Short Review: Apt title, if you redefine "Curious" to mean "Pointless".


Director David Fincher (Fight Club, Se7en, Alien3) is brilliant and creating films that are marvelous to view. Each of his films is a fully realized, rich visual orgy for the eyes. He has a talent for design and revels in it every time he gets behind the camera. There are times when his gift compliments his film (Fight Club, Se7en) but there are other times where it overwhelms a weaker script (The Game, Panic Room). Fincher seems to be a little too in love with his own cinematic voice and has begun to trend towards rambling too on long. Like his previous film Zodiac, he has some compelling source material and knows how to design a film around his story. He fails to keep his narrative from getting too lethargic. Like Zodiac this film tends to be a rambling mess without a useful conclusion. Unlike that film, this outing makes up for its deficiencies by displaying a couple of notable performances and a production design worthy of study.

Based on a short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the film tells the tale of Benjamin Button who mysteriously is born an old man and gradually gets younger as his life progresses. The central conciet of the film is handled carefully by Fincher who eases the audience into the concept. Brad Pitt as the titular character gives his best performance in years (considering his films over the past few years, this isn't saying much.) He delivers on the task of combining the aging body of an old man with the spirit and mind of a very young boy. This a complicated duality to play out and make believable. Pitt, under Fincher's direction pulls it off. Opposite Pitt, Cate Blanchett plays Daisy, Button's love. While her performance is less challenging on the technical level, Blanchett does provide a empathetic and engaging character to counter Pitt's more novelty based role.

As mentioned, the film's strength is in its look and its ability to bring its world to life. The design work in this production is awe inspiring and a delight to look at. This is one of the rare films that I would recommend based purely on its look. This is a fortunate quality because the story itself ultimately fails. Since it takes place over a lifetime it is episodic. This is a result of trying to bring a life to the screen. Screenwriter Eric Roth managed this task in his script for Forrest Gump and he handles the passage of time in the same manner here. It makes sense to do so, in both stories we're following the life of an odd character across the decades, both of whom make a living on boats by the way. Like Gump, Button's story is interesting but unlike Gump it's not entertaining. This leads to being involved in his story for a good long time, it runs for almost two and a half hours, but not getting much in return. Forest Gump left its audience with a good vibe and a touching conclusion. This film doesn't strive for this result and the ending feels a bit uneven.

I do recommend the film but with the warning that it may be boring for some audience members. It is as stuffy and aloof as it appears. It is also a very literate movie that patiently displays its characters allowing us to enjoy their details.







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Babel (2006)


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Labels: adaptation, Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett, David Fincher, film, movie review, Tilda Swinton

I'm not a big Jarmusch fan. He's too self-aware and tends to keep his audience at an arm's length. The man can build good scenes and has his moments to be sure but I've gotten into one of his films. It's like quickly looking at displays in a gallery. You see one thing, move to the next, hmmm, that's interesting, next... When you're done all you've managed to do is be distracted while going for a short walk.




Screenwriters: Jim Jarmusch
Director: Jim Jarmusch
Actors: Tilda Swinton (Orlando), Bill Murray (Caddyshack), Gael Garcia Bernal (The Science of Sleep) and John Hurt (Alien)

Labels: Bill Murray, film, Gael Garcia Bernal, John Hurt, movie trailer, Tilda Swinton

Labels: Brad Pitt, Coen Brothers, film, Frances McDormand, George Clooney, John Malkovich, movie review, Tilda Swinton

This certainly looks interesting and it is directed by David Fincher (Zodiac, Fight Club), one of the better directors of his generation. I have high hopes for this one but the presence of Tilda Swinton gives me pause. Don't get me wrong, Swinton is a solid actress, she's a red flag because she seems drawn to pompous films (Orlando, Adaptation, Edward II, Thumbsucker, Vanilla Sky, The Beach). She's not Nicole Kidman, her presence doesn't guaranty the film will be lousy (Kidman, to my knowledge, has the worst project picking skills of anyone since Dan Ackroyd). Swinton does have some good marks on her resume (Michael Clayton, The Chronicles of Narnia: the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe) its just that her tendency is to pick insufferable projects. Toss in one of the Fanning kids and Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett working together again, (please let this be more watchable than Babel) and you have some reasons to be concerned its not as good as it looks.



Screenwriter: Eric Roth (Forrest Gump)
Director: David Fincher (Fight Club)
Actors: Brad Pitt (12 Monkeys), Cate Blanchett (Babel), Tilda Swinton (Michael Clayton), Elle Fanning (Deja Vu), and Julia Ormond (Legends of the Fall)

Labels: Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett, David Fincher, film, movie trailer, Tilda Swinton

The Coen Brothers are remarkable for their ability to switch between the deeply serious (No Country for Old Men, Blood Simple, Miller's Crossing) to the absurd (Raising Arizona, The Big Lebowski, O Brother Where Art Thou). This film is about a couple of quirky gym employees who discover a CIA Agent's memoirs on a CD. All heck breaks loose when they attempt to sell the found property.



