The Darjeeling Limited (2007)

I loved Rushmore and I liked The Royal Tenenbaums and I didn't see The Life Aquatic.

I'm not sure what I think about The Darjeeling Limited. Visually, it's lush and colorful and humorous. It was interesting to watch. The shots were framed precisely. The plot was slim and nonsensical. The action was fractured and inscrutable. Some scenes jumped out and others fell flat.

Two things struck me, though. One was a close of up of Angelic Huston. She is getting more beautiful as she gets older. She has one of the most fantastic faces in pictures and her lingering close up is one of the highlights of the film, even though it lasts for less than a minute.

The second thing had to do with those who do good works in foreign lands. In the movie, three brothers end up visiting their mother, who doesn't want to see them. She is living in a convent in Nepal helping orphan children. We later find out that she didn't go to their father's funeral. When they see her, they ask her to come home and she says, "They need me here." That made me think, "But your family needs you too. And, don't you have more responsibility to these people, who you gave birth to, than strangers? If it weren't for you, they wouldn't exist, so if they say they need you, you ought to pay attention."

Whew, it pissed me off then and it still does! Not the point of the movie, though, I suspect.

Rendition (2007)

I watched this on my own and found it a rather draining experience. The story is horrifying and the scenes of torture were torturous. I had to close my eyes in parts. Yet, it wasn't too graphic, rather more emotional and disturbing than violent (but plenty violent too). Of course, the movie had a serious message, and one that I strongly agree with, but I wish they could have figured out a less heavy-handed, direct, "on the nose" way of putting it.

As for the acting, Reese Witherspoon is good but has almost nothing to do in this movie. I prefer her to show some humor. Maybe that's why I enjoyed her first scene, where she plays soccer with her young son and smiles. That's all the smiling we get from her. After that, all we get is lot of close ups of those big, blue, pleading eyes. Most of her acting consisted of being pregnant and walking…very…slowly.

Jake Gyllenhaal, a CIA agent overseeing the questioning of Witherspoon's husband (the person subjected to "extraordinary rendition") in "North Africa" is tormented and inert and by far the best thing in the picture. He is the only one with any moral dilemma and with any shades of grey in his character. Yet, we know very little about him. Like the other characters, he's still a sketch, in service to the message of the film: extraordinary rendition is bad. Did I really need to spend two hours to find that out? Sigh.

25th Hour (2002)

This picture illustrates that the universal is contained in the particular. It tells nothing and shows all in tiny, deliberate movements that give us just enough to work with. Though the story is simple and linear, it key moments are shown in flashbacks. It is the last day of Monty Brogan’s (Ed Norton) life before going to prison for seven years. He spends time with his dog, his girlfriend (Rosario Dawson), his Irish barkeeper father (Brian Cox), and his two oldest friends (Philip Seymour Hoffman and Barry Pepper). The viewer might wish for more of these illustrations, but that would be telling. What makes the movie work so well is that all of the secondary characters have their own internal conflicts. Each is introduced with a few broad strokes that let us know enough about who they are, but more and more is filled in throughout the film. By the end, you totally get it.

There are some beautiful little scenes in this movie. Scenes where the big picture devastation of 9/11 and the little picture devastation of Brogan’s life are contrasted. Each highlights the other and thereby creates a sharper relief. But the film doesn’t put to fine a point on it, it’s just out there. We’re staring at it and it’s staring at us. And there it is, there’s nothing to be done. That’s the problem with life.

Monty could have had a different life, but he didn’t. His friends didn’t stop him, but they feel guilty for not trying. They’re angry at him. They lash out, they sublimate. Just like people do. The universal in the particular. This film give you something to chew on, something to think about and it does it with very little pretense and no flashiness. Who ever said Spike Lee didn’t have a good eye must have been crazy.

Ocean's Thirteen

I love Soderbergh. He can do wrong, but he does more consistently interesting work in Hollywood than any other working director. What he made of this third installment of a nothing movie is impressive. The saturated colors, verging on Technicolor, really worked. I was expecting to admire the pretty faces (Clooney, Pitt, Damon) but I found myself more enchanted by Pitt against an almost midnight blue sky walking to a private jet. Or Damon expressing his frustration via cell phone while walking on a London street so tinged with blue that his hair almost looked black. And the building with the casino/hotel they target--is that building real? It was amazing. I could have looked at the arial shots all day.

