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Alien: Covenant (2017)
See the movie, ignore the vitriol
Superficially, this movie looks like a replay of the original Alien--a crew of people of varying capabilities, some of whom make human mistakes. (And by the way: if the original crew of Alien had been subjected to the current climate of fault-finding, the film would never have become a favorite; the Nostromo crew made quite a few dumb mistakes as well, as did the people in Aliens.)
But the apparent similarity to the first Alien is illusory. This movie is a straight-up horror film, with one of the most insidious villains (David) and one of the most genuinely terrifying endings I can remember. (Just put yourself in Daniels' place.) And for those who say that they can see the twist ending coming? Duh. You're supposed to be able to see it coming; that's where the tension arises in the last ten minutes. The ending is admittedly a set-up for the next film; but even if there is no next film, the ending still works as the ultimate horror.
The film is well acted, especially by Fassbender, who also creates a memorable and distinctive character in Walter; the rest of the crew is likable, the setting and cinematography are extraordinary.
Hell or High Water (2016)
As comfortable as an old shoe
I saw this movie without benefit of knowing anything about it at all, and that certainly enhanced my enjoyment; so beware of potential spoilers that follow. This is a modern western that revolves around two brothers (Chris Pine and Ben Foster) who try to save their farm from the bank, and an old grizzled lawman (Jeff Bridges) who tracks them to a bloody finale. Foster is the crazy one, who has done a lot of time and is reckless beyond all reason. Pine is the seemingly stable, law-abiding brother who is trying to keep the farm for his children, and is the mastermind. We are thrust into the bank-robbing action at the start, and it takes awhile to figure out what they are doing. In the meantime we are introduced to Bridges and his partner Alberto, engagingly played by Gil Birmingham, as their sleepy routine is interrupted by a string of robberies. There is nothing new in the action--except perhaps the rather open-ended conclusion--but the whole of it is done so well (acting, directing, cinematography) that it is a pleasure to see it get some traction at the box office. Well worth seeing.
The Light Between Oceans (2016)
A lush, romantic melodrama
Of the sort they don't make anymore, because the money is going into franchises and CGI.
This film has two major characters, and a lot of its strength depends on the chemistry between the two leads. Tom Sherbourne, played by Michael Fassbender, is a damaged World War I veteran who spent four years on the Western Front. He is taciturn and undemonstrative, with eyes full of pain; Fassbender gives one of his best and most restrained performances. Isabel Greysmark, in an equally remarkable performance by Alicia Vikander, comes into his life. She is young, mischievous, and something of a miracle for him. They fall in love, marry, and suffer through miscarriages that lead them to fear that they will be childless. A small boat washes up on their island with a baby and a dead man. Isabel makes what is actually a rather good case for keeping it and sparing the infant from the orphanage that seems likely to be her fate; their isolation, their sense of being alone and away from civilization, makes this choice less absurd than it sounds. And there I'll stop with the plot, since this is what is widely known.
The film features extraordinary performances, by the two leads as well as Rachel Weiss in a strong supporting role and a uniformly good supporting cast. The cinematography is beautiful; the story is faithful to the best-selling novel.
How to explain the critical drubbing? Certainly many of the reviews reveal an intolerance or impatience with "women's issues" (the miscarriages) and emotion; too many critics dismiss the film with the shorthand and inaccurate "Nicholas Sparks" comparison. Ignore the critics and see the movie.
Out of the Furnace (2013)
Grim, Post-Industrial USA
Like "God's Pocket," the Philip Seymour Hoffman film that also appeared last year, "Out of the Furnace" is an uncompromising look at the detritus of the post-industrial United States. Mills and factories close, leaving behind ugly, depressing towns, the hopeless un- or underemployed, and the rise of black market economies in drugs and bare-knuckle fighting. It is sobering to realize that the crumbling neighborhoods and rusting industrial structures are real and shot on location, rather than created by CGI for some dystopian science fiction film. Woody Harrelson's portrayal is remarkable, creating a sense of menace the first time he's on screen. Christian Bale and Casey Affleck are brothers, and both have a kind of shell-shocked response to all that has happened to them. Sam Shepard also stands out as Uncle Red, who foreshadows the many small defeats the other two will have in the future. Did I like it? I can't say that I did, but it is worth seeing.
The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)
Late, Bad Scorsese
What a noisy, stupid movie this is. And repetitive, too. An hour could have been cut from the film with no harm done. It is oddly like a drama by Christopher Marlowe, or one of the other lesser Elizabethan playwrights: there is no real plot line, no character development, but rather a constant and increasingly frenetic repetition of what has gone before. The self-indulgence of the whole is reflected in the performances. McConaughey's chest-thumping scene is painful to watch. Jonah Hill does his usual thing. Leonardo diCaprio smirks his way through the film, though admittedly that may suit the character. (But pity those early enthusiasts who referred to the 'lude scene as "brilliant.") Bright spots are Kyle Chandler as the FBI agent; admittedly I may have liked him because I hoped he would arrest Jordan, and cut the movie short. Margot Robbie, however, was unabashedly terrific, and really the only reason for watching.
