that with this performance as a dysfunctional pilot. I am really looking forward to his work as a dysfunctional zamboni driver when the 2014 Winter Olympics arrive. Where Flight lost me is when Washington's character started as a drunken douche, behaved like a drunken douche the entire movie and then was still (somewhat) redeemed in the end. And he was the only character of note in the entire film. I feel like an opportunity was missed here. I loved the concept; I was frustrated that the movie was 140 minutes of the same thing.
I briefly discussed Zero Dark Thirty's quality in the box office conversation. I am in awe of the movie in that it is as great a procedural as I have ever seen. It eerily mirrors the overriding story arc of a little watched, quickly canceled AMC program called Rubicon. For a lot of people, that's the problem. Nobody watched Rubicon because it was methodical to the point of fault. The glacial pacing prevented Rubicon from becoming a mainstream hit. Zero Dark Thirty hits all the same notes while adding some off-putting torture sequences. It is not the easiest movie to love. I was not bothered by this because I am one of those people who watched every episode of Rubicon. I love the idea of an unsolvable mystery being investigated by the most brilliant detectives the government has found.
The woman who is the basis for Jessica Chastain's character, Maya aka The Girl, is already a legend. The reports that she was denied a promotion a few months ago shocked me. This is the woman whose intel led to bringing Osama Bin Laden to justice. If that isn't worthy of a pay raise, what is? After watching the movie, I understand both sides of the argument. Part of me would feel comfortable naming her as Secretary of Defense tomorrow. Another part of me recognizes that if she were not doing this, she would be a threat to national security because hers is a dangerous mind. Watching her pursuit is gripping and intense.
Zero Dark Thirty is by no means perfect; it is also so clinical that it gives me a chill. My admiration for it is total, though. The one other comment I will make is that I am someone who has watched United 93 many times. I am in awe of what Paul Greengrass accomplished with the movie. Every time I watch it, I am swept up in the action and somehow find myself believing that maybe the people on the plane will be saved in the end. Zero Dark Thirty possesses none of that raw emotion. I believe the movie is damaged a bit by this decision to eschew personalizing most of the events. In my estimation, there are only three moments in it that humanize any of the characters.
Tom Cruise's movies are almost good. I say that as someone who is not a huge fan of the actor inasmuch as I admire his ability to judge a script's potential. I had high hopes for Jack Reacher after watching the trailer. It includes the wonderful moment where Cruise enters a crowd of onlookers who help him avoid a slew of chasing police cars. That's a great bit representative of a movie with a great deal of potential.
What I found myself considering during the movie was that I would LOVE the book from which Jack Reacher is adapted. There are so many clever moments that I recognized how strong the story structure of the novel must be. The movie is something of a mixed bag. I watched this soon after the events of Newtown, Connecticut and I struggled to get past the fetishizing of guns throughout the film. I would have said this even if the mystery of Jack Reacher was about something other than the assassination of multiple strangers. Guns are that much a part of Jack Reacher. Still, I was entertained most of the time and I loved Werner Herzog in a small but crucial role as the creepy villain. I also very much enjoyed his henchman, Jai Courtney, who is about to be handed the keys to the Die Hard franchise in a few months when he plays John McClane Jr. I would recommend Jack Reacher with the caveat that people sensitive to gun violence should wait until the subject matter is less inflammatory.
I also watched a couple of exceptional teen movies. Pitch Perfect and The Perks of Being a Wallflower are both instant classics. Anna Kendrick delivers one of my favorite performances of the year in Pitch Perfect yet I like Emma Watson even more in Wallflower. I cannot believe that two films of this quality were released within months of each other. I strongly endorse both of them, and they could each wind up in my top ten for 2012. The Perks of Being a Wallflower is a mortal lock.
Kim Hollis: I'm always a sucker for musicals, and I'd qualify Pitch Perfect in that category. I just thoroughly enjoyed the film and David is right - Anna Kendrick is just fantastic. I also really happened to like Adam DeVine, the guy who played Bumper (even though I'm pretty sure you're not supposed to like that character at all). I listened to the soundtrack for a couple of days after I watched the movie. It is admittedly a touch corny, but I just don't mind at all.
Jack Reacher was kind of a fallback option after Zero Dark Thirty was so full that only the front row was open, meaning I couldn't watch that movie comfortably. Instead, I went to the theoretically more empty Jack Reacher, though that crowd wound up being surprisingly significant as well. It's a fairly rote procedural, and although Tom Cruise is up to his usual solid performance, his co-star Rosamund Pike is simply dreadful. Like David, I found myself thinking that the book was probably a fun read, and wishing I'd consumed this material that way instead. I will say that Werner Herzog is nice and weird (can Herzog be anything else?).
Taking the procedural idea in an entirely different direction is Zero Dark Thirty, which I did eventually manage to see. It is utterly gripping, albeit cold. If you're looking for rah rah jingoism, you're not really going to get it here, which I think is absolutely the right call for this particular story. I feel a lot of discomfort in cheering for the death of any real-life person (even if I understand the emotions that lead to that sort of response). Yes, Chastain is as good as you've heard (though if I'm choosing Best Actress, Jennifer Lawrence gets my vote for Silver Linings Playbook). What I found most striking about the film is the way it made me reconsider my own belief system. The film is not pro-torture. I'm not saying that. It does take you out of your comfort zone with regards to any preconceived notion you may have, though. I expect that if someone is against torture, they may come away from this film pondering whether it might not be justified in certain circumstances (I still say no, but it's not as easy an answer as I thought it was). I also think if someone was pro-torture, the depiction of it may be rough enough to make it less certain. I really admire the way that Bigelow makes her audiences think.
Flight is a sort of unpleasant movie with a singular performance from Denzel Washington. I would have been happier if the film had not taken what I saw as the easy way out. Without going into too many spoilers, I think there was a way to bring the film to a close that would have been more challenging and thought-provoking. It can be really tough to watch a showcase where the featured character is a wholly unlikable person.
Finally, The Perks of Being a Wallflower is a really wonderful little movie with a warm heart. Emma Watson is indeed a revelation; she has truly grown as a performer. I would be remiss if I did not also mention Ezra Miller, who infuses his character with a great deal of humanity and genuineness. Having just read D.T. Max's biography of David Foster Wallace, I found it to be an interesting bookend for commentary about writers (or potential writers) experiencing depression/mental illness that can be debilitating. It's sort of a bittersweet story, but it really resonates.