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Dance Club

13 Dec

* SPOILER ALERT * SPOILER ALERT * SPOILER ALERT *

What do you get when you cross Swan Lake, All About Eve, Showgirls, and Fight Club? That’s right: Black Swan, one of the strangest, most confusing movies of this or any year. In the film, Natalie Portman stars as Nina, an up-and-coming ballet dancer, whose sanity unravels when she scores the lead role in a new production of Swan Lake. If you don’t know this ballet (and I didn’t), it requires the lead to play two roles: the White Swan (notable for her innocence and grace) and the Black Swan (the polar opposite; a more sensual, seductive character). This duality proves a challenge for Nina: she is nothing if not delicate and graceful, but exploring her seductive side is less natural. When Lily (Mila Kunis) joins the company, she is seen as a more perfect fit for the Black Swan, and she becomes a rival to Nina. Their relationship develops into a twisted friendship, and as it does, Nina begins to lose her grip on reality.

That said, though it’s set in the world of ballet, Black Swan is not a ballet movie. Instead, it’s a psychological thriller that’s creepy and keeps you guessing. Having seen it, I still don’t exactly know what to make of it, and that’s not meant to be a dismissive statement. Generally, I enjoyed the movie — it’s attractive to watch, Portman is very good, and it’s certainly thought-provoking. But like Fight Club, I think I may have to see it again before I really understand and appreciate it. So for now, pending a repeat viewing and more discussion, and because writing about Black Swan means revealing important plot points, I’m going to cut this short and only give the film a B.

Worth Fighting For

10 Dec

When was the last time you saw a movie so good, so easy to root for, that all you wanted to do was shout from the rooftops and tell everybody you know to go see it?

For me, that movie is The Fighter.

This gritty, real-life story has been brought to the screen by Mark Wahlberg, Christian Bale, and director David O. Russell, and it’s just an awesome, beautiful film.

Wahlberg, who also produced, stars as “Irish” Micky Ward, the boxer from Lowell, Mass., who fights to overcome adversity both in and out of the ring. Micky is being groomed by his older half-brother, Dicky (Bale), to be a welterweight champion and to capture the title that eluded Dicky when he chose drugs over the sport. Now, Dicky’s struggles with crack are threatening both his life and his brother’s career. Continue reading →

Show Girls

26 Nov

The good news is that Burlesque is not the big, hot mess it might appear to be from its trailer and poster. And sure, that’s damning with faint praise, but c’mon … this film just looks like it’s going to be awful — or at the very least, tailor-made for a certain demographic that’s not the one I’m a part of. It’s got Cher as the owner of a burlesque lounge in Los Angeles, and Christina Aguilera as an impressionable-but-smarter-than-she-looks, small-town girl, diamond-in-the-rough performer, whose undeniable talent saves the club when it’s in financial dire straits. And as if that’s not enough, Stanley Tucci plays a gay sidekick (again). But I kinda liked the film anyway.

In her film debut, Aguilera does a decent job. She’s not great, and not awful. She has her moments, but really, it’s all about her singing. Those pipes are hard to deny. The best parts of the movie are, no surprise, whenever she’s on stage performing — probably because they’re like good music videos. The soundtrack features a few songs that burrowed themselves into my brain and are still swimming around (damned ear worms). And there’s eye candy for both genders — the cast also includes Julianne Hough, Kristen Bell, Eric Dane, and Cam Gigandet. Some credit does go to the film’s writer/director, Steve Antin for not asking anyone to do much heavy lifting (other than the singing and dancing, of course), and generally taking his film seriously enough to deliver something that’s sometimes very enjoyable to watch.

That said, part of me kind of wishes Burlesque actually was the hot mess it promised to be. That might have made it a more fun way to spend my time. Sometimes it comes close — some of the dialogue is groan-worthy, Aguilera’s character inhabits so many screen cliches in the first 15 minutes, and Cher’s big number late in the film is a great time to take a bathroom break. The plot itself strains credibility more often than it doesn’t. And I wish there was less handheld cinematography; at times, the film was harder to watch than Cloverfield was.

But in taking itself seriously and not going over the top, Burlesque ends up being a mixed bag: It’s not the kind of film that’s going to win Oscars, but it’s not a prime target for Razzies, either. It’s odd wanting a movie to be worse than it is, but that’s because Burlesque caught me a bit off-guard. I liked it enough to rate it a B–.

It’s a Russian Novel

23 Nov

When Love and Other Drugs first begins, you may think you’re in for a very long next two hours. After all, there’s Jake Gyllenhaal dancing around an electronics store to the sounds of Spin Doctors’ “Two Princes.” Ugh. But damn if the film doesn’t eventually win you over. In the movie, Jake plays Jamie, a charming, slutty sales rep for Pfizer, who meets Maggie (Anne Hathaway) during one of his sales calls. We learn during that first meeting that Maggie has Parkinson’s Disease, and despite that, even though it’s completely out of character, somehow Jamie falls for Maggie. Of course, that’s after the two have sex. Lots and lots of sex. Let’s just say if you need a reason to see this movie, that’s it, and because you see plenty of the two actors. (Not that I’m complaining; they both look great.)

