DVD Mini Reviews

Once again, trying to get caught up on all the movies I missed in theaters earlier this year, for better or worse (mostly worse, unfortunately).

The Call
Stars: Halle Berry, Abigail Breslin
Plot: A 911 operator gets a phone call from a teenager who has been kidnapped and is being kept in the truck of a car speeding on the freeway and it is eerily reminiscent of a call she had a few months earlier that ended in the death of a different blonde, pretty teenager.
Thoughts: Look, I'm surprised as you are, but I actually enjoyed this movie up until that TERRIBLE ending (and it was so bad, it deserves all caps!). Sure, there are plot holes but I can ignore a plot hole if the movie is at least intriguing and fast paced and entertaining, and The Call was all of these things. Right up until the end, anyway.
Grade: C

Upstream Color
Stars: Amy Seimetz, Shane Carruth
Plot: I copy and pasted the following from IMDB because I can't even... "A man and woman are drawn together, entangled in the life cycle of an ageless organism. Identity becomes an illusion as they struggle to assemble the loose fragments of wrecked lives."
Thoughts: I mean, maybe I'm not as smart as I thought I was, but I didn't get this movie AT ALL. I typically enjoy difficult films. I'm okay with not really completely understanding what's happening, but this movie was so far over my head that I could barely even stand to watch it. It's one of those beautiful, pretentious movies that intellectuals and film snobs love, so I watched it hoping to take something away from it, but really just left with a headache.
Grade: F

Stoker
Stars: Mia Wasikowska, Nicole Kidman, Matthew Goode, Jacki Weaver
Plot: After the death of her father, India grieves while also dealing with some internal changes. Also, her mysterious uncle comes to visit.
Thoughts: The great thing about this movie is that it has stayed with me for weeks. I'm still thinking about it, all this time later. The performances across the board are phenomenal, especially from Wasikowska, who is just amazing. Still, I think it feels like it is too artsy for its own good at times. It's got a good story though, and it's definitely an intriguing film.
Grade: B-

Black Rock
Stars: Kate Aselton, Kate Bosworth, Lake Bell
Plot: Three childhood friends return to a seemingly abandoned island for a camping trip only to discover it isn't so abandoned and, soon, they are fighting for their lives.
Thoughts: Theoretically, this is a great movie. I love the fact that it's directed by a woman and stars three women who have complicated personal lives and are sort of bad ass. However, it's all so pointless. The movie wants to be shocking, when it really should just be a character study. I wanted to like this so much more than I did.
Grade: D+

21 & Over
Stars: Miles Teller, Skylar Astin, Sarah Wright
Plot: A group of friends party for one of their 21st birthdays. Hi-jinx ensues, i.e. The Hangover for college kids.
Thoughts: There were a few genuinely funny moments in this film, and Teller all but saves the movie with his wry charm (he's going to be a huge star, but don't trust me. He's in Spectacular Now out soon and Divergent next year). Still, it's mostly cliche after cliche about hard partying and drinking games and male nudity. We've all seen this movie before.
Grade: C-

Watchmen

Maybe it's because I never read the graphic novel. I don't know. Maybe I just don't get it. But when I say I hated Watchmen, I really hated Watchmen. I've heard it's a pretty faithful adaptation but I also heard the graphic novel was intelligent and thought-provoking. This movie is anything but. There is no soul here. Eventhough I very much love at least three of the actors in this movie, I didn't care about any of the characters at all. Not even a little bit. These characters just aren't fleshed out at all. The bromance between Night Owl and Rorschach is more realistic than the big love triangle and I don't think it should be. The movie is long but I love long movies. I have no problems with long movies... as long as they use the time wisely. I'm not sure that Watchmen does that. Also, being long is the least of the problems here. I know action movies (if this is even an action movie since there are long stretches where there is NO action whatsoever) don't necessarily need good scripts but the writing here was really terrible. The dialogue was very lacking of any wit or intelligence. And, sure, the special effects were great but it's 2009 - the special effects better be great!
The soundtrack was pretty amazing... but it doesn't fit the movie at all. You know when you see a movie and there is a certain scene and a certain song and you think, "My Lord, that song was just made for that scene!" Well, this movie is sort of the opposite of that. The songs were all great but with the exception of the great use of "The Times They Are A-Changing" by Bob Dylan, none of the songs fit with the movie at all. Also, just so you know, when I hear "Hallelujah" by Leonard Cohen, I do not automatically think, "steamy sex scene." At all.
The acting was lacking at best. There was one person in this movie that was amazing - Jackie Earle Haley as Rorshchach. He was a complete and total badass and he was the one and only thing about this movie that made it worth watching (with the exception of Patrick Wilson's ass... which was just lovely). All of the other actors (and I adore Patrick Wilson and Matthew Goode and I like Billy Crudup a hell of a lot) were adequate at best. I do give props to the casting people for actually hiring real actors and not action heroes... but it just doesn't work.
Bascially, the movie was just a big mess. It was inconsistent and disjointed. At one point, near the end, I totally forgot about the basic plot of the movie. Rorschach said, "We need to find out who killed the Comedian" and I was all, "Oh yeah! That's what this mess is about." I'm sure everyone had the best of intentions but with their best efforts, came an incoherent mess.
Grades...
A+ for Patrick Wilson's ass
A- for Jackie Earle Haley's badass performance
D for the overall movie.

