Ebert and I couldn't disagree much more about this one...
The family conflict film has almost become a genre all its own, taking advantage of ‘fact is stranger than fiction’ characteristics that people believe inhabit their relatives. Thinking of going home conjures all sorts of images of kitchen tiles, green grass, gray hair, vicious arguments, and the familiar house that you do not live in.
Junebug fails to parlay the myriad of emotional conflict that families face into an effective film, but doesn’t drop the ball entirely. Its main characters are not the cartoon-caricatures many filmmakers choose for similar films, but nor do they capture much interest, or provide a reason to keep watching other than that the movie has yet to end.
We see Junebug’s family through the perspective of Madeline, a British art dealer that who travels to North Carolina in order to secure the art of an idiot savant, who’s paintings are a cross between love of the Confederacy and love of pornography. Her perfect husband’s family lives nearby, so they come to stay with them.
The unit consists of a grouchy mother, frustratingly silent father, a childlike, precocious pregnant sister-in-law, and a low-life scumbag son. Madeline exhibits stunning cheerfulness and patience towards the family, who are frustrating at best, rotten at worst. Her husband mostly sits in the background as Madeline politely tries to know them. Ashley (Amy Adams), the sister-in-law, finds herself enamored with Madeline, seemingly because she has never heard a British accent and never met anyone with a smidgen of interest to them. Her husband Johnny (Ben McKenzie) displays all the interest of a dead moth towards anyone other than himself, the sort of vile scumbag who likely shouldn’t be allowed to live, much less breed. The parents possess the mindsets that many elderly find themselves in; their lives have mostly passed, so they simply shrug their shoulders and carry on with the day, be it through cooking or woodworking.
Junebug manages to hold kernels of interest and truth, but nothing that one couldn’t find during a family gathering of their own. When audiences have the option of viewing deeply challenging and rewarding films such as Capote or Munich, what role does a slow-paced family drama with no pay-off offer? My film professor often asks the question "Is this film worth doing?" I’d wager that the filmmakers of Junebug never bothered to ask themselves this question.
2 out of 5
Saturday, February 25, 2006
Wednesday, February 22, 2006
19
Obviously, I loved Capote. Seeing a movie that fucking good gives me the desire to make a top 10 list for 2005, but as of now I'm not gonna do that, even though I badly want to. Why? Here's a list of 2005 films I have yet to see:
2046
Cache
The Chronicles of Narnia
Constant Gardener
Doom
Good Night and Good Luck
Grizzly Man
A History of Violence
Hustle and Flow
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
Junebug
King Kong
Kung Fu Hustle
Matchpoint
Memoirs of a Geisha
Murderball
Mysterious Skin
The New World
North Country
Oldboy
Pride and Prejudice
Proof
Serenity
Shopgirl
The Squid and the Whale
Syrianna
Three Burials of M.E.
Transamerica
Walk the Line
The Weather Man
Thats 30 more films for me to see! I can't even attempt a proper top 10 list without seeing 20 or 25 of them. What I will do, just for fun; I'll post a temporary top 5, as well as my top 10 from 2004.
Temporary Top 5 of 2005
1.Capote
2.Munich
3.Brokeback Mountain
4.The Great Raid
5.Crash
My Top 10 of 2004, ie a well developed list.
1. Sideways
2. Collateral
3. Dawn of the Dead
4. Spider-Man 2
5. The Aviator
6. The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou
7. Kill Bill vol 2
8. The Incredibles
9. The Woodsman
10. Kinsey
2046
Cache
The Chronicles of Narnia
Constant Gardener
Doom
Good Night and Good Luck
Grizzly Man
A History of Violence
Hustle and Flow
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
Junebug
King Kong
Kung Fu Hustle
Matchpoint
Memoirs of a Geisha
Murderball
Mysterious Skin
The New World
North Country
Oldboy
Pride and Prejudice
Proof
Serenity
Shopgirl
The Squid and the Whale
Syrianna
Three Burials of M.E.
Transamerica
Walk the Line
The Weather Man
Thats 30 more films for me to see! I can't even attempt a proper top 10 list without seeing 20 or 25 of them. What I will do, just for fun; I'll post a temporary top 5, as well as my top 10 from 2004.
Temporary Top 5 of 2005
1.Capote
2.Munich
3.Brokeback Mountain
4.The Great Raid
5.Crash
My Top 10 of 2004, ie a well developed list.