But anyway … with Maggie’s illness looming, you know Love is going to take a more serious turn eventually. And thankfully, the movie doesn’t become a total weepie. That’s partly because Anne and Jake make such a winning couple, and the script by director Edward Zwick, Marshall Herskovitz, and Charles Randolph isn’t a total downer. Zwick has made a film with plenty of intimate, sexy moments, and he’s drawn some good performances from his two leads. Yes, there are some missing details, and some plot points that strain credibility, but Jake and Anne’s great chemistry (yes, better than they had in Brokeback Mountain) makes it easy to overlook them. Thankfully, Love is much better than its opening few minutes would lead you to believe. I’m giving it a B.

What’s the Story?

22 Nov

Morning TV news programs get a gentle tweak in Morning Glory. In the film, Rachel McAdams plays Becky Fuller, an ambitious television producer, who’s hired to breathe life into Daybreak, the fourth-place network morning show. Her solution is to hire gruff veteran newsman Mike Pomeroy (Harrison Ford), who begrudgingly takes the job of sitting alongside the show’s longtime host, Colleen Peck (Diane Keaton), even though he wants nothing to do with the silly antics and lightweight stories. But when the show is threatened with cancellation, all must do whatever it takes to keep Daybreak on the air.

Morning Glory was written by Aline Brosh McKenna, who also penned the screenplay for The Devil Wears Prada, and there are plenty of similarities between the two films. For example, both feature a perky, go-getter heroine who puts work ahead of her personal life, and both feature winning performances by their lead actresses. In this case, McAdams deserves all the credit for why Morning Glory is enjoyable to watch, even when the rest of it isn’t. McAdams helps the screenplay seem better than it is. She’s playing such a peppy, high-spirited person — and she does it so well — that I half-expected Ford to bark at her the famous Lou Grant line, “You’ve got spunk!” (Instead, he tells her she’s got moxie.) But it’s true. After starring in Wedding Crashers, McAdams stayed away from the breezy, lightweight romantic comedies she was offered, and she held out for a decent one. I couldn’t help but think that if Katherine Heigl, who starred in another McKenna film, 27 Dresses, had played Becky, this would have been a much worse film.

Which is not to say that Morning Glory is a masterpiece, or even on the same level as Prada. The first half of the film is better than the second, and other than McAdams, none of the other leads have much to work with; they can’t save the one-note characters they’re playing (Ford especially). And, it should be noted, it’s hard to take a film too seriously when it’s centered around a television network with the unfortunate name of IBS. Yes, Becky saves the show and manages not to lose her boyfriend (Patrick Wilson) in the process. But the fact that she makes Morning Glory watchable is her real triumph. I’m giving the film a B.

Rock Solid

11 Nov

What would you do to save your own life?

In 2003, Aron Ralston was out climbing in Robbers Roost, Utah, when he got stuck in a canyon — his hand trapped under a boulder.

Six days later, dehydrated, hungry, and nearly out of options, he somehow found the strength to free himself by first breaking his arm and then amputating it from the elbow down.

Ralston told his story in the book Between a Rock and a Hard Place, and now it’s come to the big screen in the thrilling film 127 Hours. Continue reading →

Two for the Road

6 Nov

I wanted to like Due Date, but I’m calling it a disappointment. Not much to say about it, other than I saw it and didn’t love it. My rating’s a B–. How’s that for a short review?

Saved by Bella Swan

1 Nov

In Welcome to the Rileys, James Gandolfini trades in his Jersey brogue for a midwestern twang and stars as Doug Riley, one half of a still-grieving Indiana couple that lost its 15-year-old daughter in a tragic car accident eight years prior. Doug has dealt with the loss by being emotionally distant, and his wife, Lois (Melissa Leo), has dealt with it by not even leaving the house.

Then, while on a business trip to New Orleans, Doug meets Mallory (Twilight‘s Kristen Stewart), a stripper with a strong resemblance to Doug’s daughter. Feeling like he has a second chance at the life he was denied, Doug decides to stay in NOLA and take care of the young lady — a move that prompts Lois to finally leave the house and join him. Continue reading →

What Did You Think Was Going to Happen?

18 Oct

About halfway through Jackass 3D, Chris Pontius sticks the bottom half of his face in a diorama where a couple of scorpions are crawling around. Seconds later, bitten and stung, Pontius is questioning his motives for partaking in such an inane stunt, and he’s asked, “What did you think was going to happen?”

Exactly.

Anyone considering seeing this latest film in the Jackass series must ask himself a similar question. After all, this is a movie in which the marquee stunt is something called “Poo Cocktail Supreme,” which features Steve-O sitting in a poo-filled port-a-potty that gets flung up on bungee cords and shaken around a bit (and yes, there are cameras inside the port-a-potty so you can see not just Steve-O’s reactions, but also the poo flying all over). Continue reading →

Not Dead. Just Retired.

15 Oct

What is Red?

Well, it takes a while to figure that out.

This quirky action-comedy about a group of over-the-hill former CIA agents who band together when a hit is ordered on one of them has some stylistic touches, and a distinguished cast — both of which make for a surprisingly enjoyable film.

After all, who wouldn’t love to see Oscar winners Helen Mirren and Morgan Freeman putting on disguises, throwing punches, and shooting bad guys?

Bruce Willis, he’s the kind of guy you expect in a movie like this, but you don’t see him going mano a mano with Richard Dreyfuss every day.

Sure, you may not have as much fun as Mary-Louise Parker seems to be having, but thanks largely to its cast, Red is a good time at the movies.

I’m giving it a B.

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