In Theaters: 12 Years a Slave ****

As I sit down to write this review -- nearly 24 hours after seeing 12 Years a Slave -- I'm still sort of at a loss as to what I should say.  This is a film of such horror and brutality, not to mention power and grandeur, that I feel like writing about it on my stupid little blog is kind of a waste of everyone's time.

It's not that I don't feel like I can do the movie justice -- I can unload superlatives from a thesaurus as good as the next man, and, in the end, I think I'll do a pretty good job selling this movie to anyone within earshot.  But, even then, I don't know that I can describe the emotional experience of seeing this movie with anything resembling competence or adequacy.

But, what the hell?  I'll do my best.

12 Years a Slave tells the true story of Solomon Northrup, a free man living with his family in New York in 1841, who was tricked, kidnapped, and sold into slavery in the Deep South.  He spends over a decade living has human property, passed from owner to owner, witnessing untold horrors and abominations.

Ultimately, Solomon is the audience's vessel in an exploration of the American slave trade.  Before this film, slavery in the United States has really only been glossed over, usually reserved for stories on the periphery of something else.  In other words, Hollywood's approach to slavery has always been safe, rarely giving audiences a real stake in the atrocities that accompanied our nation's greatest shame.

12 Years a Slave does not pull its punches.  Instead, it puts the audience right in the middle of it all, giving us a look at the physical hideousness of slavery in the South as well as a peek at the mindset of those that justified the practice as an act of either godly righteousness or earthly entitlement.  There's nothing glossy or sugarcoated about this movie.  Instead, it is the cinematic equivalent of a long, slow beating.

Solomon is played by British Actor Chiwetel Ejiofor, who portrays the character with a quiet dignity, often betraying moments of rage and confusion bubbling beneath the surface.  This is a refined and educated man thrust into a situation that is, in many ways, beyond his comprehension. That being the case, Solomon is the perfect vessel for this story and Ejiofor -- with his innate humanity and intelligence -- is the perfect actor to play him.  His is a towering, soul-stirring performance.  It simply cannot be oversold.

All in all, they cast the hell out of this movie.  It seems that every part, no matter how small, is filled with the perfect actor.

Chief among the supporting performances is Michael Fassbender, who plays Epps, a sadistic plantation owner who takes joy in inflicting pain and misery on his slaves.  While he spreads it around, most of his angst is directed at a slave named Patsey (played by Lupita Nyong'o), who also happens to be the most efficient and hardworking slave on his plantation.  There are terrifying scenes involving Epps fixation on Patsey -- she is both the object of his rage and his lust -- that I don't feel like I can adequately describe.

The movie is directed by Steve McQueen, a young British filmmaker of West Indian descent.  I have to admit that I haven't seen either of his previous two films, Hunger and Shame.  After seeing 12 Years a Slave, I'm not so sure that I want to.  Still, McQueen is clearly a force to be reckoned with.

As you can tell, this is not an easy film to watch.  It is, quite honestly, a cinematic kick to the balls.  Still, there are elements of 12 Years a Slave that are so profoundly moving as to (yes...again) defy suitable description.

For example, as the title suggests, Solomon is not kept in slavery forever.  The moment of his return home at the end of his ordeal is so powerful that I wept there in the movie theater and again in the car on the way home.  This is not to say that it slips into sentimentality -- not at all.  Instead, it is just a testament to journey you take with this character and experience of seeing this movie from beginning to end.

12 Years a Slave is a landmark film. It is, quite simply, a masterpiece.  There, I said it.  This movie tears you down to shreds with, I believe, a hope that you will leave the experience a more compassionate person with a greater respect for freedom and human dignity.

I've never seen anything quite like it.

In Theaters: Captain Phillips ***1/2

There's a moment near the end of Captain Phillips, when (minor spoiler alert in case you don't know how the story played out in real life) the villains are killed at once and the titular hero, played by Tom Hanks, collapses in a heap of relief and post-traumatic stress.  It's at this moment that I was a little shocked to see that Hanks, one the world's most beloved and familiar actors, could still surprise an audience by reaching new depths and dimensions as an actor.  

Captain Phillips is, overall, a very good film.  In fact, it's almost great.  But, despite all the superb elements of the movie, it's this moment near the very end that continues to stick with me days after seeing it.  

This really might be a career-best performance by Tom Hanks.  Yet, the funny thing is that, truth be told, he's not the real star of the film.  

If you've read other reviews of Captain Phillips, you're probably thinking that I'm going to say that Barkhad Abdi, the newcomer playing the lead Somali pirate, is the real star.  While he's also very, very good in the movie and deserves all the praise he's received thus far, he's not the real star of the movie either. 

No, the real star of this film is director Paul Greengrass, who, with Captain Phillips, has crafted another visually stunning and technically astounding piece of filmmaking.  He is the master of the hand-held camera, setting up complex action sequences and exchanges of dialogue and then putting the audience right in the middle of it all.  

Whenever I see one of his movies, my first thought is always that it must have been a beast to shoot and to edit, and this movie is no different.

Greengrass's talents were on full display with the last two Bourne movies, a couple of the best straight-up action movies of the last decade.  And, of course, he's the man behind the highly-acclaimed-but-still-kinda-overlooked United 93, for which he nabbed an Oscar nomination for Best Director. 

So, if he wasn't considered one of the great visionaries working in the movies today, he should be after Captain Phillips.  

The movie tells the true story of the Maersk Alabama, a commercial ship that was hijacked by Somali pirates in 2009.  It's based on the memoir of Captain Richard Phillips (see: the title) who helmed the ship and, in an effort to protect his crew, boarded a lifeboat with his captors where he spent five days.  The movie includes the events of the hijacking as well as the cat-and-mouse game played out by the Navy SEALs who eventually saved Phillips's life.  

