Film Review: "The Tree of Life" (***1/2)

With the Cannes Film Festival landscape all wrapped up now, one could say that the festival hasn't truly ended yet. After all, the films that appeared there will continue to trickle into release over the next several months, and the feeling still inevitably lingers long after that. I remember last year's festival as a potent memory, and in fact last year was such a dynamic year in cinema that couldn't possibly be ignored or overlooked. And in the several months that passed after that, I became specifically jaded against Terrence Malick's "The Tree of Life". Mind you, that was a very negative time for me personally, and not necessarily the best time to be writing up film reviews.

Truth is, I never gave Malick's film a chance in the first place. I never really payed attention to it beyond the first screening, and in the several months that passed I allowed my view of the film to become distorted. I wanted it to be so, which kind of gave me a leg out of the hoopla that many found themselves in. The film registers different perspectives from nearly every person who sees it, which challenged me in a way I wasn't ready for. I'm a rather selfish moviegoer, and I expect a film to be something specific, even if it isn't my something. I just couldn't pin down the film, in all its ethereal mist, and it led me to landing on what seemed like a definitive condemning mark: Pretentious.

TOP 10 SHOTS from "Inglourious Basterds"

Welcome back once again to TOP 10 SHOTS, our weekly space to catch up and gaze at the visual splendor that goes in service of narrative, or at times non-narrative, cinema. My humble apologies for not having anything to give you for the past two weeks. It seems that my laziness has caught up with me and I simply can't afford to indulge it any longer. So I'm back in full force with a weekly tackling of compelling cinema of the purest form. Visual cinema is quite possibly the most compelling, with dialogue at best only to be used as a propeller for the plot, and the plot to be used only as propeller for the visuals.

However, if I'm to be perfectly honest, it took me a rather long while to arrive at the film I'd be focusing on this week. It's not so easy as picking a film and running with it. Even the best can prove not to be treasure troves of visual wonder. So can very well be said of "Full Metal Jacket", Stanley Kubrick's Vietnam war film. Powerfully disturbing and brutally clinical in all the best Kubrick ways, it nonetheless isn't so visually compelled. I did have thoughts of going through "Men in Black 3"s cinematographer to take a look at "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World", but that's a film made entertaining through feat of editing. Single shots have little to offer.

CANNES 2012 REACTIONS: Andrew Dominik's "Killing Them Softly"

Amongst the less easy-to-pin films of Cannes thus far is Andrew Dominik's follow-up to "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford". To be honest, if they told me "Killing Them Softly" was just a contemporary update of that previous work, I'd believe them. This has been a difficult film to follow, due to an uncertainty over how it will turn out. But as the festival keeps moving ever forward, we keep hearing positive, if not overly ecstatic, receptions. Somehow that feels worst than having several major disappointments, but we'll learn to forgive. That's where this film stands, not quite at being "hit of the festival", and instead being rather simply agreeable.

Todd McCarthy (Hollywood Reporter): "The film noir crime dramas of the late 1940s and early 1950s were about a palpable unease in the country, but this remained a subtext rather than the overt subject of the films. Here, Dominik explicitly articulates his intended meanings, which have to do with money, institutional rot and what happens when you don’t keep your economic house in order. Either approach is valid but, perhaps in this day and age, audiences need their messages to be quick and direct. Killing Them Softly delivers them that way."

OSCAR 2011 PREDICTIONS: Lead Actor

Moving on to much bigger strokes, the main races always seem to be the most easily predicted, because they've had the most attention in terms of precursors. I suppose it's just knowing to pay attention to the right precursors. I wouldn't consider the Golden Globes as such, which is one advisement in why I expect George Clooney won't win. Sure, he has the favor of plenty precursors, but I believe it will most surely go to SAG winner Jean Dujardin. That's likely the most important precursor to have under your belt, and he should slide into it like a clean glove.

Now, if Gary Oldman ended up pulling out a surprise win, which I and everyone else is hoping for, that would be great. Not going to happen, but it would undeniably be a move in the right direction. The other two contenders are pretty much there to make the category look a little bit prettier. Demian Bichir, in my opinion, has little right in really being there, and it doesn't really throw in the right spice of difference. If they wanted that, they'd have gone with their senses and voted up Michael Fassbender for "Shame". I am happy to see Brad Pitt here, to a degree. Why not? He's another strong piece of "Moneyball", and though I thought his better work was in "The Tree of Life", I suppose it's nice to have him here.

AWARDS 2011: "Artist" & "Moneyball" take Boston critics

Boston may have been the first of today's critics awards to start voting, but they certainly have taken the longest of the three. The winners have been predictable to say the least, but it is worth mentioning that they were the first to get it right as far as Best New Filmmaker is concerned. Take a look at the whole list of winners below.

