032. Bad Boys

032. (25 Jan) Bad Boys (1983, Rick Rosenthal) 60



A powerful film about the dehumanizing nature of prison, this distinguishes itself with its setting in a juvenile facility. Prison hardening someone and making them far more dangerous than they'd be on the street is hardly a new narrative, but Sean Penn lends Bad Boys credibility. A complicated revenge plot keep and colorful, if clichéd characters also keep this intriguing. Also, I don't know that I've ever seen so much terrible bruising makeup in a single film before.

GANGSTER SQUAD

GANGSTER SQUAD
Written by Will Beall
Directed by Ruben Fleischer
Starring Josh Brolin, Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone and Sean Penn

Mickey Cohen: It’s like they say, all good things must eventually be burnt to the ground for the insurance money.

It’s hard for me to accept that the first major studio release of the year, one featuring a bevy of big names no less, would also be a serious candidate for one of the worst films of the year. I’m not sure why it’s difficult considering how many times it has happened in the past, but when you see this much money invested in such a high profile project like GANGSTER SQUAD, you have to think that Warner Brothers must have put someone in charge who knew what he was doing. Instead, they put Ruben Fleisher in charge, a man whose directorial debut, ZOMBIELAND, can now officially be called a total fluke.

GANGSTER SQUAD is actually a complete joke of a movie, or rather it has to be viewed as one in order to make watching it bearable. Screenwriter, Will Beall, if you want to call him that, has composed a fictionalized account of how infamous gangster, Mickey Cohen, was taken down by an elite and highly top secret gang of super cops, who have banded together in their common goal to see a safer Los Angeles. They are also all post-war soldiers who don’t know what to do with all their misplaced aggression. And in keeping with the facile screenwriting tropes that Beall seems to believe are the foundation of a good genre picture, this band of not-so-merry men is made up of misfits, from a sharp shooter to a hot head to the brains of the operation. Only one of them has a family to worry about so you know exactly which one is going to die first. This is the kind of genius to his writing.

Amidst all the predictable plot development and laughable dialogue, is Fleischer’s total mismanagement of said material. At times, I wasn’t even sure there was a director on set. If there was, I’m sure he would have told Sean Penn and Ryan Gosling to stop trying so hard all the time. Every element of their performances seems forced and rehearsed, without the smallest trace of organic humanity to them. I swear, even the way Gosling puts bacon in his mouth is calculated. That said, over doing it is better than not doing anything at all with your time on screen. I’m talking to you, Josh Brolin. Everyone is either good or bad here; actual character development and layering is not even a consideration. And Emma Stone as Penn’s love interest? That would be disturbing even if Penn’s make-up didn’t make him look like a corpse.

Visually, GANGSTER SQUAD is all style over substance, but with very little trace of taste or ability. There is a brief allusion to the idea that there is little difference between the violence of the mob and the methods used by the squad to bring the mob down, which could give the film some sense of meaning and purpose. Then they take this concept and hammer it into the audience over and over again as character after character questions their moral involvement in the squad. There is only one way for this shell of a film to finish and that would be in a barrage of gaudy gunfire that takes out everything in sight. When the smoke clears, it’s pretty obvious that Fleisher should stick to comedies, if that. At least those are intentionally supposed to be funny.

Alternate Best Supporting Actor 1993: Results

6. Sean Penn in Carlito's Way- Penn gives a suitable enough performance that does not fall into the problems of his later work, but still it is not anything that remarkable.

5. Sam Neill in The Piano- Neill does his best to not fall into his cliches of his sort of character creating a believable portrayal of a man who simply does not understand the woman who he wants as his wife.

4. Val Kilmer in Tombstone- Kilmer brings to life the role of the larger than life Doc Holliday well combining both the flamboyancy and morose qualities of the man beautifully. 

3. Christopher Lloyd in Twenty Bucks- Lloyd is so incredible in his short segment of his compilation film to the point that I wish the film had been solely about him. He creates a terrific portrait of a small time criminal who is as efficient as one probably could be in his line of work.

2. Ben Kingsley in Schindler's List- Kingsley gives a very quiet, but very moving performance as the man who desperately tries to save as many people as he can by trying convince another man to do the right thing.