None of that is to say that the action was bad (it was good) or the plot was confusing (for a caper film, it was straightforward). My first reaction: it was sufficiently entertaining. For a pleasant escape, it hit the spot.

The Searchers

A classic John Ford (director), John Wayne (lead actor) Western. Did you know that I love Westerns? The Searchers is so good because the story is simple but the motivations are complex. The plot is straightforward, but there is a lot more showing than telling. I also love the scenery. While a lot of the film is shot on sound stages with painted backdrops there are also many breathtaking shots of the southwestern scenery. It's movies like this (or perhaps this movie in particular) that shaped my ideas about what to expect in Texas, New Mexico and Arizona. I've been disappointed to never quite see anything like it in real life.

The story is a about a man, Ethan, and a younger man, Martin, the adopted son of Ethan's brother, who search for Ethan's niece, Debby, who was kidnapped in an Indian raid. The rest of the family was killed. The two men search for years for Debby and their quest is bitter, hopeless and relentless. The world they travel is harsh and unkind. They return to their community every couple of years to a usually warm welcome. They could make a home but Ethan won't give up the search and Martin feels the need to watch him. Why? Martin doesn't trust Ethan, who has a violent temper. Martin is afraid that Ethan would sacrifice Debby's life to seek vengeance on the Indians who took her.

The fascinating part of the movie is the undercurrent (it's not that under, really) of racism towards the Indians. In Ethan's eyes, becoming "one of them" might be worse than being killed. His relationship with Martin is ambivalent, too, because Martin is either 1/4 (according to Ethan) or 1/8 (according to Martin) Indian. Ethan loves and hates Martin. Some say Ethan is John Wayne's best role, better than his Oscar winning performance in True Grit. I think I agree.

Blades of Glory

Good, mindless fun. Not needlessly offensive or homophobic, just gleefully absurd. I would not call it good movie but I laughed a lot and never regretted being there. Escapism at its finest. Thoroughly unmemorable, however.

The Lives of Others (2006)

What a great flick. I wasn't sure if I would like it, given all the great reviews. Good reviews=high expectations and the higher the expectations, the greater the chance of disappointment. However, this is a case where the description of the film is so uninspiring that it's hard to raise expectations too high. The plot revolves around the state police--the Stasi--in East Berlin in the 1980's, right before the wall came down. The Stasi begin monitoring the activities, via surveillance equipment installed in their apartment of a couple: an actress and a director. The film is simple, understated and quite powerful. This one actually deserved the Academy Award--it won for Best Foreign Language Film in 2007.

Shooter (2007)

The saving grace, of course, was the presence of my boy, Marky Mark. He's quite a presence and fun to watch. Less speaking would have been good, though. Dialog was lacking, plot was…questionable, but at least there was plenty of it. Plot rich, anti-Bush action movie, it couldn't be all bad--and it wasn't. It just wasn't great.

Breach (2007)

Breach is a very subdued film. It deals with the worst case of espionage in US history, but there is no particular lack of urgency in the film. The acting, particularly Chris Cooper, is first class. Cooper is an understated wonder. A few review objected to the lack of exposition of his character, but I think that would be telling and Cooper shows you all anyone ever could know about Robert Hanssen, the real FBI agent he portrays. It would be nice to have an explanation for Hanssen's behavior, and the film provides clues, but I don't think it's a question that can be answered--and the film doesn't try. Ryan Phillippe ,who I generally find objectionable gives a quite credible performance. Maybe in another five to ten years, I'll actually start to look forward to seeing him in a picture. Sadly, I think Laura Linney was wasted--and the stereotyping of her as a bitter, lonely, cat-owner was completely egregious. Please! Could we see a little admiration for a woman who makes as a senior agent at the FBI, a notoriously patriarchal organization?

This was a well-crafted film, and not bad watching, but I didn't love it.