BEST PICTURE: "The Artist"

BEST DIRECTOR: Martin Scorsese ("Hugo")

BEST SCREENPLAY: "Moneyball"

BEST ACTRESS: Michele Williams ("My Week with Marilyn")

BEST ACTOR: Brad Pitt ("Moneyball")

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Melissa McCarthy ("Bridesmaids")

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: Albert Brooks ("Drive")

BEST ENSEMBLE: "Carnage"

BEST NEW FILMMAKER: Sean Durkin ("Martha Marcy May Marlene")

BEST USE OF MUSIC: "The Artist"/"Drive"

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY: "The Tree of Life"

BEST DOCUMENTARY: "Project Nim"
BEST FOREIGN FILM: "Incendies" 

For Your Anticipation: Just Be Quiet!

I'm hearing some rather expected things about "Happy Feet Two", and it's nothing you couldn't have guessed from the trailers. It seems to be following in the same mold as "Cars 2" of disappointing followups to 2006 Best Animated Feature nominees. "Happy Feet" won about five years ago, and I highly doubt that will happen again for this one. It looks like another predictable cash grab, without anything that made the first one slightly touching. Now it's just penguins singing for the heck of it.

Carpet-Bagging: Lost Boys of the Backdrop

I don't think the lack of unanimous structure in the lead acting races is confined between the two of them. There's as much of an absence from the supporting races as well, which is only noticed by further examination. Personally, I thought that it would be a no-brainer, but then I remembered that the world is a cruel and horrible place, and nothing ever goes my way. The supporting actor race in particular is kind of a crap shoot right now. We've still got a ways to go before the year's end, and what comes along in that time may make this race more definitive, but right now it's hard to place a bet on anyone with confidence.

Although, I think many are agreed that Christopher Plummer is the only real lock thus far. After all, people were so pleased with "Beginners", most especially Plummer's performance. Myself, I'm not sipping the koolaid as much as others are. Sure, his performance is strong, but only as strong as the film will allow him to be. Now, I'd be much more willing to throw Albert Brooks out there as frontrunner for "Drive", but one wonders if the Academy may be a bit adverse to it. I'm pretty confident he'll get a nomination, but not the Waltz-Ledger-Bardem win he so deserves after busting out such a surprising performance.

Carpet-Bagging: Men of Lowered Confidence

If I'm going to be perfectly audience, I think this is one of the weakest years in recent memory for the Best Actor race. That might be because my standards just recently were raised, but I'm having trouble finding any of the supposed frontrunners in this race really that fascinating. There's a similar problem in the Supp. Actor race, but that's more to do with the fact that it's really anyone's game. In the lead category, I'm just having trouble putting much faith behind even one candidate. Of course, there is plenty of room for debate here, and we'll get a better idea of the race when the critics awards start hitting, but for now it's hard to figure this one out.

The nominees seem like the most easily assembled bunch, and yet when you look a little deeper below the surface, there's going to be a tussle for the nominations this year. Brad Pitt has had a ton of buzz recently for "Moneyball", but I'm having strong doubts that will last through till year's end. It's a charming performance, but I don't think that will be enough to eek out a nod. One thing that's important to remember is how elite these races are supposed to be, and Pitt just might be the odd person out in this race. I think it's more likely for him to get passion for "The Tree of Life" than for this, as well he should.

Oscar Park: "Moneyball"

Sorry I've been so ridiculously behind the beat this week. It's just been one of those weeks when you think you're more consumed by work than you actually are. As such, expect something a bit more regular and well grounded this week than in past weeks. It's hard to get a sturdy working schedule when things are still shifting around you. And I have to get caught up on the Oscar prognostication, which shouldn't be too hard seeing as little has actually changed. Things haven't gone considerably up or down. They're just slowly molding. "Moneyball" has been the latest addition to the fray, though I have reservations on its chances.

Film Review: "Moneyball" (***)

"We are card counters at the blackjack table. We're gonna turn the odds on the casino."

That is perhaps the closest that Bennett Miller's new film gets to the snappy and rapid-fire intensity of "The Social Network", another film written by Aaron Sorkin. Although "Moneyball" has had the imprint of a cacophony of other writers, it bares the strongest mark of the recent awards winner. This is a far degree from that previous writing venture, but don't expect me to spend all my time griping that it's not as good as "The Social Network". These two are vastly different films that share that similar feeling. There are plenty of things that this film has in its favor.

"Moneyball" isn't a film I was really too eager to see, so the response I had to it was somewhat positive for my expectations. It's set on the backdrop of the world of baseball, but it's oddly enough not really about baseball. It deals more with what the sport, at its best, represents. Brad Pitt plays Billy Beane, a former baseball player whose luck didn't pan out, and now he's general manager of the ill-budgeted Oakland Athletics. He's the odd man out at the discussion table, with scouts of the old generation of baseball throwing around superficial nitpickery about players. "He has an ugly girlfriend. Ugly girlfriend means no confidence", states one geezer superficially.

