More Quick Hitters

Alright, here's the thing, I'm currently four movies behind.  I have a little of an OCD thing going on where I hate to write about movies out of order.  And, now that I'm on Christmas break, I'll be seeing even more movies and I'll likely fall further behind.

Something needs to be done about this.

As luck would have it, I don't have particularly strong feelings or deep thoughts about any of the four movies currently in the queue.  So, even though I hate writing quick-hitter reviews, I'm willing to do so in the name of catching up.

None of this means anything to you, dear reader, I'm aware.  But, putting this explanation out there makes me feel a little better about shirking my blogging duties.  So...here we go.

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire ***

Unless you're living under a rock somewhere, chances are you've already seen this movie.  So, I don't feel the need to say a whole lot here.

If you liked the first Hunger Games movie, you'll like this one.  It's competently made and well-acted.  Unlike the rest of the planet, I never read the second book, so I didn't know what was going to happen.  The movie kept me interested the entire time.

And, of course, with this movie, Jennifer Lawrence takes another step on the path toward world domination.

Out of the Furnace **1/2

I was interested in this movie from the moment I saw the first trailer.  Sadly, it failed to live up to expectations.  It's not a bad movie, just not as good as I'd hoped.

A tribute to the dying way of life in the Rust Belt, Out of the Furnace features an outstanding leading performance from Christian Bale, playing a Russell Baze, a steel-worker haunted by disturbing memories and a tough life.  His brother, played by Casey Affleck, an Iraq war veteran, starts running with the wrong crowd and eventually finds himself in over his head.  Russell takes it upon himself to try to save him.

Overall, the movie showcases some fine acting from it whole ensemble.  Bale's performance is one of the best of his career, though it lacks a big scene to tie it all together.  Affleck is also very good.  Willem Dafoe and Sam Shepard also turn in noteworthy performances.  And, of course, there's Woody Harrelson chewing up the scenery as the villain of the piece.

In the end, it's not the actors that are the problem, it's the script.  The movie succeeds thematically and in terms of tone.  It just never seems to go anywhere -- it's all premise, not enough story.  Still, it's worth your time, particularly if you, like me, are a fan of the actors.

What sets this movie apart, however, is its effective use of the song "Release" by Pearl Jam.  Why has that song never appeared on a soundtrack before?

Philomena ***

This is another movie that succeeds mostly on the strength of its lead performance.  Judi Dench, in fine, Oscar-worthy form, plays Philomena Lee, a woman who lost her illegitimate son at the hands of some Catholic nuns.  Fifty years later, she joins journalist Martin Sixsmith, played by Steve Coogan, on a journey to find her child.

It's a true story, by the way.

The interplay between Dench and Coogan is wonderful, shifting from hilarious to philosophical to theological, often in the same scene.  And, the story pipes along at a good pace.  If there's a fault in the movie, it's that it tries too hard to be whimsical when the subject matter is often very sad and serious.

Still, it's a fine film.  Dench will deserve her certain Academy Award nomination.

Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues ***

A worthy sequel to one of the indispensable comedies of the last decade, Anchorman 2 succeeds in most of the same ways its predecessor did.  In the end, you could probably just say that they've made the same all over again -- and that's not a bad thing.

The original struck a chord with me that few comedies about idiots ever have.  Though, I have to say that, while I rarely go a day without uttering a quote from the original, I don't know that I'll be saying the same thing about this one.

This movie's one weakness:  Too much Steve Carell. While Brick was pretty much just a funny set piece in the original, he gets his own subplot in this one. And, every time it shifts to that story, the movie goes from stupid-funny to just stupid-stupid.

But, honestly, I'm nitpicking.  Overall, this movie is hysterical.  The climactic battle sequence, which mirrors a similar scene from the first movie, may be the funniest thing I've seen all year.

 

In Theaters: Nebraska ***1/2

I've written about Alexander Payne -- one of the finest directors working today -- on this blog before.  A couple years back, I wrote a review of his last film The Descendants where I said this:

His movies tend to circulate around less-than-heroic figures, below-average Joes whose troubles are common and familiar and, more often than not, self-inflicted.  Most of his protagonists tend to be middle-aged-men -- or, in the case of About Schmidt, an older-than-middle-aged man -- who are coming to terms with the disappointing lives they've created for themselves.  While this is hardly a unique approach for modern cinematic storytelling, Payne's sincere affection for each of the schlubs he's created, even when they don't deserve it, is always refreshing.  It's easy to create a loser just to make fun of him.  But, that's not how Payne works.  

I reread that as I sat down to write this review and my first thoughts were: 1) I think I'm a better writer than I was back then, and 2) Nebraska is, in many ways, par for the course with Alexander Payne.

The movie tells the story of Woody Grant (played by the magnificent Bruce Dern), an old codger who receives a Publisher's Clearinghouse letter in the mail telling him he's won a million dollars and believes it.  This sets him off on a quixotic quest from Billings, Montana to Lincoln, Nebraska in order to claim his prize.

At first, he tries to walk there, though he doesn't get very far thanks to the police.  So, he has to enlist the help of his son David (played by the surprisingly subtle Will Forte).  David knows it's a scam and suspects his father is suffering from dementia.  But he also recognizes that his dad has little else to live for and, in many respects, neither does he.