Anaconda (1997)
A Secret Favorite
Secret, because who would otherwise admit to liking this guilty pleasure? It is closest to Creature from the Black Lagoon in its structure: a trip down the Amazon of an ill-assorted group, a search for an elusive creature, or in this case, at first at least, the People of the Mist; some red shirt people; and Jon Voight playing the Nestor Paiva sort of role of the guy who's been on the river too long--and a would-be priest, no less. The virtues of the film include, most importantly, Voight's funny and outrageous performance (do Paraguayans sound like that?!). The beautiful Jennifer Lopez is eye candy. There is also the stuffy English narrator of the documentary they are making and Owen Wilson in his usual feckless character mode. And of course there is the titular character and star of the show. Altogether it's fun and moves along briskly.
Camelot (1967)
Not very good
The flaws of this film stem largely from the play, in the form of an uneven tone and mediocre songs ("If Ever I Would Leave You" was the only one that survived). The visual appearance of the opening sequence, meant to evoke the mystical quality of Camelot, merely looks like a stage setting. While Richard Harris fares well as Arthur, whose character remains honorable and consistent from beginning to end, the other two leads are hampered by both characterization and performance. Guinevere, played by Vanessa Redgrave, is introduced to us as a spoiled and silly woman ("The Simple Joys of Maidenhood"). She adds to that a distinct lack of regal behavior (her romps in "It's May") and finally brings down the Round Table and the dream. It is hard not to wish that she had lost her way to Camelot in the first place. Lancelot, played by Franco Nero, is introduced to us in a comic song ("C'est Moi") that presents him as a self-centered and fatuous buffoon. His transition into the tragic, tortured hero that he becomes is unconvincing. Part of the problem with these two characters is in the writing, but not all. Redgrave projects a "hippy" Guinevere that now seems horribly stuck in time. Nero was simply miscast. The film is overlong, at more than 3 hours, and many are unlikely to stick with it.
The Five-Year Engagement (2012)
Better than I Thought
I watched this movie, and at first found it rather dull. Then I realized that I was thinking about it with some pleasure. This movie gets many things right. The difficulties of a two-career couple ring true, particularly when one partner "trails" the other to a lesser job than he (in this case) could get on his own. I know a chef, and the difference between running a trendy restaurant and making sandwiches--no matter how revered the sandwich shop locally--is significant. Violet finds herself in a convincingly dead-end post-doc. The imposed misery of organizing a wedding these days makes one envy this couple's resolution to that problem. To be sure, there are a few problems. The film drags at the end. There is one scene (the "Choose your cookie" scene) that made me want to scream, though it was essential to the plot. In short, this is an enjoyable film, a little bit better than it was generally considered to be, and is worth watching.
Underworld (1927)
A Study of Three
Josef Sternberg's Underworld is a compelling story of three people. Bull Weed is a crude gangster with a penchant for helping people; we see him kill, and yet we still find redeeming virtues. Rolls Royce is an attorney driven to Skid Row by his alcoholism, lifted out of his misery by Bull. Finally, Feathers McCoy winces when Bull introduces her to Rolls Royce as his girl, a small moment that tells us all we need to know; and she doesn't answer when Rolls Royce asks her what she was doing when Bull rescued her. There are also three central scenes in the film: the early scene in the speakeasy, when Buck Mulligan (another gangster) tries to humiliate Rolls Royce; the hypnotic scene of the gangsters' ball, a surreal and sinister gathering of the underworld elite; and the exciting final shootout. The Alloy Orchestra track that comes with the Criterion DVD fits the dark mood of the film perfectly.
The Counselor (2013)
Poetic Justice
The Counselor is a beautiful, mesmerizing film with gorgeous dialog and top performances. The plot structure is classic film noir: the protagonist becomes entangled in something that is too big for him, he is powerless before his enemies, and he is destroyed. Fassbender, who is always capable of dominating the screen, deliberately dials back to a passive presence here, limited (unlike the other characters) to one-line responses--one of the most powerless of all film noir protagonists, even in words. Yet from this he creates an indelible character: already corrupt (there are plenty of indications of this), blinded by his own arrogance, and perhaps driven by an inner desire for self-destruction (why else does he keep piling up the debts, until his back is "against the wall?"), he finds punishment and annihilation. The other actors are all top notch. Penelope Cruz becomes a victim we care about. Javier Bardem and Brad Pitt are flamboyant and funny. Cameron Diaz is appropriately chilling. Ruben Blades, Bruno Ganz, and Rosie Perez each have wonderful scenes (all with Fassbender). John Leguizamo and Dean Norris have a darkly comic conversation, one of many moments of humor in the film. Even the drug/sewage truck has its own personality, in the form of a theme that plays whenever it appears (given the cheeriness of the theme, another example of dark humor). The Counselor, with its many quotable lines and startling occurrences, its layers of meaning, and its terrifying foreshadowing, is a brilliant, satisfying film.