Elysium

The disappointing summer of 2013 continues...

In 2009, a first time director named Neill Blomkamp directed a little movie called District 9 which completely wowed me. I loved District 9 so much that his follow up film, Elysium, was my absolute most anticipated movie of this summer. I thought Blomkamp had a vision, something different and unique and more intelligent than that standard issue fare from the studios - sequels and reboots. But my anticipation was misplaced because I found Elysium to be nothing more than a huge disappointment.

The movie takes place in the year 2154, where Earth is little more than a shanty town full of the poor and the sick. Meanwhile, the rich live in outer space on a spherical man made planet called Elysium. They have perfect lawns and perfect weather and devices that can cure any illness or injury. Elysium is all but run by Jodie Foster, who has an indescribable accent for some reason, that comes and goes at will. Meanwhile, on Earth, a young boy named Max dreams of taking his childhood sweetheart Frey to the new planet. He grows up to be played by Matt Damon, an ex con who works a terrible job which leads to an accident that leaves him with only 5 days to live. Suddenly, he absolutely has to get to Elysium because they have the machinery to cure him. So, he goes to an old friend named Spider (Wagner Moura, where have you been all my life???). Spider is a shady underground figure who Max apparently did time for earlier so he owes him a favor. Spider's thugs outfit Max with a bad ass exoskeleton which makes him into some sort of super fighter dude, ask him to do one last job for them, and then promise him a ticket to Elysium. Of course, nothing goes right, Max runs into a grown up Frey (Alice Braga) who has problems of her own, and a sociopathic Elysium henchman named Kruger (Sharlto Copley).

So, that's Elysium in a nutshell. In some ways, this movie is really all that you can ask for out of a summer movie. It's got great direction, beautiful visuals, great acting, and special effects that are far and away from most everything else. Plus, it's got a very distinct style and vision and, although dark and depressing, it's special nonetheless. Also, it's so refreshing to have a big budget summer action movie that ISN'T IN 3D!!! So, thank the Lord for that, because I am totally burned out on 3D. So, if this looks and feels like a good sci-fi movie, then why is it so damn disappointing?

Well, for starters, the story is just so bogged down with unnecessary things. I think this sort of movie would have been best, and seemed smarter, if it had just stayed simple. You don't have to throw in some half-cooked, hair-brain idea about stealing encrypted information from someone's brain in order to seem smart, especially when this doesn't advance the plot in any real way. It just forces a character to get from point A to point B, when there are other ways that could have been done. The story just seemed so mediocre and I was definitely expecting so much more from the Blomkamp. I mean, if you don't have a good story to begin with then you really can't have a good movie. So, my biggest problem is the trite and haphazard nature of the plot, but that's hardly the only problem. Jodie Foster, who is a great, great actress, either isn't right for this role in the least or was just phoning it in. Her performance is terrible and nearly as distracting as whatever awful accent she was using for whatever reason. And don't even get me started on the lack of action in this "action movie."

But there is a saving grace and his name is Sharlto Copley, whose gleefully grinning maniac Kruger is the best damn thing about this movie. His performance is so intense, it puts everyone else to shame. He's perfection and gives the absolute best kind of performance, which is to say his mere presence manages to elevate the entire movie. If only he could have been in every single frame. Then perhaps I wouldn't have left Elysium so disappointed.