Music and Lyrics (2007)

I liked this movie. It's a somewhat unusual romantic comedy. It centers almost completely on the creative process of writing a song. I know nothing about song writing, so I don't know if it could happen as portrayed in the film, but I bought it. Also, the chemistry between the leads--Hugh Grant and Drew Barrymore--is palpable. I loved the way Grant played this--his character could have been smarmy and smug, but (full credit to the writers) he's a charming, lovable, not-quite-past-his-prime, hack. Someone who is actually content being a has-been. Willing to coast along, living a comfortable life, drawing on past glories and not getting too cynical or bitter about it. It's refreshing. And Barrymore, well, these days she can really do no wrong. But is she doing enough? I like her in comedies, but why isn't she a stronger lead, why isn't she getting bigger parts? Does no one know how to write for women? Oh, right, never mind. This was a fun and satisfying watch; I recommend it.

A note on my pet peeve regarding the age gap between male and female leads: the one here is quite wide (15 years). However, it's integral to the plot, so no objections.

Notes On A Scandal (2006)

This film had some chilling moments. Judi Dench was wonderful in that severe, imperious way of hers. Bill Nighy was wasted, but good whenever he was on screen. Cate Blanchett practically glowed in this picture. Her fatal flaw, I think, was being a little stupid. Maybe self-absorbed? Or stupid because she was self-absorbed? Something like that. I didn't find this a very deep film, but neither was it pretentious. I wouldn't want to see it again, but I liked it a lot more than I expected. The acting was great, especially because we Americans love to watch the way the Brits do it. The substance of the film was week, though. Not bad, not great, not a classic.

Children of Men (2006)

Watching this film was a visceral experience. Many moments drew you uncomfortably into the scene and left you feeling shaky and on edge. One of the last scenes rivals the terror of most any war movie I've ever watched. Clive Owen was fantastic and I have no complaints about any of the other performances. The plot was fascinating and engaging--and grim and depressing. It was a mystery story, but the central mystery was never resolved. Really, that's the best way. It's just there, fueling the action, never to be questioned or fully understood. It gave the audience something to gnaw on but didn't distract from the action. You just had to accept it and see how such a fact might change the world. Yet, it didn't feel like a sci-fi or a mystery film. A good example of how "genre" movies can do a lot more if we let them. I definitely recommend it.

Pan's Labyrinth (2006)

A surprisingly enjoyable film. Don't be fooled by the preview--it's in Spanish, with subtitles, though I don't think that detracts at all from the film. The cinematography is luscious and eerie, bizarre and fantastical. The story is grim and sad and totally engaging. You don't need to separate fantasy from reality--it's just as enjoyable to watch not knowing where the boundaries are. It makes the incredibly sad ending a bit easier to take than it would be otherwise. The fantasy softens the blow.

I didn't realize until later that the sadistic military man in the center of the picture is the usually handsome and charming Sergi López. He transforms into an ugly man for this role. That's pretty good acting.

Night Nurse (1931) & The Bitter Tea of General Yen (1933)

The AFI had a double feature this weekend of of two early Barbara Stanwyck films. Being an old movie enthusiast, I've seen many of Stanwyck's films, but I wouldn't count her as one of my favorite actresses. I adore Ingrid Bergman, Katherine Hepburn, Jean Arthur, Judy Holiday, Claudette Colbert, Lauren Bacall, Marilyn Monroe.... But Barbara Stanwyck (born Ruby Stevens)? I wouldn't usually include her. Yet, she's in some of my favorite movies, or at least one, The Lady Eve. And she's in many more that I greatly enjoy. I think I need to add her to the list.

These two early films were quite entertaining. Night Nurse works mostly as a historical document of how nurses used to be trained. The plot gets complicated in the second half of the film and Clark Gable makes an appearance as a heavy. Not a great film, but fun.

The second feature, The Bitter Tea of General Yen, was a lot more interesting and a thousand times more bizarre than the first. The film is set in Shanghai during a civil war. The young American heroine is kidnapped by a renegade Chinese general. There is plenty to object to in the portrayal of the Chinese in this film, but in some ways it's rather progressive. And the ending is...unexpected. It's certainly interesting enough to recommend but beware of the racial stereotyping.