Crazy Heart

My apologies for not having posted anything during the past week or so... I was away in Greece visiting my sister and her two little children - no time for movies!  I'm back in freezing cold Switzerland now and after having watched the Oscars, its many surprises (Hurt Locker!!!!), and funny banter between Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin, decided to see Crazy Heart to find out if Jeff Bridges really was so outstanding.

He plays the role of Bad Blake, a very talented country musician who has struggled his entire life with alcoholism and therefore finds himself broke and aimlessly touring the country, playing in dodgy venues, at around 60 years of age.  During one such stop over he meets Jean (Maggie Gyllenhaal, also nominated for an Oscar as best supporting actress), a pretty, young journalist who wants to interview him.

Jean comes across as slightly needy and lonely, the type who is drawn to the wrong kind of guys.  She surrenders quickly to Bad's charisma and they end up falling heavily for each other. Their chemistry is extremely believable and almost palpable at times.  I very much enjoyed their on-screen time together.

But Jean is also the mother of a four year old boy and problems arise as Bad's alcoholism severely gets in the way of the development of a healthy relationship between them.  She is infatuated by him and admires him, trying to see past his weaknesses and addiction, but must protect what she loves most, her son.  Bad wants to turn his life around, unmasking his softer side as he desperately searches for some joy and comfort, but as one line in the film goes, "it's too little, too late". 

Colin Farrell does a surprising and commendable representation of Tommy, a famous and thriving country singer who learned what he knows from Bad and tries to help him in his career.  They both sing quite remarkably and most of all make it look very, very natural.  I'm not a lover of country music but I found the tracks enjoyable, particularly "The Weary Kind" which won an Oscar for best original song.

Jeff Bridges sings and performs with ease and seems to have been made for this role.  His Oscar is very well deserved and the movie satisfying without being a masterpiece.  Bridges' strong and impressive performance is what really carries this film.

My rating: 7
Fabio's: 7
Total score: 14

The Greatest

The Greatest, starring Pierce Brosnan, Susan Sarandon, and Carey Mulligan (An Education), is a relatively unknown movie by a first time director (Shana Feste) that is nevertheless quite good.  It is so little known that I have been unable to track down the movie poster (I think it may not even have come out yet in the States).

Brosnan and Sarandon are married and play the grief stricken parents of two teenage boys, one of whom dies suddenly in a horrific traffic accident at the very beginning of the film.  Sarandon is excellent and demonstrates she is a superior actress in her portrayal of a mother grieving I would almost say to the extreme.  She is haunted by what happened to her son, by the fact that he stayed alive for 17 minutes and that she was not there to help him.  She simply cannot get over the loss and resents her husband for moving on so quickly.  A very poignant scene occurs when he offers her a bell, a sort of tool to help her with her grief, and tells her to ring it each time she thinks of their deceased son.  She takes the bell from him and starts ringing it- non-stop.  This and many other moments were extremely sad, showing how people cope with loss in very different ways.

Things get even more complicated with the early appearance of Carey Mulligan's character, the girlfriend of the late young man, and her surprise announcement.  This leads to even more sadness and hurtful reminders for the mother, but also a certain easing of the pain for the father, which inevitably results in great tension between the couple.  Sarandon gets especially furious, distressed and jealous when, trying to reach her husband during a break down, she finds his phone turned off and learns subsequently that he had gone to the movies with the young girl.  The scene escalates so much with an almost silent force that Brosnan picks her up and throws her fully clothed into the ocean, to awaken her and make her see that her anguish is unreasonable and causing pain to the rest of the living members of their family. 

The younger brother, appearing almost indifferent at first, succumbs to his emotions in the second half of the movie.  The father, who keeps a cool demeanor and tries to hold the family together through his strength also finally collapses and interestingly, Sarandon picks up where he left off and comforts him, telling him that their son did not suffer.  The whole family and their links are very credible and Brosnan astonished me by being particularly realistic. 