1. Richard Jordan in Gettysburg- Good Prediction RatedRStar. Although this year is a spectacular year for supporting actor I can easily choose my favorite non Oscar nominated performance of the year in Richard Jordan. I really do not cry from watching films but watching Jordan's performance as a civil war General pained by the fact that he must fight his best friend is the closest I have ever come to doing so. His performance is so powerful I am very tempted to give him the whole year.

Overall Rank:

1. Richard Jordan in Gettysburg
2. Ralph Fiennes in Schindler's List
3. Pete Postlethwaite in In the Name of the Father
4. Ben Kingsley in Schindler's List
5. Christopher Lloyd in Twenty Bucks
6. Val Kilmer in Tombstone
7. Stephen Lang in Gettysburg
8. Leonardo DiCaprio in What's Eating Gilbert Grape?
9. John Malkovich in In the Line of Fire 
10. Jack Lemmon in Short Cuts  
11. Gene Hackman in The Firm
12. Dennis Hopper in True Romance  
13. Bruce Davison in Short Cuts 
14. Martin Sheen in Gettysburg 
15. Kevin Conway in Gettysburg 
16. Gary Oldman in True Romance
17. Steve Buscemi in Twenty Bucks
18. Richard Attenborough in Jurassic Park 
19. Tom Waits in Short Cuts
20. Sam Neill in The Piano
21. Brian Mallon in Gettysburg
22. Harvey Keitel in The Paino
23. Jeff Goldblum in Jurassic Park
24. Christopher Walken in True Romance
25. Don Baker in In the Name of the Father
26. Tim Robbins in Short Cuts
27. Clint Eastwood in A Perfect World
28. Wilford Brimley in The Firm
29. Viggo Mortensen in Carlito's Way
30. Saul Rubinek in True Romance
31. Sam Elliot in Tombstone
32. Charlton Heston in Wayne's World 2
33. Bob Peck in Jurassic Park
34. James Gandolfini in True Romance
35. Tom Berenger in Gettysburg
36. Peter Wright in Naked
37. Stephen Tobolowsky in Groundhog's Day
38. Ed Harris in The Firm
39. Brad Pitt in True Romance
40. Stephen Lang in Tombstone
41. Sean Penn in Carlito's Way
42. Wayne Knight in Jurassic Park
43. Bill Paxton in Tombstone
44. John Lynch in In the Name of the Father
45. Sam Elliot in Gettysburg
46. Fred Ward in Short Cuts
47. Michael Biehn in Tombstone
48. C. Thomas Howell in Gettysburg
49. Tommy Lee Jones in The Fugitive
50. Michael Rooker in Cliffhanger
51. David Strathairn in The Firm
52. Chris Penn in Short Cuts
53. Samuel L. Jackson in Jurassic Park
54. Gary Busey in The Firm
55. Bronson Pinchot in True Romance
56. Tom Hulce in Fearless
57. Robert Downey Jr. in Short Cuts 
58. John Turturro in Fearless
59. Chris Elliot in Groundhog's Day
60. Matthew Modine in Short Cuts 
61. Christopher Reeve in The Remains of the Day
62. Michael Rapaport in True Romance
63. Powers Booth in Tombstone
64. John Lithgow in Cliffhanger
65. John Leguizamo in Carlito's Way
66. Joroen Krabbe in The Fugitive
67. Peter Gallagher in Short Cuts
68. Jason Robards in Philadelphia
69. Luis Guzman in Carlito's Way
70. Dylan McDermott in In the Line of Fire
71. Antonio Banderas in Philadelphia
72. Pierce Brosnan in Mrs. Doubt Fire
73. Frederic Forrest in Falling Down
74. T.J. Lowther in A Perfect World
75. Greg Cruttwell in Naked

Next Year: 2003 Supporting

Alternate Best Supporting Actor 1993

And the Nominees Were Not:

Richard Jordan in Gettysburg 

Sam Neill in The Piano 

Ben Kingsley in Schindler's List

Val Kilmer in Tombstone

Sean Penn in Carlito's Way

The Tree of Life

The Tree of Life, 2011
Directed by Terrence Malik
Nominations Inlcude: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Cinematography


Yes, I've finally watched this movie. I find it a little ironic that the very first BP nominee to be released was this film, way back in May. And it was the very last nominee I needed to watch. 


