The Film Junkie

Grade: A

Grade: A+

Grade: B-

Wes Anderson is a new kind of director.  As this is the age of the geek, he is well respected as one of the great representatives of that culture.  His career-defining film ‘Rushmore’ (1998) ushered in a new kind of protagonist in the over-confident, over-intelligent and ambitious Max Fischer (Jason Schwartzman) talked his way through life and the various clubs he chaired and belonged to.  With his ambitious third film ‘The Royal Tenenbaums’ (2001), Anderson tackled the families of the bizarre upper classes with exceptional style and became the king of the collage-inspired aesthic.  Now, with ‘The Darjeeling Limited’, he moves from the inidividual male through the entire family to the relationships between brothers.

The story follows three brothers (Owen Wilson, Adrien Brody and Jason Schwartzman) as they embark on a trip through India to ‘find’ themselves and eventually (SPOILER ALERT) their mother (Angelica Huston).  Along the way the brothers don’t so much change as open up.  Their evolution is one of communication and acceptance rather than alteration.

Following his last film ‘The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou’ (2004), Anderson seems to be slowing down and allowing his films to breathe more than the chaos of ‘Rushmore’, ’Tenenbaums’ or his first film ‘Bottle Rocket’ (1996).  We still have scenes of exquisitly chosen indie rock to puncuate the drama, but we also have many more scenes of the longing and pontification.  Thus, those people who love ‘Aquatic’ will also love ‘Darjeeling’, but those who long for the days of chaos may be left wanting more.

The performances are expertly Anderson-esque (Brody is a perfect fit for the style), however I longed for some more interesting female characters.  In the short film ‘Hotel Chevalier’ that plays before the feature, Natalie Portman is featured as a kind of piece of art rather than an actual character, and Huston’s character is used to explain the problems of the men around her rather than having her own motivations.

All in all, this is a love letter to brotherhood.  The love between brothers, the longing for lost fathers and sons, and the fear of a future relationship with the next generation of men.  This film speaks to the new kind of man, one who abuses substances without remorse and is incapable of being a typical hero.  I only hope that perhaps Sofia Coppola or a female director of a similar aesthic will be able to do the same for women.

A charming and colorful step forward for Anderson.

Grade: A-

It is a rare thing in our modern age to leave a movie with genuine joy in your heart.  Movies these days are often throught-provoking, but at times they work to frighten or demean us rather than uplift.  ‘Hairspray’ is something completely different.

It is the story of Tracy Turnblad (Nikki Blonsky), a plus-size teen with a penchant for dancing and the dream of becoming a star on the local teen dance program.  Along the way to realizing her dream she encounters the injustices of her world and becomes inspired to change things.

Blonsky is one hell of a find, she was discovered in an open casting call, as she steals the movie from all the stars around her.  She is instantly watchable and relatable and thus she carries us through the film with her cheerful demeanour and intelligence.  

The rest of the cast consists of Michelle Pfeiffer who relishes playing the bitch; Brittany Snow as her devilish daughter; teen dream Zac Efron as teen dream Link; James Marsden as the adorable dance show host; Amanda Bynes as Tracy’s best friend Penny who is also going through a life-changing experience; Allison Janny as Penny’s uber-Christian mama; Queen Latifah as the host of ‘Negro Day’ on the dance show; and John Travolta and Christopher Walken as Tracy’s mom and dad, respectively.

I was at times distracted by Travolta in drag, but the oddest thing about his performance was the choice of accent.  He chose a sort of Southern drawl, or Boston (hard to tell) accent that doesn’t really work.  However I liked him in drag overall.  Walken is clearly loving being able to return to his song and dance roots.  

The cast is very strong, they work the songs and dance routines with complete gusto.  The film is high energy, high impact and highly entertaining.  You will leave with a smile on your face.

Grade: A 

I am still unsure about Shia LaBeouf.  He speaks like a man twice his age and acts with the confidence of an Oscar winner, however it all comes off a bit pompous for my taste.  He needs to act a bit more like the insecure teens he is portraying because if he keeps acting the role of the over-confident jerk he is going to lose his appeal, and fast.

This modern teen adaptation of Hitchcock’s ‘Rear Window’ follows LaBeouf’s Kale, a young man under house arrest for punching his teacher.  He begins to notice oddities around the neightbourhood and becomes convinced that his next-door neighbour is a serial killer.  Is it his paranoia or is it real?  Do we care?  Not really.

The movie tries to make us care about Kale and his desire for Ashley (Sarah Roemer), the girl next door, yet her performance is so bland and unlikable we simply don’t.  We try to care about the possibility of a murderer, but are constantly distracted by LaBeouf’s aggravating selfishness.  We try to care about his mother (Carrie-Anne Moss), but her scenes are so limited we never really get to know her.

What we are left with is a cool idea executed rather lamely.  Perhaps if LaBeouf could tone down the arrogance, Roemer could act and Moss could be given a chance to shine this would be a good film.

Grade: B-

In recent years Hugh Grant has taken to playing the cad in most of his films.  In the 90’s he was the stuttering charmer, but in the 21st century he has become the arsehole.  However here he breaks from that type to play a has-been 80’s pop star trying to rekindle his career.

