Best of 2013: #4 Her

In the opening scene of Her, the latest film from the brilliant director Spike Jonze (and the first movie he's written), we seen Theodore Twombly (played by Joaquin Phoenix) dictating a letter to his computer.  It's a touching letter expressing beautiful thoughts about love and relationships.  However, we learn quickly that Theodore isn't writing this letter for himself -- he's not a woman and he's clearly too young to be writing about his 50th wedding anniversary.

No, Theodore's job is to write letters -- deeply personal and meaningful letters -- for other people.  He works at a company that provides this service to an apparently broad and diverse clientele.  It's in these opening moments that we learn the central question the movie will be asking:  How will human beings connect with one another in a future that has us growing ever apart?

This is an ambitious undertaking.  And, to be honest, I'm not sure that the movie does it adequate justice.  But, even if it falls short of its goals -- and I'm not saying it does -- the movie takes us an wonderful philosophical ride.

Theodore's story takes place in the not-too-distant future, when, among other things, people outsource their most personal interactions.  That is what keeps him employed.  And, despite his apparent gift for simulating connections for other human beings, Theodore Twombly has a difficult time making and sustaining connections with other human beings.  This, we learn, is what ended his marriage to Catherine (played by Rooney Mara).  And, it's what keeps him isolated in his lonely apartment night after night.

This all begins to change when he meets someone new.  That someone is a new operating system (OS) for his computer and cell phone.  After answering a few preliminary questions, Theodore calls his OS into existence and, immediately, she (it?) begins to evolve.  Her first order of business: naming herself Samantha (voiced by Scarlett Johansson).

You buy Samantha as a real character right away.  As she goes about organizing Theodore's life, she expresses support and empathy all along the way.  It's easy to see why he takes comfort in her company, even though she's not there with him physically.  After a few weeks a late-night conversations about life and trips around a futuristic Los Angeles where Samantha sees the world through the camera on Theodore's phone, the two begin to fall in love.

I won't go into too much detail beyond the boy-meets-OS premise.  Instead, I'll just say that what follows is a meditation on the complexity of all human relationships, how relationships change as people change and how one person's expectations can set another person up for failure.  In the movie, these complexities exist -- and are in many cases amplified -- even when one of the "people" in the relationship doesn't have a body.

The movie doesn't prescribe answers to the questions it poses.  In a late night conversation with his best friend (played by Amy Adams), Theodore asks, "Am I just in this because I'm not strong enough for a real relationship?"  To which she responds, "Is it not a real relationship?"  There's never a full and complete answer to that question.  All you know is that it feels real to those involved and you see how it impacts them.

Yes, there are distinct elements of classic science fiction in here.  There are computers that become self-aware and begin to expand their views and desires beyond their original programming.  But, this is all just backdrop for the central love story and the exploration of human nature that the movie is trying to undertake.

It may all sound gimmicky and a little creepy, but that's not the way it plays on screen.  Jonze has created a space where these two characters develop without judgment or irony.  And, it works -- one hundred percent.  You don't feel sorry for Theodore and his relationship with his computer.  You don't laugh at their interactions, except in those moments where you actually relate to what they're going through.  Instead, you watch this relationship develop with wonder and curiosity, just as you would any other relationship between two movie characters.

It's a testament to great writing and filmmaking.  Spike Jonze is the man.

Of course, it helps that he has Joaquin Phoenix playing the lead.  With this role, he lets go of his trademark intensity and machismo.  What's left is a natural vulnerability that I don't think he's ever displayed before.  He's in virtually every shot of the movie.  And, his sensitive, sympathetic portrayal of the main character is what drives the movie forward.  I won't say that he was robbed of an Oscar nomination...but he, like many other actors last year, gives an awards-worthy performance in this film.

Scarlett Johansson's performance is almost just as extraordinary.  Though you never see her, she fully inhabits Samantha, giving her life and dimension that doesn't really seem possible.  I don't believe in handing out awards for voice acting.  But, if a voice-only performance ever deserved awards consideration, it's this one.