On their way to Lincoln, they stop off in Woody's hometown to see his relatives and some of his old friends.  David gets an opportunity to learn about his father's past, which allows him to finally connect with the old man in ways that were never possible in their icy dynamic.  Most of these old acquaintances are quick to believe Woody's story, and some of them want in on the action.  Indeed, at times it seems that only David, his brother Ross (played by Bob Odenkirk), and his mother (played by June Squibb) know what's going on.

Ultimately, Nebraska is both a tribute to small-town America and sort of a comic indictment of some of the people who live there.  It's also a case-study in the friction that so often belies father-son relationships.  It's shot in beautiful black and white, reflecting both the supposed simplicity of the life and values it portrays and the emptiness of the lives of its main characters.

I'm not going to pretend that I know much about Bruce Dern, though I've read a lot about him in relation to this movie.  He's spent a lifetime in supporting roles, usually hamming it up -- as supporting actors often do -- in order to stand out.  But, here he's all cloudy eyes and mumbles, portraying a man broken down by years of hard life and hard living.  It's a slow-burn performance that pays off big time.  He's likely destined for an Oscar nomination.

The supporting cast are all first-rate.  Like I said, Forte shows all new levels of depth that you just wouldn't suspect after his years on SNL.  And, June Squibb is simply outstanding.  She steals every scene that she's in.

All told, Nebraska is a worthy entry into the canon of Alexander Payne.  It is, in my opinion, one of the best movies of the year.

In Theaters: Dallas Buyers Club ***

I could be wrong, but I assume that those who read these reviews focus primarily on the star-ratings I give to individual movies and don't pay attention to much else.  I know that's how I often read movie reviews.  And, in general, I figure everyone is like me.

That's unfortunate, particularly with a movie like Dallas Buyers Club.  There are parts of this movie -- particularly the performances -- that are off-the-charts incredible.  There are other parts the movie that are just mediocre.  I highly recommend this movie so that people can get a gander at its more praiseworthy elements.  But, ultimately, taken as the sum of its parts, I can't give this movie a stellar overall rating.

Someday, I'm going to write a whole blog post explaining my star-rating system.  Until then, just know that three stars basically means the movie is good but far from great.

That's my overall assessment of Dallas Buyers Club.  But, while it's only a three star movie, it contains a couple of four-star performances.

One of those is from leading man Matthew McConaughey, who plays Ron Woodroof, a bull-riding homophobe who was diagnosed with HIV in 1985 and given 30 days to live.  Determined to live, he bribes a hospital janitor into stealing bottles of AZT, the only drug available at the time to treat HIV and AIDS.  When the scheme is uncovered, he heads to Mexico, where an unlicensed American doctor starts treating him with a series of vitamins and proteins that have not been approved by the FDA.  This unapproved treatment is aimed at the symptoms of HIV instead of trying to eradicate the virus.

Ron begins to feel better and immediately sees a business opportunity.  He decides to smuggle these substances into the U.S. in order to sell them to American AIDS patients.  To temporarily skirt the law, he sets up a "buyers club," wherein his customers pay a monthly membership fee and he "gives" them the drugs.  This scheme is a success as it both extends Ron's life and makes him a ton of money.

The success of the endeavor is due in large part to Rayon, a transgendered woman played by Jared Leto in the film's other incredible performance.  She is Ron's secret weapon, giving him credence in Dallas's gay community that the bigoted rodeo fanatic couldn't attain on his own.

Like I said, both of these actors are beyond exceptional in these roles, destined for award nominations, both with legitimate shots at taking home a statue on Oscar Night.

McConaughey is in the middle of a highly-touted career transformation and Dallas Buyers Club is the capstone.  He is ferocious and awe-inspiring in this movie.  The performance is more than a physical transformation (though he did lose some 40 pounds for the part).  He inhabits every inch of this character and plays it with both flash and nuance.  It is truly a sight to behold.

Much the same could be said of Leto's performance, which is both heartbreaking and revelatory.  He plays Rayon with an uncanny grace and fearlessness that you just wouldn't expect from someone best known as the lead singer of a really crappy rock band (FN1).

So, you might be asking, what's wrong with the movie.  Well, I'll tell you.

First of all, so much of the story hinges on the relationship between Ron and Rayon and, in the end, it all feels a little too forced.  Speaking of forced relationships, there's a doctor played by Jennifer Garner who eventually and without any real explanation becomes the biggest supporter of Ron and Rayon's cause.  On top of that, there are the villains of the whole thing -- the FDA and drug companies -- that are depicted with about as much nuance as Boris and Natasha from Rocky and Bullwinkle (FN2).  Much of the story the movie is trying to tell just doesn't feel true in the end, which is a problem for a movie that is supposed to be based on true events.

But, none of that should take away from McConaughey and Leto's brilliant work in the movie.  And, if you, like me, enjoy watching actors go for broke, I highly recommend this movie, even if it stumbles a little on its own intentions in the end.

FN1 -- Someone had to say it.

FN2 -- Nothing but the timeliest of references on this blog.