For Your Anticipation: The Lineup Card is Mine

 I can't say I have much interest in seeing "Moneyball" this weekend. Given my own circumstances, it's something of a lame duck. I'm not singing the fine music in this one's regards, because where most have reacted so positively to it, I just lack a sense of interest. It looks like a boring statistics race set on the boring backdrop of sports. Maybe good for some straight interest, but other than that I don't see a reason to invest my own time.

"Moneyball" Trailer

I don't really appreciate sports, and as such I don't often appreciate such inspirational sports films as this, but Moneyball does have a great deal going for it. Placing Brad Pitt in the leading role is a nice start, and his character seems to be more than just your typical aggressive inspirational coach figure, as he's not even a coach. Pairing him up with Jonah Hill is another interesting move. Having a touch up on the script done by Aaron Sorkin helps. Probably the most obviously successful move is Wally Pfister as cinematographer. If nothing else, this looks like the best looking sports film in years.

For Your Anticipation: That's A Good Right

What can I say about The Tree of Life that hasn't already been said at this point? Pretty much nothing, so check out my previous two pieces on the film here and here.

Can I Still Be Excited for "The Tree of Life"?

Yesterday brought the unveiling of one of the most anticipated films at Cannes Film Festival, The Tree of Life from famed filmmaker Terrence Malick. I'd been excited for the film for months, because I had a bunch of people talking to me about how brilliant a director Terrence Malick is. This is where I come to my weakest moment as a film critic, because I just took everyone's word on it. I hadn't seen a single Terrence Malick film in my entire life, and I just let people say that he's brilliant without thinking otherwise. As such, my excitement for The Tree of Life lasted just until a few days ago. I decided to actually take a look at one of Terrence Malick's more famed films, The Thin Red Line.

I was sitting there watching it, trying to find what people so adored about Malick's work, but I simply could not get into it. There was something so prosaic and self-destined about Malick's work that just turned me off. It's beautiful and all, but shouldn't there be something more? I went back to the trailer for The Tree of Life, and the pondering intellectual monologues on life seemed so much more prevalent than the visuals. I find myself asking now, what am I excited for? What is there behind this work that draws me to it beyond visuals and Brad Pitt? I then answered my own question rather simply by saying, "nothing."

I feel like now I'm going to incur the wrath of an armada of cinephiles who believe me insane for saying such, but despite the somewhat positive reaction to The Tree of Life, I doubt that it will find a place on my end of the year list, even amongst the honorable mentions. I had considered a trip to New York City so that I could see it sooner rather than later, but I'm a lot more patient now. I can wait the entire Summer to see it, and I'll still be okay. Am I saying that it looks like complete utter nonsense? Of course not, because there is something solid and agreeable there. Do I feel like my life will be changed by what I see? No.

Cannes Coverage 2011: "The Tree of Life"

We've been waiting for word on this film for years, waiting for something to tell us whether this is the "redefinition of cinema", as alleged test screenings raved, or merely another good film. Personally, I am a mild fan of Terrence Malick, but I'm not as praising as others. I've tried to get into one of his films, but there has always been a certain prosaic lifelessness to his work that's pushed me back. I was awe struck by the trailer for The Tree of Life, simply because it was oh so beautiful. The plot, on the other hand, just seems rather been-there-done-that. And so the reviews are bound to be good, but there was always going to be some sense of mild disappointment amidst the raves of others.

Guy Lodge (In Contention), ***: "Further fuzzing the question of what The Tree of Life wishes to say about our collective spiritual journey (perhaps it’s that the director is still open to all options, which is no bad thing, though confusing to visualize), it’s a badly misjudged finish to a film that nonetheless has sections so rapturous as to justify the six-year wait since The New World on their own. (That said, the film’s weaknesses may well be the result of an overthought creative process.) Malick’s slow-burn cinema tends to take several viewings to reveal its full arsenal of tactile pleasures, so I already look forward to a second encounter with his latest. At first blush, however, I’m left stimulated but unmoved, as if having watched the life of someone I hardly know flash before my eyes."

"The Tree of Life" Poster

Finally, we get a look at one of them dinosaurs! In case you couldn't figure it out, column 3, row 10. I think at this point we have a vague idea of what The Tree of Life is about, and it's a very exciting possibility. It's obviously not essentially about dinosaurs or the space shots we see in the trailer, but the story of a boy becoming a man. We can't quite say what this film will be because it hasn't happened yet. This poster offers not one stunning image, but several different beautiful images, none of which ultimately reveal the essential meaning of the film, nor should they. Terrence Malick remains evasive to the very end.

