005. Flight

005. (06 Jan) Flight (2012, Robert Zemeckis) 53



Now we know what would've happened if you remade The Lost Weekend with a plane crash and terrible music cues. Tonally all over the map, this is far too preachy to get away with a gag scene where a coked-up Washington rides an elevator while a Muzak version of "With a Little Help from My Friends" plays. It ticks all the boxes for a substance abuse drama, meaning there are few surprises to be found with Zemeckis's predictable direction as an added liability. Whenever he lets the camera linger on anything (e.g. the miniature vodka bottle in the empty hotel room, Washington's tearful face at the end of the hearing), it's clear something dumb or gimmicky is about to transpire. The plane crash scene is exciting, I suppose, but it's a pale imitation of the 2004 Lost premiere.

FLIGHT

FLIGHT
Written by John Gatins
Directed by Robert Zemeckis
Starring Denzel Washington, Kelly Reilly, Bruce Greenwood, Don Cheadle and John Goodman

Flight deck: Southjet 227, uh, did you say inverted?

It has been twelve years since Robert Zemeckis last directed a film that featured real people. Well, to be fair, the last three films he made before his latest, FLIGHT, had real people in them; Zemeckis just had art departments paint over them after the actors performed in front of green screens. This is motion capture, which does exactly what it says, capture motion, and not necessarily emotion at the same time. Many complained that his films had grown cold as a result. With FLIGHT, he says what he has to with plenty of feeling but all this reality seems to have thrown off his confidence somewhat.

FLIGHT does two things very well. First of all, it gives Denzel Washington his first truly great role in at least five years. Washington plays Whip Whitaker, an airline pilot with a problem. In fact, he actually has several problems, from drinking to drugs to a troubled past that includes an estranged wife and son. When we meet Whip, he is pretty wrecked from his night of excessive drinking and sexual adventure with one of his flight attendant co-workers (Nadine Valesquez). After doing a line of coke to perk himself up for another day on the job, he struts down the street, aviators conveniently covering his glassy eyes, as though he has everything well under control. By the time his plane starts plummeting out of the sky, he is not so certain about that anymore.

This is the second thing that FLIGHT gets just right. With 102 souls on board, Whip’s plane begins to nosedive shortly before reaching its destination due to a technical malfunction. This catastrophe is intense and moving. While some panic, some triumph and find bravery they clearly never knew they had. It is spectacular to behold on screen and as soon as the plane hits the ground, the questions start. What is to blame for this tragedy? Or rather who? Both we the audience and Captain Whitaker know full well that the reason that plane went down is because of an equipment malfunction. That said, the same parties are also well aware of the fact that it is truly a miracle that Whip was able to land that plan as intoxicated as he was.

Whip’s realization that he may have a serious problem is now all he can think of. His strut has rightfully become a shameful shuffle and Washington captures the push and pull of his addiction brilliantly. Alcohol is the problem but unfortunately for him, and for so many others dealing with similar addictions, it is also, at least in his mind, the solution to alleviate his problems. The cycle is vicious and made very real by a very powerful performance but Zemeckis, along with the help of screenwriter, John Gatins, distracts from it with manipulative tangents about God and unnecessary supporting characters. In the end, like the character he plays, Washington cannot stop FLIGHT from crashing, but his unexpected maneuvering minimizes the overall damage upon impact.

247. Argo

247. (13 Oct) Argo (2012, Ben Affleck)* 76



Ben Affleck continues to be one of the most consistent, exciting directors working today with Argo. Though this tense, taut thriller plays exquisitely throughout, it's hard not to relish the details. From the old Warner Bros. logo that opens the film to the outstanding production design to an ensemble all but destined to win a SAG Award, Affleck manages to barely falter in a film precariously straddling genres. The comedic bits set in Los Angeles are admittedly very funny, but some of that scripting is too on-the-nose in a way that's not in keeping with the more organic feel of the thriller segments. Alan Arkin's crowd-pleasing performance is especially out of step with the powerful work of the Houseguests. All the plots wrap up a little too tidily, as well, but it's too satisfying to matter much.

