Review: Contagion

When was the last time that you can remember, when you sneezed? When was the last time you washed your hands? When was the last time you touched your face with your hands? These might be trivial questions at first, but it’s the major element to Contagion, the new film by master craftsman Steven Soderbergh. When a new virus befalls us, what will be the effects beyond simply the symptoms of the virus?

            We start the film with a woman (Gwenyth Paltrow), coming home to Minneapolis after a work trip to Hong Kong and isn’t feeling well. As soon as she gets home, she succumbs to a virus (I would’ve taken this as a spoiler, but its in the trailer). The husband (Matt Damon) learns that he is, in fact, immune to the disease. While this is a blessing in that his fear is lessened by his immunity, he has a greater fear of the fall of society to the disease and fear, especially when his daughter isn’t guaranteed immune.

            Throughout the film, we also see the many sides of the research of the disease. We have the CDC working around the clock, its leader (Laurence Fishburne), doing what he can to help those around him, including a researcher (Kate Winslet), who goes into the disease ground zero in an attempt to quicken the research. This also includes a researcher (Marion Cotillard), who goes to Hong Kong who studies the path of the virus from patient 1 as well as becoming a captive under those who fear the disease as society further collapses in fear. All around the CDC, we have a blogger (Jude Law), who stops at nothing to tell the world everything going on behind closed doors, further adding fuel the “fear fire.”  Will this virus halt? Is there anyway to calm those who fear the mystery of the virus? Can survive events like these?

            Steven Soderbergh is a genius behind the camera; I have enjoyed all of his work I have seen so far. Where is masterpiece Traffic was a strong film exploring drug trafficking, Contagion shows us the problems of the unknown virus, but this is beyond what Traffic even dared try to show about drugs. We get a look at the virus close up, seeing its effects on society, and not just to those who are infected. Soderbergh crafts a strong film about illnesses as well as fear, and does fine work here.

            A great thing about Soderbergh is his ability to find strong cast and technical workers. Everyone in the film is fantastic, we truly feel the emotions they are going through in this film, Jude Law in particular was rather effective as that annoying man who does whatever he can to make himself famous, whether or not it causes society itself to collapse. The script by Scott Z. Burns, who worked on Soderbergh's The Informant and the amazing Bourne Ultimatum, doesn't play it safe and balances the stories rather well and efeectively at that, with Soderbergh's direction as strong as it ever was. The music fits the film like a glove; it really helps add to the severity of each scene and helps the flow of the film stay intact. The film editing done by Stephen Mirrione, who also worked on Traffic (go figure), in my opinion, deserves some serious Oscar attention. I can get rather critical about a film’s editing, but this film is top notch, it kept the film moving along nicely and made sure that we got everything we needed in each scene, it was really spectacular.

            Indeed, I would relate this film to Soderbergh’s masterpiece Traffic (one of my favorite films), but Contagion takes it’s subject matter beyond simply giving us a glimpse of the horror. You feel as though we have gone through the entire epidemic first hand, which can disturb some. There were moments where I was cringing a bit, but that isn’t enough to not recommend this strong film. Now, to go wash my hands, who knows what’s been on my computer.

My Rating: ****/****

If you want to look for more information about the film, follow the link here for trailers, information about all those involved and much more, enjoy...

Review: Drive

Ok, I have to mention that I actually saw this last week, meant to post this last Monday, but a case of the laziness got the better of me. That being said, here is my review of Drive (gee, I wonder what it is about)...

It's nighttime in L.A., the games about over, everyone's ready to turn in, time to do the heist. The thing is, though, we are not interested in the heist, we are here for the escape, which in its own merit is half the thrill of it all too (whether or not you complete your job is one thing, how your getting out of there is another). It is through this, and a previous conversation over the phone, that we meet our Driver (Ryan Gosling). Apart from being called kid by others, we never truly get his name. Already we are thinking "The Man with No Name," he's cool, slick, and knows what he's doing. He's the man who gets you to where you need to be, or better yet, how you want to get away. It is through this finely directed/edited first section of the film that we get the gist of the kind of person Ryan Gosling's character is like.