Even if this movie is almost painful to watch due to the difficult subject matter, it is very well acted and written, making it extremely emotional and powerful.   It ends well so do not be too afraid, but if you are a crier, a tear or two will definitely be shed. 

My rating: 8
Fabio's: 7.5
Total score: 15.5

Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day, Garry Marshall's (Pretty Woman) latest movie packs in an all star cast.  In alphabetical order: Jessica Alba, Kathy Bates, Jessica Biel, Bradley Cooper, Eric Dane and Patrick Dempsey from Grey's Anatomy, Jamie Foxx, Jennifer Garner, Topher Grace, Anne Hathaway, Ashton Kutcher, Queen Latifah, Taylor Lautner (Twilight), Shirley MacLaine, Julia Roberts, Taylor Swift and more, all share the spotlight in this messy romantic comedy.  Unfortunately, an ensemble as strong as this one does not suffice to make Valentine's Day a film worth seeing.

If you are expecting a light, airy, fun romantic comedy like I was you will be disappointed because this was neither very romantic nor very funny. Everywhere you look you will see a beautiful, famous, smiling actor but the film is extremely shallow with a terrible plot and very little character development.  We follow the intertwining lives and love tribulations of many different couples and singles as they handle the joys, and mostly the burdens, of Valentine's Day. Lots of people are saying it and it is true, the film is a knock-off of Love Actually, except much worse. 

Ashton Kutcher, a heartbroken florist, and Jennifer Garner who plays his best friend, have the most screen time.  Their acting is typical and what is happening to them remotely interesting compared to the dozen or so other subplots.  But the scene where Garner pretends to be a waitress to confront her lying boyfriend (who proceeds to choke on his drink, what else...) while he is having a meal with his wife was just too much.  Anne Hathaway as an undercover phone sex entertainer was absurd, as was Queen Latifah, her boss who overhears a raunchy conversation but lets her carry on and even takes a call herself.  Bradley Cooper's character, though charming, was absolutely not credible- from his sweet, flirtatious interactions with Julia Roberts on the plane, to the final surprise revelation. The teenage high school couples were dreadful to watch, especially the part where one of the boys gets caught naked with only a guitar for cover by his girlfriend's mother.  Like the rest of the cast, even the cute, little boy had a ridiculously predictable role and it was clear from the start who he was in love with.  It's a pity to see so much talent go to waste, particularly Julia Roberts who really does not belong in this chaos.

The second half of the movie was even worse than the first and started veering towards the outrageous during a male bashing dinner party that single and disgruntled Jessica Biel hosts yearly (who organizes an "I hate Valentine's Day" dinner in the same room as a wedding is taking place???).  Things really started to go downhill for me at that point and the last 30 minutes or so I was literally rolling my eyes to myself.

There were too many actors, too many side plots, none of which were engaging or developed enough.  Of course, everything ties together nicely and neatly at the end, like a Valentine's Day gift with a bow.  But don't be fooled, this movie is no present.  If you have nothing better to do, go ahead and watch it.  Otherwise, treat yourself to a nice romantic evening with your loved one or by yourself.  It will be time much better spent. 


My rating: 5

Capitalism: A Love Story

Capitalism: A Love Story, is Michael Moore's latest exposing documentary.  After taking on General Motors, the Bush Administration, and the health care industry in some of his previous films, he this time tackles the issues of greed, capitalism and corporate dominance.  He shows us real life examples of people losing their homes, jobs, savings and hope, powerless in front of the great, evil, out of control machine that capitalism has become. 

As is his habit, Moore narrates and conducts his own interviews.  There are funny bits, like when he asks a few bankers to define derivatives and credit default swaps and no one seems able to give an explanation that makes any sense.  Other parts were more repetitive such as when he visits the headquarters of big banks with yellow "Crime Scene" tape and tries coming into the buildings to make "citizen's arrests".  This was mildly funny for a few moments but it came up too many times throughout the film.  Also I found that the footage of what happened to some hard working Americans- though very sad- was not edited enough and too long.

