Should be a good holiday Disney movie - about show business
The Counselor
Cormac McCarthy wrote this screenplay and it gives this Narco cautionary tale an Old West feel. The El Paso/ Juarez setting adds to the Tex/Mex mix. And the Ridley Scott direction makes it an interesting visual mix of the bleak and the bling.
Michael Fassbender is Counselor, which is what everyone calls him. He's a lawyer in El Paso and seems to have it all: pretty fiancee (Penelope Cruz), nice Bentley, everyone's buddy. But he's either already decided or decided a long time ago to go into the drug business himself. The other Narcos, Javier Bardem and Brad Pitt try to generally talk him out of it but Counselor doesn't seem too worried. But when he as attorney gets mixed up with the Green Hornet, all hell breaks loose.
The movie starts a bit slow, but picks up a little speed once the plot gets figured out. Needless to say it is not about the mishaps but rather how the experience changes the Counselor. Lots of plot jumps and figuring out characters makes it similar to some very outstanding movies: Pulp Fiction, Drive, No Country for Old Men, Crash.
* * * 1/2 of 4
Michael Fassbender is Counselor, which is what everyone calls him. He's a lawyer in El Paso and seems to have it all: pretty fiancee (Penelope Cruz), nice Bentley, everyone's buddy. But he's either already decided or decided a long time ago to go into the drug business himself. The other Narcos, Javier Bardem and Brad Pitt try to generally talk him out of it but Counselor doesn't seem too worried. But when he as attorney gets mixed up with the Green Hornet, all hell breaks loose.
The movie starts a bit slow, but picks up a little speed once the plot gets figured out. Needless to say it is not about the mishaps but rather how the experience changes the Counselor. Lots of plot jumps and figuring out characters makes it similar to some very outstanding movies: Pulp Fiction, Drive, No Country for Old Men, Crash.
* * * 1/2 of 4
Don Jon
A love story... about a man and himself. Joseph Gordon-Levitt has taken quite a twist on the romantic comedy by interjecting some unspoken social mores into the familiar story arc. Will the real life woman win out in the end, or will the imaginary lover never let him down?
My ride, my pad, my boys, my girls, my porn. That is Jon's mantra for his single life. He's the Don - Don Jon. He trolls the club with his buddies to find a suitable hookup, and he is usually successful. He loves them and leaves them because real women are just too messy for his tidy slice of life. He'd rather find a good video online and rub one out.
But when he meets Barbara (a dime, a 10, Scarlett Johannson of course) he falls for her and seeks to make her his own. But just when he seems to succeed, she catches him in flagrante with himself. As if on cue, she's out the slamming door. And Jon has a decision to make.
The filmmaking adds to the familiar story with the repeat visual shots: Jon walking into the gym, Jon lifting, Jon walking into church, his sister texting. She's a pretty cool character.
And there is a lot of familiar movie nods: The dad in the strap t-shirt (Tony Danza), the movie-within-a movie (just like in Friends with Benefits, another sexually charged Rom-Com), the comedic confessional, the browser history.
This was unexpected - I didn't expect the romantic move angle to be tracked/skewered with the porn affection to be the "other woman". It worked. An improvement could have been to move a bit further from the traditional Rom-Com but perhaps that is what makes it as good as it is.
* * * of 4
My ride, my pad, my boys, my girls, my porn. That is Jon's mantra for his single life. He's the Don - Don Jon. He trolls the club with his buddies to find a suitable hookup, and he is usually successful. He loves them and leaves them because real women are just too messy for his tidy slice of life. He'd rather find a good video online and rub one out.
But when he meets Barbara (a dime, a 10, Scarlett Johannson of course) he falls for her and seeks to make her his own. But just when he seems to succeed, she catches him in flagrante with himself. As if on cue, she's out the slamming door. And Jon has a decision to make.
The filmmaking adds to the familiar story with the repeat visual shots: Jon walking into the gym, Jon lifting, Jon walking into church, his sister texting. She's a pretty cool character.