This isn't the only job he has, he actually has three when you mention it. He works as a stunt driver as well as a mechanic working for Shannon (Bryan Cranston, whose character has much more depth than one would think). Shannon is the kind of man who tries his best for the kid, even if it doesn't work out, and he definitely has a past of his own where mistakes have riddled it time and time again. It is through Shannon that the driver meets Bernie Rose (Albert "Hank Scorpio" Brooks, in quite a departure for his sort of film/tv background). They start a deal that could be huge for everyone involved.

We are also introduced to a young mother, Irene (Carey Mulligan), who lives in the same apartment as the driver. We definitely see a connection between the two, but things get a little complicated. Her husband is getting released early, so we already believe something will come of the relationship between the driver and Irene, like it always does. The shocker, however, is that they are actually cool with each other. In fact, the man asks for the driver's assistance in a job that seems simple, but through some double crossing, the stories of all those involved will become connected in ways nobody wanted to, and no one is safe.

Drive isn't the independent film I was expecting, its rather graphic. There are scenes where I was a little shaken even, for surprise reasons and because its quite intense. For an independent film to achieve this is no small feet, so its got that going for it. The acting, however, carries the film in a way that its hard not to reccomend this film. Everyone brings there A-game, particularly Bryan Cranston and Albert Brooks (I have my fingers crossed for an Oscar nomination for the latter). The story is simple enough for anyone to follow, giving the actors room to bring their A-game to the material, which they do in spades. Director Nicholas Winding Refn has gained acclaim in his native Denmark for the acclaimed Pusher trilogy (I haven't seen them yet, but they are on my list), and this film brings him to the international spotlight and I think he is a name we won't soon forget. Drive isn't quite the awards film many, including myself, should be, mostly due to the graphic violence. Needless to say, this is quite an accomplishment for an independent film, so I am not complaining.

(Note: I have slowly grown tired of the letter rating, cause I've come to think of it as a bad medium of rating between those I like and those I don't, so I am going to follow in the footsteps of the great Roger Ebert and do the four star meter)

Rating: *** 1/2

Happy Birthday Sam Neill!!!

Today is a very special day, at least for me and my blog. Today is the birthday of arguably my favorite actor, Sam Neill. A New Zealand native, you can find him in great films such as The Piano, Merlin, and in a great episode of the Simpsons (Homer the Vigilante season 5). Oh yea, and he was in my favorite movie of all time, Jurassic Park (and in the less than perfect but still entertaining third installment). You can check out other films he has been in at his IMDB site linked here. So, I wanted to have a video to dedicate to him, so I decided what could honestly be the most perfect scene in the film, which is Dr. Alan Grant (Sam Neill), notices his first dinosaur, its really quite spectacular (you can look at more snippets or his work linked here). HAPPY BIRTHDAY SAM NEILL!!!!

Meet the Brachiosaur Scene - Jurassic Park Movie (1993)