I had heard so many different things about this film. Going on the iTunes page for renting it, you either had people saying it was very boring, and wishing they could give it 0 stars, and those who loved it, and gave it 4 or 5 stars. I was under the impression that regular movie-goers didn't like it, and film buffs loved it. Therefore I wasn't too sure what to think. I knew there wasn't a whole lot of "plot" (I got this from the very vague synopsis I read on iTunes and IMDB), and from hearing about the long creation scenes, I figured I was settling in for a movie that was more art than story. 


I'm glad I went in with the mindset I did, because had I been expecting plot, and character development, and dialogue, I'd be extremely disappointed. But even from the trailers that came out around this time last year, I didn't really expect an ordinary movie. And that's definitely not what this was. 


This movie revolves around a young boy named Jack, and the idea of the way of nature and the way of grace. The way of nature, Mrs. O'Brien explains via voice-over in the beginning, is self-seeking and only willing to please itself, which is what society teaches us. But the way of grace, is the way of God, loving those around us, and looking to please others before pleasing yourself. While Jack starts off as an innocent child, we see him lose his innocence in a number of ways. Through seeing his friend drown at the local swimming pool, to dealing with his father, who reigns their family with an iron fist, and, fro Jack's view, doesn't seem to love his children. Jack is trying to choose between the ways of grace, and the ways of nature, his parents both embodying one (his mother, grace, his father, nature). 


What I found interesting was there was very little dialogue in the film. A lot of it was whispered voice-overs, through montage scenes. We get some perspective from each character in the film, and learn what they are really thinking. 


The film gets off to a little bit of a bumpy start, jumping back and forth between scenes, time periods, and character views. But the things that gets the ball really moving is the 25-minute creation sequence. We see everything from shots of the universe (dust clouds), to the collision of 2 planets creating Earth, molten Earth, cell formation and dinosaurs, all while hearing sparse whispered prayers from Mrs. O'Brien (Chastain). It isn't exactly clear why this is included, but reinforces the fact that we are but a very small speck in the span of space and time. We live a hundred years (if that), while the Universe has existed for thousands (or millions) of years, and will continue to exist long after we are gone. And how small and insignificant our lives are compared to the vastness of the Universe. Very impressionistic. 


After this, we focus on the lives of the O'Briens'. We see the parents in love, the birth of their children, playing wit their children, teaching them lessons about their lives, and just their general lives, the insignificant things, like going to bed at night, or eating dinner, or playing ball on the street. Jack, the eldest son, is innocent of the evils of the world. 


But as Jack is getting older, he starts realizing more and more things. He see's a friend drown at the local pool, and another friend has their house burn down, his friend suffering burns. He's learning that his parents are 2 very different people, his mother kind and loving, while his father is strong and ruling with an iron fist, and is starting to realize he's more like his father than his mother, which he isn't happy about. And he questions how he can get back what his brother's have. Their innocence. 


This film was incredibly well acted, and I'm surprised it didn't get any nominations. Hunter McCracken, who played young Jack, was so magnificient in his debut film. He expressed everything with such ease, I felt like Malik was almost filming him, playing with his brothers and parents, with hidden cameras, it was so natural. He really held the film on his shoulders, and supported it with surprising ease. He conveyed all the emotions so well, and his whispered voice-overs were haunting. 


Brad Pitt, also was so good. He was so subtle, but plays his best roles when he plays a parent (Moneyball, and this). He has such good fatherly instincts in his acting, and connects so well with these boys. He is utterly convincing as the rigid father who has a temper. 


But Jessica Chastain is the one who truly, truly shines. This is only the second film I've seen her in of the many that were released in 2011. She gave such a beautiful performance, embodying the 'way of grace'. She was graceful and loving always. Just the way she walked, and talked was grace embodied, 100%. She was just so lovely, and so different from her portrayal of Celia Foote in the Help. I felt this performance was far superior to hers in the Help, but love that she is getting recognition, though she won't win. Jessica Chastain has proved how versatile she really is, and this performance was utter perfection. 