Directors: Ethan and Joel Coen (Miller's Crossing)
Screenwriters: Joel and Ethan Coen (The Big Lebowski)
Actors: Brad Pitt (Se7en), George Clooney (Good Night and Good Luck), Tilda Swinton (Orlando), John Malcovich (Dangerous Liasons), Frances McDormand (Fargo), J. K. Simmons (Juno), and Richard Jenkins (Step Brothers)

Labels: Brad Pitt, Coen Brothers, film, George Clooney, J K Simmons, John Malkovich, movie trailer, Tilda Swinton

Releasing in December, the latest film from David Fincher (Zodiac, Fight Club) looks great. They've finally released the trailer in English. Check it out below.



Screenwriter: Eric Roth (Forrest Gump)
Director: David Fincher (Fight Club)
Actors: Brad Pitt (12 Monkeys), Cate Blanchett (Babel), Tilda Swinton (Michael Clayton), Elle Fanning (Deja Vu), and Julia Ormond (Legends of the Fall)

Labels: Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett, David Fincher, film, movie trailer, Tilda Swinton

Short Review: Its a rare Hollywood movie - one that doesn't assume its audience is a bunch of mouth-breathing morons.


Screenwriter Tony Gilroy's (The Devil's Advocate, The Bourne Ultimatum) directorial debut is a very strong, dramatic work. The film is driven not by his directing skills, which are actually very well honed, but by his masterful script. The writing for this film is a rare treat. The characters could have come across somewhat stock, but Gilroy reveals enough about them to give them a breath of life. It is uncommon to see this level of care put into even supporting characters who would have normally have not been given much development at all.

The story surrounds Michael Clayton (George Clooney), a fixer for a powerful law firm. If something is hitting the fan, its his job to wipe things up and make them better. After years of struggle and success, he begins to discover what many already know, power, money and success will not give a life meaning. As a symbol of this, Clayton's personal life is literally bankrupt. He's alone, divorced and thanks to his gambling, in debt to the mob for $75,000. Despite his talents, good looks and sharp suits, he is still a lonely loser. Clayton's job intrudes into this quiet personal meltdown. One of Clayton's friends and his law firm's most brilliant lawyers Arthur Edens (Tom Wilkerson) has gone off his meds and had a breakdown (involving his stripping naked at a deposition). Arthur is guilt-ridden by protecting a corporation that has been selling toxic pesticides on the open market to Midwest farmers. The cost in human life has corroded Edens' soul and he finally decides to make a break from his law firm and bring the corporation down. Clayton is brought in to talk the frantic Edens out of his stupor and get him to rejoin the team and play ball. Lurking around this is Karen Crowder (Tilda Swinton) who, on the corporation's behalf, tries to fix the problem herself through the works of some thugs. Crowder is a nervous corporate climber, desperate to get noticed and join the higher ranks of society.

There is plenty of great scenes and brilliant acting to make this one of the better films of last year. The production received six Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Screenplay. Swinton (The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe) took home the Best Supporting Actress award for her mousy role. The praise is well-deserved. This layered, and masterfully presented film is what Hollywood should be doing. The movie, with an even hand explores life and gives a truthful resolution in a satisfying fashion.

Tom Wilkerson (The Full Monty) is the real star of the film, in my estimation. His performance as the manic/depressive Edens is striking. He commands the movie and delivers one of the more compelling performances in recent memory. If it hadn't been for Daniel Day-Lewis' performance as Daniel Plainview in There Will be Blood, which is one of the best performances in film history, Wilkerson's Edens would have been the best performance by an actor last year. He absolutely nails the role. Opposite him, Clooney, well, he's just George Clooney. His shallow pool of tricks is exposed next to Wilkerson, Swinton and Sydney Pollack, who plays Clooney's boss, the head of the firm Marty Bach. Clooney never rises above being himself. He's just Miles from Intolerable Cruelty in a different suit, a depressed version of Danny Ocean from Ocean's 11. He's simply Clooney with better lines. This is a case of the actor not being big enough for his role. Clooney's deficiencies don't destroy the film luckily, he is passable. He looks angry when he should be angry, he looks troubled when he should be troubled. He does enough to get the point across. But again, placed against Swinton and Wilkerson, it is plain to see the difference between actors and a movie star.

This is a film worth your effort and I highly suggest seeing it. It is a thoughtful and carefully constructed production that gives its audience credit for having brains. This is a rarity to say the least.


Cautions: There is harsh language and some mild (by today's standards) violence, but other than that the movie is respectfully done. There are no gratuitous uses of sex and violence.


Worldview: The main point of the film is the emptiness of life and how to find meaning. As I mentioned in the main review, Michael Clayton is a hollow man. He seems to have everything but his private life is a disaster. He is realistic enough to see that his work is meaningless. He constantly refers to himself as a janitor. He cleans up other people's messes - he just gets paid a lot of money to do it. He creates nothing, he contributes nothing, he simply lives off the misfortune of others and protects the wicked.

