Dec. 26, 2012 UPDATE:
** NEW Django
Unchained
I’m
always torn after watching a Quentin Tarantino movie. They are imminently watchable and entertaining
yet they are also inordinately violent and bloody---ALWAYS, and this movie is
no exception. HOWEVER, except for a fight
to the death scene between mandingo slaves wherein I hid my eyes, I found that
while there was lots of shooting and lots of spraying blood, I….LAUGHED. It—the shootings and blood—were comic-book
like exaggeration, as if INTENDED to elicit amusement. And you really did not see gruesomely graphic
close-ups corpses of bodily mayhem.
Just justice-be-done freed slave Django (Jamie Foxx) and his benefactor,
Dr. Schultz (the INCREDIBLE! Christoph Waltz) taking aim at the bad guys with obviously
fake blood spraying everywhere as bullets splayed through the devil flesh that
by God deserved TO be shot!
Though
there is nothing funny at all about slavery and while one can argue the righteousness
of making a movie about slavery that has humor as an essential element the fact
is that there are tons of laughs in this movie.
And that is how this movie works for me:
satisfying justice, a la Inglorious
Basterds, in what is basically a comic movie. If you can stand more than a fair amount of
shooting and blood you will whiz through this 2 hour and 46 minute movie. Just get the large popcorn—no butter, water
instead of soda!—and refill in the middle.
But it’s strictly for laughs, and entertainment. Outside of Waltz, and to a lesser degree Samuel L. Jackson, DeCaprio and Foxx, there is nothing “great”
about this movie.
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The
only thing I love more than movies, is movie POPCORN! And that’s a good thing, because quite
frankly most movies are just not very good, and vastly, vastly over-hyped and
overrated. But even in many of those,
one can appreciate a lot about it—whether the scenery, some great lines, the
action and special effects, the music, an actor or actress who happened to
shine. I can also appreciate all the
behind-the-scenes work that went into getting this particular movie in front of
me.
But if
none of this is sufficient to have you part with upwards of $10 and 2 hours to
see a movie and you want to know a really GOOD movie, this review list is for
you.
FIRST, a word about my subjective
criteria for a GOOD movie (that is, what I like, not technical experts like the
“Academy” many of whose choices for Best Picture I find simply disgusting—like
No Country for Old Men, like The Hurt Locker, like American Beauty, just for
instance). “Good” is the minimum. When I say “Great” then in my estimation, the
performance is much above the average.
This criteria will fit most movie genres:
1)
Compelling
story line—one that keeps your interest, and also one that is plausible, even
though it may be remotely so.
2)
Good acting—period, end. And not just the main actors, but even to the
most minor background characters.
3)
Moving dialogue—seamless, efficient (no wasted,
irrelevant banter or lulls!!)
4)
Visual beauty—usually means COLOR, even if it is
the rich wooden chairs in San Francisco’s Union Station, or the authentic red
bricks of an old Manhattan brownstone.
More often it includes some panoramic outdoors scene, but always, from
beginning to end—interesting visuals.
5)
In general—NO VIOLENCE, or at least none that is
excessive, either in quantity or content (graphics). NO movie will make my list where in body
parts are severed by madmen/women, or where over-the-top violence is prominent.
6)
HAPPY, at least, satisfying endings, which is to
say, fitting with the storyline, even if a surprise.
7)
GRAVY—the BEST of the best movies INSPIRE as
well as do all the above.
Now, on to the movies, starting
with the newest releases that I have seen:
LIFE OVER 40
Wayyyy
overrated. There are some humorous lines
and ultimately a fairly good ending, but the torture of getting there is not
even close to being worth it. Corny
slapstick, unnecessary dialogue, overdone clichés, gratuitous raunch abound. Capturing what turning 40 may be like for MWK
(married with kids) families is to be expected, but BIG DEAL, we already KNOW
that. Don’t waste your money unless,
like me, you just need something to watch while taking care of your popcorn
fix.
LINCOLN
Very
good. Acting is incomparable. You see Daniel-Day Lewis, you SEE
Lincoln. All the acting is just
terrific, from Tommy Lee Jones, to Sally Fields, spot on. One reason for this is the TERRIFIC
costuming, makeup and period detail.
