Review: A Downward Spiral (Flight)

In a return to live-action filmmaking, Robert Zemeckis' first in twelve years, Flight succeeds as a character study in a world where not many of them exist anymore. This particular examination looks at Captain "Whip" Whitaker (Denzel Washington), a man that hungrily partakes of all Earthly pleasures: women, fine alcohol,  and narcotics. Hell, he can't even get out of bed in the morning without a quick bump to help him coast through his work and life without any hitches. Little does he know that severe turbulence is about to darken the silver lining of Whip’s twenty-four hour high.

However, the aftermath of the wreckage is just the beginning of Whip's worries. The National Transportation Security Board is going to have a hearing and whether Whip saved those people or not, karma is going to catch up with him.

Unsurprisingly, Robert Zemeckis really shines at the technical aspects of the film. He gives the crash a real sense of peril by leaving the viewer inside the plane. The scene very well could have been the high-point of Flight, but Zemeckis rallies the story back around its central character and the spectacular performance by Denzel Washington.

The highs and lows of Whitaker's spiral are exquisitely synced to the soundtrack. When times are good it is no surprise to hear "Feelin' Alright" by Joe Cocker and when the lows scrape the barrel then Bill Wither's "Ain't No Sunshine" echoes in the background.

Denzel Washington's selection as the Captain may seem like a curious one until you consider his talent for making grey characters shine (Training Day). Playing bad gives Washington the license to fully convey the traps that lie in waiting for a man too proud to admit his problem doesn't exist because he denies it. Whether he be falling down drunk and muttering in his glass, or utilizing that grin that has made Mr. Washington famous, he runs the gauntlet. He hasn't given a performance like this in a while and it's nice to see him given the time to develop it onscreen.

While Flight undoubtedly has one of the best lead performances of the field, it is also sidetracked with one of the weaker scripts. John Gatins drew a lot of Flight from his own personal history of addiction, but too many road bumps in the form of preaching often detract the audience from Washington's role as Whitaker.

It's not the messages that side characters offer so much as the forced manner in which they do it. The phrase "act of God" is thrown around frequently, but there is nothing to suggest that anything Whitaker did was due to some higher calling. Just experience. One of the more intriguing aspects cast away pretty quickly is the notion of being a hero. What can be gotten away with if the ends always ultimately justify the means in the eyes of others?

***/****

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Review: Blast from the Past (Argo)

The economy is slow, the President is embattled, and a crisis in the Middle East has sparked a panic. The year? 1979. Nothing ever really changes does it?

Hostages are held captive in the Embassy, elsewhere, six workers sit in a the house of a Canadian Ambassador. The CIA is bereft of ideas on how to get them out of the country. Exit strategy maestro Tony Mendez (Ben Affleck) has been called in to assess the situation. The extraction options suggested thus far have been a teaching program, vegetable growers and bicycling to Iraq. Understandably, Tony is not pleased.

The Company asks a lot of its faculty and Tony has felt the brunt. He rarely sees his wife and son, at most he gets a phone call every few days a week. He saves lives every day and yet can say nothing. During one of his few phone calls with his son, an idea blossoms: a fake b-movie production.

First things first, they'll need a crew to make their fake film. John Chambers (John Goodman) is another asset of the C.I.A. Tony has worked with previously and knows the ins and outs of Tinseltown. In the better part of a week Tony needs to be able to blend in with every schmoozing producer there is if he is to convince Iranian officials that Argo is a real film. Producer of yesteryear classics, Lester Siegel (a comic Alan Arkin) will show him the way.

Ben Affleck has only three directorial features to his name, but he has very quickly transitioned himself into the upper echelon of elite helmers. The mixture of equal parts humor and tension throughout Argo is the result of a craftsman who knows his trade. His handling of ensembles in Gone Baby Gone, The Town and Argo is reminiscent of Robert Altman.

Every scene, every take and every climax is extracted with precision and done with the full picture in mind. It should come as no surprise that supporting characters like Goodman and Arkin hand in capable turns as Hollywood veterans as well as a chameleon-like Bryan Cranston as Tony's supervisor, Jack O'Donnell, a man who knows how to bend the rules at Langley.

More impressive is that when Mr. Affleck takes the lead he has no problem relegating himself to the background when it calls for it. Understated lead performances are a rarity in the Oscar-bait of winter, but Affleck knows exactly what it takes to play a man like Tony Mendez. A cool smile and before you turn around, he's gone.

Argo sneaks up and floors the audience unexpectedly, much like the long con of convincing the entire world that a sci-fi picture in Tehran was anything but what the trade sheets suggested.