1. Sideways
2. Collateral
3. Dawn of the Dead
4. Spider-Man 2
5. The Aviator
6. The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou
7. Kill Bill vol 2
8. The Incredibles
9. The Woodsman
10. Kinsey
18 - Capote
Within the first several minutes of Capote, Phillip Seymour Hoffman’s performance as the title character reveals itself as phenomenal, the complete transformation in character that most actors could only dream of. Every solitary word, movement, and gesture is flawless, engrossing in ways equal to the best work of Brando, Di Niro, Olivier, and Penn. As far as reviewing films go, Capote plays out like a baseball game where one team scores 20 runs before the first out.
Truman Capote, the (in)famous writer and celebrity gossip machine, was not an easy figure to grasp. He was a brilliant writer and man in general, with no qualms about gleefully showing his genius off. He was also as effeminate as three Miss America pageants, deeply insecure, with a childhood that would outright obliterate lesser men. Early in the film we see him as the center of attention at a hip New York party, but minutes later he pays a bellhop to rave about his works in front of a pre-TKAM Harper Lee.
Capote is drawn, almost mysteriously, to a small Kansas town where a family was brutally shot-gunned for no apparent reason. The locals do not quite know what to make of him, but he is charming and manipulative in a way they have never seen, and before long he has befriended everyone he needs to, including the sheriff (Chris Cooper). His ability to recall 94% of what he reads comes in handy for both interviews as well as impressing the citizenry. When the murderers are apprehended, he nearly jumps for joy, seeing an opportunity to write an amazing book, a ‘non-fiction novel’.
Exploiting someone for material for a book isn’t a pleasant experience, even if they are a murderer. Capote, ever seeking approval in a world he can never call home, barely even tries to defend himself when others accuse him of exploitation. When one of the killers asks Capote about the book’s title, claims not to know, neglecting to mention that In Cold Blood has been decided upon.
He immediately finds himself attracted to Perry Smith (Clifton Collins Jr.), a soft spoken but undeniably chilling man with whom Capote sees as both a kindred spirit and a gold mine. His visits to Smith on death row are light on homo-eroticism and heavy on desperation. Smith desperately needs a friend, and does not want to be remembered as a monster; Capote must balance his attraction and desire to help Smith with the fact that he needs a gruesome re-telling of the murder, and most morbidly, a final ending to his book. Life in prison won’t do the trick.
Capote’s relationship with Smith and experience when writing his masterpiece becomes all consuming, dragging his psyche into places more horrific than even he imagined. Smith can appear gentle and pained, but the vicious murderer never moves far under the surface. When Capote finally hears Smith’s calm and straightforward description of how he murdered an entire family with no remorse, Capote’s soul crosses the point of no return.
Nothing short of spellbinding, gut-wrenching, and brilliant, Capote deserves recognition as an instant classic. Masterfully crafted on every level and with physically palatable power, it epitomizes why the movies are the most poignant and relevant art form today. It is the best film of 2005.
5 out of 5
Truman Capote, the (in)famous writer and celebrity gossip machine, was not an easy figure to grasp. He was a brilliant writer and man in general, with no qualms about gleefully showing his genius off. He was also as effeminate as three Miss America pageants, deeply insecure, with a childhood that would outright obliterate lesser men. Early in the film we see him as the center of attention at a hip New York party, but minutes later he pays a bellhop to rave about his works in front of a pre-TKAM Harper Lee.
Capote is drawn, almost mysteriously, to a small Kansas town where a family was brutally shot-gunned for no apparent reason. The locals do not quite know what to make of him, but he is charming and manipulative in a way they have never seen, and before long he has befriended everyone he needs to, including the sheriff (Chris Cooper). His ability to recall 94% of what he reads comes in handy for both interviews as well as impressing the citizenry. When the murderers are apprehended, he nearly jumps for joy, seeing an opportunity to write an amazing book, a ‘non-fiction novel’.
Exploiting someone for material for a book isn’t a pleasant experience, even if they are a murderer. Capote, ever seeking approval in a world he can never call home, barely even tries to defend himself when others accuse him of exploitation. When one of the killers asks Capote about the book’s title, claims not to know, neglecting to mention that In Cold Blood has been decided upon.
He immediately finds himself attracted to Perry Smith (Clifton Collins Jr.), a soft spoken but undeniably chilling man with whom Capote sees as both a kindred spirit and a gold mine. His visits to Smith on death row are light on homo-eroticism and heavy on desperation. Smith desperately needs a friend, and does not want to be remembered as a monster; Capote must balance his attraction and desire to help Smith with the fact that he needs a gruesome re-telling of the murder, and most morbidly, a final ending to his book. Life in prison won’t do the trick.
Capote’s relationship with Smith and experience when writing his masterpiece becomes all consuming, dragging his psyche into places more horrific than even he imagined. Smith can appear gentle and pained, but the vicious murderer never moves far under the surface. When Capote finally hears Smith’s calm and straightforward description of how he murdered an entire family with no remorse, Capote’s soul crosses the point of no return.