The photography, the color, the storyline—which details Lincoln’s
prodigious work to get the House of Representatives to pass 13th
Amendment outlawing slavery. No surprise
that this is a near-masterpiece—Steven Spielberg directs. Not a masterpiece because it is too long, the
story, while extremely important and true, is but a portion of what moved this
nation forward out of slavery. A picture
that would have successfully captured Lincoln from beginning to end may well
have qualified for the “masterpiece” label.
Life of Pi
Very
good. From the best-selling book, this
is a never-a-dull moment story with a surprise ending. Some of the most compelling visuals in a
movie that I have seen in a long time, to match great acting. The young actor who plays the prime
character--who is stuck with a tiger on a lifeboat after the ship he and his
family were on from India to America capsized—was not even an actor! It was his first acting gig of ANY KIND! And he was terrific. Great story, great movie.
Skyfall
Ugh. No Bond movie should be mired in dust and
dirt. No Bond movie should be devoid of
humor. This is one sad affair. The makers seem to think that over-the-top
wrecks and blow-em-up scenes are enough to carry a movie. The fact is great movies need none of
that. I challenge anybody to cite more
than a couple of lines that elicit a laugh.
Even the couple that do are anemic.
In all, a bad movie, made worse because it carries the 007 legacy. I needed to see the first Sean Connery Bond
flick I could find to wash the taste of this muck out of my mouth.
Jack Reacher
Don’t. Just don’t.
More violence, less humor. For me
the highlight was watching the beautiful actress Rosamund Pike. A good mystery, but that’s not enough to save
it.
The Hobbit…
Don’t
know, didn’t see it, and won’t see it.
The reason I write this review is that because I HAVE seen the previous
Hobbits I know what it’s basically about:
pure fantasy/fiction, with parallel real world moral relevance. So what—there’s plenty of that in plausible,
everyday real world life. I will assume
the visuals, graphics and special effects are stunning. The acting and storyline, as far as fantasies
go, are probably top notch too. If
that’s your schtick, go for it! But the
mere hype and hoopla surrounding this movie as with the other Hobbits—AND LIKE
OTHER SUCH LOSERS (except at the box office) as Batman and Harry Potter—make it
thoroughly unappealing to me.
Taken 2
Good! Not as good as the first Taken, but good
nonetheless. Although this would seem to
violate my “no violence” rule, the violence is herky-jerky close up so you
really don’t see actual blood and guts gore.
Liam Neeson is just an outstanding actor. Maggie Grace shines. The bad guys are believable. On scene locations in Istanbul. One of the best car chase scenes you will
ever see. And a good-guy-wins-in-the-end
sense of satisfaction. Enjoy!
Loopers
Ho hum,
yet more violence, darkness, sadness.
Nothing to redeem this movie except the ending.
Alex Cross
Horrible. Most of Tyler Perry’s stuff is
outstanding. This one is just bad. Severed body parts is enough to nix this from
my list. There is just nothing to relish
in this, while the violence is disgusting.
End of Watch
Don’t
even start. Violence, violence, violence
to NO GOOD END. Disgusting!
I have to end on a positive note so re-visit one from last
Christmas that was recently on cable:
War Horse
An
outstanding movie by any measure!
Storyline, setting, scenery, period detail, ACTING and a horse with more
character and charisma than all but the leading classy male stars (i.e. Gregory
Peck, Cary Grant, Andy Griffith). The
abundant heart and pure goodness of War Horse inspires as it entertains. The central
character, the teenage son of the down on his luck farmer who buys “Joey” (the
War Horse) is wonderfully played by Jeremy Irvine. His is one of the purest, most humble and
class-filled roles ever seen in a movie.
He is pure goodness, innocence and selflessness, without pride or guile. He is the Golden Rule personified, much like
Atticus Finch, and even Gomer Pyle, who are two of my favorite all time
characters. Movies should feature
characters like this ALL…THE…TIME. With
Steven Spielberg directing, again, it is no surprise that War Horse is a
winner! Buy it.
More to come as the popcorn urge strikes again! Merry Christmas!
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