Review: The Debt

It's 1966, and tensions are high. Germany is divided, and both sides are still filled with former nazis hiding in secrecy. They live their lives out hoping each day they can return home and can be forgotten over time. But somethings can never be forgotten, especially if what you have done is beyond gruesome. It is then the government's decision, international or simply American. To capture and obtain a former Nazi criminal and have him stand trial for his actions were prevelant during this time, long after the trial of Nuremburg we were slowly hunting down the little fractions of former police and medical teams behind the Nazi regime who had previously escaped. In "The Debt," it is up to three Mossad agents, Rachel Singer (Jessica Chastain), David Peretz (Sam Worthington) and Stefan Gold (Marton Csokas). 
Their mission is to capture  Dieter Vogel (Jesper Christensen), infamously known as "The Surgeon of Birkenau," and have him stand trial in Israel for his crimes during the war. They must infiltrate East Berlin, find the target and bring him to Israel. The plan goes well until one screw up leads to the domino effect that lands them trapped in East Berlin with their target with no sure exit out. They are left to hide and hope that soon something will come for them or help them get out and bring the man to justice. Then, when tensions reach there boiling point, an event happens that wasn't planned and they are forced to deal with the situation. It is not until 1997, when our heroes (now played by Helen Mirren Ciarán Hinds and Tom Wilkinson), are forced to deal with the event after they are threatened by the skeletons in the closet. Will they be able to do it? Will it be too much for them? Have I avoided the spoilers for you?
Now, I am a huge fan of espionage/noir films (Bourne Ultimatum was my favorite of 2007), but this one was really straightforward, you could almost tell how it was going to roll out. Now, that can be the case for a lot of espionage classics, so I let that slide. However, a form of criticism I have that may be a common problem for you all is the casting of the older and younger agents. Now, its not that they are bad, far from it. Jessica Chastain is showing tremendous range after her turns in the delightful The Help and the brilliant Tree of Life, and here she gets her first lead performance, of sorts (they really push for Hellen Mirren's character, but honestly I preferred Chastain over Mirren). It was the male cast that got a little confusing, you could have really swapped the older two male leads for each other and I wouldn't have known. Now, if you're on top of everything while watching, then it shouldn't be that much of a problem, my dad and I just had that problem when we talked about it afterwards. Still, everyone is good here, Worthington I think isn't given enough, I really liked his character but he isn't given enough time to flesh out his character enough, I think. We never really get to know the other guy well enough to care about him. Its Jessica Chastain that commands the film, not because Mirren is ok by comparison, but having seen her in two other films I am just really impressed by her range. She is going to be a star, I think she can very well be the next Meryl Streep or Cate Blanchett if she can get the right roles in the future. Director John Madden, of Shakespeare in Love fame, kind of has a screwy way of balancing the stories of past and present, which makes the story straightforward, but the editing a little all over the place. However, faults aside, I reccomend this film on Chastains performance and, through it all, its a worthy DVD rental, which is more than I can say of some other films I've seen this year.
Rating: B-

Review Catch-up

Hey guys, so as you know, I haven't really done much movie reviewing this summer. That isn't to say I haven't seen movies, I've seen plenty. I have just not gotten around to writing about them, which is kind of sad considering I once saw like 4 movies within a week, and my half time report really didn't do most of them justice (aside from my love for Win Win and Tree of Life). So, I decided to quickly go over some of the films I have seen within the past month, and if I forget one it probably wasn't worth it then. So, with that in mind, lets take a look at them. Oh, and I also realize that since this is a review of more than one film, I'm not going to explain the films so much as attach their IMDB pages, because lets face it, IMDB is one of the best sites out there (shameless plugging from yours truly). SO, here we go:

Crazy Stupid Love
Thoughts: I enjoyed this a lot more than I thought I would. There are some problems with the editing of the film, but I am a stickler for stuff like that and music. The cast is in top form, I particularly like how Steve Carrell stretches out from his usual roles and delivers something original and unique, for him at least. I also like his relationship with both Ryan Gosling and the always wonderful Julianne Moore. The plot twist about 3/4 of the way into the film is hysterical and the reactions I heard during the film from the audience definitively seemed to agree with me, it was pretty sweet. It does move pretty fast at the beginning, maybe a little too fast as far as pacing goes, but it mellows out and finds just the right tune. I gave this a bit of a higher rating than I think I would generally have given a film, but being that this is a Rom-com that I enjoyed (which is no easy feet mind you), I give the team behind this kudos for giving Carrel something other than simply being the comic relief (something that plagued the disappointing Date Night last year).
Rating: A-