***1/2 out of ****

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Review: The Anti-Moneyball (Trouble with the Curve)

As Trouble with the Curve begins, an array of images are glossed over as Gus Lobel (Clint Eastwood) walks down the hallway of his home. Don Sutton, Dale Murphy and Hank Aaron are all on display. The glory days are over this moment suggests, though those figures photographed would never admit it.

Gus, a longtime Braves scout, operates with a similar sense of denial. His contract is three months away from expiring and Phil Sanderson (Matthew Lillard having a career renaissance as a dick) and his computer-based scouting are leaning toward sending the old horse out to stud. Pete (John Goodman), the Director of Scouting, isn't convinced that Gus is done and wants to send him down to South Carolina to assess a potential franchise-player. The only problem? Gus's vision is going, but he is too stubborn to say so.

Mickey (Amy Adams) is just as stubborn as her father. She hasn't had a Saturday off and years, yet she still hopes to be made a partner at the firm. At Pete's behest, she decides to take some time off of work and go with her father to South Carolina. The two have been semi-estranged since the death of Mickey's mother and Gus leaving her while he went on the road. Life as a scout wouldn't be right for a girl, Gus argues, but Mickey could not be more adamant that he is wrong. As the two strive to get along while they both struggle with their own careers, both find out a second pair of eyes can offer a great deal of insight.

Amy Adams and Clint Eastwood butt heads magnificently. When Adams and Eastwood are taking in a game, or fighting in a pool hall, the film is at its best. Trouble with the Curve has some faults with its writing, but the chemistry between the three leads appears in spades. Eastwood cashing in on his trademark grizzly bear visage clashes wonderfully with Adams's feistiness.

However, the film flounders when it focuses on the high school prospect that Gus and Johnny (Justin Timberlake), a rival scout, are both eyeing for the draft. The dialogue has a distinct tin-sound to it and ultimately it means nothing toward the development of Gus and Mickey's fractured relationship. Unfortunately, Trouble loses sight of the game often. Focusing on the arrogant Bo Gentry and the nefarious dealings of Matthew Lillard's scummy Sanderson just rings false in a film that at the end feels just a little too good.

**1/2 out of ****

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'Argo' Poster Bathed in Paranoia

The tension inherent in the trailer for Ben Affleck's forthcoming Argo has apparently spread to the posters. The response has been quite kind in Toronto and Telluride, viewers will be able to judge for themselves on October 12th.

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My Interview with Clint

Never Mind Pop Film has scored a major coup. Due to pure luck and circumstance, I was in the Tampa Bay area and able to score an interview with The Man with No Name himself, Clint Eastwood. The legend from such classics as High Plains Drifter, The Outlaw Josey Wales, Fistful of Dollars, Escape from Alcatraz, Dirty Harry, and Unforgiven. It was an incredible honor to sit down with the man and have a cinematic conversation. Below is the chat as transcribed.

Me: Thank you, sir, for taking the time out of your busy schedule promoting Trouble with the Curve to sit down with me. I cannot begin to express how lucky I feel right now.

CE: "--"

Well, let's get down to business, shall we? You had stated publicly that Gran Torino would be your last acting performance. What made you change your mind? Did you find semi-retirement too dull?

CE: "--"

Erm... speaking of acting, how did you enjoy working with Justin Timberlake? Were you tempted to cut a rug with him during one of the multiple scenes that takes place in the local bar? Karaoke perhaps?

CE: "--"

Another actor you hadn't worked with previously was John Goodman, who is witnessing a sort of career renaissance first-hand with roles in The Campaign, Paranorman, Argo, Inside Llewlyn Davis, Flight and Trouble with the Curve in 2012. Has he shared any of that experience with you?

CE: "--"

Heh. You weren't the one who told him to grow that mustache did you? When my friends and I watch Community we all wonder why he keeps sporting that. Did he lose a bet? I bet it was to Morgan Freeman, that guy is kind of weird when he's not playing God. Did he try to convince you to take the red pill? I brushed into him on the lot and he had a trench coat full of them.

CE: "--"

My apologies. That was a clearly inappropriate question.

CE: "--"

Look, I'm sure we can get around this faux pas, it's just that I've been going shopping with my girlfriend and we can't agree on the right furniture. The stress has been accumulating and I let it negatively affect this interview.

CE: "--"

I'm not quite sure why you're asking about my kitchen now. It's a grey-blue with wood cabinets. Why do you ask?

CE: "--"

I suppose I could have said that, yes, but who still gets coffee tables from IKEA?

