Les Miserables

— I went to “Les Miserables” not certain what I’d think, but I was suckered in without much kicking or screaming. It seemed a little plodding at first, but then this is during the oppressive and depressive French Revolution. Once the characters are all accounted for, they worked on me until they had me by my heartstrings--the actors really were awfully good and the direction really was awfully grand. Tom Hooper has created an oversized film, almost rejecting the confines of the stage, and then served up very intimate moments with songs so emotional you have to go with it. True, the "to love another person is to see the face of God" them is only slightly more sophisticated than “love means never having to say you’re sorry”, but that’s okay, it’s all part of the experience that’ is, as NPR says, “misery and music blended for the big screen”.

---

[2012. 158 min. Directed by Tom Hooper. Starring Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, Anne Hathaway, Amanda Seyfried, Sacha Baron Cohen, Helena Bonham Carter, and Eddie Redmayne.]
http://www.npr.org/2012/12/24/167624491/in-paris-misery-and-music-blended-for-the-big-screen

Django Unchained

— Saw “Django Unchained”. I have to admit I wasn’t a fan of “Pulp Fiction” or “Jackie Brown” or the “Kill Bills”, even though most of my friends were, but with “Inglourious Basterds”, I saw the light, thinking it was his first great film, “Django” is even better! It has great dialog, great casting, and the ability to walk the line between farce and reality perfectly. It has the usual amount of spurting blood, but that’s just Tarantino. Sometimes you’re not sure you should be smiling and try not to laugh, but if you’re in a dark theatre, you don’t have to spend much time worrying about where Tarantino’s taking you until the film ends and you’re there. Definitely worth seeing if you’re not worried about the blood and language.

---

[2012. 165 min. Directed by Quentin Tarantino. Starring Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz, Leonardo DiCaprio, Kerry Washington, and Samuel L. Jackson.]
http://www.rollingstone.com/movies/reviews/django-unchained-20121213

Life of Pi

— Saw “Life of Pi” on Monday. It’s a fine example of the value of a great director. It’s beautiful and captivating with CGI that’s amazing (adds meaning to “Tyger Tyger, burning bright…”). Gorgeous as it was, when it was over I didn’t give it another thought.

---

[2012. 127 min. Directed by Ang Lee. Starring Suraj Sharma, Irrfan Khan, and Adil Hussain.]
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/how-did-they-bring-the-unfilmable-life-of-pi-to-our-screens-8393738.html

Hitchcock

— Caught “Hitchcock” yesterday and enjoyed it but, in a year with many very good films, it just doesn’t make the cut, even if Anthony Hopkins' acting does. Helen Mirren is perfectly adequate and, even at that level, she can still hold her own. Sadly, the two, main female supporting stars are mostly terrible. The film covers a short portion of Hitchcock’s life but it is a fascinating peek, even if it is a little bumpy. I think movie addicts will find it of interest, and I now intend to find out if Hitchcock’s wife, Alma, was really as impressive as presented in the film, but I would have preferred a film with better acting, a little more subtlety, and a lot more fact than fantasy.

---

[2012. 98 min. Directed by Sacha Gervasi. Starring Anthony Hopkins, Helen Mirren, Scarlett Johansson, Danny Huston, and Toni Collette.]
http://articles.latimes.com/2012/nov/23/entertainment/la-et-mn-hitchcock-movie-reviews-critics-20121123

Anna Karenina

---

[2012. 129 min. Directed by Joe Wright. Starring Keira Knightly, Juda Law, Aaron Taylor-Johnson.]
— Remember that feeling during the first half hour of “Moulin Rouge” when you realized you were watching something so different, so clever, so interwoven that you were fascinated and liking it? Well, I had the same feeling about “Anna Karenina” – interwoven, not a musical but unfolding with a rhythm all its own, an attention to details and set design that gave it a flow, a tight and clever script that allowed it to move from stage to the larger world and back again, and good actors too, but somehow it fell a little flat in the middle and I lost patience with nearly everyone and wondered if screenplay writer and director had just run out of steam or if we were supposed to accept a slower pace as things unraveled as befitting the unfolding storyline. By the end, it hooked me back again, regaining my interest, and I think it’s something worth seeing and marveling at its theatricality, but by breathing new life into an old story, I think the characters lost their motivations and, with it, my sympathy.

http://www.focusfeatures.com/Anna_Karenina

The Sessions

— Some pretty funny lines in “The Sessions”. Enough to make you at first feel a little Catholic guilt about your laughter until you realize everyone in the film is a grown-up and upfront about what’s happening. There are many more emotions underneath this subtle, low-key film that touches your heart so gently you almost don’t realize you let it take hold of you. In my previous life I’d been familiar with “Breathing Lessons”, a wonderful film about the same person, Mark O’Brien, that won the Academy Award for short documentary. “The Sessions” moved me very much and the remarkable performances by Helen Hunt and John Hawkes deserve the bulk of the credit. It’s well worth seeing.

---

[2012. 94 min. Directed by Ben Lewin. Starring John Hawkes, Hellen Hunt, and William H. Macy.]
http://movies.nytimes.com/2012/10/19/movies/the-sessions-with-john-hawkes-and-helen-hunt.html

Skyfall

— Sam Mendes directed two of my favorite films, “Revolutionary Road” and “American Beauty”, but I wasn’t sure he was up to handling the Bond franchise. “Skyfall” ends up being much more introspective than, but still just as robust as previous Bond films. Maybe it’s my recent job status change and related empathy with M and Bond as they struggle with the perceptions by cyber youth and politicians that they’re older and slower and less useful, but I really liked this film and its intricate plot and fine acting. Giving M more screen time and adding Adele’s theme song doesn’t hurt either. Favorite quote: “Youth is not a guarantee of innovation”.

---

[2012. 143 min. Directed by Sam Mendes. Starring Daniel Craig, Judi Dench, Javier Bardem, Ralph Fiennes, and Naomie Harris.]
http://www.sfgate.com/movies/article/Skyfall-review-M-is-for-mommy-figure-4020528.php

A Separation

— On the train back from Chicago I watched Asghar Farhadi’s “A Separation”. Hard to believe it’s taken me this long to see it, but it was worth the wait. Seeing the day-to-day aspects of a society whose secular/religious pattern is so different from ours is part of the appeal, but it is the familiarity of the motivations that made me uneasy. Everyone must lie and there is no justice, only desperation. No one comes out unscathed and everyone is separate. Depressing but a very good film.

---

[2011. 123 min. Directed by Asghar Farhadi. Starring Peyman Moaadi, Leila Hatami, and Sareh Bayat.]
http://movies.nytimes.com/2011/12/30/movies/a-separation-directed-by-asghar-farhadi-review.html?_r=0