The Lookout

As a bank heist story, The Lookout is suspenseful and well made, albeit predictable and boring. As a story of depression and rehabilitation, it's an absorbing character study. Directed by Scott Frank, it stars (the best actor under 30) Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Chris, a rock-star like hockey player who is a bit reckless on prom night and gets into a car accident that leaves two passengers dead, his girlfriend disabled and him impaired emotionally and physically. Chris tries heroically to perform actions that we deem simple, like listing his day-to-day activities in logical sequence. Even his family, especially his father, is impatient with his arrested development. He needs to write everything in a little notebook and relies heavily on his roommate to cook for him even though his roommate Lewis (Jeff Daniels) is blind. So, he's easy prey for a group of wannabe bank robbers who try to entice him into helping them rob the rural Kansas bank where he is the night janitor.

The movie may seem straightforward, but it's more than meets the eye. If you are going to the movie and expecting a bank heist film then netflix Dog Day Afternoon instead. This movie is about Chris and his decent from popular jock to innocent, hard working janitor, to confused, misled and frustrated individual. There is a huge lack of effort being put into films these days. It seems there are less and less films worth seeing, in comparison to movies from the 70s. This is a movie that is well structured, well written, well performed and well directed. How could you possibly complain about something like that? It's a refreshing change of pace from the recent explosion of brainless action and horror films like Ghost Rider and Dead Silence. This movie veers away from Hollywood and lingers in indie territory (even though it's a studio film). The dialogue is crisp, the violence exists but is not overused, the characters are fully fleshed and well developed. Scott Frank really does deserve a round of applause for his lack of fear in really giving the audience some exposition and background to his main character. We really get a glimpse into the life of Chris and really become invested in his decisions and the repercusions they may have. However, for all the energy Frank spends letting us get to know Chris, he leaves the others behind. The supporting characters become like pawns thrown away once their utility has run out. The prime example of that is Isla Fisher and her character Luvlee who seduces Chris and then... just leaves. Is it because she really doesn't care at all or because she cares too much? And what about Ms. Lang, the helpful bank teller who ends up having no bearing whatsoever on the film? Or what about the wonderful Carlo Gugino's blink and you miss it social worker? All these women are thrown into the mix to serve as Chris' background and mindset, but are never fleshed out enough to stand on their own. Even the role of Bone, while creepy and effective enough as the silent and sadistic muscle of the team, is so out of place that it almost becomes laughable. But I'll stop complaining there. Gordon-Levitt doesn't carry the film entirely on his own. He gets some good back up from Daniels and Matthew Goode (who I loved so much in Match Point) as the charming and cocky brains behind the bank robbery plan.

While Frank may misfire a bit on the background players, he gets the plot progression and lead performances down to perfection. I am constantly waiting for a new Gordon-Levitt film (Stop Loss, anyone?) and he never ceases to impress with his film choices and his performances. There's a lot of wit in this film, a lot of zingy one liners and an absolutely breathtaking opening sequence that includes the car crash scene showing the sublime beauty of fireflies that leads to the tragedy which puts into motion the story that follows. It may not be exactly what you are expecting but it's so well done and has such great performances from Gordon-Levitt, Goode and Daniels that it doesn't really matter.

Grade: B+