CE: "--"

Well, there's no need to use that kind of language. I mean, really, a "jim-dandy"? That hurts. If I had known that you were such a big fan of IKEA I would have never brought it up.

CE: "--"

I completely understand, sir. This would be the best place to conclude. Thank you for your time, and, oh, don't forget to take the chair with you.

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'Argo' Trailer: Hooray Shag Carpeting and Long Hair

Ben Affleck's third directorial feature looks like it may be the one that will finally earn him acclaim. Let us hope that he keeps the shaggy do for the awards ceremonies. Along with Affleck, Argo stars John Goodman, Alan Arkin, Kyle Chandler and Bryan Cranston. By the way, does Bryan Cranston sleep? It seems like he has been in almost every other movie lately.

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Review: The Artist (***)

As a classic movie and silent film enthusiast, I felt it was my duty to go on and watch this similarly styled film.  Knowing from interviews of Director Michel Hazanavicius that The Artist was filled with nods to classics like Singin' in the Rain and Citizen Kane, I was hoping to be touched by this film as I had been touched by its predecessors.  

George Valentin (Jean Dujardin) is at the height of his popularity in 1927 Hollywood.  Applauded both on the screen in his action films, and in front of the audience thanks to his dancing skills and pet dog's tricks, Valentin barely misses a beat when an adoring fan slips between the policeman barrier and bumps into him outside of a premiere.  Why not enjoy a few laughs and poses with this pretty young lady?

Valentin's wife (Penelope Ann Miller) doesn't seem to agree with that sentiment the next morning, however.  Sour-faced and jealous, she paints a portrait of Valentin's life at home that sharply contrasts his carefree life as a movie star.  Valentin's home life also shows a lackadaisical attitude on the part of Valentin towards his wife, taking more interest in his dog, and his life-size portrait at the foot of the stairs than her scowl or questions.

Meanwhile, Peppy Miller (Bérénice Bejo), an aspiring extra fresh off the front page from her accidental photo shoot with Valentim, takes her confidence to the casting call for chorus girls.  Her confidence pays off, and she's hired to work as an extra dancer on the next-- you guess it-- Valetin picture.  When Valentin and Miller meet by chance again, their instantaneous chemistry sparks off the screen once more.

But if the movie were as simple as all that, where would the drama be?  The coming of sound pictures acts as the catalyst for drama, and the reactions by Valentin and Miller couldn't be more different.  Out with the old and in with the new, John Goodman's movie honcho Al Zimmer says to Valentin after Valentin makes it clear that he's an actor for the silent screen only, and that talking pictures are just a fad.  Peppy Miller, on the other hand, is a rising starlet in the talking pictures screen, thanks in part to the beauty spot that Valentin painted on her face.  The coming of talking pictures leads them down different paths, and their changing fortunes are simultaneously contrasted over several years.  Ultimately, though,Valentin and Miller's fates are intertwined.

This is a quaint film, earnestly acted by all parties involved (and, for the most part not overacted, as one might have heard about the art of silent film in the past).  I thought James Cromwell was wonderful  as the understated supporting character Clifton, Valentin's chauffeur, especially compared to John Goodman's Sylvester Macaroni-like performance.  Uggie the Dog was in a league of his own--I'm almost positive that the majority of the Oscar buzz is because he's so adorable in the movie.

The cinematography is quite pretty, and mimic the style of films from the 1920s for the most part.  Like the silent films, the amount of placard dialogue is kept to a minimum, although it's occasionally used to increase dramatic effect.  Though primarily a drama, The Artist does have its comedic moments as well, relying on the use of sight gags--mostly with the pup--and assisted by the excellent rhythmic timing of the score.

In all of its ambitions to pay tribute to classic Hollywood, however, The Artist still comes off feeling a little hollow for it.  Don't get me wrong, the sincerity of all those involved to make the film is apparent and plentiful.  The basic material that the film is presenting-- pride before the fall, love, jealousy, gratitude, inadequacy-- are on their own timeless.  It is simply that these themes and the performances that channel these emotions are presented as secondary to the technical aspects of this film.  All the sincerity in the world cannot help out a film when it is constructed to use a style more than to tell the story.  

As much as I wanted to love this film, I ended up being underwhelmed instead.  It could be that I expected too much, but the Oscar buzz that is being generated by The Artist seems to affirm my original hopes.  Perhaps I'm just in the minority of viewers who sees the film and longs for a classic silent film  in place of a novelty item that takes from better movies.  Don't take that to mean that doesn't mean The Artist's lack of creativity costs the movie its entertaining qualities.  It's an enjoyable piece of Oscar-bait.  I just wish I hadn't gotten the bait-and-switch.

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