The rest of the movie highlights what led the United States to the grim financial situation it is in now- going back to FDR and his proposal for a Second Bill of Rights guaranteeing certain basic economic freedoms, through a more comfortable time for the middle class in the 1950's, followed by immense deregulation during the Reagan years which resulted in gambling by financial institutions, enormous inequalities between the rich and the poor (the part about low pilot salaries was particularly frightening) and finishing with the icing on the cake, the huge tax payer funded bailouts.  

Overall this film is a very important one to have made and to be watched but I did not think it was one of Moore's finest.  I am not in love with it nor am I sufficiently outraged by what I learned.  The movie felt flat.  In my opinion it went to too much length to prove a point we already know- greed is not good.  

My rating: 6
Fabio's: 6
Total score: 12

Jaffa

Jaffa, an Israeli film whose title refers to a part of Tel Aviv, is an excellent and moving drama.  I wish movies like this got more press and had more fame.  The story is sad, realistic and compelling.

The movie begins in the family owned garage of an Israeli family, where father, son Meir, and daughter Mali, work alongside a young Palestinian named Toufik.  Meir is not the model son- rebellious, angry, ungrateful and disrespectful towards his parents and everybody else, he steals the attention from his quiet younger sister.  No one suspects that she is having a love affair with Toufik and that they are secretly planning on getting married.

Religious and other tensions start building between the two young men, Meir and Toufik, and the outcome is shocking and devastating. Mali makes an extremely difficult sacrifice, depriving herself of a normal life by keeping hidden a truth which only she knows.

All of the actors are magnificent.  The father is particularly memorable, always kind, trying at times to be a little bit stern, understanding of everyone throughout the film until his final, harsh condemnation.  The ending is extremely powerful- completely unexpected and expected at the same time.  Mali finally makes a choice for herself and we are left hoping that her life will be a happy one.  

This film brought me to tears on several occasions.  I watched it without Fabio as I wasn't sure what to expect and now highly recommend it to him and all my readers.

My rating: 9/10

Shutter Island

I hated this movie!!!!!  It was dark, gloomy, repetitive and uninteresting.  I thought I would probably not love it based on the trailer but still expected more from a Martin Scorsese film.  I am not sure why it is getting such rave reviews; it really surpasses me what people saw in it.

The thriller is set in the 1950's, with Leonardo DiCaprio interpreting a U.S. Marshal, and Mark Ruffalo as his partner.  Together they are investigating the disappearance of a dangerous inmate from an insane asylum on the very isolated Shutter Island.

The atmosphere and music are ominous from the start, much like the opening scenes of Scorsese's 1991 Cape Fear.  It rains constantly on Shutter Island and the decor is conveniently populated with cliffs and a towering lighthouse where a dramatic (if somewhat disappointing) plot twist later takes place. 

There are lots of twists and turns and psychological unraveling on the part of DiCaprio's character.  He is haunted by flashbacks of scenes he witnessed of concentration camps during WW2, and visions of his murdered wife played by Michelle Williams.  DiCaprio's performance was skillful and talented, as was Ruffalo's.  Ben Kingsley was appropriately dramatic in his portrayal of the chief psychiatrist at the institution.

The movie carried on for quite long and its ambiguous ending was not enough to redeem its exasperating, overly paranoid quality which veered too much towards the horror genre for my taste.  More boring than horrifying, I give it a 3.

My rating: 3/10
Fabio's: 4/10
Total score: 7/20

Arranged

A fellow blog reader suggested that I watch "Arranged" (2007).  It is a very nice film that I definitely recommend as well.

Arranged is about the friendship between two women- Rochel, an Orthodox Jewish school teacher and Nosira, a Muslim one.  The acting was very strong and credible and the story absorbing as the womens' relationship develops against all odds.  They find similarities in their situations despite great cultural and religious divides and solace in the fact that their parents are trying to arrange marriages for both of them with candidates who as the name implies, they cannot choose.

The actresses who portray Rochel and Nosira are beautiful inside and out and made this film a true pleasure to watch.  The ending was uplifting and charming; the movie all around very enjoyable.

My rating: 8