Ben's Movie Reviews

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Haywire (AFI Film Fest 2011)

Perhaps it was fate that Steven Soderbergh's 25th feature film should premiere at the 25th annual AFI Film Festival in Los Angeles this weekend. As AFI President Bob Gazzale pointed out during his introduction of the director at Sunday night's secret screening, Soderbergh has certainly made a huge mark on the American film landscape over the course of his career. He invigorated the independent film movement of the early 90s with sex, lies, and videotape, and is equally adept at making slick studio movies like the Ocean's 11 series or blazing his own trail with boundary-pushing cinema like The Girlfriend Experience or his two-part Che Guevara biopic. With his newest film, Haywire, the prolific director brings his signature style to an unfamiliar arena: the action/spy genre.

Haywire
Director: Steven Soderbergh
Starring: Gina Carano, Michael Fassbender, Ewan McGregor, Michael Douglas

Since Soderbergh decided to build a film entirely around her, it's only fair to begin with discussion of Gina Carano, the MMA fighter-turned-actress who plays the lead in the film. Haywire is Carano's first acting gig, and while I admire her director's ballsiness to have an unknown lead a multi-million dollar film like this, Carano is ill-equipped to handle the pressure. She's serviceable, but doesn't ever display a personality for the audience to latch onto; it appears as if she doesn't care whether she lives or dies, so why should we? The audience has to be able to find an emotional connection to this character for the story to operate as intended, and Carano's performance didn't do that for me. She totally kicks ass in the action sequences - more on that in a minute - but dramatically, she was flat and impersonal.

The film's spectacular introduction takes place in a small diner in upstate New York: a fight breaks out between secret agent Mallory Kane (Carano) and her ex co-worker Henry (Channing Tatum). A random kid (Michael Angarano) steps in to intervene on Mallory's behalf, and they escape, using the kid's car to get away. During the drive, Mallory explains and the movie employs flashbacks to reveal the story: a mission in Barcelona went south, so she's teamed with a new agent (Michael Fassbender) in Dublin. Things go further south, and Mallory takes it upon herself to find out who set her up and why, with the bureaucracy's (Michael Douglas and Ewan McGregor) motivations becoming increasingly murky thanks to their ties to a shady political type (Antonio Banderas). Catching back up to the current timeline, Mallory spends the rest of the movie working out and executing her plan to find the truth through any means necessary: which, thankfully for action fans, means kicking some serious ass along the way.

The story, as you can probably tell, is fairly straightforward. But it's not as much about the plot as the style, which is 100% Soderbergh in every way. Lighting, mood, tone, visuals - he applies his trademark to this genre the same as he did with the world virus genre earlier this year in Contagion, and the effect is similar here. Neither film would be considered the best in its respective genre, but there's something comforting in the knowledge of having a Soderbergh effort mixed in with the blandness of many other attempts. The director also continues his great collaboration with composers who create fantastic pieces that perfectly match the vibe of his films. In Haywire, David Holmes' bossa nova score is full of horns and brass - it's big band with an attitude. There are extended sequences in the film that are dialogue-free and rely on the score and the occasional muted sound effect to propel the story (a wise filmmaking decision, considering the limitations of the lead actress).

The action is often shot in long takes and brutally close confinement, leaving the actors to perform their own fights mostly without the aid of stuntmen. There are many times it appears as if they are actually being violently hit in the face, proof of the excellent Bourne-esque fight choreography. It's in these moments, as one may imagine, that Carano's true talent is demonstrated. She's quick, efficient, and powerful, and her deft movements and handsome beauty make it easy to understand Soderbergh's desire to set her as the star of her own action film.

Haywire is a departure from more heady subject matter for the director, but I believe it's a justified jaunt into unfamiliar territory. Gina Carano's star power is yet to be measured, but even if she isn't the most effective actress, it's still a pleasure to watch a director with so much craftsmanship put these pieces together to add to the genre. Just don't count on a sequel. Until next time...

Monday, November 7, 2011

My Week With Marilyn (AFI Film Fest 2011)

My Week With Marilyn is an all-out prestige picture if there ever was one. Based on the memoir of a young man who fell in love with Marilyn Monroe during his first film job, it's a real life story that practically has "Oscar" etched across every frame. It's a movie about making movies, and features larger-than-life performances of real Hollywood stars by real Hollywood stars. But putting all of that aside, the film itself is pretty damn good.

My Week With Marilyn
Director: Simon Curtis
Starring: Michelle Williams, Kenneth Branagh, Eddie Redmayne

23-year-old Colin Clark (Eddie Redmayne) wants to get into film production. Thanks to the connections of his wealthy parents, he joins Laurence Olivier's (Kenneth Branagh) production company as Olivier's personal assistant and 3rd AD on a new film, The Prince and the Showgirl. The film is set to star Marilyn Monroe (Michelle Williams), and the media frenzy builds as Marilyn comes to England for the first time. She's not only there for the film, though: she's celebrating her honeymoon with playwright Arthur Miller (Dougray Scott). But when Miller heads back to the States, Marilyn and Colin develop a relationship that changes Colin's life forever.