And I retract my comment that if War Horse doesn't win Best Cinematography I might throw a hissy fit. The Tree of Life completely owned War Horse. It was a subtle cinematography at most times, simply following characters around, not having characters stay within the frames. And then there were the lovely shots of creation (does those count as cinematography, or visual effects?), and the shots of those on that beach in the last scene. And just everytime Jessica Chastain walked, it was beautifully shot. It's definitely a deserving winner, though i still have so much love for War Horse's cinematography. 


Overall, I found myself insanely interested, though there wasn't a whole lot of plot or dialogue. I was interested and invested in this family, and I found I cared about all 3 sons, and the parents, and their relationships. I found them interesting, even though they showed me the mudane things about their life. While I felt it went on a little too long (my interest starting slowing around an hour and 45 minutes), it was an interesting film. It wasn't my favourite film of their year, but it was certainly an impressive film, that gives us things to think about. I can understand why a lot of people didn't like it, however. It's not a movie that's everyone's taste, and I understand that. With films like Transformers, which is all action and 'plot' and dialogue, I can see why this film would get pushed to the wayside, though it is an incredibly impressive film, should you choose to be patient, and understand it's different from regular films. Will it win Best Picture? No, it will not, but I still thought it was a mighty interesting film. 


7.5/10 

492. The Tree of Life

491. (11 Dec) /The Tree of Life/ (2011, Terrence Malick)* 94

ReReview: THE TREE OF LIFE

Written and Directed by Terrence Malick

Starring Brad Pitt, Jessica Chastain and Sean Penn

Mrs. O'Brien: You'll be grown before that tree is tall. 

Terrence Malick’s THE TREE OF LIFE is the most polarizing film I’ve seen in ages. It was widely reported that plenty of patrons walked out and angrily demanded their money back while just as many fans vehemently defended it, proclaiming the film a modern masterpiece. In fact, this pattern began at the Cannes film festival, where the film made its debut, when half the audience took its feet in ovation while the rest booed and hissed loudly. To be fair, Cannes audiences do tend to err on the dramatic side of things but this divide was very real. No word of a lie, I hold THE TREE OF LIFE personally responsible, at least in some small part, for actually ruining a very close friendship of mine. It doesn’t matter which side of the line you fall on though; what matters is that for those who see it, the reaction it inspires is a strong one.

All I knew after seeing THE TREE OF LIFE in theatres was that I would need to see it again to truly form a full opinion of it. I knew that seeing it again would either leave me feeling more detached from it or more involved in it. When I saw the film with an audience, I was surprised and moved by how quiet and attentive everyone was. The film demands your attention and it certainly had it in that room. A few people left, including the couple sitting in front of me. (I knew when they sat down that it was only a matter of when.) At the time, my original review praised the film’s aesthetics, calling them nothing short of genius, but I also felt the film came across as somewhat self-important, as if Malick portended to know something we didn’t.

After seeing the film again, in stunning high definition in my living room, I feel as though I have seen THE TREE OF LIFE in a whole other light. The film is an odyssey of sorts, one that the viewer must choose to embark upon freely in order to enjoy. At two hours and eighteen minutes, the film is not particularly long but it can feel that way at times because it requires such delicate contemplation on the viewer’s part, as well as some very focused observation. It’s almost meditative. If you can find that state of balance and calm that Malick mysteriously manifests on film though, the experience itself can be transcendent. Every frame of this film is magnificent, bursting off the screen with beauty like you’ve never seen, rendering the action taking place superfluous most of the time.

There is no succinct plot in THE TREE OF LIFE. Having one would almost defeat the point, or at least the new point I’ve taken away from the film anyway. I feel more now as though Malick is not telling us what he thinks he knows about life but rather asking us to see life as the splendid miracle it is, to appreciate it fully and to understand that not only could it disappear in an instant but that one day it will. And so instead of story, Malick gives us random moments, some mundane, some meaningful. Moments are what make up our lives and from these moments, spring the stories we create in our minds. We invite shame and suffering into our homes and into our bodies when we don’t need to. Our lives are but blinks of an eye and all that we should see in that instant is love.

THE TREE OF LIFE

Written and Directed by Terrence Malick

Starring Brad Pitt, Jessica Chastain and Sean Penn

Mrs. O'Brien: You'll be grown before that tree is tall.