It might seen a prime opportunity to play a jerk, however Grant plays the role as a man who is happy to have what he does have rather than being bitter about what he doesn’t have.  It is an unexpected choice, but one that works.  Especially since Grant is paired with the ever-cheerful Drew Barrymore.

I didn’t expect to like this pairing.  I love both of them separately and in other pairings, but I never thought that the sardonic Grant would work with the peppy Barrymore, however they surprised me.  The chemistry between them is clear from the get-go. 

The film is basically the story of the two of them attempting to write a pop song for a ridiculous pop star and in that area it lacks.  The pop star, Cora (Hayley Bennett), is completely unbelievable.  Where Grant’s 80’s band, Pop, is a comedic but also quite realistic depiction of that era’s music scene, Cora is instead trying to mock too many stars and thus it loses the effect.  She is at once the religious inclinations of Madonna, the ignorance of Britney, a weak impression of Shakira’s dancing, with the costumes of Christina.  And yet with all these influences, the actress herself has none of the charisma of any of these.  Barrymore and Grant outshine her at every turn, and thus we can never really buy that she is the biggest star on earth.

Ultimately, I was entertained by this rom-com.  I like Grant and Barrymore together.  It is a much sweeter movie than I expected and that was a nice surprise.  Plus, the Pop music video is one of the funniest things I have ever seen Hugh Grant do.

Grade: B

Sandra Bullock is one of my favorite big Hollywood actresses because I feel like she is trying to bring roles for women, especially more mature women, into the forefront with her celebrity.  I also feel like she just gets better and better with age and is still going to surprise us.  With all that said, this movie was not all I hoped it would be.

She stars as a woman who is living the week of her husband’s death out of sequence.  She must figure out why and what is happening to her while also taking care of her marriage, her children and herself.  The film lags in the beginning, but finds its path as soon as she begins to take control of what is happening to her.  However the strong Christian undertones drag the message of the film down and the ending is unfulfilling.

I love Bullock in this role, she is lovely and complex while not wearing her emotions on her sleeve like many actresses think they have to (ahem, Julia Roberts), Bullock lets it live just under the surface.  She has been better in many films, but never has a movie rested so much on her shoulders alone.  What she has proven here is that she is now as watchable as Tom Hanks, perhaps she is the female version.  She is the everywoman.

Not a great film, but it is entertaining and Bullock is a gem.

Grade: B-

Sometimes chick flicks can warm your heart and give you a nice lift for the day, other times it kind of feels like the studios have used a calculator to try and squeeze as much money from you as possible. 

Here they take the idea that Diane Keaton has scored big with ‘The Family Stone’ (2005) and ‘Somethings Gotta Give’ (2003), so they combine her characters from those two films to make Daphne.    They also surmise that teens adore Mandy Moore from her music career as well as her charming roles in ‘A Walk To Remember’ (2002) and ‘Chasing Liberty’ (2004) and thus will see her in this.  They cast Lauren Graham to tap into the ‘Gilmore Girls’ crowd and Stephen Collins for the ‘Seventh Heaven’ fans.  They calculate that by their math this movie should draw a big crowd…however there’s something they forgot: a story.

Instead we are given a lame plot wherein Keaton is a mother too involved in her daughter’s lives, in fact so much so that none of them are able to make a single decision without one another.  This was done far more believably in ‘The Upside of Anger’ (2005) with Joan Allen and her trio of daughters.  Here it grates on the nerves.

The love story is horrendously predictable (would anyone stay with Tom Everett Scott’s schmuck character past the uber-controlling first date??).  This film is simply offensive to women in that it thinks that we need little more than likable cast members and a cute boy to get us through.  Women need story, passion and suprises because, surprisingly, we are people too.

Do your own math.

Grade: C-

Finally we have come upon the age of Apatow.  Following the genius of ‘The 40 Year Old Virgin’ and the even better ‘Knocked Up’, Apatow and company give us ‘Superbad’, the story of two horny teenaged boys who need to buy booze.

Yeah, it sounds like an old premise, been done before a million times and then some, but then you see it.  Seth Rogan wrote this film with his best friend Evan Goldberg when they were teenagers because in all the teen films they had seen, none represented the actual teen experience. 

Here we have Seth (Jonah Hill) and Evan (Michael Cera), two best friends on the verge of separating due to their admission to two different colleges.  Thus they must make one last ditch effort to impress some ladies so they will not arrive at college as virgins.  But this is no ‘American Pie’.  These dudes actually look like teens, as do their lady friends.  They act and swear like teens, they fuck up like teens, they redeem themselves like teens.

That is not to say the film doesn’t border on the ridiculous.  The two cops (Seth Rogan and Bill Hader) who take the geeky Fogell (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) under their wing act as we only dream cops would act. They find their way out of dead end situations with incredible luck.  And the girls they hope to catch are incredibly beautiful.  However for all these unrealistic elements, the film never loses its sense of being refreshingly real.

This movie is hilarious from start to finish.  It pays homage to the style of the 1970’s with its music and costuming, while staying firmly rooted in 2007.  It makes a joke out of at least a few things no other film has dared try.  It is actually shocking in parts.  It is an uncomfortable humour like that of the other Apatow comedies, or NBC’s ‘The Office’.

So welcome to a new age of comedy, where people who look and act like you and I can finally be the heroes.

Grade: A