Long story short, this is just a fantastic film.  I've seen it twice, and it holds up beautifully.  In almost any other year, this film would likely be at the very top of my list.  But...2013 wasn't just any year.

Quick Hitters: Ender's Game and Thor: The Dark World

So...yeah, it's been a while.

Not sure how it happened, but I currently owe reviews on five theatrical releases, not to mention a few movies I caught at home that I'd also like to write about at some point.

Tonight, I will begin the process of digging myself out of this hole.

Typically, I hate writing quick-hitter, capsule reviews.  I'm fully aware that I, myself, am the main beneficiary of this blog and, when I write just a short, one-shot review of a movie, I feel like I'm robbing myself of the writing exercise this blog was created to provide.  

But...what're you gonna do?

Luckily enough, a few weeks back, I saw two movies that I don't have strong feelings about.  Neither of these films were terrible, but they didn't really lend themselves to any sort of deep-dive analysis or recounting.  Thinking about them now, it's actually hard to remember more than just general details anyway.  In short, I don't think I'm doing myself -- or any of my five readers -- a great disservice by offering abbreviated reviews of these two films.

So, without further ado, I offer my short takes on both Ender's Game  and Thor: The Dark World.

Ender's Game **

I suppose I should say up front that the novel upon which this movie is based is not my favorite book of all time.  If it were, I would have been sorely disappointed.  As it was, my disappointment was only mild.  

This is basically a cliff's notes version of Orson Scott Card's sci-fi classic that gives short shrift to some of the most compelling parts of the original story and waters down everything else.  Ender's Game was always going to be a difficult cinematic lift and it would be impossible to get everything just right in a two-hour movie.  But, even if you give the filmmakers the necessary leeway to accomplish what it is a near-impossible task, it's hard not to think that there was a better movie in there somewhere.

The movie comes with spectacular visuals -- particularly in the scenes in the zero-gravity chamber wherein war-games commence -- enough to keep you from thinking you've completely wasted a couple hours of your life.  There's just very little there there when it comes to the story and the characters.

Asa Butterfield -- the star of the magnificent Hugo from a couple years ago -- seems miscast playing the titular hero.  But, that may just have been the dialogue.  And, as always, Harrison Ford -- playing the Colonel Gruff...err...Graff -- phones in another surly performance.

All in all, this is a nothing-burger a movie, which isn't all that bad.  It's just a little sad that they wasted so much of the potential that came with the source material.

Thor: The Dark World **1/2

Simply put, if you liked the first Thor movie -- a Flash Gordon-esque romp of stupidity that was somehow way better than it should have been -- you'll like Thor: The Dark World.  With this sequel, they've successfully recreated the tone and overall feeling of the first film and essentially made what feels like the same movie all over again.

That's not a complaint, just an observation.

The one thing missing from this second film is Tom Hiddleston's Loki.  Sure, he's in the movie.  But he doesn't have nearly the screen time that he deserves.  As Chris Hemsworth walks around flexing and while Natalie Portman and Anthony Hopkins make you wonder what they're doing in a movie like this, all you can do is wait for Loki to show up.  And, when he does -- for longer than a single scene -- it's the best part of the movie.

Yes, despite the name of the movie and Hemsworth's top billing, Tom Hiddleston is the undisputed star of the Thor franchise.  Deal with it.

In the end, this is a super hero movie.  If those types of movies are your bag -- and they're definitely mine -- you'll find more to like than to dislike with this movie.  That's precisely where I come down, hence the two and a half stars.

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.

In Theaters: The Hunger Games ***

So, yeah...I'm writing this review well after virtually everyone on the planet has seen, talked about, and dissected The Hunger Games, when it will serve no useful purpose other than to satisfy my ego-driven desire to put all my opinions into print.

My bad.