Film Review: Megamind

We've had quite a year for animated films, with plenty of ups (Toy Story 3) and downs (Despicable Me). I was expecting Megamind to land somewhere in the middle, probably more on the side of such Dreamworks films as Madagascar. So I was pleasantly surprised as the film got into the groove of things, eventually proving itself to be the most simple fun to be had at the movies all year. It carefully treads the line between Dreamworks and Pixar, this time to somewhat better success than How to Train Your Dragon. It's still mainly a Dreamworks film, which means, among other things, that it can have the best of both of worlds, along with a bit of the bad.

The film focuses on Megamind, a blue-skinned intellectual villain from another world, who has spent his entire life combating against the hero of Metro City, Metro-Man. When Megamind finally bests (and by bests I mean kills) his foe, he finally realizes that having a nemesis was really what kept him going. So he creates a new superhero out of his frequent kidnap victim Roxanne Ritchi's cameraman Hal, who becomes the villainous Tighten. From there on the story escalates into a tale of redemption with Megamind learning who he really is and who he wants most to be. In any of the old Dreamworks films it would've come out cheesy, but this was rather heartfelt and struck true.

There are quite a few things that I absolutely love about this film, the first of which is the voice-cast. Will Ferrell really made me forget that he was the man behind the voice, which helps liken him to the audience and myself, especially since he turned me off from The Other Guys. Brad Pitt is totally solid as Metro Man, who most closely resembles the Harry Potter character in A Very Potter Musical. It's a strange reference, but the one that most rings true. Jonah Hill is the most recognizable of the voices, just because he plays a fat guy in this film, and he's a fat guy in real life as well. David Cross is pretty good in the role of Minion, and since I still don't know what he looks like in real life, he blends in pretty seamlessly. However, the best person in the cast is without a doubt Tina Fey as Roxanne Ritchi. The last time we got such a spectacular connection within an animated character based solely on the voice acting was Ellen Degeneres in Finding Nemo. Fey just goes above and beyond with everything she does simply with her voice. If I didn't already know it would never possibly happen, I'd recommend her as a Supporting Actress contender for this film.

In so many ways, I actually prefer Megamind to How to Train Your Dragon. I know that the latter may have more realistic emotional content to it, along with the powerful sense of danger. Megamind was simply the sort of film I can envision going back to over and over again and still having a fantastic time. I was laughing at most of the jokes, which is pretty much a prerequisite for any animated feature. The romance in this film comes off in a genuinely emotional way, and doesn't seem to come out of the blue (no pun intended). You can tell that Ritchi and Megamind have a nice long-standing relationship, even if it is in something of a negative light starting out.

Finally, the action in the film is just a return to form for superhero films, live action and animated. Iron Man 2 didn't really give us anything that made us care about the characters, which is important for the action to feel necessary at all. By the end, you're hoping Megamind will win and save the day, and that's the key to all of this. It only helps that Lorne Balfe and Hans Zimmer have put together a superb action score as usual, and that theme almost never gets old. It doesn't forget to inject some humor into it, including a moment that briefly parodies how some final battle sequences seem to keep finding excuses to go on and on. Megamind is definitely going to have people set against it, and it is at least five minutes too long, but the last time I can remember having this much fun at the theaters was last year when I went to see Star Trek for the first time. It's a fantastically enjoyable and fast paced experience that I hope more people take in.

B+

"The Tree of Life" Poster

There's nothing like a nice and simple little poster to set off the marketing campaign for Terrence Malick's highly anticipated next film, The Tree of Life, releasing in theaters next May. Sometimes simpler is better.

For Your Anticipation: Extended Warranty

I must admit that Megamind has slowly been warming up to me. It has slowly edged its way to the top of my list this weekend, so I'm probably going to be reviewing it instead of Due Date. It has the advantage of coming from a studio that's just coming off their best film yet. It won't be nearly as good as that, but I think it will be good for what it is. It's a Dreamworks style spoof of the superhero genre, which should pack some nice comedy and action into that 90-minute runtime. I don't expect anything close to The Incredibles, as none should. I hope it will be good for what it is. Here's a clip featuring the three top actors in the film engaging in some hilarious banter about good and evil.

Comic Con 2010: Brad Pitt to star in "World War Z"

"We ain't in the prisoner taking bid'ness. We in the killin' zombie bid'ness, and cuzzin, bid'ness is boomin."

So the first news to spring from San Diego is that Brad Pitt has been attached to star in Marc Forster's adaptation of Max Brooks' novel, World War Z. As hinted in the title, the film follows a war between humans and zombies after an outbreak due to unknown causes. So yes, it's a zombie movie, so there lies my hesitation about the project. The only zombie movie I ever really enjoyed was Zombieland. I'm not sure what Marc Forster has planned for the project, or what role Brad Pitt is taking, but the film is aiming for a summer 2012 release.