screenshots
continued from previous page
But Iñárritu’s artfulness too often feels at odds with the threadbare story, and his attempts at injecting elements of mysticism (apparently a requirement for any director making a movie involving Native Americans, Michael Mann and Kevin Costner admirably excepted) prove to be heavy-handed. And then there are the paper-thin protagonists Glass and Fitzgerald, neither of whom are particularly interesting as screen characters. If DiCaprio finally wins his Oscar for this movie, it’s yet another example of the Academy rewarding the right performer for the wrong picture— he’s committed to his grunts, groans and growls (largely the extent of his dialogue), but then again, so was Charles Bronson in Death Wish. And while I’m not about to spoil the ending, let’s just say that the manner in which it sidesteps the piece’s primary thrust is both insincere and hypocritical (on the part of Glass and Iñárritu). It’s basically an example of having your cake—or, in this instance, caked-on blood and mud—and eating it, too.
STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS
JAN 27-FEB 2, 2016
/// Um, is anybody out there even reading this? In all my years of reviewing movies— certainly, in all the years that the Internet has been in existence—never has there been a film as critic-unfriendly as Star Wars: The Force Awakens. The reason is different from the norm—the norm being, of course, that a studio is hiding its awful picture from reviewers lest they warn the public that it’s wasting its collective time and money on garbage. With this seventh entry in the franchise that began back in 1977, that’s not the case. Instead, the issue is that viewers are so eager and excited to see this picture in a virginal manner that they want absolutely no spoilers whatsoever. It’s an understandable position: After the relative disappointment of the prequels and the positive buzz surrounding this latest chapter, it’s not surprising fans want to experience it in innocent, wide-eyed wonder, with no chance of attached baggage. So where does this leave critics, all of whom have seen the repeated comments from Facebook friends that all reviews will remain unread (at least until after the initial viewing)? I’m generally very strict about not adding any spoilers to my reviews anyway, but with this picture, I’m wary of detailing any plot. But surely I’ll be allowed to reveal the film’s first line, glimpsed in that now-iconic opening scrawl that fades into the background: “Luke Skywalker has vanished.” And with that, the film begins to work its magic, by bringing back many familiar 38 faces and introducing new characters who
JOY
Yep, STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS is still raking in the money
will help carry the franchise forward. Among the old-school players are Han Solo (Harrison Ford) and Leia (Carrie Fisher); newbies include reluctant heroes Rey (Daisy Ridley) and Finn (John Boyega) and cocky fighter pilot Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac). These characters are indicative of the respect writer-director J.J. Abrams and co-scripters Lawrence Kasdan (who also co-penned The Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi and Raiders of the Lost Ark) and Michael Arndt pay toward the past, present and future of the franchise. The original stars haven’t lost a beat with their characterizations, while the newcomers prove to be an irresistible lot. The casting of a woman and a black man in the central roles doesn’t feel like forced political correctness but a natural progression, and the characters are two of the richest yet seen in the Star Wars universe. There are also some notable new villains, though I’ll keep them under wraps. Perhaps the film’s strongest component is its visual effects. That may sound like a no-brainer, but after the prequels, it’s anything but. The effects work in those movies was often excellent, but the absolute reliance on CGI ultimately stifled much of the wonder and left audiences grousing about the artificiality of it all. With The Force Awakens, Abrams has graciously patterned the look after the 1977, ’80 and ’83 efforts, with many of the visuals created with models (as opposed to computers) and actual earthbound locations (as opposed to green screens). It’s a noble and appreciated gesture, and it’s enough to make a grown fan cry.
SISTERS
// Tina Fey and Amy Poehler are fine actresses as well as superb comediennes, yet they never quite pull off the sister act in Sisters. As with everything they do together, they are such the BFFs—and
respond to each other accordingly—it’s impossible to accept them as related by blood. That’s mentioned only as an aside and certainly not as a knock on them—indeed, they do far more for this film than the film does for them. Discovering that their childhood home is being sold, sensible Maura (Poehler) and reckless Kate (Fey) elect to send it off with a raucous house party. The late-inning moralizing is as clumsy as that from any Will Ferrell or Vince Vaughn outing, and the hilarious bits are tempered by many that barely merit a wan smile. But the ladies are in good form, and post-Trainwreck Jon Cena is again on hand to unexpectedly flex his comedic side.
THE BIG SHORT
/// Screenwriter Adam McKay has graduated to the big leagues, expertly guiding this sterling adaptation of Michael Lewis’ nonfiction book The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine. It’s a look at the financial crisis that occurred earlier this century, the one involving the housing bubble, the market collapse, and the banks that were too big to fail. As a subject, it stands to be both dry and complicated, and Wall Street trader Jared Vennett (Ryan Gosling), who repeatedly breaks the fourth wall to serve as the piece’s narrator, is aware of this. Thus, with his guidance, the script’s great swatches of humor, and superlative performances by the entire cast (including Steve Carell and Christian Bale as two of the outsiders who saw the crisis coming and sought to profit from the banking industry’s greed and stupidity), the film lays out the case in layman’s terms. It’s an invigorating watch, at least until it enters the home stretch—at that point, the real-world tragedies pop up to unsettle and infuriate us while the villainous CEOs laugh all the way to their own banks.
/// After seeing his past three films (American Hustle, Silver Linings Playbook and The Fighter) all earn Oscar nominations for Best Picture and Best Director, David O. Russell probably will find his run crashing to a halt with Joy, a movie whose structure almost invites hordes of people to hate it. And admittedly, this film about Joy Mangano, the struggling divorcee who invented the Miracle Mop and subsequently became a wealthy entrepreneur, gets off to a rocky start, with Russell pushing the story dynamics and the character eccentricities to an obnoxious degree. But once the film settles down, and once the supporting players make more room for lead Jennifer Lawrence to strut her stuff, Joy—both movie and character—makes significant strides.
THE HATEFUL EIGHT
/// The Hateful Eight runs just over three hours in its limited roadshow edition and just over two-and-a-half hours in the wider version that will be shown everywhere (the latter excising the overture, the intermission, and a few minutes of narrative). Either way, the film moves on the screen like a cheetah on fire, feeling far shorter than many of the 100-or-so-minute duds I’ve endured this year. The credit for that, now as always, goes to Tarantino’s writing; the vibrant monologues and exchanges are in the service of a Western-cum-murder-mystery, as a disparate assortment of characters are stranded in a desolate cabin in post-Civil War Wyoming. Chief among these badasses are a pair of bounty hunters, Major Marquis Warren (Samuel L. Jackson) and John “The Hangman” Ruth (Kurt Russell), as well as Ruth’s prisoner, the murderous Daisy Domergue (Jennifer Jason Leigh), and Chris Mannix (Walton Goggins), a racist not at all happy that the South lost the war.
THE DANISH GIRL
// With its bald ambitions, The Danish Girl might as well be called The Oscar Bait Movie, with its pedigree beyond question thanks to the participation of director Tom Hooper (Oscar for The King’s Speech) and star Eddie Redmayne (Oscar for The Theory of Everything). The story’s a worthy one—the saga of transgender pioneer Einar Wegener/Lili Elbe—but it’s given little room to breathe, and Redmayne’s performance is technically proficient rather than emotionally stirring. For the latter, one has to turn to co-star Alicia Vikander. As Gerda, Einar’s infinitely patient and understanding wife, she’s the only person here who’s worthy of Oscar attention. CS