THE TREE OF LIFE is a true film experience. Writer/Director, Terrence Malick’s latest opus is an assault of the best kind on your eyes, your ears and your mind. It is mesmerizing from the moment it begins with a pattern of dancing waves of colored light flowing in the center of a black screen. Whispers can be heard in the distance, birds too, seagulls maybe. It is a total mystery what lies ahead but you can feel its weight, its magnitude, its inevitable magnificence. THE TREE OF LIFE is a journey, one with remarkable richness in every frame. When the journey ends though, its insight isn’t as revelatory as its grandness suggests it should be.

Malick has famously been tinkering and toiling over THE TREE OF LIFE for more than two years now. And while his hyper-perfectionism might drive the man himself to the brink of potential madness, it has once again served to create a film so fluid and inviting that I felt as though I was floating through space and time along with it. Despite its subject matter, which I will get into shortly, THE TREE OF LIFE has an airy quality to it. Alexandre Desplat’s (THE KING’S SPEECH) piano and string score carries you effortlessly into the sky on the wind, allowing you to look down upon Emmanuel Lubezki’s (CHILDREN OF MEN) breathtaking cinematography and just gaze longingly at its immense beauty. The film is then cut together in non-linear sequence so seamlessly that it never seems to matter at all just how little it all comes together at times.

Malick’s screenplay is a vast contemplation on life, its meanings and lack there of. It may be perhaps a tad bit too vast though. Mr. and Mrs. O’Brien (Brad Pitt and the captivating Jessica Chastain) have just lost one of their three sons at the age of 19. Their grief and regrets run so deep that they transcend time, affecting not only the present but the future of their remaining children as well. As an adult, their son, Jack O’Brien (Sean Penn), has never gotten over the loss of his brother, let alone the drastically different views his parents instilled on him. Malick seems to be musing on the continuity of issues and pain as passed down from generation to generation, how one moment in time can affect all the others to varying degrees. To really drive his point home hard, Malick expands his theory to the dawn of time, taking his film into a lengthy segue showcasing the creation of the universe. Life forms have always affected the others around them and they can appear and disappear without warning or explanation, rendering most of our problems completely pointless.

The obvious but supposed deeper meaning in THE TREE OF LIFE forces the viewer to think there must be more to this, that any experience this spectacular must contain clues to puzzles I’ve never been able to fully understand. Only the idea that our souls continue on throughout time, destined to struggle with the same issues the whole way, despite our ability to decide how we approach and master our troubles, is not exactly new. For as much depth as THE TREE OF LIFE portends to have, it rests fairly comfortable on the surface most of the time. It is however one of the loveliest surfaces I’ve ever stared into.

Slumdog Millionaire Wins Best Pic, 8 Oscars®

2009 Oscar® Winner Count:
Slumdog 8, Benjamin Button 3, Milk 2, Dark Knight 2

Picture: Slumdog Millionaire
Director: Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire)
Actress: Kate Winslet (The Reader)
Actor: Sean Penn (Milk)
Supporting Actress: Penelope Cruz (Vicky Christina Barcelona)
Supporting Actor: Heath Ledger (Dark Knight)

Original Screenplay: Dustin Lance Black (Milk)
Adapted Screenplay: Simon

Screen Actors Guild Awards

The SAG awards results (held on Jan 25th). They give awards only to actors (the award is called The Actor®) - and the word "actress" is prohibited. They also give awards for ensemble acting, and for both film and tv.
Can't you just hear the kids at home: "Hey, mommy won The Actor" - "Wow! Is it Tom Cruise?"

2009 SAG Winners (career totals shown)

Film
Ensemble Cast: Slumdog Millionaire
Lead

Slumdog Millionaire wins Critics Choice Award

Director Danny Boyle's Slumdog Millionaire won the Critic's Choice award as Best Picture, Boyle won director and the film won five awards overall at Thursday nights Critic's Choics awards for 2008 films.

Best Picture: Slumdog Millionaire
Best Director: Danny Boyle, Slumdog Millionaire
Best Action Picture: The Dark Knight
Best Comedy Picture: Tropic Thunder
Best Animated Picture: Wall-E
Best