Films I Watched - January, 2009
Submitted by lbangs on Fri, 01/02/2009 - 05:14
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- 1/1 - Doubt - This film has a pretty good screenplay and some fine acting, but it doesn't really add up to much major. I suspect the lack of a capable director hinders it beyond remedy. Shanley, the author of the play this springs from, is bluntly clunky in the cinema. His angles are too random, and his horrible choice to film the feathers floating about reeks of fear, fear of crafting a film critics might call too stagey. He efforts to combat this are ineffective and distracting. Streep is amazing, creating one of the sharpest characters of the year (in a perfect world, she and Leo would be duking it out for the Oscar), and Hoffman strives to add more dimension to an under-written role. In fact, despite the impressive dialogue and weighty themes, the screenplay's one flaw is the flatness of nearly everybody other than the nuns. The lofty ideas are cared for more than the people whose actions generate the themes, and that poor focus joins the clumsy direction to wrestle this great film to the ground, leaving it, once the dust clears, merely a good one. ***
- 1/2 - Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father - You just won't believe this searing, savage protest documentary. The director, Kurt Kuenne, is a mad man, and have no doubt, he names names. His best friend, Andrew Bagby, was shot to death by an ex-girlfriend. She fled the country to her home in Canada, where the government drags its feet extraditing her for trial in the United States. Bagby's friend and family are devastated by the murder, but then, the girlfriend reveals she is pregnant with his baby. And then things just get more bizarre. The film has two purposes. First, Kuenne wants Bagby's son to know his father, and the massive amount of interviews with friends and family help pull off this purpose quite well. Second, this is a splash of acidic anger in the face of everybody who let these events unwind the way they did. The system failed horribly, and Kuenne uses every cinematic device at his disposal to show exactly who did what and how it all contributed to this terror. Not every device works, but not every one has to. The story is powerful, and the director more often than not wrings it for all it is worth. This one will infuriate you and possibly scar you, so beware. ****
- 1/4 - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - Hearing of the pairing of David Fincher's direction with a script from the guy who wrote Forrest Gump, you'd expect a slightly schizophrenic film as the result. This film does better than those expectations, perhaps, but only barely. There are some undeniably effective emotional moments here, but there is also a world of trouble and a few too many teaspoons of sugar on top. You can carp on the emotional distance between the audience and the title character, but that actually works. It is highlighting his own detachment as a man who is born elderly and grows younger as time passes. This device sounds promising and dangerous, and the results are mixed and muddled. The reverse aging is not always convincing (he starts around 85 and seems to hit 60 in about 18 years, then lingers around 50 forever before ending up looking in his early 30s when he is meant to appear ten years older, and internal logic doesn't explain why he is born old yet the size of a baby, grows taller, and then reverts in height as he nears death (and thus, childhood)), and frankly, the device isn't milked of its full worth until near the end. The central relationship in the film isn't really convincing in the pivotal early stages, and that robs some of the later scenes of the full effect they should carry. So, you ultimately have as odd film, frustrating and flawed yet still able to yank mightily at the heartstrings at moments. Unfortunately, this means it will play better in the theater than in the memory, and while this is generating Oscar buzz, this film, like many of the other films flaunting award promises this year, is ultimately disappointing. ***
Author Comments:
I'm rating the films on a zero to four star basis. ** 1/2 is average.
I'm impressed that you were actually able to keep track of the age Benjamin Button was supposed to be versus the age he looked like. I made some attempt at doing so early on in the film, realized it would just confuse me, and gave up even thinking about it.
With a couple exceptions, I agree with you that the likely Oscar nominees have been good but disappointing (Ben Button more disappointing than most, I think), but I do wish I had caught Dear Zachary when it was still in theaters near me. I think the title, which makes it sound like a much more saccharine film than it is, may have scared me away from finding out more about it.
Well, I didn't see the film alone, so four eyes did a better job of tracking the age than my two alone could have done...
I still have high hopes for a few films that haven't hit my town yet, but yes, the Oscar-hyped films so far are all good films, but not great or exciting. Of the five I hear are the most likely to get picture nods, I guess Milk is the only one to inspire more than a mildly good reaction in me...
Shalom, y'all!
L. Bangs
Oh, I truly believe that The Dark Knight is going to snag a nomination. I feel that its awards campaign, its impact, and its high gross will be too significant to ignore, not to mention Heath Ledger. Might seem like a longshot by conventional standards, but hey, the Gurus of Gold have agreed with me for some time.
I'd be thrilled, and I haven't really starting predicting yet, but I admit even at this point I'd be surprised if it snaked in there.
I'd love it, though, and the gurus no doubt know more than I do!
Shalom, y'all!
L. Bangs