His cohort Arthur Edens (Eden - that's intentional) should be the happiest man in the world. He's a genius at his chosen field, has risen into a position of prominence and has respect the world over. He is living the modern day version of masculine paradise - again, his name. But Eden has fallen, its not as it seems. He's been made crazy by the evil he's had to deal with to get to his powerful position. Throughout the film he and Clayton butt heads and Edens continuously condemns Clayton and tries to get him off the path that led him into destruction. Eden's calls himself "Shiva, the god of death". He is death because he is sin. At the end of his life he sees his foul ways and realizes he is not redeemed. For all of his work, he has built nothing at all.

Clayton, who's name either intentionally or unintentionally can be culled from Job 4:19-21

"How much more those who live in houses of clay, whose foundations are in the dust, who are crushed more readily than a moth! 20 Between dawn and dusk they are broken to pieces; unnoticed, they perish forever. 21 Are not the cords of their tent pulled up, so that they die without wisdom?"

He is the modern man looking to define himself through personal gratification. He wants riches and power and mistakes our current standards as being the path to enlightenment.
Gilroy's wonderful script contains a great number of little gems. The way he turns a phrase, his use of dialog and his character work all play in tandem. His plot moves effortlessly and shuttles this main point along calmly. In the end, Clayton finds some redemption by ensnaring Crowder and company and bringing them to justice (presumptively). The film is without a theological center however. The themes all line up and the resolution provides a morale but it is all done exterior to real enlightenment. Clayton reacts, not to the deaths of the victims of the poisonous chemicals, nor does he react tot he death of Edens (I told you I was going to ruin the movie), he only jumps to attention when he survives his own murder. His act is not sacrificial, it holds no higher purpose. It is done to protect himself. He admits as much at the end by explaining that he's the "guy you pay off". He resigns himself to his loathsome nature and doesn't pull away from it completely. In this sense, Clayton remains the same man but one who managed to do the right thing at least once.


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Syriana (2005)


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Labels: film, George Clooney, movie review, Sydney Pollack, Tilda Swinton, Tom Wilkerson, Tony Gilroy

Short Review: Lord of the Rings Lite.


There was great concern among Christians when it was announced this film was to being made that Hollywood would water down the Christian allegory in order to fit the entertainment industry's long accepted practice of secularizing all things. Since playing down the Christian elements would not only neuter the message of the story, but also massively change the narrative, there was a great deal of trepidation prior to the details of the production becoming public. This was a reasonable concern given Hollywood’s use of Christianity as a cultural diaper for the last forty years. After all, they even secularized Jesus with the release of of Godspell, you'll notice if you actually force yourself to get to the end that, just like the play, Christ is not resurrected. Here's a hint to everyone, no resurrection - no Christ - that's how it works. When Andrew Adamson (ironic name) was brought on the write/direct many people’s concerns doubled. Will the guy who created the children’s postmodern classic Shrek be able to have a discerning eye for this overtly Christian piece? The answer is thankfully yes.

Adamson’s background in animation comes in handy throughout this film as most of the characters are indeed animated. If you are not familiar with the story, four British children, trapped in a mansion come across a wardrobe, which leads to the strange land of Narnia. There they find that the animals talk and a great war is brewing between absolute good and absolute evil. This is a war, in which, they are destined to be the central figures. The part about talking animals is what has kept this film from being produced for the longest time. The technology has finally caught up to the story and all of the animation is spotless. The animation of Mr. And Mrs. Beaver to Aslan himself is fun to watch.

Despite this brilliant eye candy, the film still lacks a coherent signature design as one finds in Lord of The Rings or The Harry Potter series. Narnia is lessened by the fact that it makes its debut in the shadows of these comparable franchises. This is troubling since it is a solid story with a needed message. C. S. Lewis wasn’t the storyteller J. R. R. Tolkein was or J. K. Rowling is today. For this reason the movie seems to be a little off step. The story and movie are more geared directly to smaller children so the narrative and dialog lacks the intelligence of Tolkien’s grand work and lacks the whimsy of something like Harry Potter. Lewis’ story is a grim one but still manages to keep itself restrained enough to be open to the minds of children. This film follows this path. For the first three-fourths of the film the images and story are mild and simple. To adults it may be a little distracting how assumptive the narrative is at times. The war in Narnia and its participants are pushed bluntly and Adamson presumes we’ll take them at face value. We don’t get to know much of the characters outside of some cursory details. This makes the story go somewhat pale during the down moments when we have to spend time with these people.

What occurs in the final act however changes everything. The war sequences and the revealing of Aslan’s sacrifice to the triumphant conclusion are wonderfully handled. The simplicity of the narrative moves from being somewhat burdensome to being a fantastic tool as the movie lays out the complicated allegory of Aslan as Christ with great ease and conviction. The film manages this important piece strongly (although, I would have been more satisfied with a better production design.)

In the end, Adamson brings Lewis’ Christian allegory alive and more importantly has brought it to a massive audience. Looking beyond my petty concerns, this is a good film that brings to the medium a beautiful and important story. This is a good rendition of the greatest story ever told.



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Labels: Anna Popplewell, CS Lewis, film, Liam Neeson, movie review, Narnia, Tilda Swinton, William Moseley