ARGO

ARGO
Written by Chris Terrio
Directed by Ben Affleck
Starring Ben Affleck, Bryan Cranston, John Goodman and Alan Arkin

Tony Mendez: Can you teach someone how to direct in a day?
Lester Siegel: You can teach the Reese’s monkey how to direct in a day.

There was nothing simple or smooth about the mission to get six Americans out of Tehran during the 1979 Iran Hostage Crisis. That said, under the direction of multi-hyphenate, actor-writer-director, Ben Affleck, ARGO, the film based on this harrowing escape, is as smooth as they come. Affleck introduced himself as a director with the kidnapping drama, GONE BABY GONE. The people were cautious but pleasantly surprised. He then established himself as a serious player with THE TOWN, suddenly finding himself an awards contender again. And now, with ARGO, he cements himself as an important American filmmaker with something of worth to say and an incredibly entertaining way to say it.

ARGO also marks the first time Affleck gets out Boston as a filmmaker, his first two films having been set in the state of Massachusetts, where he grew up. In fact, Affleck travels pretty far to avoid getting pigeonholed as that Boston guy, as he goes back and forth between Tehran and Hollywood, California, here. Ordinarily, one wouldn’t think to naturally put these two settings together but in 1979, they were intrinsically linked to the fate of six American embassy workers. When the embassy was taken over by Islamist extremists, protesting America’s unwelcome involvement in Iran’s politics, six employees managed to get out undetected and hid at the Canadian ambassador’s personal home for what would become 79 days. Fortunately for them, the C.I.A. was working on a plan to get them home the entire time. Unfortunately for them, that plan involved posing as a film crew scouting locations for an exotic, science-fiction movie to get through airport security. At the time, this was the best plan they could come up with.

Thanks to a sharply written screenplay by first time feature writer, Chris Terrio, ARGO is a rich and layered work that operates on many levels - from satire to thriller to think piece. And as varied as the settings and tone are from scene to scene, from the often hilarious Hollywood insider track to the very real and very tense hostage situation at hand, Affleck exudes nothing but confidence and control over the vast entirety of the project. Not once, does he lose focus or pull it for the purposes of highlighting his own solid performance. Perhaps, his biggest achievement though, is telling a story where we know the whole time exactly how it will end, without sacrificing one trace of the suspense and heart-stopping fear that everyone involved must have been feeling while they were trying to pull it off. And with that, Affleck pulls off his tricky feat as well.

The Artist

The Artist, 2011
Directed by Michel Hazanavicus
Possible nominations include: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Original Screenplay, Best Art Direction, Best Costume Design, Best Cinematography, Best Editing, Best Original Score.

Synopsis: George Valentin is the top star in Hollywood. It's 1927, and he's a silent film star, incredibly hansome, and completely dashing. And then there's Peppy Miller. She's a starstruck fan of George, and an aspiring actress of her own. She briefly meets George, but starts to rise to fame after she is an extra in George's new film. They are interested in each other, but both go their own ways as she's rising to fame in silent films and, eventually talkies, and George Valentin is wondered how to stay afloat as a silent actor while talking films are rising and the public wants "new meat" and "fresh faces"

Knowing only the synopsis of the film, I wondered if this was basically going to be the silent, black & white, dramatic version of Singin' In the Rain. It sounded similar, a silent film star, the rise of talking films, an aspiring actress, etc. Even the opening of the film was quite similar. We see the opening of George Valentin's new film, we see him out on stage, wooing the crowds, and how much he is loved. We see Peppy Miller as an extra on set, as a good dancer (though admittedly, Peppy loves George, whereas Kathy hated Don in SitR), and we see the studio view a talking movie (a short clip), and George scoffing at it. But the similarities stop between the two films there.

Admittedly, I thought this was going to be a light, fluffy film, as I'd read those words in a few reviews. Though that's not exactly how I'd describe this movie. In fact, some of the movie was really quite sad. We see a man refusing to go along with the times, to become more "modern", and loosing everything around him. While it didn't  have a hugely complex story, it wasn't rainbows and butterflies either.

What I really enjoyed about this film was how legitimately "old" looking it was! Everything from the ratio (it wasn't wide screen, but was almost square, since there wasn't wide screen back in the day), to the beginning credits with the old type face, the score, and the title cards rather than subtitles, like they used to use. Knowing a little bit about silent film from the film class I took last semester, I was impressed. It didn't look modern in any way, it had a really amateur 1920's look and feel to it, and I loved that. Michel Hazanavicius went the whole nine yards on the silent film thing, and I'm glad he did.

