Blow

It was sad to realize that this was Ted Demme's last dramatic film as I watched it for the second time. I had seen this film back in 2001 when it came out but it didn't resonate with me at that time. I missed alot of the nuances and and was focused mainly on the drug culture and the Pee Wee cameo. Blow tells the true life story of George Jung a drug trafficker who made millions running cocaine and lost all of it along with his family and his freedom. The screenplay by Nick Cassavetes and David McKenna is based on the book by Bruce Porter. Johnny Depp does an amazing job with the material portraying both sides of George. He is an ambitious bold drug runner and and an empathetic figure who just wants a nice family life. You really feel for the guy even as he makes very bad decisions. The film has a great flow as we go from sad childhood to summer lovin' in California to drug free for all to the Fall From Grace. Paul Reubens is great as the distributor and Bobcat Goldthwait has an amusing cameo. Humor is one of the surprising themes that runs through the film without undercutting the seriousness of the story. Ray Liotta and Rachel Griffiths are great as George's parents though as they age their makeup is a little distracting, but the performances are still powerful. The style of the film feels like a hybrid of a 70's film heavily dosed with Goodfellas. This actually works very well intended or not. I miss this style of adult dramatic film. This film reminded me how much I will miss Ted Demme, Sydney Pollack and Anthony Minghella.
Memorable moment: Forty eight minutes in Johnny Depp makes a great face after being told to shut up.

Gomorra

The Little Theatre in ROC has uncomfortable seats. It borders on irritating watching a film here but on occasion it is the only game in town, so off I went to see Gomorrah. Damn if that film did not make me forget how painful it is to sit there or even that I needed to make a pit stop. The film was riveting from the start and even though I had some trouble following who was who and who hated who for whatever reason I was totally immersed. Matteo Garrone directed this story which tells five stories all involving the Camorra crime network in Naples. It is based on a book by Roberto Saviano. I was very struck by the opening sequence which takes place in a tanning salon. Garrone and his cinematographer, Marco Onorato, start right away with a camera style that is so intimate that the viewer becomes the third party in the room (or in this sequence in the tanning bed). They are able to sustain this perspective throughout the film to amazing effect. We are constantly at the shoulder or just over the shoulder of our various protagonists and anti-heroes. There is one chase sequence where we hover over the motorcycle stalking a car that redefines how film chases in terms of speed and perspective. The stories are all your basic mafia tales but the camera work and the actual filming within a large housing project change the tenor of the stories. The stories are now real and the outcomes vicious. I was fascinated by this housing complex. It is huge and multilayered with bridges and interiors reminiscent of a Marriott for crack addicts. Vast interiors join by bridges. In one camera shot the screen is filled with a wedding procession on a lower level while just one story up we see addicts buying doses. Each of the stories is compelling. The stakes are raised for each of the characters simply because of where they live and who they choose to do business with. Watching their choices play out through the various outcomes gives us a multilayered view of how influential a network of criminals can be in both a microcosm of society or big business.
Memorable moment: The two aspiring Scarfaces celebrating a heist to the sound of Italian pop music at the beach.

Quantum of Solace

I had heard rotten things about this Bond film, confusing plot and action sequences. But when it turned up in the library for free I figured some Daniel Craig eye candy was worth being annoyed through nonsense. Oh so wrong, it is a great film with awesome action and an entertaining story. Marc Forster can totally direct action sequences and he makes Bond a bit more human (at least for a guy who kills when needed). I loved how Forster let the camera drift back to a semi-non-consequential object in the middle of a big sequence. He kept giving it the same sense of place that he brought to Stranger Than Fiction. Ultimately isn’t that what the Bond stories are: stranger than fiction making Forster the right director for this material.
Memorable moment: That amazing table top computer.

Tropic Thunder

Did not expect this film to be funny. Thought it would be cringefully amusing, but no… it is actually funny and smart. Not as funny and smart as Hot Fuzz or Shaun of the Dead but definitely made in the same vein. I love that the film went to the lengths of filming some real war action sequences. They blew a lot of stuff up much to my enjoyment.
Memorable moment: Kirk’s analysis of Tugg’s “Simple Jack” character and why it failed.

Frozen River

Loved this first time effort from writer/director Courtney Hunt. Melissa Leo is amazing as Ray, the struggling Mom who just wants to get her kids a double wide trailer. She is thwarted by her gambling addict husband who runs off with the final payment before the film begins. The desperation of being so close to homeless and foodless fills this film. In one painful sequence we watch Ray sort through change just to make lunch money for her sons. Her dreams and her cash flow do not intersect so she starts smuggling people across the St Lawrence River in her car along with another struggling Mom. The performances by Melissa Leo and Misty Upham are terrific. Hunt deserves much praise for making this film on a shoestring. It is a quality piece of work lovingly filmed in the north country of New York State.
Memorable moment: Ray confronting Lila the first time.

Watchmen

It took so damn long that by the time we got it, most everything that wow’ed us had already showed up elsewhere. Hello Heroes, can you get an original story line? Oh well, loved what Zack Snyder did with 300 and yes he was the right guy for Watchmen. He brought it life with some minor tweaks and adjustments. Thought he caught the visual storytelling just right but the truth is once we hit linear storytelling (one image at a time) the comic form ceases to be and something powerful about this story is lost.
Memorable moment: Other than Dr. Manhattan swinging in the blue breeze, his palace on Mars.

Eastern Promises

This is a beautiful film. Being a Cronenberg, I expected violence and gore out the wazoo, but instead I got a thoughtful, romantic thriller with a great cast. There is violence and it is nasty but it does not dominate the film. It is the threat of violence that dominates and creates the suspense. I loved seeing Armin Mueller-Stahl as the Russian patriarch. He had an awesome blend of cuddly granddad and vicious mob boss. Watching him try to charm Naomi Watson was delicious. Viggo Mortenson is terrific. The entire picture kept me riveted and involve without being The History of Violence Part 2.
Memorable moment: Viggo being made.

Eagle Eye

So I just had to see what it was that was ordering Shia LaBoeuf around. I am a sucker for these BE AMAZED AT THE REVEAL films. They have no real story just a giant gotcha at the end but first we have to go through the hoops to get there. I was entertained throughout, some doozy action sequences, plenty of cheesy sentimental moments and then the REVEAL…… an AI that goes rogue and wants a do-over for the US system of government. Yawn. Action 1 Reveal 0.
Memorable moment: Shia being freed by an angry crane.