And there is a lot of familiar movie nods: The dad in the strap t-shirt (Tony Danza), the movie-within-a movie (just like in Friends with Benefits, another sexually charged Rom-Com), the comedic confessional, the browser history.
This was unexpected - I didn't expect the romantic move angle to be tracked/skewered with the porn affection to be the "other woman". It worked. An improvement could have been to move a bit further from the traditional Rom-Com but perhaps that is what makes it as good as it is.
* * * of 4
Ender's Game - November 1
Harrison Ford knows a few things about being a space pilot who has trouble following orders:
Rushmore
You had me at hello. In the first scene at the prep school Rushmore Academy, Bill Murray is giving a talk to the class. As I looked at it, I thought "that looks like St. John the Divine Episcopal Church in Houston", my church in the 90s. The next scene looking back, yes that's looks like it. The next scene, coming out of the chapel where I was married, Perfect!
Jason Schwartzmann plays Max who is a student at Rushmore. He's the model student when it comes to extracurriculars, but is otherwise doesn't apply himself in the books or with the social scene. Perhaps that is because he is somewhat happy just to be there, as a son of a barber on scholarship. He is embarrassed enough about this to lie and make up stories about his family. His mother is dead and he is an only child.
He impresses Bill Murray, who is Herman, the father of 2 other students, enough that they become friends. Max also is smitten with a teacher, Ms. Cross and tries desperately and somewhat effectively to ingratiate himself. She ends up associating with Herman, much to Max's dismay and Max ends up getting kicked out of Rushmore and enrolling at Grover Cleveland H.S. which is quite the fish-out-of-water experience.
Directed and written by Wes Anderson, it is a template for later high school indie films like Juno & Napoleon Dynamite which of course is high praise. The student/teacher adult-level dynamic also reminded me of another good high school film, Election.
You'll note than none of these are coming of age, boner comedies, like American Pie, Porky's and such. More cerebral.
Excellent * * * * (highest)
Jason Schwartzmann plays Max who is a student at Rushmore. He's the model student when it comes to extracurriculars, but is otherwise doesn't apply himself in the books or with the social scene. Perhaps that is because he is somewhat happy just to be there, as a son of a barber on scholarship. He is embarrassed enough about this to lie and make up stories about his family. His mother is dead and he is an only child.
He impresses Bill Murray, who is Herman, the father of 2 other students, enough that they become friends. Max also is smitten with a teacher, Ms. Cross and tries desperately and somewhat effectively to ingratiate himself. She ends up associating with Herman, much to Max's dismay and Max ends up getting kicked out of Rushmore and enrolling at Grover Cleveland H.S. which is quite the fish-out-of-water experience.
Directed and written by Wes Anderson, it is a template for later high school indie films like Juno & Napoleon Dynamite which of course is high praise. The student/teacher adult-level dynamic also reminded me of another good high school film, Election.
You'll note than none of these are coming of age, boner comedies, like American Pie, Porky's and such. More cerebral.
Excellent * * * * (highest)
Don Jon - opens Sept 27
Cousin Jon said he is looking forward to this. With Scarlett Johansson, it should be fun to watch.
Read the Review
Read the Review
The Way Way Back
The title of this movie is a key to its storytelling. The story by its unfolding makes it hard to pick when the story is set. There's 80s music, 70s cars, 90s beach settings and cell phones. Liam James plays Duncan the 14 year old son of _Pam (Toni Collette). He's a complete loser from our initial meeting and is treated as such by everyone around him, including himself. To escape this familial hell that is forced on him via beach vacation, he takes off and finds... Water Wizz, a blue-collar water park.
There he finds a new family, Sam Rockwell as Owen, the father figure, Maya Rudolph as the mom and everyone else as the extended family. Being hired to work at Water Wizz gives him a nice escape all day from the drama at home.
Steve Carrel plays the evil stepfather (so to speak) as the potential new dad. Of course he proves himself to be completely unworthy in all respects. Has there every been a movie when the stepfather IS worthy? Note that usually the real father in these movies is conveniently dead or otherwise missing.
A nice little Indie coming of age movie. I thought it was more of merger of memories into a dream. That's why it seemed like the different places in time all came together.
* * *
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