Grade: C-

Away From Her, The Brave One

Away From Her - There's quite a few female performances that I've loved this year so far: Christina Ricci's fearless work in Black Snake Moan, Keri Russell's adorable/hilarious acting in Waitress, and Ashley Judd's perfection of a performance in Bug. But, I think the one performance that might actually get nominated for an Oscar is Julie Christie in Away From Her. She plays an Alzheimer's patient with such ravishing beauty and emotion. The fim follows her and husband Grant (Gordon Pinsent - more about him in a minute) of 44 years as they struggle with this sudden disease and how it affects their life together. This movie was written and directed by actress Sarah Polley and all I can say is, wow, what an emotional impact of a film coming from someone so young and so inexperienced as a director. This movie is actually quite surprising. The direction is simple and confident. The pace is slow and purposeful. We get to know and love these characters. At the core of the film is the tragic and powerful love story between Grant and Christie's Fiona. They've dealt with Grant's infidelity 20 years earlier and now are dealing with Fiona's dimentia. We watch Grant become the man he always wanted to be as Fiona slips farther and farther away from him. We also watch the fine line he walks as he realizes there are certain things that he must do to make her feel better that will just rip his heart into a million pieces. It's actually sort of a shame that Christie will probably be the one to the get the Oscar nomination come January. Not really a shame I guess, because Christie is just breathtaking to watch. But, really, Pinsent' portrayal of Grant is sterling as well. Pinsent is loving and adoring but also bewildered, stubborn and hopeful. Despite his frustration, he is constantly searching for understanding and resolve for the memories he has difficulty letting go of. It's all in his eyes. He's simply marvelous. And then there is Olympia Dukakis who has a small but crucial role as Marian. She's tough and smart, the wife of a man suffering from Alzheimers, who has accepted the fact that she really needs to just be happy. She should get nominated as well! Really, the film is just wonderful and one that will not easily be forgotten. Sarah Polley shows wonderful restraint and promise as a director. This film is a little bit tragic, a lot heartbreaking, but ultimately beautiful.

Grade: B+

The Brave One - Away From Her and The Brave One have only one thing in common: come February, the stars of these movies will probably be frontrunners for Best Actress at the Oscars. While Julie Christie and Jodie Foster might be battling it out then, the movies couldn't be more different. And choosing a better movie between these two is simple. Away From Her has more soul, emotion, heartache and beauty in 5 minutes than The Brave One has in the whole two hours. The Brave One doesn't exactly start out badly. In fact, the beginning is pretty damn good. But it progressively gets worse and worse until, at the end, it just completely falls apart into a pile of crap. As I said, The Brave One stars Jodie Foster as Erica Bane, a New York City DJ who, at the beginning, is happy and in love with her fiancee David, played by Lost star Naveen Andrews. But a random act of violence cuts their happy life together far too short when the lovers are beaten by some punks in Central Park. David dies. Erica lives... but her life is changed forever. Her life is overtaken by a fear of absolutley everything. She's afraid to leave the house. She's afraid of the footsteps she hears behind her. She's afraid of shadows and noises and just everything. So what does she do? Buys a gun. But she doesn't immediately seek revenge on the men who beat her fiancee to death. Instead, she turns vigalante and starts shooting people who are doing bad things in the city: murdering and robbing and raping. Some people think the Vigalante Killer is a blessing in disguise. Cops Terrence Howard and Nicky Katt disagree. Erica herself is torn up inside. After she kills for the first time, she walks with a new kind of swagger, cockiness and confidence. But, soon after she kills again she is throwing up in a bar bathroom and crying and wanting to turn herself in. It's Foster's relentless and fearless performance that keeps this movie alive. She's amazing to watch. She always has been and she always will be. She's got those beautiful blue eyes that just turn to steel when she needs them to. She's tough and she's icy, but completely vulnerable all at the same time. And she makes it look easy. She makes it look easier than easy. Her performance here will be nominated for an Oscar, for sure. There is no doubt in my mind. And she deserves it. It's just a shame that the movie around here couldn't be as good as she is. It's almost as if the screenwriter knew he had a solid first act and decided to sleepwalk his way through the rest of the script. The dialogue just becomes laughable. Howard holds his own with Foster and Katt breathes some much needed comedy into the whole thing but all of the other supporting actors just aren't up to par. By the time the ending comes around, you're tired and you're bored and you know what's going to happen. It's no surprise. And worst of all, the ending isn't even done well! It's a shame because Jodie really does deserve a better movie around her.

Grade: D+