Captain America
Thoughts: Now, I was a rather big fan of Thor, but I think it was aided by the fact that it was a summer opener. Had I seen it later in the summer, I might have had a different opinion on it, and I think that's where we find Cap. Now, it wasn't bad, but it was a tad too generic for it to really stand out. Now, at parts in the film the generic tone was actually well used, but the first part of the film really suffered from it, and I didn't feel like the second film completely saved it. Now, I do think Chris Evans makes a good superhero, but they don't give us much of a reason for him to be "Captain America." The generic tone was so dense that he felt more like "Captain Generic." I do reccomend the film for director Joe Johnston's (the underrated Jurassic Park 3, yea I said it) fun action sequences and Tommy Lee Jones naturally strong performance in the film.
Rating: B

Cowboys and Aliens
Thoughts: If I were in my fall movie season mode I would have found so much wrong with this film. Being in my summer movie mind set, however, I found enough to thoroughly enjoy it and recommend it. Daniel Craig gives a very Clint Eastwood-esque performance, but he kind of disappears in some scenes to the point where we forget about him, but he's good when he's around, same goes for the legendary Harrison Ford. Story could have used some tweaking, especially in the scifi section of the film. Still, I am a sucker for westerns, and they get that part of the film down fairly well, so I recommend it, if not for being a fun summer film.
Rating: B+





The Help
Thoughts: I was worried that this would play out as too much of a feel good and not enough of a lesson on how dark segregation was at the time. Roger Ebert called it a safe film about a volatile subject, and I have to agree with him on that. Now, I did enjoy it, it wasn't as safe or as annoyingly feel good as some films that have come out in the past couple of years (the insanely annoying Blind Side comes to mind). The cast makes up for the films shortcomings, particularly Viola Davis (who deserves oscar attention mind you), and Octavia Spencer. Emma Stone was good, but the script didn't give her much to flesh out. Which might be another problem, who exactly was the lead. While the obvious answer is Stone, Davis gives a stronger presence that makes you feel like she is the lead. Will this hurt her come awards season? Right now though, I'm calling her an early favorite and that this film is good, but it definitely could've been so much more with a less safe script.
Rating: B+

Midnight in Paris
Rating: I was surprised as to how much I truly enjoyed this film. I found it to be really funny and authentic, something we don't get enough of now a days in films. Woody Allen has had a rough patch as far as filmmaking these past couple of years. This could be his shot at getting back into the awards mix since Match Point back in 2006. His script is amazing, and the cast he has is spectacular. Owen Wilson is very charming in the lead, Marion Cotillard is beautiful and effective and Cory Stoll nearly steals the movie as Ernest Hemingway, I would love to see a film about him anytime. The cameos of famous 1920's artists were also really fun, but I am bias since some of my favorite authors and artists are from that era (particularly F. Scott Fitzgerald, played wonderfully by Tom Hiddleston of Thor fame, and his counterpart Zelda played by Allison Pill from Milk and Scott Pilgrim). My favorite though, by far, is Adrien Brody (who has so far done no wrong in my book) as the legendary Salvador Dali, yet another person I wouldn't mind watching a movie or simply hanging out with. There were many moments that had me laugh out loud, such as Wilson's character suggesting ideas to legendary/controversial Luis Buñuel, and parts made me really long to be in the 1920's with Gil (Wilson). I could go on about the amazing cast, Kathy Bates as the great Gertrude Stein is another notable role of awesomeness, but I will just stick with the fact that I hope this one gets a SAG nomination for best cast. All in all, great film, deserving of Oscar attention, particularly Original Screenplay, among others. This is definitely one of the years best and is simply a delight to watch.
Rating: A

Half-time Report

Hey guys, I know I have been bad lately about movies reviews, I will post up another entry on some of the films I have recently saw (some within days of each other). I know I am a little late on this part too, but seeing as how we are just entering into the fall season, my favorite of the film season, I thought I’d write up a report card of the films I have seen so far. Now, I might not include all of the movies I have seen so far, but these are the films/acting/technical work that has struck me as the best/worst of the year so far, and I have to tell you, 2011 is shaping out to be much better than 2010, though there wasn’t a whole lot of competition really. So, with that out of the way, lets get this started:

Biggest Disappointment: Cars 2

Reason: Now, I will admit, this is not the worst film I have seen this year, but being it a Pixar

film, especially after such classics as Toy Story 3 and UP, the bar was set incredibly high. Cars 2 not only didn’t meet the bar, I think it is the weakest of the Pixar filmography, but with their

past films its easier to forgive than other films I have seen.

Final Grade: C

Biggest surprise: Thor

Reason: I almost gave this to Super 8, another film I enjoyed, but that was mostly due to the fact that little was known of the film beforehand and that doesn’t always equal success (District 9 and Inception are the exceptions). However, with Thor, there was a lot that could go wrong, mainly

Marvel trying to get all origin stories out of the way before the Avengers. Needless to say, I felt this was a very strong entry, you don’t get the feeling it was rushed or that they were making this solely because there was an Avengers film coming out. All in all, it was good summer fun.

Final Grade: B+

Best Supporting Actor: Brad Pitt (Tree of Life)

Reason: Brad Pitt brings a strong presence to the film, and I don’t just say that because he was

the only one I knew beforehand. He plays the role of a father who while stern, is still in the end the kind of father who just wishes for his kids to live a life they want to live. Balancing the angelic/

caring ways that is their mother (played wonderfully by Jessica Chastain), the father

represent nature and Pitt does that with grace and, along with Chastain, deserve some awards attention for this wonderful film

Best Supporting Actress: Viola Davis (The Help)

Reason: This was another close one for Jessica Chastain for Tree of Life and even Octavia Spencer for The Help, but Davis is the heart of the film (she shares it with Spencer, but Davis also acts as the voice which is why I give such leniency). I would consider her an Oscar frontrunner, my one qualm is she felt more of a lead than supporting in the film, whether or not that will translate into any trouble come awards season, we will see.

Final Grade: B+

Best Actress: Amy Ryan (Win Win)

Reason: Amy Ryan is a force to be reckoned with in this film. I love this film, I don’t think it will

win many awards, but Amy Ryan is almost as good if not as good as Paul Giammatti is in Win

Win. As a mother forced to take in a child when she learns of the kid’s background, Amy Ryan plays the character with much warmth as well as humor, its hard to not love her in this amazing film.

Best Actor: Paul Giamatti (Win Win)

Reason: This was a hard one because there were two men whom I felt were really effective this year so far in their roles. Points to Jake Gyllenhal for a role that needed some humanity, since we don’t get enough of that in Sci-fi films such as Source Cod. However, I just enjoyed Paul Giamatti’s job in this film so much more, he was so funny, so heartbreaking, such a great performance. This film will surely end up on my year end list for Todd McCarthy’s writing/directing, as well as the amazing performances of both Ryan and especially Giamatti.

Final Grade: A

Worst Film: Battle: Los Angeles

Reason: While I didn’t care for Cars 2, it was leaps and bounds better than Battle Los Angeles. I would talk about the many reasons why I didn’t like it, but honestly I can’t really remember a lot of it, and I think that’s the worst criticism I can make of a film. Aaron Eckhart gave it his best shot, but even he could save this film. I dislike it so that I am actually changing my grade, which was originally a gracious C+

Final Grade: D

Best Film: Tree of Life

Reason: While I loved Win Win and thoroughly enjoyed Source Code, there was just no beating Tree of Life. It is simply a beautiful piece of filmmaking and is one of the closest things to a masterpiece I have seen in years (Hurt Locker is the only film that comes close in recent years honestly). The music, by the legendary Alexandre Desplat, is classical and elegent, much like the film itself. The acting is superb, those three little boys as well as Pitt and Chastain were amazing. Terrence Malick deserves awards attention for his fluid direction and incredible script. The thing I loved most about the film, the part that if it doesn’t win I will give up on the Academy forever, is the Cinematography by Emmanuel Lubezki. I highly doubt I will see any other film this year, or in the next for that matter, that will come close to this masterful work from a legendary director.