Last year, I was privileged enough to see the world premiere of David O. Russell's The Fighter. I knew I was seeing something special when Christian Bale came on screen, and everyone knew he gave an award-winning performance. I felt similarly about watching Michelle Williams here. It helps that she has the stunning physical similarity to Monroe, but the actress also has an undefinable magnetism that is absolutely mesmerizing. Behind the vibrant eyes of "the most famous woman in the world" is the broken soul of a little girl who doesn't want to be abandoned.

My Week With Marilyn is more about the nature of celebrity than the creation of art. Most of the problems I had with it involve the messages and themes being presented a bit too obviously, which make similar films that tackle the same concepts with subtlety even more impressive (see: The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford). Once, during one of many of Marilyn and Colin's dalliances, a crowd of people forms when they realize Marilyn is among them. She turns to Colin and asks, "Shall I be her?" It's a tiny line, but it reveals a great deal about her mental state: she has created a public persona, and though she occasionally feels trapped by the responsibility that comes along with that, she also (like any true star) relishes the limelight and can't contemplate giving it all up.

While the movie is primarily a drama, there are also some nicely drawn comedic moments. The conflicts between Olivier and Monroe's acting styles provide some good laughs, and Branagh's exasperated bewilderment is one of the joys of the film. Judi Dench's performance is a highlight - she plays a selfless actress who sees the potential in Monroe and helps her out when Olivier's patience runs thin on set. But it's not all fun and games: this movie has some major flaws. A pointless narration bookends the film with unnecessary explanations of the lead character's thoughts. A subplot involving a relationship between Colin and Lucy (Emma Roberts), a cute stagehand working at the film studio, goes nowhere and is later brought back as if it means something important. The script has really interesting ideas in it, but seems hampered by its by-the-numbers telling of the story.

A week with Marilyn may have changed Colin's life, but I'm not so sure it'll change ours. The cast is outstanding, Simon Curtis' direction is strong, and the score (by Conrad Pope and Alexandre Desplat) fits the mood perfectly, but the film's lack of subtlety hurts it in the end. Still, it's a really solid film that comes together quite well, and Michelle Williams does some of the best work of anyone I've seen this year on film. Until next time...

A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas

It's been a few years since we've last seen Harold and Kumar, the lovable, pot-smoking modern day Cheech and Chong, on the big screen. This third installment in the series isn't quite as funny as its predecessors; it sacrifices a few laughs for some legitimately heartfelt character moments that shouldn't disappoint fans of the franchise.

A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas
Director: Todd Strauss-Schulson
Starring: John Cho, Kal Penn, Neil Patrick Harris

Six years after their last adventure, Harold (John Cho) lives in a big house, has a great job, and is happily married to his dream girl Maria (Paula Garces). Kumar (Kal Penn) still lives in a filthy apartment, buys weed from department store Santas, and constantly looks to get high. Maria's Christmas-obsessed father (Danny Trejo) brings a special Christmas tree to Harold's house, and leaves Harold in charge of decorating it while the rest of the family goes to midnight mass. When a mysterious package intended for Harold arrives on Kumar's door, he delivers it and accidentally burns down the tree in the process, paving the way for the rest of the film as the duo reunite for another "one crazy night" adventure to obtain a new tree in time.

For a movie so closely associated with the stoner genre, the leads actually spend very little time smoking in this movie. For the druggies in the audience who came to see 3D under the influence, the filmmakers decided to bring in some supporting characters to help out in that department. Thomas Lennon, who plays Harold's uptight best friend, gets involved in the proceedings and brings along his baby daughter, who, over the course of the film, ends up taking multiple drugs and comically exhibiting their effects. Like I said - this one isn't as funny as the first two movies. Kumar's also got a friend, a younger kid who takes everyone to a party so - in a classic road trip subplot - he can meet (and have sex with, naturally) a girl he met online. As you'd expect, the whole thing gets out of control really quickly, and our heroes move forward to accomplish their goal.

Surprisingly, A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas is less about getting high and making holiday jokes than about friendship, growing up, and taking responsibility for your actions. Harold and Kumar have serious conversations and address real topics amid their ridiculous antics, discussing what causes friends to drift apart and many other things. Then Harold shoots the real Santa Claus in the face with a shotgun, and everyone remembers what movie we're actually watching here. The drama is pretty heartwarming if you're familiar with the history of what these guys have been through, and the addition of a toy called the Wafflebot alternately provides "aww" and "aw, sh*t!" moments.

And don't you worry - NPH is back with a fantastic musical number and a hilarious, irreverent explanation of how he's still alive after the events of the last movie. The writers even bring his personal life into things this time, suggesting that he's faking being gay with his public persona in order to lure women into a false sense of security so he can seduce them.

If your holiday list consists of seeing cocaine rain from the sky in a slow motion sequence while "White Christmas" plays in the background, you can check it (twice). A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas is both naughty and nice: a crazy Christmas film and a heartfelt installment in this series, all tied up with the nice bow of gimmick 3D. Until next time...