In trademark Paul Greengrass fashion, the movie puts the audience in the middle of all this.  You're there with the unarmed crew as they try to hide from the pirates boarding their ship.  You're right beside the SEALs, witnessing their skill and workman-like professionalism (Captain Phillips is as good an advertisement for the Navy SEALs as Zero Dark Thirty).  And, most importantly, you're right there on the lifeboat with Phillips and captors, watching them all unravel.    

The tension builds throughout the hijacking sequences until it reaches a fever-pitch and then slow-burns in the scenes on lifeboat as the pirates become more and more desperate.  Hanks and Abdi anchor it all with performances that are almost certain to be rewarded with Oscar nominations.  

Put simply, this is a extremely well-crafted film.  One of the best of the year so far.

The question  you're probably asking now is: Why don't I give it four stars?  

To be honest, I'm not quite sure.  As you can see, I greatly admired this film.  It doesn't have any real flaws and I have no real complaints.  There's just a certain oomph that accompanies truly great films that I found slightly lacking with this movie.  

Like I said, I can't quite put my finger on it.  

This isn't a rare phenomenon with me -- and I'm well aware that it's totally idiosyncratic. I felt the same way about Argo last year, and I was very much in the minority there.  

Captain Phillips is a movie that I'd wholeheartedly recommend and it may very well end up on my Top 10 list this year.  I suppose I'm just not ready to declare it King of the Movie Hill.  

Anyway, my geekery aside, you should go see this movie.  

In Theaters: Gravity ****

I suppose it's rare to sit in a movie theater and realize that you're watching a landmark film, a game-changer assured a place of honor in the cinematic pantheon.

I'm not going to lie, I've thought that about a few movies I've seen and, most of the time, I've been wrong.

For example, in 2007, I thought for sure that No Country For Old Men was destined for that kind of long-lasting, Kubrick-like acclaim.  Then, a couple years later, I watched it on Spike TV, where it was interspersed with commercials for Axe Body Spray.  So...maybe not.

My point is that, when I say that Alfonso Cuaron's Gravity is that kind of movie, you'd probably justified in taking it with a grain of salt.  Still, I don't think I'm wrong about this one.

Set 400 miles above the surface of the Earth, Gravity tells the story of two astronauts -- Ryan Stone (played by Sandra Bullock) and Matt Kowalski (played by George Clooney) -- marooned in space after their space shuttle is destroyed by debris from a Russian satellite.  We are introduced to the characters and witness the destruction of their ship all in a single opening shot that lasts for roughly 17 minutes (17 minutes!). What follows is a harrowing story of survival in literally the harshest of harsh environments.  Bullock -- in a hefty, Oscar-worthy performance -- carries most of the weight of the film.

That's all I'm going to say about the plot.  For those of you who were worried that the best moments were given away in the trailers -- don't be.  Most of what you've seen comes from the opening sequence...there's a whole lot more to see after that.

This movie is destined to win every technical award on the planet.  From special effects and cinematography to sound and editing, Gravity is an astounding technical achievement.  The expertise and filmmaking prowess on display in this film are, quite simply, astounding.  This is a movie that begs to be seen on the biggest, best screen possible -- IMAX 3-D, if you can swing it.

What makes it a masterpiece is that it seamlessly blends all that technology with a story it is, at its core, very intimate and personal.  While some have compared Gravity to 2001, the space setting is really the only thing the two movies have in common.  Gravity is very much a story of survival, a celebration of the human will to live.   While, admittedly, I'm not the first person to make the comparison, the movie that it most reminded me of thematically was 127 Hours.

Returning Sandra Bullock, she has never been better.  And, as a friend of mine remarked, she's never looked better -- the movie lists two personal trainers for her in the credits.  She won a sham Oscar a few years back for The Blind Side. So, while she may not win this time around, she'll definitely be in the conversation.

Alfonso Cuaron's last movie was Children of Men, another brilliant piece of filmmaking that, in my view, was one of the best movies of the last decade.  I made a Top 30 movies of the 00s a few years back...Children of Men was #3.  With Gravity, two of the Top 10 movies of the young millennium are his.

Yes, I'm aware of the danger of overselling this movie.  I don't care.

It's just that damn good.

An Ali-Like Return to the Blogosphere

I'm back, ladies and gentlemen.  I'm back.

I know it's been months since you've heard from me and that, in that time, there have been literally dozens -- if not hundreds -- of movies released for which you've sought out my opinion.

I know I've let you down.  For that, dear reader, I can only say I'm sorry.

This comeback hasn't been easy.  I've been training for months to get myself ready to write reviews and blog posts about movies that only about 10 people will ever read.  It's meant long hours in the blog gym, honing my skills and retraining my mind. Most of all, it's meant time at the theater and in front of my TV, watching movies, thinking about movies, and watching some more.

When they get a look at what I'm doing now, some critics may write me off.  They'll say that I'm only a shadow of my former self.

Maybe they'll be right.

But, I don't do it for them, dear reader.  I do it for you.  As I venture out once more into that [insert boxing metaphor here], my only thoughts are of you and whether you're fully aware of what I happen to think about any given movie or movie-related topic.

So let us press on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into whatever.

I can't tell you why I was gone.  I can only tell you why I'm back.

You see, I saw a movie the other day that I thought was incredible.  And, now I have write about it.

You'll see that post in a matter of minutes...or hours...or maybe a day.  No more than a day, though, I swear.
 
Good night and good luck.