Additionally, Jean Dujardin was very, very impressive in this film. He really expressed himself so well, without using words. He had so much passion, and was very into his character and you can tell. Especially the last scene (the one before the tap-dancing one) was especially impressive as well as the fire scene. Trying not to spoil, but all his best work came later on in the film. Also, Berenice Bejo, wife of the director who didn't audition for the part was extremely charming. She was over-dramatic and charming and silly, just like actors and actresses were then. She didn't go too overboard, nor did she hold back. She's a very skillful woman, and between the two of them, I would forget the film was silent because they can both communicate so well by their expressions and body language. I would put Dujardin higher up on my list of Best Actor, having had just as good a performance as Brad Pitt, though still not as good as Clooney. However, he was very impressive, and I really enjoyed him. And the dog. The dog was so cute, and so good.

What I also thought was so neat was the use of shadows and reflects in the film. We see lots of shadows play a part, and lots of scene showing reflections. Both of those are a huge part of George Valentin. The shadow of who he used to be, and the reflection of who he is now. It was subtle, the use of both, but were extremely effective, and added so much to the film.

(spoiler paragraph)
Another metaphor, was the use of silence itself. It represented, once again, so much of how George Valentin was. He's a silent film star, and that's who he wants to stay being. He is scared of "talking" and that reflects in the first of the two scenes with sound used in the film. The one mentioned, being his nightmare, in which the world around him is filled with noise but he remains silent. He is a prideful man, wanting not to change for anyone, being vain enough to think he himself will draw fans, but is scared he is losing his star quality, his "voice". But what fans really want are the new and exciting. He is living a dull home life, and is loosing everything around him. The second use of sound was the ending, when he finally accepts what is happening, and agrees to take a chance on it, and dance with Peppy in their new film together. George has accepted this new step in his life, has lost all his pride and is no longer so independent that he pushes people away, he has found his "voice" again, and he has become happier. He has sound in his life. And I thought that was a very effective way of putting it. It was well thought-out, and an effective metaphorical tool. (end spoiler)

The only complain I had was that the music wasn't always well placed. Several times it lingered too long before starting up again, or the music just didn't go with what was happening in the scene. Many times it would've been better suited to have a more sad and melancholy piece than an angry, loud piece, but that's just my musical opinion. The score was quite enchanting, and I enjoyed it overall, even if it wasn't 100% perfectly used.

Overall, I enjoyed the film. It was really, really well done, and certainly deserved a Best Directing award, no doubt. Will it win best picture? Most likely, yes. It's the front-runner right now, with only The Descendants as it's biggest challenger. It was a well-done, perfect homage to the silent film era, and was so genuine. Was it my favourite film? No, it wasn't. It was very good, but I still preferred War Horse and Moneyball over it, though I thought it was quite on par with The Descendants and The Help, and definitely better than Hugo. Still, I see the appeal for Best Picture winner (which I predict it will be). It's different, it's homage, it's old-fashioned, and it's a nice movie. It's not deep and loaded with serious issues and heavy stuff (like the Hurt Locker, Slumdog Millionarie, etc). It can, and most likely will sweep the awards circuit this year. Don't be surprised if they call it out for the Last Prize come Oscar night.

8.25/10

486. Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close

486. (07 Dec) Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close (2011, Stephen Daldry)* 82

457. The Artist

457. (06 Nov) The Artist (2011, Michel Hazanavicius)* 48



The first thirty minutes of The Artist are lighter than air, suggesting a rather promising comedy. Then the film turns dramatic and whatever momentum was being gained is lost. A charming series of takes where Jean Dujardin and Bérénice Bejo's flirting interrupts filming on a movie they're making gives way to suicide attempts and house fires and all sort of melodramatic nonsense. The movie simply ceases to be any fun and, considering it's sustaining on the gimmick of being silent, that makes the last three-fourths of the film quite a chore. There are amusing moments along the way, mostly involving an adorable dog. It's one of the frothiest, dopiest movies I've seen in quite some time. I guess that certifies it as a Best Picture contender.