A+

Honorable Mention: Win Win, Source Code, X-men: First Class, Super 8

That’s it from me on the half-time report, here’s a list of films I have on my radar come fall, see you there:

1. Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (David Fincher, Daniel Craig, Rooney Mara)

2. Dangerous Method (David Cronenberg, Viggo Mortenson, Michael Fassbender)

3. Corialanus (Ralph Fiennes)

4. J. Edgar (Clint Eastwood, Leo Dicaprio)

5. My Week with Marilyn (Kenneth Brannagh, Michelle Williams)

6. The Adventures of TinTin (Steven Spielberg, Peter Jackson)

7. The Descendants (Alexander Payne, George Clooney)

8. Moneyball (Brad Pitt, Aaron Sorkin)

Film Review: Cars 2

I’m probably not the first to think that the first Cars was the weak link in the rather strong chain of films that is Pixar (not that it was bad, but it wasn’t as up to their standards). One thing in particular problem I noticed was the lack of human element, which can be found in all Pixar films except in Cars. Now we have Cars 2, the “rev-ed up sequel,” with Lightning McQueen (Owen Wilson), and Mater (Larry the Cable Guy), going on another adventure together.

The story actually shifts to that of Mater instead of McQueen. We see McQueen enter the World Grand Prix against the boastful Francesco Bernoulli (a rather over the top John Turturro). After problems with the first race, their friendship is hurt, and Mater leaves feeling ashamed. On his way out, he gets caught up in espionage, of sorts, with Fin McMissile (the always delightful Michael Caine), and Holley Shiftwell (a rather sincere Emily Mortimer). They are trying to figure out the reason for the sabotaging of a new type of bio-fuel called Allinol (a somewhat clever play on words). We learn that a legion of old cars, called “Lemons” (this is never given much of a back story, but I’m not much of a gear-head). Will Mater be able to save the day and his friendship with McQueen, can the latter win it all?

Pixar has had a solid record with rather excellent films, as had been the case with Up and Toy Story 3 beforehand. Sadly, the streak ends there as Cars 2 doesn’t really improve on the original, rather gets stuck in neutral really. Pixar has a knack for creating a story for all ages, but this one felt more like it was aimed at children. I found Mater to actually get annoying at times and I don’t think team Pixar was ever able to get him off the ground in this story. Granted, he had his evolution throughout the film, but it just didn’t work for me, and it left me disappointed.

The story is the real problem here. The visuals are dazzling as always with Pixar, but the story was a real clunker, which, if you know my preferences, is rather important. It didn’t have the sentimental feeling we often got in a Pixar film, as shown brilliantly in the past two films I noted above. It never truly felt anything more than children entertainment, which isn’t bad, but I expect more from a Pixar film. The ending didn’t really help it either, honestly. I felt it was rather obvious and kind of shoehorned in parts, some of which I never really bought or found all that convincing. And with such talented voice work from Caine and the hilarious Eddie Izzard, and wonderful cameos from the legendary actress’ Sophia Loren and Vanessa Redgrave, they are let down by a script that, maybe with a few more fine tunes, could have been so much better.

Now, am I saying this is the worst film of the year: not at all. Am I being a little harsh constantly comparing it to Pixar’s films? The past two Pixar films were films that really hit emotionally me as far as films go, so to top them would be difficult. The problem was, Cars 2 didn’t even feel like Pixar was trying to top them, and if they were then they are way, way off. I think Pixar can be forgiven for this, as this is the first, and hopefully last, hiccup they have in crafting wonderful films.

Jack’s Grade: C+