Nothing short of spellbinding, gut-wrenching, and brilliant, Capote deserves recognition as an instant classic. Masterfully crafted on every level and with physically palatable power, it epitomizes why the movies are the most poignant and relevant art form today. It is the best film of 2005.
5 out of 5
Tuesday, February 21, 2006
Sunday, February 19, 2006
16 - Broken Flowers review
I'm not sure how hot this review was, but I haven't checked it over yet, so if it sucks, mercy please. BTW, I couldn't figure out a way to say that this film has one of the better uses of female frontal nudity in film history, so I'll just say it; this film has one of the better uses of female frontal nudity in film history.
Broken Flowers is an anomaly, a film that shows us it is going nowhere but that we then realize that nowhere is exactly where it needs to go. It moves at a leisurely pace, but it works, because the film’s middle-aged ladies man wouldn’t move any faster than he had to.
Bill Murray plays "aging Don Juan" Don Johnston, who spends most of his time watching TV. When his girlfriend leaves him, he is disappointed, but barely enough so to get off the couch. Shortly afterwards, he receives an anonymous letter claiming that he has a 19 year old son, an idea that finds little positive reception because he never wanted children. Don intends to remain blissfully ignorant to the truth of the letter, but a nosy Ethiopian neighbor (Jeffery Wright) plays on Don’s boredom to get him to search for the mother of the son he may or may not have.
Johnston travels to visit four different women that he slept with over 20 years ago. No back-stories are given, no flashbacks seen. Instead, Don simply shows up at their doors and tries to gauge their reactions. Most films would show more emotional or clear responses, but the women instead react as they likely would, which is to say they remember the past, and don’t need to spell it out.
Without proper casting, this script would have been destined to fail. Bill Murray delivers all the right notes, mostly through looks of gentle understanding that have become a specialty of his. At first we want to know what the hell has happened between him and his lost loves, but it becomes clear that expository monologues are not the point; shared history and self-examination are. What has happened has happened, nothing remaining other than memories and feelings.
Broken Flowers could be said to take Lost in Translation’s final unheard whisper and stretch the premise throughout an entire film. Jim Jarmusch has consistently made talking head films throughout his career (his last film, Coffee and Cigarettes, consisted of nothing but talking), which is well suited to him. His direction makes you think of a 10th grader who everyone thinks will become a famous director, but never improves his photography skills. However, Jarmusch’s writing skills are a rare kind, as he takes a wire thin plot and injects a semblance of cryptic meaning and melancholy indifference. That the film works, and works well, is a surprise and a treat.
3.5 out of 5
Broken Flowers is an anomaly, a film that shows us it is going nowhere but that we then realize that nowhere is exactly where it needs to go. It moves at a leisurely pace, but it works, because the film’s middle-aged ladies man wouldn’t move any faster than he had to.
Bill Murray plays "aging Don Juan" Don Johnston, who spends most of his time watching TV. When his girlfriend leaves him, he is disappointed, but barely enough so to get off the couch. Shortly afterwards, he receives an anonymous letter claiming that he has a 19 year old son, an idea that finds little positive reception because he never wanted children. Don intends to remain blissfully ignorant to the truth of the letter, but a nosy Ethiopian neighbor (Jeffery Wright) plays on Don’s boredom to get him to search for the mother of the son he may or may not have.
Johnston travels to visit four different women that he slept with over 20 years ago. No back-stories are given, no flashbacks seen. Instead, Don simply shows up at their doors and tries to gauge their reactions. Most films would show more emotional or clear responses, but the women instead react as they likely would, which is to say they remember the past, and don’t need to spell it out.
Without proper casting, this script would have been destined to fail. Bill Murray delivers all the right notes, mostly through looks of gentle understanding that have become a specialty of his. At first we want to know what the hell has happened between him and his lost loves, but it becomes clear that expository monologues are not the point; shared history and self-examination are. What has happened has happened, nothing remaining other than memories and feelings.
Broken Flowers could be said to take Lost in Translation’s final unheard whisper and stretch the premise throughout an entire film. Jim Jarmusch has consistently made talking head films throughout his career (his last film, Coffee and Cigarettes, consisted of nothing but talking), which is well suited to him. His direction makes you think of a 10th grader who everyone thinks will become a famous director, but never improves his photography skills. However, Jarmusch’s writing skills are a rare kind, as he takes a wire thin plot and injects a semblance of cryptic meaning and melancholy indifference. That the film works, and works well, is a surprise and a treat.
3.5 out of 5
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